Running Brushy Middle School and CC Mason Elementary - Feedback (Austin: subdivisions, live in)

[chiveone]

Dear parents,

We are planning to move to the area shortly and our two kids will be starting elementary and middle school next year at CC Mason elementary and Running Brushy middle school.

We have been hearing conflicting reviews about these schools. Some say that these are good schools because they're part of LISD and being new schools receive good funding, whereas others say they are OK and not so good. Although I don't weigh greatschools rankings much, it is a little concerning that the rankings of these schools didn't improve over the last couple of years.

Please share your feedback about these schools. How are the schools in academics and quality of teachers? Are your kids happy and doing relatively well at these schools? Do kids seem to be getting enough opportunities to flourish? Are there any specific problem areas in these schools?

Appreciate your inputs. Thanks a lot.

[Trainwreck20]

I do not have kids in that area, so not familiar with the specifics. I would go to the TEA website to get historical 'rankings' for the schools. This is what comes up on CC Mason, which would be a little bit of a red flag to me.

For reference, economical disadvantaged (ED) is on the high side (27%+), which in of itself is not a problem; however, when comparing it to other schools and scaling it to similar levels of ED, it does very poorly as well.

To be fair, I have some issues with how the rank and rate schools, but it is better than nothing.

Also, a school overview rating does not tell you how a specific student might or might not do. It does list the schools as 'targeted for improvement', which might mean it is getting additional funding from the district or the state (but not because it is new).

Edit: damn, there are a lot of ES in a small area! Winkley looks like a better bet, and Whitestone somewhat better (rankings-wise).

Running Brushy looks passable, especially given the 34%+ ED. There is debate whether an MS can ever be 'good' .

[riaelise]

In another recent topic, someone mentioned bullying problems at Running Brushy.

The best Leander ISD schools aren't actually in Leander.

Prior to the Austin explosion causing upward migration, Leander was the "sticks", mainly rural.

Travisso supposedly is getting an elementary as well but not a middle or high school.

newer doesn't always mean better. it all comes down to the demographics of the area as a whole, not one subdivision or several subdivisions. .

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by riaelise

In another recent topic, someone mentioned bullying problems at Running Brushy.
[...]

Bullying is a problem at every MS in the US, probably the world. It all comes down to how it is handled, I suppose, and some might be better at others; however, I would not knock a school based on one or a few comments related to bullying. In any case, it probably tracks somewhat parallel to school quality as a whole.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Bullying is a problem at every MS in the US, probably the world. It all comes down to how it is handled, I suppose, and some might be better at others; however, I would not knock a school based on one or a few comments related to bullying. In any case, it probably tracks somewhat parallel to school quality as a whole.

It sounded like it was a big issue. https://www.city-data.com/forum/aust...-travisso.html

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

It sounded like it was a big issue. https://www.city-data.com/forum/aust...-travisso.html

Yeah, it may be worse than average or not, I don't know. It is still just the statements of one person (referencing other people). We go to (what is generally considered) to be an excellent middle school and there is one parent that thinks it is the worst place on earth, at least based on her posts. Having a kid in SPED has resulted in quite a bit of communication with the administration and I know that they are no nonsense and motivated, so I am not sure that the person at our school can be taken completely at face value.

From our limited experience, the quality of the ESs that feed into a MS have a huge impact on the 'quality' of the environment. It is too late to fix it by MS. If I was relocating my kids to a new area, I would start with the MS and work from there. ES are not as critical and HS usually reflects the maturing of kids and a lot of niche's that develop that give somewhat of a network for even the bullied kids.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Yeah, it may be worse than average or not, I don't know. It is still just the statements of one person (referencing other people). We go to (what is generally considered) to be an excellent middle school and there is one parent that thinks it is the worst place on earth, at least based on her posts. Having a kid in SPED has resulted in quite a bit of communication with the administration and I know that they are no nonsense and motivated, so I am not sure that the person at our school can be taken completely at face value.

From our limited experience, the quality of the ESs that feed into a MS have a huge impact on the 'quality' of the environment. It is too late to fix it by MS. If I was relocating my kids to a new area, I would start with the MS and work from there. ES are not as critical and HS usually reflects the maturing of kids and a lot of niche's that develop that give somewhat of a network for even the bullied kids.

Agreed. And I have no experience with anything outside of AISD.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Yeah, it may be worse than average or not, I don't know. It is still just the statements of one person (referencing other people). We go to (what is generally considered) to be an excellent middle school and there is one parent that thinks it is the worst place on earth, at least based on her posts. Having a kid in SPED has resulted in quite a bit of communication with the administration and I know that they are no nonsense and motivated, so I am not sure that the person at our school can be taken completely at face value.

From our limited experience, the quality of the ESs that feed into a MS have a huge impact on the 'quality' of the environment. It is too late to fix it by MS. If I was relocating my kids to a new area, I would start with the MS and work from there. ES are not as critical and HS usually reflects the maturing of kids and a lot of niche's that develop that give somewhat of a network for even the bullied kids.

sometimes statements from parents have some validity when there's more than one parent. i'm just bringing that thread to the OP's attention. bullying can be found anywhere but as you said, it's how the school handles it.

to me, the ratings of the MS and HS start to go down because the zone increases and the student body comprises a whole bunch of people from varying life circumstances, unless you live in a part of town where it is affluent in a five mile radius. It's sad that socioeconomics play a role in school performance