Need Help to understand schooling in Plano, TX (Dallas, Allen: rentals, house)

[arya21]

Friends,

I am moving Plano, TX in 2nd/3rd week of June '15 with my spouse and 6.5 yrs son from Bangalore,India. The school session in India is from April to Mar and my son just completed class 1. My office will be near by Plano, TX 75075.

I need to know the basic admission procedure for schools in Plano. How we can select the school and also the most important is about schooling cost for my ward.

Thanks,
AY

[TheOverdog]

The basic idea of US schools is the school year runs from Aug - early June. US schools have 13 years,
Kindergarten is the first, starting at age 5.
1st grade (not sure if this is equivelent to class 1) is age 6.
....
All the way to grade 12, at age 18.

The basic idea is determine where you want to live first. If you want to live in zipcode 75075 in Plano there are homes available. Where you live determines which school your child goes to. You can then call the local school, and get the enrollment info. Sounds like your child will be in either 1st or 2nd grade.

You can probably find better help in the Dallas forum, as Plano is a suburb just north of Dallas. Where you live depends on your budget, but there are mutliple price ranges in this zip code.

[joqua]

Might mention that "public schools" in the USA are free and in the state of Texas attendance is mandatory through age 16, unless the parent is permitted to "home school" (teach) their child.

Private schools are not free and often can be expensive.

[roseball123]

- Schools will be closing for holidays when you arrive. Academic year begins 4th week of August.
- Public Schools are free. The elementary school your kid will attend depends on your address of residence
- You can look into registering your kid to the designated public school once you get a place to live
- Plano, Frisco, Allen areas have very good elementary public schools. So you can choose to live in any of those cities which will be close to your place of work.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by joqua

Might mention that "public schools" in the USA are free and in the state of Texas attendance is mandatory through age 16, unless the parent is permitted to "home school" (teach) their child.

Private schools are not free and often can be expensive.

Actually it is mandatory until age 18 in Texas and this is one of the few states where truancy will land both the student and parent in court with potential large fines and even jail time.

[texasdiver]

With few exceptions you select the school by selecting the neighborhood as most school districts in Texas mandate which school children attend by their neighborhood. Sometimes transfers are possible but generally speaking, when you shop for a house in June you will also be shopping for your child's school at the same time and frankly the school is perhaps the most important criteria for where you chose to live.

You will have to educate yourself about the various school districts and individual schools in that area. In addition to Plano there are other surrounding cities like Frisco that you might consider depending on how far you want to live from work.

As for cost, there won't be any cost for public school except that you'll be expected to provide school supplies which will be maybe $50 for an elementary student and will have to pay for cafeteria lunches if you don't send lunch to school with the child. When they get older there are various other expenses like athletic fees, musical instrument rentals or purchase for band and orchestra and so forth. If you need after school care that will also cost if you can't pick up your child at 3:30 or whenever school is out. Most schools have after school programs until 5:30 or 6 pm for parents who can't pickup their kids right away but they cost maybe $50-100 or so a week

[Gilah G.]

Do you have any friends, relatives, coworkers, Realtor yet;in Plano yet
???

[pistisan]

You will be arriving during summer school break, and school will not start till late August. Your kid will start in 1st grade and the school will be determined by where you live. If you decide to live in Plano, which is one of the best Independet School District (ISD), in Texas, then use this link to find the school depending on your address. Plano ISD School Finder . Student registration can be found here. Student Registration : Plano ISD

**Important, without proper immunization, your kid can't attend school. Please ensure that whatever immunization your child received in India is well documented by a doctor and you can prove it when you arrive here. I would assume your kid will need to take additional shots before fully compliant with Texas standards...I had to go to the same when my kid started school in Plano. Besides, the medical check, the whole process is straight forward....read through the website...which will tell you when to register your kid for the upcoming year...which usually in August.

If you have any other specific questions, let me know. There is a large Indian population here with many Indian supermarkets. Good luck with the move.

[txgurl]

Hi,

We live in Plano but my kids go to Frisco ISD. Message me if you need any details.

S