coyote ridge elementary (Austin, Lewisville, Coppell: low income, appointed, sales)

[jacob]

any opinions on coyote ridge elementary ?

i read on greatschools.net about some black lady complaining about discrimination and another person complaining about lack of teacher quality in this school.

I was trying to see if anyone has had any firsthand experience with this school.

How likely is it that our kid can get shifted out of this school to another one ? I am worried because not all elementary schools in Lewisville are ranked high. On the contrary, Coppell has all schools rated 10 (exemplary)

[FarNorthDallas]

Well, looking at the Just 4 Kids website, I would have some concerns with that school. Just 4 Kids compares schools with schools that have similar demographics. "Areas of concern" are 3rd and 5th grade math, 5th science and 4th writing. "Areas of additional concern" are 3rd, 4th, 5th reading and 4th grade math. No area was rated as strong performance. That's not good. The TEA rating is Recognized.

Demographics:
505 students
20.6% low income
23.0 English language learners
38.8% white
14.1% African-American
37.0% Asian
9.5% Hispanic
.6% Native American

[sonshinelife]

Jacob... I have had some very good conversations with many of the teachers as well as principal at that school. My own child will be attending Coyote Ridge in the fall. I had the choice to take him to the school I work at, which by the way is exemplary and I am quite proud of my school's accomplishments.
Instead, I have decided to take my child to Coyote Ridge , because it is our neighborhood school and I believe in children attending neighborhood schools. Trust me when I say, I researched thouroughly, about my decision. Coyote Ridge is just approaching 3 years old. Schools have to establish themself. There will always be someone that complains at a school. If you go to Coyote Ridge's website you can see the staff and find that it is diverse with age, experience, and race. The principal obviously has worked hard to meet the needs of the community as this side of town is very diverse. I spoke with several of the teachers the day I registered my child for school and have been in contact with the principal, which by the way, I am very impressed with. I was very impressed with what they had to say.

I also have friends that work for LISD and they have shared with me that many of the teachers at Coyote Ridge are top notch individuals and quality teachers. I've already had some contact with the PTA and from what I can tell many of the parents are quality as well. I've been quite impressed with the communication I've already received and my child isn't even there yet. This is quite impressive to me.

I don't think you can go wrong with Coyote Ridge. Also, exemplary is nice but honestly it isn't the only thing that marks a school as exceptional. That is just a rating. TAKS isn't the only measure of a quality school. (remember I'm a teacher and saying this). I'd rather see my child attend a school that prepares them well for the future than one that centers around TAKS. Hope this makes sense.

[sonshinelife]

There is nothing wrong with a recognized rating. For those not in education you don't see what makes the rating system. You have sub groups ect... it is quite complex;thus, one or two kids can drop your rating. I even have difficulty understanding all the sub pop info. Last year was the first year for Coyote Ridge to actually get scores. In a school's first year of existence TAKS isn't even a measure. The scores don't count until the second year. Remember Coyote Ridge is new, just going on 3 years old ... it takes time to build a top notch school. I'm an educator and have been for 22 years. My school is coming up on 4 years old and we made exemplary in our 3rd year which is almost unheard of.


and I'm not saying that Coyote Ridge isn't top notch... actually to be recognized in your second year is a tribute to the school. They are heading in the right direction as far as I see. I don't put too much stock in the Just 4 Kids or great schools sites... they truely don't have the whole picture, in my opinion.

[FarNorthDallas]

I didn't say anything pro or con about the recognized rating. I know how it works. I know just a couple of kids can change a rating. Heck, my son was totally failed by an exemplary school. Plus, his 2nd grade teacher put tape on his classmate's mouth (who wouldn't stop talking) and locked him in the storeroom for the day. Seriously. An exemplary school. So, I have no beef with a recognized rating.

I do think the Just 4 Kids website is an accurate picture of a school's academics, however. They are right on the money with schools I know a lot about. It exposes schools who present as being fabulous with lovely new buildings and happy and enthusiastic teachers, but that are really just mediocre.

I always look at Great Schools, but that website tends to bring out the extremes - those wanting to do some great PR for their school and those mad at the school for some reason.

[sonshinelife]

far north dallas... thanks for your explanation...and by the way I too look at the sites but I just don't hold much stock in them... Just 4 Kids is probably one of the better sites.

also, how terrible that a teacher would do anything like you mentioned. I hope she was released from her contract... people like her do an injustice to other teachers and make a bad name for the quality teachers

Sorry your son had a bad experience with his "exemplary" school... wish we had him at my school. Our "exemplary" status is awesome but we truely believe there is more to a school and we treat children and families as such. Hope this makes sense.

Smiles

[jacob]

sonshinelife :

I hear what you are saying. Can you give me suggestions on how do i go about evaluating schools without websites like greatschools and just4kids. It mentions skaggs as a great school. Could it be that if I actually talk to parents it may not be a great school ?

Products sell when there are great sales people not when there are great products.
So talking to teachers and principal *may* not tell you how good they are at teaching and nurturing your child. In that sense, scores can be a good indicator. But just TAKS score is inadequate measure for successful career later on. I wish there was means to measure other criteria like morality, leadership, discipline also.

[jacob]

how good is creek valley middle school ?

how does castle hills compare to coyote ridge and how do these compare to coppell schools (austin and valley ranch)

[sonshinelife]

I honestly feel that you have to talk to people and keep an open mind to what you want for your child. I know in talking to neighbors I have heard nothing but good in relationship to Coyote Ridge. Maybe one or two things were on the negative side but honestly what is negative for one may not be for the other. I know that I had to pay $70 for my son's supplies. I think this is outlandish as most schools supply list are in the neighborhood of $35. Yet, I didn't use this to make my decision for my son. I just had a good feel when I went to the school and talked to the different staff members.

I work closely with my principal in the interview process and I know that when she hires her staff she looks for only the best and strives to find a match for the community and other staff members. I can't imagine the principal at any of the schools you mention doing any different.

Castle Hills has an exemplary rating but I don't know anyone with children attending Castle Hills.

Creek Valley Middle School is recognized, I believe. For a middle school that is exceptional. I do know that some of the Coyote Ridge kids will feed into Creek Valley and some will feed into the new school just north of Coyote Ridge. I think on Park. Killolough or something like that is the name of the school opening in August. Middle school in general has a reputation for being the hardest population to work with. I suppose the age.

Austin and Valley Ranch both have good reputations; however, I've heard Austin is the better of the two schools. Of course again this is hear say. I know that Austin has had a good reputation for years.

I don't know that any one of the four schools you make reference too are going to let the students down. They are all in nice areas and all have their perks I'm sure and some faults. No school is perfect.

Heck, I might get to Coyote Ridge and be disappointed with my decision. Yet, I don't think that will be the case. I like to think my gut instinct is correct in that Coyote Ridge is a top notch school.

Side note: Lewisville is paying top dollars to hire- in quality teachers... trust me when a school district ups their anty, the quality of teachers coming in, improves and the reputation of the district soars.

[Fleur07]

The new middle school is Killian, at Parker and Windhaven. It opens this fall. You can see its boundaries at the Lewisville website. It will take the Creek Valley Middle School kids from the north side of Hebron Parkway, mostly, which I think will include the Castle Hills and Coyote Ridge developments, primarily. My son has been at Creek Valley for two years, and I have been pleased with it. It think my son would be getting a good education there if he would apply himself, which we are working on. The teachers and administrators are very dedicated, from what I can see.

One thing to think about is that for the last years or so Creek Valley has been getting a chunk of the Castle Hills Foundation money -- it comes from an extra charge on homes sold in the Castle Hills development and divided among the schools that Castle Hills kids attend. It's amounted to about $13-14K a year I think, and the schools have used it for stuff like buying an extra set of books for the kids to keep at home. Now that money will go to Killian instead of Creek Valley presumably.

I don't know anything about Coyote Ridge elementary. My son attended Castle Hills Elementary for two months at the end of 5th grade, and I loved it.