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I am very familiar with Coppell and Highland Park schools. I believe Coppell might be a better choice for her personality. However, have you considered the Flower Mound area? Marcus and Flower Mound HS are both great schools. There is also a private school just west of Flower Mound called Liberty Christian. It is a beautiful smaller campus that is exemplary as well.
Best wishes to your family!
Not to be rude, but Liberty Christian does not have the best academic reputation. It's a good option for folks living in that general area who want their kids in an environment with sweet Christian families or place a big emphasis on sports & having sports-related opportunities. It is not an academic powerhouse.
Ursuline & Jesuit are both cheaper than Liberty and offer a much better education if academics are a priority. I'd rank Liberty as a C-tier school, especially for the tuition they are charging.
Trinity or the Cambridge School are much better Christian options than LC in terms of more solid academics.
I do agree, however, that Marcus & FloMo are great public high schools.
I think we'd love Flower Mound, but the commute will be too long. Coppell is the farthest I think we can go.
Today I spoke with my students that are from the Dallas area and, aside from the great schools already mentioned, they threw Trinity Christian Academy, Ursuline and Prince of Peace into the mix. Thoughts on any of these? We are a Christian family, so might be comfortable with these, as well.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed. Looks like private school applications are mostly due in January. I think we'll be heading to Dallas to have her shadow at some of these schools. That will get her out of comfort zone quickly!
The top academic schools are Ursuline (girls only), Episcopal School of Dallas (co-ed), and Hockaday. Parish Episcopal (co-ed) is a step down. Trinity Christian (co-ed) and Bishop Lynch (co-ed Catholic) are a big step down. Then, way way below those Tier 1/2 privates are schools like Prestonwood Baptist, Liberty Christian, First Baptist Academy, etc. IMO, they aren't worth the tuition and are more for families who want to send their kids to a sheltered Christian enclave than actually provide a college prep rigor education.
I didn't mention Greenhill because it's extremely liberal and most Christian families would not feel comfortable there, but it's an excellent school based on pure academics.
Thanks, TurtleCreek80! Is the Episcopal School of Dallas a good option for non-denominational Christians? I've read some threads about it and it sounds like it also might be a good fit. My concern with the Catholic schools is that she would feel left out during Mass Communion. Not sure how it works with Episcopalians. Are they allowed to take Communion or not? And do they take Communion during school?
She is at a private school here, although we have very few private options in town. She currently attends a rigorous non-denominational Christian school. We pulled her from the public middle school after realizing her entire 6th grade year was a waste. She never had homework and was never challenged. She has had to learn to study at her private school. I hope to send her somewhere that will continue to push her academically.
I think we'd love Flower Mound, but the commute will be too long. Coppell is the farthest I think we can go.
Today I spoke with my students that are from the Dallas area and, aside from the great schools already mentioned, they threw Trinity Christian Academy, Ursuline and Prince of Peace into the mix. Thoughts on any of these? We are a Christian family, so might be comfortable with these, as well.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed. Looks like private school applications are mostly due in January. I think we'll be heading to Dallas to have her shadow at some of these schools. That will get her out of comfort zone quickly!
PM me if you want any info on Trinity - happy to help! Just FYI - a lot of the families at TCA live off the tollway in 75252/75287 zip codes - all of the bent tree neighborhoods, oakdale, estates of oak tree, prestonwood west, estates of briar ridge, etc as they are all very close proximity to the school or in willow bend area of W. Plano.
Trinity is going to be your best conservative Christian option academically. No argument the schools TurtleCreek80 mentioned are better academically, but they are not conservative Christian...they are non-sectarian, Catholic or have loose affiliations with the Episcopal church, if that matters to you...
I would rate POP about on par with Prestonwood, but definitely above Legacy Christian & Canyon Creek Christian Academy. POP is probably pretty similar to Liberty academically from what I understand.
John Paul II is a good Catholic option in Collin County, too. However, some of the kids I've met from there were kids that struggled in a public school setting, and being newer, they were fairly lax on admission. Not sure if that's since changed, but I'd rate it a notch below Bishop Lynch at this time.
1) your parents (and their attitude) is far more important than the school you attend.
2) I also agree that you can be wildly successful going to any top notch state school. I also think that later in life is nice to have gone to UT (and cheer on their football team) compared to going to Brown.
Points I might disagree with:
1) you think that Hockaday might have stunted your social growth? That is a big assumption. In fact, my wife, is not a Hockaday grad, has commented numerous times that the Hockaday alumni that are professionals seem to get along pretty darn well together. My wife swims in the deep ocean and will tell you that most professional women do not play nice together. I can't tell you why, but I have heard this from numerous women execs, doctors, lawyers, etc. If you are a woman, Hockaday might have helped you foster deep longer lasting relationships with other women and learn how to appreciate the success of other women. (maybe)
2) Please don't try to say that going to UT provides more connections that going to Hockaday. It is apples and oranges. First, Hockadasies go to UT each and every year. Plus, many/most of the most powerful families in Dallas send their kids to private school (Hunts, Perot, Hicks, Ford, Jones, Cuban). My kids are making plenty of connections.
Point of clarification.
A post I made was commingled with another person's post. The first two points I made. The second two I did not. I did not go to Lake Highlands and I did not go to UT for undergrad. Nor did I compare Hockaday to UT in any way.
Between Jesuit (all boys 9-12 at Inwood and The Tollway Dallas) and Ursuline (all girls 9-12 at Inwood and Walnut Hill in Dallas) ~18/22 or so percent of kids are non-catholic ranging from atheists to Buddhists to Hindu to very strong Christians.
Be careful with the POP/Prince of Peace moniker. Within about two miles of each other in West Plano/East Carrollton you will find Prince of Peace Catholic (coed catholic in Plano, 3k-8 and it's one of the top few k-8 options in DFW) and Prince of Peace Christain School (coed 3k-12, technically in Carrollton) POP Christian is a solid school but its k-8 does not compare with POP Catholic academically.
For reference POP Christain's average SAT scores are not competative with Jesuit or Ursuline.
Liberty Christian as mentioned above is not a particularly good school academically compared to the North Dallas options despite that ridiculous billboard out front claiming it is a top school in Texas - it simply is not. That sign might actually say LC is the top private school in Texas.
The comment about JP II (9-12 coed Plano) being an easy admit private is dated. There is little comparison between JPII's admissions now and three years ago let alone when the school opened. They've really done a magnificent job the last several years. With Toyota moving into Plano JPII will be as oversold as Jesuit and Ursuline in a year or two.
We are considering a move to the north Dallas area. Looking at HPISD versus something like Coppell High School for our shy daughter who will enter high school next year. I realize they are two very different areas, but most interested in a school system that will push her academically (she's in the TAG program in her current school), be welcoming to someone moving from out of state, and not be too over the top with peer pressure. She plays in the band and dances, so extracurricular activities are important to us, too.
Budget is $1-1.3 million. Looks like we could get substantially more for our money in the suburbs, but very interested in the quick commute to the city from the HP/UP area.
Any information is appreciated.
I would also take Lakewood into consideration. It's closest to downtown and has the best schools in Dallas. It also has the only IB schools in Dallas, HP or Richardson. IB is very intense but you could also go the AP route. Reading some of your other posts, I would also add that Woodrow has the best STEM academy in Dallas and over 400 students in engineering. It's one of few schools to have so many contributing math and science classes, including AP Computer Science. It has the largest dance program in Dallas, including the arts magnet, Booker T. Washington. The band had a few rebuilding years but is solid (and the kids are having fun) with director Chris Evetts, who left HPHS for Woodrow. As far as extracurriculars (and sports), they are very popular and a reason many smart students choose Woodrow over the magnets. The school has been doing musicals for almost 60 years.
As far as being the new kid, Lakewood is very welcoming. There will be children who have been friends since kindergarten but also new kids who have applied for IB or transferred in for one of the academies. There are many students who were previously in private school.
I would also take Lakewood into consideration. It's closest to downtown and has the best schools in Dallas. It also has the only IB schools in Dallas, HP or Richardson. IB is very intense but you could also go the AP route. Reading some of your other posts, I would also add that Woodrow has the best STEM academy in Dallas and over 400 students in engineering. It's one of few schools to have so many contributing math and science classes, including AP Computer Science. It has the largest dance program in Dallas, including the arts magnet, Booker T. Washington. The band had a few rebuilding years but is solid (and the kids are having fun) with director Chris Evetts, who left HPHS for Woodrow. As far as extracurriculars (and sports), they are very popular and a reason many smart students choose Woodrow over the magnets. The school has been doing musicals for almost 60 years.
As far as being the new kid, Lakewood is very welcoming. There will be children who have been friends since kindergarten but also new kids who have applied for IB or transferred in for one of the academies. There are many students who were previously in private school.
1. The best STEM school in Dallas is the nationally ranked Science & Engineering Magnet in DISD. Not Woodrow. The best one in the region is TAMS.
2. What is the average SAT for Woodrow's STEM academy? If there are 400 kids in engineering @ Woodrow (20-25% of school) and the school's average SAT score is 1343 (M+V+W), 90 points below state average and 430 points below the SEM magnet, why aren't these kids lifting the school's average up more? If you're saying 20-25% of the school's population is better than SEM??
3. How many NMSF have come out of Woodrow's SEM program? Or just Woodrow at all?? SEM had 3 (which isn't great compared to a elite publics and TAMS); Woodrow had 0. Again.
I can recommend Lakewood to someone with a kindergartner and use the "hope and pray" method to assume Long and Woodrow will be better in 6-9 years than they are today. But I just can't recommend Woodrow to someone whose kids are currently high school aged. The school needs to deliver results that match up to the "big talk."
For reference POP Christain's average SAT scores are not competative with Jesuit or Ursuline.
Liberty Christian as mentioned above is not a particularly good school academically compared to the North Dallas options despite that ridiculous billboard out front claiming it is a top school in Texas - it simply is not. That sign might actually say LC is the top private school in Texas.
The comment about JP II (9-12 coed Plano) being an easy admit private is dated. There is little comparison between JPII's admissions now and three years ago let alone when the school opened. They've really done a magnificent job the last several years. With Toyota moving into Plano JPII will be as oversold as Jesuit and Ursuline in a year or two.
In the 2015 NMSF rankings, Ursuline had 3 out of a class of ??. Hockaday had 15 out of a class of, what, 100? TAG had 11 out of a class of 60. Jesuit and Cistercian had 9. St. Marks seems to have done the best at 29 although I don't know what their class size is. Why are the Ursuline and Jesuit numbers so low?
ETA: Prince of Peace Christian had 1 NMSF. Ursuline had 3. I'm not sure that's a wild difference.
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