Coppell schools vs Frisco Schools

[Vagabond007]

Just my observation -

On surface does not make too much of a difference. However, in smaller school, a student has higher chance of being top of their class and get opportunities to represent school or take part in clubs in leadership positions. If school has to nominate someone for a camp or provide reference that is easier as well. So direct impact is likely low but indirect could help in Frisco vs Plano

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Coppell's schools are SIGNIFICANTLY better than Frisco's. Plus, the district's borders are "built out" so you won't have to suffer through school district (for the individual schools, not the district itself) borders being redrawn over and over as new Frisco schools are added. Coppell is a PROVEN academic & extracurricular powerhouse and is nationally known as a strong public school system (important when kiddos are applying to out-of-state colleges).

Now you ask what factors will influence the academic outcome of your children. Personally, I think it is three-fold:
1. Parent involvement + family "standards"/expectations: if mom and dad both have advanced degrees, junior will grow up pretty much knowing what's expected of him. Involved parents are great at helping facilitate academic development, whether it's bringing in a tutor when a subject becomes overwhelming or advocating for advanced tracking / outside enrichment if junior is bored in class.

2. The inner drive of your kid. Competitive kids rise to the top of the class. If your kid isn't mature enough to prioritize homework over Facebook or to put in the time to memorize, study, practice (both for academics and whatever outside interests they have in music, sports, volunteering, etc), they won't be successful. Some of this parents can influence, but the kid has to be invested in him/herself.

3. School environment -> this is where Coppell beats Frisco by a long shot. The "pool" of very smart, successful, academically driven competitive kids is MUCH larger at Coppell than Frisco. These kids will be your kids' peers and the pool against which the judge/ challenge themselves. Many of us rise to a higher level when we are with a more competitive, higher-level group than if we are alone at the top of the academic "hill". Coppell will give very bright kids more peers to discuss what they at learning, as well as shape and develop their beliefs about current world events, politics, arts & culture, philosophy, religion, ethics, etc - because they are in a pool of students who take the time to ponder these things and debate/discuss not only at school, but in their free time when hanging out.

I know I was most challenged by my peers in my Highland Park ISD education, and that I may not have pushed myself to the level I saw possible because of my peers & friends had I been at a lower-quality high school.

Your kid may graduate #1 at a Frisco high school, but he/she won't have the same academic/peer experience and maturity than if he/she were at a Plano, Coppell, Highland Park, Flower Mound, or elite private school.

This....

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Of all the disrricts you've mentioned, I would rank:
1. Plano
2. Coppell
3. Flower Mound HS part of LISD
25. (not a typo) Frisco ISD

Frisco is so far down the list from the top schools in the metroplex that it's not even funny (considering the affluence and "middle management" type parents living there).

As for the top 10% rule, when it comes to the academic powerhouse schools (Plano ISD, Highland Park ISD, Coppell ISD, etc), there are plenty of kids who get admitted to UT and A&M every who are ranked down to the 20-30% range if their SAT's and other academic & extracurricular achievements are good. A strong legacy could even be ranked as low as top 50% and get in.

Highland Park HS sends 35-50 kids to UT every year and another 20-30 to A&M. That is 55-80 kids in a class of approx 450- basically that equates to the entire top 15-20% of class going to the top top state schools so clearly admissions are being sent much further down than those percentiles since many other top students are enrolling in Ivy, Ivy Plus, top southern privates like Vandy / Wake and top 50 liberal arts schools.

I suspect the admissions patterns at Coppell & Plano look vey similar.

Best laugh i've had all day....

I havent read ahead yet but Frisco parents will positivley lynch you, lolol.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BLDSoon

Best laugh i've had all day....

I havent read ahead yet but Frisco parents will positivley lynch you, lolol.

In fairness, this thread is 3 years old and 2 of Frisco's high schools have improved their standing significantly over the past few years:

Liberty HS
2011 SAT - 1062, ranked 28th of area open-enrollment high schools (ie, not magnet/ charter/ private)
2014 SAT- 1626, ranks 14th of area open-enrollment high schools (ie, not magnet/ charter/ private)

Centennial HS
2011 SAT- 1071, ranked 25th
2014 SAT- 1623, ranks 15th

The other Frisco schools rank 19th, 23rd, 30th, and 39th today. In 2011, the other schools ranked 32nd and 38th. I don't know the neighborhoods and feeder schools in Frisco, but it looks like opening more high schools have allowed the top 2 schools from 2011 to become much more successful/ competitive, whereas the bottom Frisco high schools are still ranked about the same. Basically boundary shifting helped siphon off less competitive kids from Centennial and Frisco?


I have been very hard on Frisco over the years because the district really underperformed for a community where HHI is in the $100-120k range. But I can certainly give credit where credit is due. They now have 2 high schools that solidlu part of what I call the Tier 2 publics (Colleyville, Hebron, Keller, Allen).

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

In fairness, this thread is 3 years old and 2 of Frisco's high schools have improved their standing significantly over the past few years:

Liberty HS
2011 SAT - 1062, ranked 28th of area open-enrollment high schools (ie, not magnet/ charter/ private)
2014 SAT- 1626, ranks 14th of area open-enrollment high schools (ie, not magnet/ charter/ private)

Centennial HS
2011 SAT- 1071, ranked 25th
2014 SAT- 1623, ranks 15th

The other Frisco schools rank 19th, 23rd, 30th, and 39th today. In 2011, the other schools ranked 32nd and 38th. I don't know the neighborhoods and feeder schools in Frisco, but it looks like opening more high schools have allowed the top 2 schools from 2011 to become much more successful/ competitive, whereas the bottom Frisco high schools are still ranked about the same. Basically boundary shifting helped siphon off less competitive kids from Centennial and Frisco?

Ugh i need to start checking on the dates of these school threads. They get resurrected pretty often.

Thats a good improvement. Assuming that continues they will be where everyone expects them to be in some years. That remains to be seen.

Its too headache inducing for me. I'm a little type A when it comes to these things and the constant boundary shifts would drive me batty. I would have gone for FISD schools in plano which incidentally are also their better performing ones but then the work commute would be life changing.