Co-ed private schools of a high caliber? (Dallas, Plano: neighborhood, live in)

[mami2emily]

I like the idea of going to the Coppell rec center to check out the community. Is there something similar in Park Cities and/or Southlake? We plan to visit grocery stores, coffee shops, and of course, my favorite for people watching, malls.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by mami2emily

I like the idea of going to the Coppell rec center to check out the community. Is there something similar in Park Cities and/or Southlake? We plan to visit grocery stores, coffee shops, and of course, my favorite for people watching, malls.

I wish it were summer- I would send you to the UP Pool! You should at least drive by (Lovers Lane, just west of Hillcrest) and imagine hundreds of kiddos playing there in the summer.

As far as something "organized" to check out, the Park Cities YMCA is popular with families- you could certainly drop by & check it out on Preston Road just north of Mockingbird. The "Y" sponsors all school-affiliated sports for HPISD elementary school students- spring and fall soccer, football, basketball, t-ball, softball, baseball. The practices & games take place at the 4 elementary school campuses and local parks. The "Y" also has swimming lessons & gymnatstics for younger kids, summer day camps, and "Y" Guides & Princesses for elementary aged kids. For older teens & adults, the "Y" offers gym facilties, lots of spin/ yoga/ "boot camp" and other fitness classes, an indoor pool for lap swimming, etc.

Link to Park Cities YMCA
Home Page


A huge appeal to the "Park" Cities is the parks. Definitely drive by after school or on the weekend and you will see tons of kids & adults playing, birthday parties, sports practices, etc. The bigger parks are Caruth Park (located at Turtle Creek Blvd & Greenbriar....just west of Hillcrest between the Caruth & Southwestern stop lights)- which has a beloved pond where many small UP kids "learn" to fish, catch tadpoles, chase ducks, etc. It aslo has a great playground, several tennis courts, and a huge soccer field.

Other smaller but popular parks are Smith Park (Caruth & Preston, right by Hyer Elementary school), Curtis Park (next to the UP pool on Lovers Lane), and Williams Park and Goar Park (both on University, about half way between Hillcrest & Preston). For older teens & adults, Germany Park (University & Tollroad) offers a 1/4 mile running track, athletic field, and several more tennis courts.

As for shopping/ seeing the neighbors, definitely check out Snider Plaza (Hillcrest & Lovers, runs south to Daniel. Some shops are on Hillcrest, but most face inward to Snider Plaza, 1 block west of Hillcrest). This is the commercial heart of the Park Cities, with many favorite restaurants (check out Bubba's, Kuby's, or Peggy Sue BBQ for lunch), moderate to upscale shops for kids/adults/gifts & home, and banks/ grocery / pharmacy. Preston Center at Northwest Highway & Preston offers more casual family restaurants, some upscale ones for mom & dad, and much more shopping, both upscale and big box (Marshall's, DSW...).

Highland Park Village (Mockingbird & Preston) will give you a taste of how luxury/upscale HP is. Shops include Hermes, Chanel, & Harry Winston, although there are lots of things there for the neighborhood, too, like a Tom Thumb grocery store, Deno's (best shoe repair in Dallas), several casual restaurants (Patrizio's and Mi Cocina are Dallas institutions), a Starbucks, and the recently renovated Village Theatre....for when you don't want to go to NorthPark and fight the mall traffic to see a movie!

NorthPark is the closest mall (just north of UP @ 75/Northwest Hwy), but it is a $1 BILLION regional mall, so people watching there won't really give you a taste of the Park Cities neighborhood. (But still worth a stop for AWESOME shopping!!)

[mami2emily]

Ooohhh...a number of the homes we're looking at in University Park are walking distance to Caruth Park...good to hear it's a nice big park. My kids would love that.

Looking forward to our first scouting trip and getting very excited at some of the homes that are turning up.

Thanks again everyone!

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by mami2emily

Ooohhh...a number of the homes we're looking at in University Park are walking distance to Caruth Park...good to hear it's a nice big park. My kids would love that.

Looking forward to our first scouting trip and getting very excited at some of the homes that are turning up.

Thanks again everyone!

I grew up 2 blocks away from Caruth Park.....loooove that place and can't wait to take my kids there someday!!

[Lynn411]

Welcome to Dallas

Many questions come to mind regards to your move.

Age of children?
Many of the private schools may go up to 8th grade then transfer to private high schools.

Highland Park ISD is top notch well noted in published media nation wide.

Unocnfirmed on lender approval amount , and your professional obligations. There are small communities in DFW area school are top ranked in nation wi/o private school education.

NOTE: My daughter is attending private school here in Dallas now in 10th grade.

Best confer with Realtor who can interview you provide additional communiities for consideration.

[Hinton23]

Turtle Creek, did you leave out Jesuit as a Top Tier school by accident, or do you not think it makes the list. Just curious about your opinion since it is the brother school for Ursuline and you rank that one as a Top Tier.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Hinton23

Turtle Creek, did you leave out Jesuit as a Top Tier school by accident, or do you not think it makes the list. Just curious about your opinion since it is the brother school for Ursuline and you rank that one as a Top Tier.

Yup- I missed it. Jesuit is a very good school. My boy cousins all went there....while their sisters went to WT White (very traditional Catholic uncle is all I can say....."educate the boys and let the girls marry well".....)

[Johnhw2]

How is Parrish Day school also?

[EDS_]

Sorry I'm in a huge hurry so please forgive the horrid grammar and typos!

Have you looked at the neighborhood south of Hockaday? It's a fairly easy drive west on Royal to Irving. All of the schools below save BL are an easy drive from there and the homes range from $450K to several million.

Assuming an HP or UP address does not work out here are some data points to consider.......my biases apply.
FWIIW I have one at Ursuline, one who graduated from Jesuit, and a good fix on many Dallas private schools as well as West Plano options.

1. ESD, while an awesome school it is exquisitely expensive ~$30K
2. Greenhill, I'm going to be cryptic - I would not send my children there
3. Hockaday, awesome/huge campus, fine academics, generally weak sports programs if that matters to your daughter - I think it's very expensive - Hockaday has a massive endowment
4. Cistercian, likely the most rigorous academics in DFW, the boys are perfect gentlemen, weak sports programs if that matters, odd location, tiny, overtly religious
5. St. Marks, great school, expensive, pretty campus
6. Ursuline, pretty campus, well funded, a few astonishingly wealthy grads, new science wing, excellent sports especially soccer if that matters, less religious than most think, more racially and religiously diverse than most think as well, dates back to the mid 1800s ~$17K
7. Jesuit, "Men for Others" is their motto, great academics, newly updated library, updated football stadium, very nice art collection, excellent sports programs, more racially and religiously diverse than most think, it's awesome, about $14K
8. Bishop Lynch, without question the best AP program in Texas, excellent boys and girls sports programs, BL takes an unfair rap for not being great academically - they accept a cadre of kids who simply would not qualify at the other top schools, BL is bigger than any of these schools so they can do this, they see it as part of their mission given its location

One K-8 not yet mentioned is Prince of Peace Catholic School at Plano Parkway and Preston in Plano. POP is the premiere feeder school to Jesuit, Ursuline and Cistercian.

Plano West High School is an outstanding option for excellent students. Frankly, Coppell, Southlake, Plano West and other public schools do very well with high achievers.

Best of luck!

[SMS_Parent]

I think that Mami2emily has decided on HP, which actually sounds like the best fit given her desires. For others reading this thread, EDS gives a good assessment of the area schools. In addition, the suggestion of the neighborhood south of Hockaday is a great suggestion for those considering a location inside the Dallas city limits. The area is just as nice as the more well known parts of PH, slightly less expensive and there is definitely less traffic.

If I were considering any of the North Dallas private high schools, I probably wouldn't be looking to move near POP. While POP is indeed an excellent school with strong academics, it is quite a long drive from the North Dallas private high schools (though very conveniently located to JPII) and while it does feed kids to Jesuit, Ursuline and Cistercian, Christ the King, St. Rita and St. Monica all send a greater percentage of their graduating classes to Jesuit, Ursuline and Cistercian.