Middle Schools: Grisham, Four Points, or Canyon Vista? (Austin, Cedar Park: homes, transfer)

[applepiesf]

Hello! My husband and I are planning a move to Northwest Austin, and we're trying to decide on a neighborhood based on schools. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the middle schools Grisham, Four Points, or Canyon Vista. If you know about these particular schools, could you please share your opinion?

I'm most drawn to Grisham for its small size and IB program. I also like Four Points for its smaller size, but living near that school would make my husband's commute a bit worse. I feel like I should want Canyon Vista because of its ratings, but I'm a bit worried about the large student body.

If you could choose any of these schools for your child, which would be your pick and why?

As a bonus question, what do you think of Purple Sage ES? (Our kids are going into 1st and 6th grade, so we have to think of middle and elementary.) Again, this school appeals to me because of its small size, but its not as highly rated as many other schools in the area. I'd love to hear from you if you have any recent info or experiences to share about it.

Thanks so much!

[tiffngio]

PLEASE make sure you check with RRISD first, don't trust the realtor! There is a new middle school opening and if you are looking at purple sage for elementary most of the kids will go to Pearson Ranch middle school, not Grisham

[applepiesf]

That is very helpful to know. Thanks so much!

[Lafemmenikita1]

If you're planning on being here for awhile, you'll need to factor in high schools as well.
I'm not sure where Canyon Vista and Grisham feed into, but I know that Four Points kids go to Vandegrift.
Moreover, Four Points is so under capacity that a wing of the school is being transferred over to Vandegrift students taking ACC and other advanced courses.
Vandegrift is ranked the 47th high school in Texas, and #280 in the nation, presuming that those things matter to you. It's also in the process of becoming an IB school.
As a mom, I would prefer a good school with a low student to teacher ratio, but I'm not sure if I would want my sons to go to a school as crazily competitive as VHS.

[applepiesf]

Thanks so much. Grisham and Canyon Vista both feed into Westwood which I believe is also excellent. We do plan to stay for many years.

[centralaustinite]

Westwood isn't exactly a "laid back high school"!!! Westwood = Stresswood has been its nickname for decades, in fact, I'm surprised to see someone call VHS "crazily competitive" Westwood seems to have that title locked up.

Both are very strong academic schools with a culture of achievement which comes with both pluses and minuses.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Westwood isn't exactly a "laid back high school"!!! Westwood = Stresswood has been its nickname for decades, in fact, I'm surprised to see someone call VHS "crazily competitive" Westwood seems to have that title locked up.

Both are very strong academic schools with a culture of achievement which comes with both pluses and minuses.

THIS on both accounts. We were zoned to Canyon Vista/Westwood while living in Austin, had children in the track. This is accurate and it's widely known, talked about, understood.

[kjkw]

We live in Cedar Park and are considering moving to another house. We are currently zoned to Cedar Park High and if we move plan on looking at homes zoned there or to Vista Ridge. I don't want to live off 620 due to traffic and honestly don't want to be in the top rated school in either district. I don't want HS to be all about scores. Have you explored these other schools? They are both ranked highly. Another thing to consider is college acceptance. You have to be in I think the top 7% of your graduating class to get into UT so that is another factor that makes me want to not have my kids in the very top rated school.

[kjkw]

Here is some more info


http://www.leanderisd.org/users/0001...eeder_1617.pdf


https://roundrockisd.org/schools/rrisd-feeder-chart/

[applepiesf]

I appreciate all of your responses. Do any of you have experience with the particular middle schools I originally asked about -- Grisham, Four Points, or Canyon Vista?

I'll look into Cedar Park schools more as well. It's really hard to decide which high school will be the right fit for your kids when they are 6 and 10 years old. I tend to think a very competitive, demanding school will not be the best for my oldest, but it's hard to make that decision! What about McNeil or Anderson high schools?

Thank you!!