Anyone move their kid from Austin to Wimberley High School? (Spring: transfer, middle school)

[TCBTEX]

Howdy -

Our child will be starting high school at Anderson this August here in NW Austin. She started at Davis and is finishing up now at Murchison middle so she's developed a group of friends and is accustomed to the size and atmosphere of the schools that feed into Anderson High School. Having said that...

My wife and I would love to leave Austin for a smaller town ASAP and Wimberley is currently at the top of our list. Has anyone had any experiences related to moving a kid from the larger Austin public school system to the smaller schools in Wimberley? (specifically high school..) Anderson is 2000+ kids while I believe Wimberley High is well under 1000. I believe my daughter would benefit from a better student/teacher ratio but am also concerned that it may be socially challenging for her to break into groups of kids that have probably grown up together much as she's done with her group. Especially since there are far fewer groups of kids to work with out there. She's also a very artistic kid that loves to participate in drama clubs and Murchison's LGBTQ club, etc. with little to no interest in athletics. A vast majority of internet reviews and postings regarding Wimberley High tend to lean towards it being a very sports dominated school with not much emphasis on arts or drama. I take all internet reviews with a proverbial grain of salt but they are interesting when looking for subject trends.

So... have any Austinites with older kids made the move I just described? I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts! Direct experiences related to Wimberley High are of course welcome as well. If we made the move and Wimberley high is a bad fit there are not too many options to fall back on even if we wanted to pay for private due to the remoteness of the area. Thanks for reading!

[Trainwreck20]

Anecdotal, but I have never heard much positively about the academics, in general, at Wimberley HS. My in-laws live just north of there (Woodcreek), but it might be harder for you all to integrate than the kid. That area is not terribly fond of newcomers historically.

That said, I would be curious to hear actual feedback from people with real experience, as well. Moving during HS can be very challenging in generally, so a lot may depend on the kiddo.

I do know a family that moved from Dripping Springs to Lake Travis schools while they had a kid just entering HS, and they ended up regretting it (although they are managing).

[ashbeeigh]

Have you asked her how she feels about a move? Murchison has had a ROUGH year to say it mildly. If that is part of why you want to leave think it through a bit more and what your daughter thinks about moving. Some kids are all for that new start while others have a horrible time with the transition. Does she have any accommodations (504/SPED/GT?) Is she going to compete for a TOp 8% spot at Anderson where she may benefit from a less rigorous school setting where she could excel and then get that spot? Working in schools these are the questions I ask parents when we talk about other school settings.

[centralaustinite]

Did you consider the Fine Arts Academy at McCallum? McCallum is smaller than Anderson and the fine arts focus gives it a less stressful, more family feel.

I wish I could say that I have heard good things about Wimberly HS but I have not. No direct experience, other than playing against them in sports. And +1 for Trainwreck, small towns can be tough to move to, and Wimberly is not known for its love of outsiders.

good luck

[die Eichkatze]

My kids are in Wimberley schools (elementary and middle school only so far) and we have nothing but good things to say about the school system. What most people don’t realize is that Wimberley has a large number of transfer students so there really isn’t an issue with outsiders. 112 out of 746 enrolled in the high school were transfer students last year (mainly from San Marcos and Hays CISD). There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to being at a smaller school. Wimberley ISD received an “A” rating on the TEA accountability rating.

Wimberley Valley (adults and mainly the retirees) in general are still wary of outsiders, but that doesn’t carryover to the schools. And if you want some real entertainment, watch some of the Wimberley City Council meetings.

Having said all that, it would still be a tough move on a kid.

[Werekief]

As mentioned previously, Wimberley adults are much less welcoming than the HS students. That said, the adults still fall within the acceptable range of "Texas friendly". It's not like you're a white hipster moving to Mogadishu, you're good.

It's been a while, but my family made a similar move from South Austin (Austin HS) to Wimberley when I was in 9th grade. It was a great move for me personally. Looking back, I am amazed at how the significant wealth disparity among most students' families has almost no effect on the social state within the various groups of friends within the HS.