Harmony Hills Elementary (vs. Huebner or Hidden Forest) (San Antonio, Howe: fit in, apartments)

[NealS]

We're moving from Maryland to San Antonio this summer. Found a great house (in Bluffview at Camino Real) and put earnest money into it. I'm stoked to move.
My only concern is the school. From way up here there's no way to evaluate a school but scores and ratings, and the school where my kids will go -- Harmony Hills -- gets a pretty low rating relative to other NEISD schools in the area. I've read some good words from Harmony Hills parents, but I'm still on the edge of walking away and starting over (driving my wife crazy in the process). Do the test scores and GreatSchools ratings really indicate the kind of education available at Harmony Hills, or am I missing out on something extraordinary by focusing on the numbers? If you're a Harmony Hills parent, please speak up soon - Our PCS is coming soon and a I must make a decision.
Thanks.

[HillCountryHotRodMan]

My son attended Harmony Hills when he was younger, so my comments may not help. He attended about 11 years ago. He's way above average, always has been. He was very unchallenged. I could not stand the staff at the school. However, it's Elementary school. In most elementray schools, the intelligence levels of the kids run the gamut from not too smart to brilliant, so those scores may not mean much. I just felt that he was unchallenged. In Texas, test scores are everything, but I tend to not put much faith in them.

I'd be more concerned about the Middle and High schools your children will be attending.

[sapphire]

My youngest attended Harmony Hills, after coming from Huebner. Huebner was full of stay-at-home (unless I'm at the gym, the nail salon, or my child's school) moms, (and no, there's nothing wrong with that). Harmony Hills was more the working moms. We (including my son) were much more satisfied with his whole elementary experience at Harmony Hills. I guess we fit in better? Teachers and staff at both schools were great, IMO. My son is bright and gets a lot of encouragement at home, so really, I think he would do well anywhere, but the teachers at HH actually seemed "warmer" and more caring. I think that is what makes our experience there seem so much better.

trivia--Winston, of the Winston and Alyce radio team, actually went to Harmony Hills way back in the day.

Also, one little story I have--at Huebner, the Kindergarten class was having a race car parade--the kids were supposed to make a race car out of a box and "wear" it for the parade through the halls. My son was sooooo happy with his, we helped him decorate it but it was truly a box that he made. We were HORRIFIED the next morning when we got to school and saw racecars made (BY DADDY) of actual freakin' plastic and foam and professionally painted. My son cried and it was very hard to explain to him that those kids didn't follow the rules (not ALL the kids spent hundreds, many did it just like they were supposed to), especially when the teachers were making a huge fuss over the fancy ones. Just one little difference I noticed there....mom and dad were very competitive even at that young age. Granted, we all want the best for our kids, but there are different ways of going about it.

[amybeccaz]

I just wanted to say I thought your poll was hilarious. Good luck in your choice!

[NealS]

Originally Posted by HillCountryHotRodMan

My son attended Harmony Hills when he was younger, so my comments may not help. He attended about 11 years ago. He's way above average, always has been. He was very unchallenged. I could not stand the staff at the school. However, it's Elementary school. In most elementray schools, the intelligence levels of the kids run the gamut from not too smart to brilliant, so those scores may not mean much. I just felt that he was unchallenged. In Texas, test scores are everything, but I tend to not put much faith in them.

I'd be more concerned about the Middle and High schools your children will be attending.

"I'd be more concerned about the Middle and High schools your children will be attending."

-- I wasn't as concerned about Eisenhower and Churchill, especially the latter. We met with the special education staff at Churchill during our quick househunting trip and were very impressed. Have you had bad experiences at MS or HS?

[zhugeliang1]

Huebner is what I would go with.

[txmusicgal]

You didn't mention it but Oak Meadow Elementary is in the area. That's a good school too but you wouldn't be able to live in Bluff View. Hunter's Creek, Oak Meadow, and Summer Field are great neighborhoods in the area for Oak Meadow.

[HillCountryHotRodMan]

Originally Posted by NealS

Have you had bad experiences at MS or HS?

No, sir. No bad experiences with Middle or High schools.

[metro2176]

No question, Hidden Forest is the closest thing to private school you can get from a public school!!! Harmony Hills has some very shady areas, Huebner is ok but allot of new money, trying to keep up by people who have made themselves house poor. All the neighborhoods that feed into Hidden Forest are middle-upper middle-to wealthy class and only two apartment communities feed into it and they are nice by apartment standards. It's sad that Bluffview isn't feeding into Hidden Forest anymore. If Bluffview's elementary is Harmony Hills, that makes it the only consistently nice neighborhood feeding into it...

[metro2176]

And by the way, Bluffview feeds into Eisenhower Middle School- DO NOT EVEN consider sending your child there. Talk about a school that has gone down, every neighborhood from Bluffview to Stone Oak and Sonterra used to go there, now it is crime ridden almost 90% very, very shady apartments. The Middle School for Hidden Forest is Bradley, by FAR more superior to Eisenhower. Just an example- Eisenhower has uniforms, not Bradley. Same district close proximity- it's because of the gang activity and crime at Eisenhower....