Comal ISD - the good and the bad!!

[mis2princesas]

We moved 18 months ago from CLT, NC.. and our realtor recommended NEISD....We loved the schools!.. My daughter goes to Johnson HS.. she's not into sports or band.. so I was worried about any other activities to keep her challenged and entertained.. she had no problem finding clubs and fun activities. My youngest will start kindy in August, she will go to Tuscany Heights ES. Last year she went to Speech Therapy at Bulvery Creek ES.. Loved that school too!.. Before we purchased our home in the Mountain Lodge neigborhood, we rented a house in the Redland Woods neighborhood..We didn't want to move my oldest from school 'again'..but we were considering moving a little north to Comal because of property taxes.. Houses are beautiful, spacious.... and we heard SMHS was a good school too!... We almost bought a house in the Trinity Oaks neighborhood.. Nice homes!..you can 'buy more house' because property taxes are lower. We were considering building in Belterra especially because we have a good friend who lives in that neighborhood... The 'only' thing that made us think twice was the commute to SVHS... She takes the bus once or twice a week.. the other days she would have a club.. or something to do at school before class.. and it was 17 miles each way....It made us change our minds and search for houses in the NEISD.. We looked for houses for about 3 months.. visited over 50 homes!.. Crazy!.. I'm so glad the house hunting is over and we can finally enjoy our new place!

[father4]

Excellent schools, excelent people, your kids will be safe. If I was you, the best zone is in Lookout Canyon (Live in San Antonio, with the benefits of Comal Schools).

You can check the crime report and is the safer zone in San Antonio.

[Mililani Gal]

Originally Posted by Mililani Gal

We moved from Hawaii 3 years ago and bought a lovely house in the Trinity Oaks subdivision about 2 miles N of the NEISD school district. My children started at Johnson Ranch Elementary when it opened 3 years ago. Kinder Ranch E.S. opened last year and Indian Springs E.S. will open this August. My girls will be moving to IS E.S. this August and will eventually be attending Smithson Valley Middle and High Schools. My concern is the middle and high school is about a 20-25 minute bus ride. The teachers have been WONDERFUL! We like the smaller elementary schools in Comal ISD. We could have moved into the NEISD area but the elementary schools are SO LARGE, especially coming from Hawaii-sized schools. The buildings look like hospitals. NEISD has soo many children that they needed to build larger elementary schools because they don't have the land available for smaller schools. NEISD is surrounded by other school districts and has basically run out of land to build new schools. NEISD does have good schools. Understand that the homes that cost more tend to have the newer, better equipped schools. Property taxes pay for schools. You can purchase a home for $75K in South San Antonio, but the schools are struggling to make ends meet. The Northside ISD and NEISD and Comal ISD are flourising due to growth in the Northern sectors of S.A. People will advise you to avoid buying along US 281. But we've managed. A lot of $$ is being spent to improve traffic in the area. All of the areas you mention are near US 281. San Antonio is the best city in Texas for families. So many activities and you get that small town feeling eventhough it's a large city. Traffic is still no where near as bad as Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

UPDATE: Our daughters moved to Indian Springs Elementary School. We were so excited. Then school started. It's been the polar opposite of Johnson Ranch Elementary School. JRES was nurturing and caring, we don't get that feeling AT ALL at ISES. The reminders about "rules" are relentless and we are so desperate to get our kids out of this school. We are stuck as we cannot afford to move, nor send our kids to private school and CISD policies do not allow transfers within district for a reason of "dissatisfaction with the school." We pay for the schools in our district through our property taxes, I wish they would allow us to move our kids within the district. We believe that the "feel" of the school comes from it's leadership and we did not experience the type of "discipline" our kids have faced at ISES from JRES. Avoid the Indian Springs Elementary School district. Yes we live in what is considered an "upscale" neighborhood, but we drive a 10 year old car that's never washed due to water restrictions and we can't afford to take the car to a carwash, my kids shoes come from Payless and I coupon like crazy to make ends meet.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Mililani Gal

UPDATE: Our daughters moved to Indian Springs Elementary School. We were so excited. Then school started. It's been the polar opposite of Johnson Ranch Elementary School. JRES was nurturing and caring, we don't get that feeling AT ALL at ISES. The reminders about "rules" are relentless and we are so desperate to get our kids out of this school. We are stuck as we cannot afford to move, nor send our kids to private school and CISD policies do not allow transfers within district for a reason of "dissatisfaction with the school." We pay for the schools in our district through our property taxes, I wish they would allow us to move our kids within the district. We believe that the "feel" of the school comes from it's leadership and we did not experience the type of "discipline" our kids have faced at ISES from JRES. Avoid the Indian Springs Elementary School district.

A lot of what you're describing you dislike are things the principal of the school is responsible for. Get on committees at the PTA and make your opinion known. Maybe you're not the only one unhappy? If enough PTA parents and teachers are unhappy and they make that known to the leadership of the district, the principal can often be made to move on - particularly if they are relatively new. I've seen it happen.

[dpantle]

Our kids were raised in the CISD, and I will tell you that the previous poster makes a very good point. Get involved. Comal ISD is very responsive to the needs of their population. My wife was very active in PTA, and the district worked hand in hand with them. They were very responsive.

Our kids attended from 1990-2007. This was during a time of unprecedented growth in the area. There were many growing pains during that time, and understandably so. The Smithson Valley schools nearly tripled in size in terms of students. Along with the capital outlay the district committed to building of facilities to handle the growth, the administration was equally up to the task in providing the educational opportunities and environment that the district had always provided in a historical context. I've seen no evidence in the last few years to indicate that commitment has wavered. We still have friends with school aged children.

All I can tell you is get involved. Not only is it expected from the district, it's important for your kids' education.