Tell me about Wester/Clark Middle & Centennial in Frisco (Dallas: credit, home) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

WeAreLeavingLongIsland · 12-09-2013, 10:23 AM

I can't seem to make up my mind about Plano or Frisco. A week ago, I was thinking about McKinney....however, I'm convinced now that a commute to Dallas or Plano would be a nightmare. My husband works from home and I will have to find a new job....so I do not have a job location yet.

I will have a 6th grader and a 9th grader next year. School is important, but I want to make sure they are comfortable and with nice kids. I'm now considering the area for Centennial High School, and I think Wester and Clark Middle school feeds into Centennial...I could be wrong though.

Tell me your thoughts please! If the other Frisco high schools are better, let me know!

Many thanks to all of you!

WeAreLeavingLongIsland · 12-10-2013, 04:32 PM

No one has any thoughts??

Souleiado · 12-10-2013, 06:16 PM

I don't know about Wester, but Clark is a very good school and Centenial is excellent . Centenial, Liberty and Frisco high are the best high schools in Frisco. We are in Liberty and Vandeventer , the other side of the road and those schools have the same demography and demands . We have no regretted one second to move in the area . We love the fact that each student will be challenged at any level , that has become very rare in the area. PM me if you have any question.

abbybaby · 12-10-2013, 08:35 PM

I am not familiar with those exact schools. When we lived in Frisco my sister lived with us and went to middle and one year at Heritage. She loved both schools. The high schools are smaller than Plano. We never had any problems with the school or teachers. All were extremely nice.

Have you looked into Allen? We loved it there. My sister just graduated from there and had no problems.

After having children in Plano, Allen and Frisco we would move back to Allen Isd only. We won't even consider the other school districts now.

WeAreLeavingLongIsland · 12-10-2013, 08:57 PM

What do you love about Allen?

abbybaby · 12-10-2013, 09:27 PM

The Allen schools didn't put up with parents crap. In Plano there is more of a status with the parents. It has been this way even when I went to school there. If you know someone then you can get what you want. Same with Frisco but not nearly as bad. My kids elementary in Allen was run by the principal and she didn't not put up with parents like that. My kids learned more there then any of the other schools they have been to. The high school was also the same way.

My Sil teaches in Plano and just moved to Allen. Her child was bored with Plano work but is actually struggling with the Allen work. They just got her a tutor. She could not believe it because she has always been Plano is the only way to go. She has the option of her kids still going to Plano because she teaches there but she is now happier with the Allen schools.

Before we enrolled my sister I had a meeting with the principal of Allen High. I was worried the school would not be a good fit because of the size. I was really impressed by how they run that school. If you actually look at Allen High it is technically smaller then each of the three Plano High Schools. Allen is 10th- 12th and Plano ' s are 11th and 12th only. Allen schools just have more of a family feel to them. It is just a more welcoming school district.

Background on the 3 school districts with us. Hubby and I are both Plano graduates. Hubby k-12 and I was 6-12. We chose private school over Plano for our children. Just did not feel Plano met our expectations. Sister was in private school instead of attending Plano Isd also. My sister tried Plano for 6 months. When we moved to Frisco she moved in with us and loved Frisco isd. We then moved to Allen and took the kids out of private school and had no problems with Allen isd.

I would recommend you visit the schools you are considering. It is a tough choice choosing schools. We just recently moved from Allen and I had to begin the research all over. We have been in North Dallas forever and cannot wait to move back. In reality all 3 school districts are excellent and your children will get a great education. It really just comes down to which school/neighborhood will fit your family best. Good luck with your search.

WeAreLeavingLongIsland · 12-11-2013, 06:15 AM

Thank you. I am coming from a very snobby...parent run school district and I want to stay as far away from that as I can. I'm just looking for a welcoming area and the more I read about Plano, the more I want to stay away. Our friends who moved to Plano West a few years ago said they would love to live in Frisco...we also have friends in Frisco. I never considered Allen because of their low "rankings".

Thanks for all the info!

abbybaby · 12-11-2013, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeAreLeavingLongIsland

Thank you. I am coming from a very snobby...parent run school district and I want to stay as far away from that as I can. I'm just looking for a welcoming area and the more I read about Plano, the more I want to stay away. Our friends who moved to Plano West a few years ago said they would love to live in Frisco...we also have friends in Frisco. I never considered Allen because of their low "rankings".

Thanks for all the info!

There are so many different rankings out there. Allen is just as good of a school district as Plano, Frisco and Mckinney. I will say Allen does not go insane when it comes to the state mandated tests. Plano was all and still is about teaching the kids to pass those tests. That is the number one on their list because they want to keep those rankings. Allen and Frisco balances regular school with the testing much better. The kids don't seem to stress about it as much. At least that is what I noticed in Allen. The new school district we are in is just like Plano and I hate it. From day one all they have been doing is talking about these tests and practicing for them.

Frisco and Allen is definitely more laid back. The only thing we did not like about Frisco was the traffic. It was a pain to get around town. They have now widened Preston and some other roads so it is probably easier. Also we had no grocery stores, restaurants etc. by us at the time. But again it has grown more in the last few years.

abbybaby · 12-11-2013, 09:16 AM

Check out Frisco, TX, news, discussions & information. It is a very active forum in Frisco. You will get tons of information at the schools there.

CMC_TX · 12-11-2013, 12:23 PM

I agree about Allen schools. A big school can mean more opportunities, more course offerings, and more ways for students to find their niche.

I believe they essentially operate a mini Quad-C inside AHS so students can get dual-credit, in addition to offering the full AP Program and full IB diploma.

In that area, I'd pick Plano West or Allen over any of the Frisco or McKinney schools.