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Pottsboro schools are reasonably good - I've known of people who have bought vacation homes there, then later sold their DFW house and relocated permanently. Lake Texoma isn't going anywhere, so that might help keep home values steady. Something to think about.
I haven't looked at their school system. There were only 4 houses on the market that had close to what we were looking for in a home (not a lot of options).
I like the Sherman-Denison-Pottsboro area. It's definitely more small town, but big enough for some decent retail. Course, there's gambling now across the border. I love that. A lot of Dallasites keep boats and houses at Lake Texoma. It's a great lake - huge - with a lot of marinas. It's easier to be a part of those communities up there - join the volunteer fire department (which Pottsboro has), personally know a judge, see your child's picture in the newspaper. Sherman is the county seat in Grayson County.
I have known a few people to live in Sherman and work in Dallas. They drive to Plano to the end of the line of the train and take the train into town. I think there may even be a shuttle from Sherman to Plano you can pay for and take.
These are things I did not consider. Thank you. We are moving from a small town and did not like the small town experience here. My fiance did advise me that the Burlington Coat factory was a lot bigger than the one in Peoria, IL. I was shocked at that because Peoria, IL is bigger than Sherman. Why Peoria, IL doesn't have a lot of popular retail stores is another story.
The thing I don't understand is, if Sherman, TX is the county seat of Grayson county, why are the schools so bad?
Sherman's school district leaves a lot to be desired.
Just curious, how did you decide this? The Sherman ISD is rated "recognized" and has 5 exemplary-rated (highest rating) elementary schools, 2 recognized elementaries, and the middle and high school are recognized, too. For comparisson, all 3 McKinney and Plano HS's share the same recognized rating. Sherman HS offers 19 AP courses and 7 dual college credit courses.
Nearby school districts in the same county with Exemplary ratings are Whitesboro, Pottsboro, Tom Bean, S&S, and Gunter (whose 1057 math + verbal SAT is better than Frisco ISD's average and equal to McKinney's 1058).
Private schools are also an option in Sherman. Texoma Christian School is a fully accredited K-12 private school with about 400 students. 5 students have been recognized as National Merit Finalists or Commendees in the past 5 years. Students have been accepted to Duke, Davidson, Georgetown, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, Wheaton, Rhodes, Sewanee, etc. It runs about $8k per year with discounts for multiple children. Two cars commuting 2 hours each day will run you $800 or so in just gas (not including wear & tear, frequent oil changes, or tolls) every month!
Austin College is a top-rated regional liberal arts school and it's in Sherman. I have a hard time believing the local district is THAT bad with so many professors in town!
Just curious, how did you decide this? The Sherman ISD is rated "recognized" and has 5 exemplary-rated (highest rating) elementary schools, 2 recognized elementaries, and the middle and high school are recognized, too. For comparisson, all 3 McKinney and Plano HS's share the same recognized rating. Sherman HS offers 19 AP courses and 7 dual college credit courses.
Nearby school districts in the same county with Exemplary ratings are Whitesboro, Pottsboro, Tom Bean, S&S, and Gunter (whose 1057 math + verbal SAT is better than Frisco ISD's average and equal to McKinney's 1058).
Private schools are also an option in Sherman. Texoma Christian School is a fully accredited K-12 private school with about 400 students. 5 students have been recognized as National Merit Finalists or Commendees in the past 5 years. Students have been accepted to Duke, Davidson, Georgetown, SMU, TCU, Vanderbilt, Wheaton, Rhodes, Sewanee, etc. It runs about $8k per year with discounts for multiple children. Two cars commuting 2 hours each day will run you $800 or so in just gas (not including wear & tear, frequent oil changes, or tolls) every month!
Austin College is a top-rated regional liberal arts school and it's in Sherman. I have a hard time believing the local district is THAT bad with so many professors in town!
Eh, I've never heard of School Digger and a lot of the info on Great Schools is subjective- ie, someone with a bad experience is more likely to comment than someone with a good experience.
Test scores (state TAKS, AP, and SAT/ACT) are always a good measure to judge by and that is a big chunk of Texas' Exemplary/Recognized/Acceptable/Unacceptable ratings scale. Breadth of curriculum (AP, TAG, Honors, College Dual Credit) is another good indicator of academic rigor.
When you come down to house-hunt, I would call the principal and get a personal school tour so you can see for yourself and decide.
The only 3-4 districts that reall stand out in the DFW area are Southlake Carroll ISD, Plano West's feeder, Highland Park ISD, and Coppell ISD. Based on test scores and state ratings, Sherman is as good as McKinney and the other northern burb districts you're looking at. There appear to be even better districts close by on the Exemplary list I included above.
Plano West is a truly excellent school, but it's absolutely not worth both parents driving 4-5 total hours a day to/from Sherman. I work in north Plano at Legacy & the Tollroad and have a coworker who commutes from Sherman. The drive is minimum 1 hour, each way, and West Plano is another 10-15 minutes away, depending on which exact neighborhood.
Smart kids will thrive anywhere. I know a guy who grew up in Van Alstyne (super small town near Sherman), graduated from Austin College, started a computer software business, and sold to AOL for around $20 Million about 10 years ago. His father was a Texas Instruments VP who did the daily drive to North Dallas for decades. Point is- he is a brilliant guy who was destined to succeed whether he went to Van Alstyne/Austin College or Andover/Harvard. Texas is full of small-town success stories who ended up at the top of many industries and companies!
Eh, I've never heard of School Digger and a lot of the info on Great Schools is subjective- ie, someone with a bad experience is more likely to comment than someone with a good experience.
Test scores (state TAKS, AP, and SAT/ACT) are always a good measure to judge by and that is a big chunk of Texas' Exemplary/Recognized/Acceptable/Unacceptable ratings scale. Breadth of curriculum (AP, TAG, Honors, College Dual Credit) is another good indicator of academic rigor.
When you come down to house-hunt, I would call the principal and get a personal school tour so you can see for yourself and decide.
The only 3-4 districts that reall stand out in the DFW area are Southlake Carroll ISD, Plano West's feeder, Highland Park ISD, and Coppell ISD. Based on test scores and state ratings, Sherman is as good as McKinney and the other northern burb districts you're looking at. There appear to be even better districts close by on the Exemplary list I included above.
Plano West is a truly excellent school, but it's absolutely not worth both parents driving 4-5 total hours a day to/from Sherman. I work in north Plano at Legacy & the Tollroad and have a coworker who commutes from Sherman. The drive is minimum 1 hour, each way, and West Plano is another 10-15 minutes away, depending on which exact neighborhood.
Smart kids will thrive anywhere. I know a guy who grew up in Van Alstyne (super small town near Sherman), graduated from Austin College, started a computer software business, and sold to AOL for around $20 Million about 10 years ago. His father was a Texas Instruments VP who did the daily drive to North Dallas for decades. Point is- he is a brilliant guy who was destined to succeed whether he went to Van Alstyne/Austin College or Andover/Harvard. Texas is full of small-town success stories who ended up at the top of many industries and companies!
You and FarNorthDallas brought up good points. Thank you. We will take these recommendations into consideration. This week we are supposed to get eNeighborhood print outs (about 30 pages) of statistical information about the cities and counties in which we have an interest. I think this data will also help us narrow down the areas.
Regarding the commute. We thought it would be fair to have an equal commute. This is why McKinney (shy of the new houses coming on market) seems the most logical. If I get a job in the immediate Dallas area my commute would be longer than his due to the traffic going in the direction of Dallas. His commute to Sherman would be easier because of the opposite traffic flow.
We have a bit to work out which also includes finding temporary housing in Sherman with pets and no exorbitant, nonrefundable pet deposits or pet rent is already cumbersome.
I know a doctor who has a practice in Sherman and lives in McKinney. The crazy thing is that he wants his kids to go to the best schools so in the morning he drives them to Saint Marks and then goes up to Sherman. Every day of the work week. Luckily his wife picks them up from school. So he doesn't have to drive all the way down from Sherman to Dallas and then back to McKinney in the evening.
He and his wife just love McKinney, especially for being the "half-way" point between Sherman and Dallas, but he wants his kids to be in awesome schools so badly he makes the morning sacrifice to get them to Saint Marks. Of course he is a doctor and does set his own hours and doesn't take very early appts and the like.
I know a doctor who has a practice in Sherman and lives in McKinney. The crazy thing is that he wants his kids to go to the best schools so in the morning he drives them to Saint Marks and then goes up to Sherman. Every day of the work week. Luckily his wife picks them up from school. So he doesn't have to drive all the way down from Sherman to Dallas and then back to McKinney in the evening.
He and his wife just love McKinney, especially for being the "half-way" point between Sherman and Dallas, but he wants his kids to be in awesome schools so badly he makes the morning sacrifice to get them to Saint Marks. Of course he is a doctor and does set his own hours and doesn't take very early appts and the like.
OMG. Assuming he takes 2 weeks vacation & the kids are only in school 38 weeks a year, he and his wife are driving over 32,000 miles a year just to/from school & his work. Serious question- why didn't they consider boarding school for the boys? I doubt they spend much time with them - other than that lovely hour drive to and from school every day!
OMG. Assuming he takes 2 weeks vacation & the kids are only in school 38 weeks a year, he and his wife are driving over 32,000 miles a year just to/from school & his work. Serious question- why didn't they consider boarding school for the boys? I doubt they spend much time with them - other than that lovely hour drive to and from school every day!
So the dad, the doctor, gets to see the kids on the ride from McKinney to Dallas every morning and also after work they are home when he gets home. He doesn't work crazy hours. Apparently his practice does so well in Sherman he won't move it (understandable), I think he's a cardiologist.
Also they don't want to live in Dallas because it's too far from Sherman, but the doctor really wants the kids at Saint Marks (and the kids like their school too), so boarding school is out as well. Considering they don't live in HPISD (although they could afford it), in their eyes the next best thing for school is Saint Marks and being Indian (sorry, forgot to mention that he was Indian), schooling is everything. Hence the sacrifice of a morning commute of McKinney-Dallas-Sherman.
...in their eyes the next best thing for school is Saint Marks and being Indian (sorry, forgot to mention that he was Indian), schooling is everything. Hence the sacrifice of a morning commute of McKinney-Dallas-Sherman.
Pappy, for us, you hit the nail on the head of understanding. My fiance is originally from India. His parents drove him to prep classes which were about three hours before the start of school. Then after school ended he had another two to three hours of more prep classes. Education is extremely important to both of us.
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