Best towns and school districts in TX? (Houston, Dallas: best school districts, place to live)

[rafacrego]

Hello,
I'm a teacher who is coming to Texas in a foreign visiting program. I'd be very appreciated if anyone could give me some advice about the best towns to live in the State. Also does anyone know about the best school districts?

[GayleTX]

Statistics regarding school districts in TX can be found at

Texas Education Agency - Welcome to the Texas Education Agency click on 'accountability' ...... this data is based on testing as well as other items of accountability from the years before.

There are a couple of thousand of districts in TX and every district has many schools and campuses in it. What district or school is 'best' is a judgment call....it depends on what it is important to you, what type area you want to live in (rural, city, rich, poor, etc), what subject you want to teach.

If you have some specific questions or interests, maybe someone here can help you with them.

[texasdiver]

Here in Texas school systems are very decentralized and there tends to be a very direct relationship between the wealth of the community and the quality of the schools. At least in terms of those factors that can be measured such as test scores and facilities. And here in Texas a much higher percentage of middle and upper class children attend public schools compared to say the states in the northeast where there are many more private schools.

What this means is that you can go pretty much anywhere in Texas where wealthy families accumulate and you'll find gleaming schools with high-achieving students. Likewise you'll find struggling schools in many poor areas of the state.

School districts with a reputation for wealth and high-achieving students include places like Highland Park, Plano, Southlake, Frisco, Keller, Colleville, etc. (in suburban Dallas/Fort Worth), Westlake and Lake Travis (suburban Austin), Woodlands, Katy, Fort Bend, Frendswood (suburban Houston) and many many others.

Personally if I were single and looking for an interesting place to live and work in Texas I'd look at Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth. And I'd look for a diverse and high achieving urban school like for example, Pashal HS in Fort Worth or Aldine HS in Houston. Those are the kinds of places where the real action is.