Anyone who knows student admission count # in DSID - Travis, TAG, Magnet schools - Please Help !!! (Dallas: spring break, house)

[Zu.ma.nw]

Originally Posted by Ramona72

Yes, there are many very bright kids each year who don't get into Travis. Because of the geographical breakdown, the competition is stiffer coming from the more affluent elementaries (Lakewood, Stonewall, Hexter, Preston Hollow).

What do parents do? If they are in the Long catchment, they go to Long (hardly the worst thing in the world, particularly with the IB program). Or they bite the bullet and go private. Or they move (this seems a drastic step).

Yes... it seems squeeze is what happens at every layer and what parents can afford if TRAVIS is not possible

[pepper131]

You could go the Polk/Spence route if Travis is not possible.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Zu.ma.nw

Iam just wondering what do kids/parents who spent all their energy into getting their kids into TRAVIS and if they dont get either due to no seats available or if they are outsmarted by A+ 97-100 candidates Vs All As that would put the kid(s)/parents into a very tough position.

Does anybody know of parents whose kids were almost close and excelled but did not make it. Also what are the alternatives for those parents/kids - unfortunately private is not out of the question for us but would be really stretching it.

Yes, this happens every year to hundreds & hundreds (thousands, probably) of DISD students- they are rejected from the elite magnets, TAG, & other special schools in the district.

The key is to HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN YOU ARE HAPPY WITH BECAUSE IT'S A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY YOU WILL BE USING IT. This likely means choosing housing in a DISD elementary or middle school zone with a school you like & would want to attend. We can help you identify the good neighborhood schools if you need input & advice.

You should probably also look into private schools. Some do provide financial aid and not all private schools cost $25k per year. There are many good ones in the $5-10k range, including Catholic and montessori schools.
Here is a school in the Lake Highlands are that is strong academically and goes through 6th grade.
|+| Highlander School |+| About Highlander School (http://www.highlanderschool.com/about.htm - broken link)

Start calling NOW as application deadlines are pasisng every day for next year's enrollment.

Bottom line is that you need to be pursuing as many options as possible and then once you find out where your kids are admitted, you can decide on the best option, whether it's DISD TAG, a private school with tuition assistance, a lower cost private school, or a neighborhood DISD school. Or possibly moving into a different school district altoghether, like nearby Richardson or perhaps renting an apartment in HPISD.

[Zu.ma.nw]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Yes, this happens every year to hundreds & hundreds (thousands, probably) of DISD students- they are rejected from the elite magnets, TAG, & other special schools in the district.

The key is to HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN YOU ARE HAPPY WITH BECAUSE IT'S A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY YOU WILL BE USING IT. This likely means choosing housing in a DISD elementary or middle school zone with a school you like & would want to attend. We can help you identify the good neighborhood schools if you need input & advice.

You should probably also look into private schools. Some do provide financial aid and not all private schools cost $25k per year. There are many good ones in the $5-10k range, including Catholic and montessori schools.
Here is a school in the Lake Highlands are that is strong academically and goes through 6th grade.
|+| Highlander School |+| About Highlander School (http://www.highlanderschool.com/about.htm - broken link)

Start calling NOW as application deadlines are pasisng every day for next year's enrollment.

Bottom line is that you need to be pursuing as many options as possible and then once you find out where your kids are admitted, you can decide on the best option, whether it's DISD TAG, a private school with tuition assistance, a lower cost private school, or a neighborhood DISD school. Or possibly moving into a different school district altoghether, like nearby Richardson or perhaps renting an apartment in HPISD.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, BACKUP is exactly what we are looking for and a good academically strong private with standardized tests till 6th or 8th grade so when we try TAG or SEM it should be atpar with kids competing from Private schools or Travis TAG.

If somebody knows of private schools [in DSID, as other ISDs we heard have few outside district slots available when they apply to TAG/SEM at 9th grade] which is possible with <20k and competitive curriculum with Travis TAG [even though it may not be same to match/compare- atleast something close], that would be great.

Thanks !

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by roverchris

Our son attends kindergarten at Hexter. At a recent PTA meeting, we were told that only 11 of 57 (or so) 5th graders from last years class went on to Hill. Hexter is a great school, but we do have concerns about post-5th grade.

Will Long and Woodrow still offer AP classes when the IB program comes into existance? Hopefully the IB will help the overall school become stronger and not just become a school within a school. We've been doing some research about IB and I must admit, some of their curriculum and philosophies don't exactly jive with ours.

Woodrow was approved as a candidate school a couple of years ago and was accredited (after a site visit from IBO Geneva) in March 2011. As a candidate school it offered Pre-IB to ninth graders in 2010-11 http://keranews.org/post/new-program...aWxIfl_o.email and accepted applications for 2011-12 freshmen - who are now in Pre-IB. About 120 the first year and 160 the second. Now it is able to offer the full Diploma Programme for junior and senior year - about 50 are currently enrolled.

So it won't really be in full swing until the first two Pre-IB classes are juniors and seniors.

Woodrow administered 853 AP exams last year (which is an increase from the 600+ the prior year which landed the school on the Washington Post Top Schools list). It is still offering 22 AP and 8 dual credit classes. There is no plan to discontinue AP. AP and IB tests can be combined to earn over 30 credit hours.. by law 24 are awarded in Texas for an IB Diploma (and some schools offer even more hours).

AP and IB are sort of a school-within-a-school at this point. However, Woodrow is planning to offer The IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC) which will expand the opportunities for other students to enjoy the benefits of being in an IB World School.

Woodrow has redesigned itself into four college prep academies WOODROW PREPARATORY ACADEMIES and is in the second year of the four-year phase in..so all freshmen and sophomores have chosen one of these academies. BEF and STEM are NAF (National Foundation) academies so if a student completes one of those and takes two IB classes they may qualify for the IBCC (with testing).

IB MYP at Long is more of a school-wide curriculum concept and Long also offers Pre-AP. It is anticipated that a couple of the elementaries will apply for IB PYP next.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Zu.ma.nw

If somebody knows of private schools [in DSID, as other ISDs we heard have few outside district slots available when they apply to TAG/SEM at 9th grade] which is possible with <20k and competitive curriculum with Travis TAG [even though it may not be same to match/compare- atleast something close], that would be great.

I don't exactly understand what you are asking- there aren't private schools in DISD, but there ARE private schools within the city of Dallas area.

Here is a list of the competitive, elite private schools under $20K through grade 8. Not a complete list, but certainly enough to get you started in your search. Mostly Catholic, but a few others sprinkled in, too. These are strong K-8 schools with a good track record of getting kids into the top private high schools or performing well at top public schools-->


St. Monica School
St. Rita Catholic School
Providence Christian School of Texas | 5002 West Lovers Lane | Dallas, TX 75209 | 214-302-2800 **actually a very cool school with a classical curriculum (ie, no Harry Potter in the school library)
Christ The King School
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School - Dallas, Texas (TX)
Home - Dallas International School **international school with French/ English bilengual instruction / curriculum

You could also try your hand at St Mark's, Greenhill, ESD, Good Shephard, & Parish to see if you can get in and get financial aid. It all depends on your income levels, really, as they do expect parents to strain/ sacrifice a little financially to afford schooling. But for truly needy families, tuition assistance is offered.

[Zu.ma.nw]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I don't exactly understand what you are asking- there aren't private schools in DISD, but there ARE private schools within the city of Dallas area.

Here is a list of the competitive, elite private schools under $20K through grade 8. Not a complete list, but certainly enough to get you started in your search. Mostly Catholic, but a few others sprinkled in, too. These are strong K-8 schools with a good track record of getting kids into the top private high schools or performing well at top public schools-->


St. Monica School
St. Rita Catholic School
Providence Christian School of Texas | 5002 West Lovers Lane | Dallas, TX 75209 | 214-302-2800 **actually a very cool school with a classical curriculum (ie, no Harry Potter in the school library)
Christ The King School
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School - Dallas, Texas (TX)
Home - Dallas International School **international school with French/ English bilengual instruction / curriculum

You could also try your hand at St Mark's, Greenhill, ESD, Good Shephard, & Parish to see if you can get in and get financial aid. It all depends on your income levels, really, as they do expect parents to strain/ sacrifice a little financially to afford schooling. But for truly needy families, tuition assistance is offered.

Thanks ! Checking up the schools.
Also - anyone knows any place or online website which assists parents who are training kids for TRAVIS TAG exams/preparations ?

[Ramona72]

Originally Posted by Zu.ma.nw

Thanks ! Checking up the schools.
Also - anyone knows any place or online website which assists parents who are training kids for TRAVIS TAG exams/preparations ?

Admission is based on ITBS scores, grades, an on-site essay, and I think recently some kind of logic test. There's nothing you can really do to prep your kid beyond giving them a solid educational background, nor have I ever heard of parents going nuts trying to prep.

[pepper131]

I think you can order past years Nagleri Tests - that the nonverbal test that Travis and Polk administer. Not sure if they use the Nagleri for middle school or high school T-G admissions. But yes, ITBS is a big component, student report card, onsite essay and interview....all need to be above the 80th percentile to be considered for admission.

And no...there is no training. And make sure you are in district with a utility bill to prove it.

[Walter Benjamin]

A silly question: Why don't they start up more gifted magnets, or expand the existing gifted magnets?

Is it because there is political opposition to spending more money on a small number of students, when the vast majority of DISD students are in schools that the middle/upper-middle class would never dream of sending their kids to?

[added comment: ] If only it were possible for the provision of public education to follow the laws of supply and demand, instead of being filtered through local monopolies. I'm sure there are numerous parents who would rather take their ISD-directed property tax and send it directly to a gifted charter school of their choice, rather than first to DISD headquarters.