New Braunfels schools? (Houston, San Antonio, Austin: movies, school districts, place to live)

[Rapp5]

My family and I are looking to relocate from the east coast. We have 3 boys ages 2-8. My husband will be working out at Fort Sam Houston and we were thinking to live in New Braunfels. Could anyone give advice about the local schools?? Public, private...?

Thanks in advance!!

PS- Are the people friendly? I always hear conflicting things.

[ItsTheTruth]

New Braunfels is really a love it or hate it kind of place. In my opinion, if you're a redneck/conservative bible-thumper, you'll love it there. As you can probably tell, I hate it. It's also the worst area to commute from (anything along I-35) during rush hour.

[Rapp5]

Wow...really? What makes you say that? I really know nothing about the area. I just saw that it seems to be a half point between SA and Austin so I thought you could potentially have the best of both worlds. We're use to driving and commuting come from Washington, DC. But I appreciate the input!

[Horn of ‘83]

I'm a long-time New Braunfels resident & former New Braunfels ISD teacher (11 years, now retired).

There are two school districts in NB, Comal & New Braunfels. Comal is one of the largest school districts in Texas, geographically speaking. The boundaries extend into San Antonio & even other counties. My daughter & son-in-law work for Comal ISD. They love it! IMO, it's the better of the two districts.

New Braunfels ISD is very clique-ish. Their motto is, "Our pride is justified"; noses in the air type attitude. Chances are, if you enrolled your kids in this district, you'd notice it, but it wouldn't be a big deal.

Comparing the two districts: Comal has better academic scores; NB excels in sports & fine arts. The NB band program (I was a NB band director) is top-notch, top 5% in the state. Regular state champs in sports, especially tennis.

There's also NB Christian Academy & Bracken Christian School. My friend taught at Bracken & spoke highly of the school.

I have a friend that works at FT. Sam. He drives in every day. Honestly, the traffic is managable. From NB, about a 30-minute drive.

Other nice communities closer to San Antonio are Schertz, Cibilo, Universal City, Live Oak, Judson. Seem to be nice communities & schools.

As a previous poster said, NB is a very conservative (politically) community, with a large % of church-goers/religious folks, mostly protestant.

The community as a whole is a wonderful place to live & raise children. The population has exploded in the last 15 years. Now ~60,000. The recession barely touched us. However, there is still an overall attitude similiar to that of NBISD. Kinda stuck-up, but it's subtle nowadays. Used to be bad.

NB is tourist-driven, with two spring-fed rivers & America's #1 waterpark, Schlitterbahn. During the summer, we are innundated with tourists.

If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a private message.

[ItsTheTruth]

Originally Posted by Rapp5

Wow...really? What makes you say that? I really know nothing about the area. I just saw that it seems to be a half point between SA and Austin so I thought you could potentially have the best of both worlds. We're use to driving and commuting come from Washington, DC. But I appreciate the input!

It's just a very homogenous society. White, religious, and not very welcoming. jimmiej described it well from an insider's point of view. From an outsiders point of view, it's not a place I would want to raise my children. I grew up in a very diverse city, going to school with children from many countries, of many colors. New Braunfels is very much the stereotypical Texas town you see in movies. Pickup trucks, guns, and god. It's a place you're likely to get a Driving While Black ticket or similar. Like I said before, some people love the place, but those have been the people that aren't my kind of people.

[Horn of ‘83]

Originally Posted by ItsTheTruth

It's just a very homogenous society. White, religious, and not very welcoming. jimmiej described it well from an insider's point of view. From an outsiders point of view, it's not a place I would want to raise my children. I grew up in a very diverse city, going to school with children from many countries, of many colors. New Braunfels is very much the stereotypical Texas town you see in movies. Pickup trucks, guns, and god. It's a place you're likely to get a Driving While Black ticket or similar. Like I said before, some people love the place, but those have been the people that aren't my kind of people.

Well, I think you're being a bit harsh, but in general, I see your point. No, we're not like the big cities. That can be a good thing in some ways.

I think it's important to point out, NB has a large Hispanic population also, not unlike most communities in central Texas.

I raised my kids here, and they've chosen to stay here now that they have their own kids. Every place has it's problems; NB is no different. I stand by my earlier statement. NB is a wonderful place to live & raise kids.

*To be totally upfront, I am white & religious, so perhaps I'm biased.

[piranhafishtx]

My older child attended NB Middle and I think it's marvelous. My younger attends County Line Elementary and my opinion of that school is also very good. We have few complaints. We moved here from Florida where our local schools were highly rated, sufficiently so that I chose to go public rather than send the older child to Catholic school. Yet, my experience with these two schools far surpasses our public school experience in our Florida school district (Osceola County).

While it is a very family friendly town, it is indeed not for everyone, all things considered.

However, if your sole consideration is the public school district, i must say I was pleasantly surprised, even impressed, with the New Braunfels ISD. As someone who went exclusively to Catholic schools I am a tough sell, but the staff, teachers, and administrators here impressed me.

Regarding the political environment, you may not be happy here in spite of the school district if you lean even moderately left. I joke that I'm one of the progressives in the entire city. Be that as it may, my interactions have been overwhelmingly positive and am continually struck by the courtesy and friendliness of most people I meet. When the politics becomes stifling (for me) Austin and San Antonio are an easy drive.

I do agree with the above poster, however, that it is still an insular community in many ways and may not fit every taste. I also agree that there is a reason for the homogenous demographics, and when I finally realized why I did not feel quite the same. I hesitate before inviting my non white/non Hispanic friends to visit after dark.

But the NBISD schools are good.