Questions about Austin Schooling (Round Rock, Spring: daycare, home, school districts)

[cruickies]

Hi, I live in the UK and my husband and I are thinking of moving to Austin from London. We have 2 small kids (4 and 2) and so schooling is a vital part of our consideration
I know that the schooling system is very different in the US and so was trying to get some idea of how different and so would appreciate any help with all or some of thse questions.

1 What is the best elementary school district or school in Austin.

2 At what age do they start their first compulsory formal year at school (ie In the UK it would be reception class)

3 what is the cut off birthday date for the intake (ie ours is 31st August)

4 How long is the school day? Av. start time and home time.

5 Do they stream/set the children according to english/numeracy ability?

6 Do schools provide after school sport and cultural clubs?

7 Is schooling provided at the state’s expense or is there a charge/school fees?

8 Average number of children per class?

9 What provision is made for those children who lag behind academically or have low level special needs? (here we have IEP’s- Individual Education Plans and additional support adults to assist. Some schools undertake precision teaching)

10 How good is secondary school/high school? opinions? What percentage of children (last year of high school, 14-16yrs(?) usually graduate with the required level? (Here it would be the GCSE rate. The percentage of children who pass 5 or more GCSE’s and I think it is only about 60% of england’s 16 year old population! )

11 How big a problem are drugs in high schools? (Hard to answer but is it something that parents contend with all the time? Are there spot drugs tests in most schools? Etc)

12 Are there foreign teachers from the UK/Europe working in primary schools? And does anyone possibly know whether these qualifications are recognised or whether there is some kind of bridging course/ apprenticeship (like QTS here) that would have to be undertaken.

Thanks everyone!

[Trainwreck20]

Wow, lots of very detailed questions. This is really kind of a research project, but I can point you to a couple of sites and give you a little bit of information.
School Districts: School districts are usually named 'Xxxxx' Independent School District (where Xxxxx is the nearest city name), usually shortened to XISD. So Austin is AISD, Round Rock is RRISD, etc. There are also consolidated school districts, but they are essentially the same.

The school districts are actually often independent of county lines and city limits. AISD extends beyond Travis County and outside the City of Austin. RRISD extends into Travis County in some places. Anyway, when you say you are moving to Austin, that could cover AISD, RRISD, Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Eanes (Westlake), Leander, Hays (Buda and Kyle), and others. AISD is the largest, so it has the most variation in quality (both very good and very bad indidual schools). Right now, from what I hear, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis, as well as Eanes are probably the best across the board districts.

As for individual elementary schools, the following are listed as 'blue ribbon schools' (federal recognition program - google it for details):
- Eanes Elementary School (2005)
- Laurel Mountain Elementary School (2005)
- St. Austin Catholic School (2005)
- Highland Park Elementary School (2006)
- Holy Family Catholic School (2006)
- Pillow Elementary (as per the AISD website)
I have listed the 2005 and 2006 listings (schools can't change that much in a year, can they?) and Pillow, although it was marked on the AISD website and not on the federal site. Not that there aren't other rankings available out there, but this is one of the most common ones you will hear. Also, these are not the only good schools, they were just the ones deemed to be exceptional by this program.

For info on Austin schools, check out the AISD web site:

http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/

From this web site:

Kindergarten students must be five years old on or before September 1, 2006.

Kindergarten is the first year of public school (nice German word ). there are some pre-K programs, but they are 'cost added', for the most part, I think, and are usually more of a daycare program (I could be wrong, so check into it if you are interested).

As far as hours go:

Elementary - 7:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.*
Middle & Junior High - 8:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.*
High School - 9 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.*
*Variations may exist with kindergarten or high school schedules or magnet schools.

5 Do they stream/set the children according to english/numeracy ability?

Most schools generally have some sort of 'gifted' or 'honors' program. In addition, there are state requried assistance programs available to students that require additional assistance.

6 Do schools provide after school sport and cultural clubs?

At the lower school levels (i.e. elementary), not usually. By Junior high (grades 6-8, or 11-13 year olds) there are quite a few programs. There are a huge number of programs available at the high school level (grades 9-12). The University Interscholastic League (UIL) 'governs' a lot of these programs. Check out their website - http://www.uil.utexas.edu/

7 Is schooling provided at the state’s expense or is there a charge/school fees?

Some say you get what you pay for, but the schools are generallly paid for entirely out of taxes, including the special education programs.

8 Average number of children per class?

The school districts sets requirements on these, but they change somewhat frequently. I think there is a state maximum on the student/teacher ratio, but most districts try to stay below those. I don't know what they are now, but for elementary school they used to be between 18-22 students per class maximum. 5th grade was higher back in my day, but not sure it still is.

9 What provision is made for those children who lag behind academically or have low level special needs? (here we have IEP’s- Individual Education Plans and additional support adults to assist. Some schools undertake precision teaching)

There are Special Education (Special Ed) programs of various types. Their existance is required by State law, so every public school either provides these programs or has access to them (for some instances, this means traveling to another campus). For specifics, you will need to communicate directly with the school regarding your requirements.

[Trainwreck20]

10 How good is secondary school/high school? opinions? What percentage of children (last year of high school, 14-16yrs(?) usually graduate with the required level? (Here it would be the GCSE rate. The percentage of children who pass 5 or more GCSE’s and I think it is only about 60% of england’s 16 year old population! )

This varies enormously depending on the school. The stats that are often followed here in the news are the drop-out rate and the percent that pass a 'compentency' test that changes names every few years. Might be TEKS now (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills?) or may be something else now. I do not know the answer to this one.

11 How big a problem are drugs in high schools? (Hard to answer but is it something that parents contend with all the time? Are there spot drugs tests in most schools? Etc)

This varies from school to school, with the better schools having less of a problem, but they are everywhere. Alcohol is really the number one 'drug' still, with pot in second. The harder drugs are still relatively rare. For some reason, smaller schools seem to have less of a problem.

12 Are there foreign teachers from the UK/Europe working in primary schools? And does anyone possibly know whether these qualifications are recognised or whether there is some kind of bridging course/ apprenticeship (like QTS here) that would have to be undertaken.

I suspect there is a certification process that should be relatively easy, but check out the AISD webstie.

[gigi927]

Wow...you should pay Trainwreck a consulting fee for that awesome response!

If you have any questions about special ed programs, I have a child in a special ed program and can probably answer some basic questions for you if you need some more detailed info. IEPs are used here, but how they are implemented and what services are offered to whom can vary widely from school district to school district.

[cruickies]

Trainwreck, wow, that was a great detailed response and so quickly too! Gigi was right, you should have earned some money there... many thanks.
Thanks to you both...

[categ]

We are relocating to Austin in Feb, for a 2 yr assignment. We're from Berkshire with 2 kids aged 3.5 & 6.5 & have had similar questions to yours. This forum has been great for answering our queries. I'd recommend taking a look at previous threads.

We're coming out next week on a flying visit to look at schools. Will let you know how we get on!

[TeeKee]

Love this Blog!!!

Thank you everyone for your posts very helpfull. We too are relocating to Austin via Round Rock Area, Needed School info... and man I got it