School District Questions (Portland, Howe, Gregory: 2015, renting, house)

[CharlyT]

Hi everyone! My husband just accepted a job offer in Corpus that starts in the summer. We will be moving with our two children. One child will be starting middle school and the other will be starting high school. During the interview, we spent the weekend exploring neighborhoods and discovered that the Southside is a good fit for us. The school district will be a huge factor on where we live and it's my understanding that a new high school is being built in one of the areas we are targeting. The other area we are targeting is in the London ISD. I'm having a hard time finding out a lot about London ISD. Does one school campus encompass all grades? Some sources say London is K-10, some say K-11, and some say K-12. Which is it? It appears that the student body of London is very tiny especially in comparison to the schools in CCISD. Overall, which is the better school district? Can anyone tell me what electives are offered at London?

[area33]

London ISD is very odd because its set up like a small town school district with two campuses for Elementary kids(grades K-4) and for Middle& High School(although 5th is housed with the 6th-12th graders.) What makes London unique is that High School kids of age have the option to attend nearby Tuloso-Midway or Flour Bluff High School(and I believe most will choose to attend the bigger high schools)because for a while, the district only had one elementary campus. I don't know much about the curriculum and electives but I can tell you Flour Bluff and Tuloso-Midway are considered among the top high schools in Corpus along with GP(Gregory-Portland) and Callallen. I'm sure many of the Corpus folks in here have more insight on London ISD.

[area33]

Here's how I would rank the top 5 high schools in the Corpus Metro:

1. Calallen (exceptional AP programs and historically solid athletic programs all around with 4A classification(now 5A)
2. Gregory-Portland (just right below Calallen in everything mentioned above)
3. Flour Bluff (known rival to Gregory-Portland in athletics, rated as a "Recognized" campus)
4. Tuloso-Midway (fairly solid athletic program as well as a "Recognized" campus)
5. Ray or Carroll ( The top two high schools in CCISD. From what I've heard are even in all aspects,Ray may be thought of as the better of the two but Carroll was a pretty good campus when my friend's brother attended back in the late 90's)

[CharlyT]

So if I'm reading these responses correctly, the 5th-12th graders share a campus? However, high schoolers have the option of attending either Tuloso-Midway or Flour Bluff HS or staying put at London HS? At what point do they have the choice to switch? By living in the London ISD school district, does that mean that my high schooler could attend Flour Bluff tuition free?

When is Veteran's Memorial expected to open? Would that school be alleviating Ray or Carroll's population?

Anyone know the typical student/teacher ratio at London? For whatever reason, there's very little information on London ISD online. At least where I'm looking... I'm very puzzled that the London high schoolers would attend Tuloso-Midway because on the map they look pretty far apart from each other.

How would you rank the middle schools? My middle schooler is more academic orientated and my high schooler is the athlete in the family.

[area33]

London ISD just recently offered education for grades 9-12 I believe(2012), but the enrollment is very small(100-200 students total;class 2A size)
and limited in extra curricular activities. Yes, students who are of middle and high school age have a choice to attend either one of the schools mention above because the district had only one campus for elementary grades. Like how it was in the old days when a small district had only one school house to teach kids up until a certain grade and would have to be bused to the nearest district with a high school. Its pretty much the same set up here, and yes the tuition is free for all who reside in London ISd.

Tuloso-Midway(1200 students; class 5A) has been accepting transfers from all over Corpus and South Texas since the 90's so I guess it was a prime option for the kids out there. Flour Bluff(1800 students; class 5A) is the closet and most popular option and I would recommend it. You kids would excel at the both Flour Bluff Middle and High.

I believe that the London district will see future growth in the upcoming years, but unless you are okay with you kids in a rural school setting, Flour Bluff or TM would be your best options.

[Marlow]

Ray has the International Baccalaureate program which your middle schooler may be interested in. If s/he tests in, s/he can go there as long as you live in CCISD. Baker MS has the IB program for middle schoolers. Ray, Carroll and King are all 6A schools (very large), which may be a positive or negative factor for your high school athlete. I'm not sure what athletics London offers at this point. I believe it is rated fairly high for academics.

I think Veterans Memorial is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015. Initially I would expect enrollment to be somewhat low because I believe students living in its area still have the option of attending whatever high school they are already in.

Depending on where your husband works, you might also look at the Flour Bluff area. There are some very nice subdivisions and FB is a solid school district.

[CharlyT]

Thanks for all the info guys, that gives me a great head start on my research!

Now we are debating on buying vs. renting. During our interview weekend, I found a small subdivision I really like which is in the London school district and why I was asking about it. Have the home values been steady lately? We're really leaning towards buying at this point since the rates are so low. Would Corpus be considered more of a sellers or buyers market currently?

[amyislu]

Renting is ridiculously expensive here. Buy if you can. I've heard that it is a buyer's market here, homes seem to go fast. We've been here since January and are having terrible time finding a house that both meets our needs and is in the right neighborhoods for us.

London ISD is an all-year school district. Veteran' will open for the 2015-2016 school year for 9-11. It's my understanding they won't have a senior class the first year.

I really dislike Corpus schools based on our personal experience, but the magnets and charters have solid programs. Two of my kids are in Metro Prep and Metro E and one kid will be at Windsor Park next year. I hear the school of science and technology is a good program. Kaffie Middle School and Faye Webb elementary are rated highly (and are both in the same Southside neighborhood).

[ocean2026]

I used to be a school board member in the area and published some info on the districts.

London is small but its' definitely a good choice. Flour Bluff is the only other Corpus District that is better than the state average.


The Northern suburbs are pretty good but far from you.

[mknifer]

Which middle school would my son go to if we moved to Tierra Oriente in Petronila Texas