Feeder Schools in Austin (Howe: house, to buy, private school)

[scm53]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

As always with LASA - parents need to remember you can't just choose to send your kid to LASA if you live in AISD. LASA requires admission. LASA is excellent because the kids that go there are the cream of the crop in AISD.

Completely agree. But if the issue is getting into the "top" schools, then if your kid isn't good enough to get into LASA, they probably won't be candidates for the "top" colleges. Attending - pick your "highly rated" school - isn't a magic elixir that transforms average students into a Harvard candidate.

Even as smart as my kids were.

[TexasHorseLady]

If your issue is a great education (and ours was, with our children), you need to not be looking at the names of colleges and looking at the child in front of you. A school (Pre-K on up) that is great for one kid can be a disaster for another, even within the same family. So look at Pre-K with YOUR child, not a college some two decades in the future, in mind, and choose that way.

And do a LOT of education at home. I don't mean sitting down and teaching courses, but reading both to and in front of your child, teaching them how to use the library (the internet is great, but browsing through actual books and running across things you never knew existed and thus wouldn't know to google can't be beat - you can always google them later), extracurricular activities (trips to museums, the Austin Nature Center, summer or after school classes in things that aren't taught in school, depending on their individual interests), lots of just living education because a really good education has a lot more to do with life than with school.

[salmuabe]

It’s also not enough for your kid to be “smart enough” to be accepted into LASA (or similar)…they have to be driven and want to be there. Our son was accepted at LASA his freshman year of high school and he was thrilled (it had been his decision to apply at the last minute). He hated his choice. He described it as ultra-competitive, with many of the students having a singular focus on academics. One of his elementary school friends (who will be graduating from LASA in June) described what he called “academic bullying”. He said students are teased by some peers if they don’t have a certain GPA or score above a magic threshold on exams. Heck, I’m impressed with any kid who can graduate from a program like this, much less excel and be a top 10% student there!

Our son left LASA after his freshman year and has been much happier at our home school, where he’s taken all pre-AP, AP, and honors-level courses. He’ll be attending A&M in the fall and we could not be happier for him. Another of his childhood friends (who, ironically, was rejected by LASA) will be attending Rice University. Now THAT will impress most Texans!

My point is that even if your child has the smarts and attends the “right” elementary and high school, there’s no guarantee he/she will be accepted into an Ivy League school…or will want to attend in the first place.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

Actually, if you do some searching on this forum (not just for Ivy's, but for "best schools" in general, you'll get a better feel for the nature of the responses).

So on a more serious note, if you really "highly value education" vs simply "highly value a name school", then you'll realize that going to an Ivy really doesn't mean that much except for a few very specific scenarios (and if you're not sure, then you need to do some more research, which is a critical aspect of education). So your comment about "best school possible", just simply doesn't hold water for a great many folks here.

To give you a little background, my wife is an Ivy Leaguer and quite literally the only reason we would consider an Ivy for our kids is because of my wife's nostalgia for her old school and the, currently, very slim chance that our kids would have an interest in a field that having an Ivy degree (_NOT_ an "Ivy Education") could open doors that would otherwise not be readily available. This is even taking into account that with an Ivy, being the relation of alumni gives you a decent leg up on admissions. BTW, we have a sophomore in high school, so where they go next is foremost in our heads (i.e. it's not some distant fancy).

I do agree about your statement about parents today having to think about their kiddos education from "day 1". Certainly my wife and I were in that situation. It's even more important in Austin, because many of the more popular pre-K options incur a years long wait list as much of the private education choices here have not kept up with the growth and demand.

Sorry this doesn't really answer your question, off the top of my head, St Stephens, St Andrews, and Regents probably contain more potential Ivy trackers (with LASA and Westlake being the more likely public scenarios). Start there and visit those schools and ask them specifically about the Ivy's if that remains a priority. My wife and I actually talked to those schools about that subject even before our first was in K, so it's something they are very used to.

As an Ivy grad, I agree with you. There is also some speculation right now that being a southern conservative religious home schooler gives an applicant an edge in the diversity equation at many Ivies. Admissions really are a moving target.

I wouldn't worry too much about this person not finding the right Austin school for her little genius. She posted this exact same question in multiple city forums yesterday. Perhaps one of those places will fulfill her needs.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

I wouldn't worry too much about this person not finding the right Austin school for her little genius. She posted this exact same question in multiple city forums yesterday. Perhaps one of those places will fulfill her needs.

We were the snarkiest, no one else brought popcorn but she pretty much got the same answer everywhere.

[usernamenottaken]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

If your issue is a great education (and ours was, with our children), you need to not be looking at the names of colleges and looking at the child in front of you. A school (Pre-K on up) that is great for one kid can be a disaster for another, even within the same family. So look at Pre-K with YOUR child, not a college some two decades in the future, in mind, and choose that way.

And do a LOT of education at home. I don't mean sitting down and teaching courses, but reading both to and in front of your child, teaching them how to use the library (the internet is great, but browsing through actual books and running across things you never knew existed and thus wouldn't know to google can't be beat - you can always google them later), extracurricular activities (trips to museums, the Austin Nature Center, summer or after school classes in things that aren't taught in school, depending on their individual interests), lots of just living education because a really good education has a lot more to do with life than with school.

Great advice! I can relate to the OP in wanting a good education for her children, maybe her POV is a little idealistic and unrealistic in trying to predict the future. That being said, I am struggling here with the TX school system. I don't know if it's TX or the school we chose in LISD, but the teaching methods here stink. These TEKS are ridiculous and teaching to them, literally line by line, leaves little room for anything else of value. Which is why I do what TXhorseladey suggests, provide worldly and educational experiences outside of school.

My son received his results for mid year testing and had 100% on reading and 90% on math but wasn't considered for the Quest program. When I asked if they could reassess him I got the run around. I've heard that it's based a lot more on personality than academics?? He's shy, but bright, so does that mean since he doesn't have the gift of gab, he's not gifted in LISD's eyes?

I hate choosing a school based on test scores. To me that doesn't make it a good school, it just means they are good at teaching to the test.

Does anyone have any opinions on elementary schools in a good feeder pattern that provide a less rigid experience and more creativity, science, writing, etc. My son did more writing in K and 1st in NC than he does here in 2nd. Barely any science here, they bring in a cart once in a while. In NC, they went to a lab. He used to be excited about school and brought home tons of projects and talked about the things he learned. Not here.

I'm not looking for a Harvard admission, just something better than average.

Unfortunately I have champagne taste on a beer budget and can't afford private school or the best neigborhoods. But I'd like to think that there are good public schools out there that regular people can send their kids. We'd move too, just renting now.

[gpurcell]

For the record, at least north of the Lake, the pre-K of choice is probably ECP at the JCAA.

[usernamenottaken]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

For the record, at least north of the Lake, the pre-K of choice is probably ECP at the JCAA.

And that is code for what? For those not in the know, can you elaborate please?

[gpurcell]

Early Childhood Program at Jewish Community Association of Austin.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by usernamenottaken

Great advice! I can relate to the OP in wanting a good education for her children, maybe her POV is a little idealistic and unrealistic in trying to predict the future. That being said, I am struggling here with the TX school system. I don't know if it's TX or the school we chose in LISD, but the teaching methods here stink. These TEKS are ridiculous and teaching to them, literally line by line, leaves little room for anything else of value. Which is why I do what TXhorseladey suggests, provide worldly and educational experiences outside of school.

My son received his results for mid year testing and had 100% on reading and 90% on math but wasn't considered for the Quest program. When I asked if they could reassess him I got the run around. I've heard that it's based a lot more on personality than academics?? He's shy, but bright, so does that mean since he doesn't have the gift of gab, he's not gifted in LISD's eyes?

I hate choosing a school based on test scores. To me that doesn't make it a good school, it just means they are good at teaching to the test.

Does anyone have any opinions on elementary schools in a good feeder pattern that provide a less rigid experience and more creativity, science, writing, etc. My son did more writing in K and 1st in NC than he does here in 2nd. Barely any science here, they bring in a cart once in a while. In NC, they went to a lab. He used to be excited about school and brought home tons of projects and talked about the things he learned. Not here.

I'm not looking for a Harvard admission, just something better than average.

Unfortunately I have champagne taste on a beer budget and can't afford private school or the best neigborhoods. But I'd like to think that there are good public schools out there that regular people can send their kids. We'd move too, just renting now.

It's not just Texas or LISD. I saw similar in New York City. Public schools are probably "teaching to the test" because test scores translates into dollars...as in funding. I'm not a proponent for teaching to a standardized test, but I understand why many, if not all, public schools do it. There's so much attached to those numbers, it isn't funny. If you want a broader horizon, then you'll either have to send your kid to private school or maybe charter (and even with charter, you have people complaining).

I attended a pretty good middle school in New York City in the 80s and that was probably the last place that I remember having class projects and science experiments and all of that jazz. After that, there were zero field trips, projects, and it was all about prepping for the Regents exams (Regents = specialized tests administered in New York State). Thankfully, I was in a college prep program in high school that tried to teach outside of that box and had plenty of extracurriculars.

FWIW, there are many Texas kids within this system that go on to good schools, especially Texas colleges. So, I don't think they're stunted all that badly. They make up for whatever lacks somewhere else.

You could consider charter. My daughter does projects all of the time. I also wonder why your child was given "mid year tests" in the 2nd grade. My daughter is in second and she hasn't had any official STAAR testing of any kind. She did have an assessment test earlier on, but that was just a benchmark test and nothing else.