Looking for a good place to buy (Arlington, Grand Prairie: loans, home)

[slomm3]

We recently moved back to Texas from the Northeast. My husband is working in Arlington and I will be starting a job in Grand Prairie next week. We have a daughter in high school and have family in Allen, McKinney and Mesquite. We were thinking of buying in Grand Prairie but I've been reading some negative posts. Can anyone suggest some good neighborhoods in Grand Prairie or any other towns that would be convenient for our situation? Thanks a lot. Ann

[loves2read]

the impression I think most people have of GP ISD is lower income, minorities student body, problems w/gangs and discipline in and out of classroom, probably not a safe environment -- probably not much for college bound kids ---
but that might be said about HEB ISD which is my district and I know there are good schools within that district with quality teaching and many students who succeed, get into college and get degrees....

Arlington ISD has Martin HS zone--Martin is usually ranked as pretty good HS--don't know about the middle or elem schools that feed into it...

You might consider Mansfield ISD which is close to the areas you mentioned--some stigma in Mansfield about the east/west sides of district but new construction on west side of 287(?) means that students from higher priced properties than those originally there will be moving into that zone...

There are sites that you can check for info on the schools...some things I think indicate quality education are
% of students who attend college/ enter trade schools/go to work/leave school (and they fudge on that number any chance they get because it affects their TEA rating)
% of students of receive SCHOLARSHIPS--not grants or loans,
Number of students enrolled in AP classes who take the AP tests (not all of them do) and % of those getting 2-3-4 scores
number of AP classes offered in high school and middle/jr high,
what is the turn-over for teachers at an individual school (how many years of experience in certified field)
ask specifically--how many English/Algebra/Chemistry/??? teachers do you have, what has been your replacement rate past 2-3 years....
How many of your teachers have MASTERS in their fields (not in Admin which means they want to be principals)
Do you have any foreign instructors you recruited--our district had to do that to get science teachers for chemistry or something like that--problems with discipline (the teacher expected students to behave in the respectful/traditional manner of his home country which did not happen)
His English was not really understandable by the kids because he could not adapt his lessons when they asked questions...
Not a good situation---but some teachers might be better choices...

[dallas76]

Check out south Grand Prairie off of Great Southwest Parkway. You will be in Mansfield ISD. It's near Joe Pool Lake and it is a very nice neighborhood.