Alternatives to Greenhill and St Marks in Dallas (Fort Worth, Plano: middle school, college)

[stan4]

Originally Posted by walker1977

I don't necessarily think that moving to a mostly Indian neighborhood and further segregating oneself is exactly the answer either. Look there are obviously some minorities who feel much more comfortable with people of similar ethnicities and want to only be surrounded by those types. That is fine but I would expect people who have grown up here (2nd generation) to understand the only way to move the issue forward is integration not retreat. Otherwise things are not exactly gonna get better.

On no planet would I consider moving to Plano as "moving to a mostly Indian" anything.
But the fact is that the diversity is stronger in Plano.

[UnfairPark]

My neck of the woods in West Plano has some Indians and they prefer it over here compared to ethnic enclaves of Indians in North Plano or Frisco. It's a soft spot for affluent and more integrated Indians, they are living mainstream lifestyles but close enough to ethnic enclaves to take advantage of ethnic amenities. It's dual advantage that public schools are great and good privates drivable. Most are physicians and senior executives.

[ElmoPuffinburger]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

If you don't find any spots in schools of your choice then do have a look at John Paul, Prestonwood Christian Academy and Prince Of Peace in Plano. All are good schools and you have access to Plano ISD as alternative. If kid improves academically then you can apply to schools of your interest for 9th grade. I wouldn't enroll him in DISD.

Actually, if you're considering these, I would look at Prince of Peace Christian (Carrollton - Midway/Park). It doesn't require a statement of faith so there is a decent representation of other faiths attending, even though it's christian based.

Anecdotally, I have friends who have left Renner and were happy there; and I have another set of friends who left POPCS for Lovejoy. While they like the area they moved to for country feel, they thought POPCS was more rigorous than their Lovejoy experience.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

If you don't find any spots in schools of your choice then do have a look at John Paul, Prestonwood Christian Academy and Prince Of Peace in Plano. All are good schools and you have access to Plano ISD as alternative. If kid improves academically then you can apply to schools of your interest for 9th grade. I wouldn't enroll him in DISD.

Respectfully, you need to bow out of these school threads since you lack adequate knowledge.

1. John Paul II is a HIGH SCHOOL. Won't help this family looking for 5th grade admissions.

2. I specifically mentioned they need to avoid the evangelical schools because they are not Christian. Prestonwood requires a recommendation letter from the family's Christian pastor, a statement of Christian faith on the application, and a parental interview where the family is interviewed for "fit". I can assure you they toss non-Christ believing applications in the trash can, nor would a non-evangelical feel comfortable there. Also, the school is academically blah; more of a shelter for uber conservatives to hide their children vs homeschooling them.

3. DISD has a dozen or so elementary schools that are far more academically challenging than Prestonwood and do just as good of a job as Plano. Again, just like the BL thread, you have to know how to crunch the numbers to compare a school with 25-50% ED students to schools with <10-20% ED. Withers is located in the heart of the private schools and many, many affluent and highly educated families (including a PhD I grew up with in HPISD) have chosen Withers Elementary over privates and are super happy there. I believe there was a poster on the private school thread recently who chose Withers over their Parish admission for lower school. DISD runs two of the top 5 public high schools in the entire country (TAG and SEM magnets), so just because they are tasked with the impossible task of educating a student population that is over 80% ED and close to 50% ESL doesn't mean the entire district stinks. There are gems in almost every neighborhood, whether they are the local neighborhood school, a magnet school, or school of choice (Montessori, STEM academies, etc).

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

If kid improves academically then you can apply to schools of your interest for 9th grade. I wouldn't enroll him in DISD.

I'm from Houston. From other posters I understand the reason why it's more difficult to find good schooling options in Dallas ISD (with the exception of the Lakewood area) is that the public schools have almost no support from the upper middle class (exceptions are a few magnet and bilingual programs). A large number of private schools are clustered in North Dallas, so there is less incentive for North Dallas parents to choose public schools. That doesn't mean there aren't good DISD schools - there are. You just have to find them.

Earlier in the thread TurtleCreek said that Withers Elementary and Arthur Kramer have strong reputations. If I were you I would double-check where your house is zoned at http://dallasisd.org/Page/22686 - If your elementary school is strong it may be a possibility!

[UnfairPark]

Even if elementary school is okay, eventually kid will need Middle and high, he is in 5th grade. What if he can't get into private schools or magnets of their choice. What if he has more siblings. They will be back to square one.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Respectfully, you need to bow out of these school threads since you lack adequate knowledge.

1. John Paul II is a HIGH SCHOOL. Won't help this family looking for 5th grade admissions.

2. I specifically mentioned they need to avoid the evangelical schools because they are not Christian. Prestonwood requires a recommendation letter from the family's Christian pastor, a statement of Christian faith on the application, and a parental interview where the family is interviewed for "fit". I can assure you they toss non-Christ believing applications in the trash can, nor would a non-evangelical feel comfortable there. Also, the school is academically blah; more of a shelter for uber conservatives to hide their children vs homeschooling them.

3. DISD has a dozen or so elementary schools that are far more academically challenging than Prestonwood and do just as good of a job as Plano. Again, just like the BL thread, you have to know how to crunch the numbers to compare a school with 25-50% ED students to schools with <10-20% ED. Withers is located in the heart of the private schools and many, many affluent and highly educated families (including a PhD I grew up with in HPISD) have chosen Withers Elementary over privates and are super happy there. I believe there was a poster on the private school thread recently who chose Withers over their Parish admission for lower school. DISD runs two of the top 5 public high schools in the entire country (TAG and SEM magnets), so just because they are tasked with the impossible task of educating a student population that is over 80% ED and close to 50% ESL doesn't mean the entire district stinks. There are gems in almost every neighborhood, whether they are the local neighborhood school, a magnet school, or school of choice (Montessori, STEM academies, etc).

1. You are right about that, I was under the impression their middle school program materialized.

2. That's a biased comment.

3. I wouldn't consider DISD as a reasonable alternative to schools OP is considering. You didn't send your children to Dallas ISD schools and opted for private schools.

[stan4]

TC is right.
My friend sends 3 kids to PCA.
Said he let his wife sign the dealie that said they wouldn't argue against the idea that the world is 6000 years old or whatever.
I can't imagine sending my kids to a school that actually makes them dumber.

[UnfairPark]

If we go by this then whole religion thing is fictional and unscientific, why stop at one thing. There is no reason to have any religious schools, why support catholic and Jesuit schools while bashing Baptist or Hindu schools.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

1. You are right about that, I was under the impression their middle school program materialized.

2. That's a biased comment.

3. I wouldn't consider DISD as a reasonable alternative to schools OP is considering. You didn't send your children to Dallas ISD schools and opted for private schools.

1. Prince of Peace is the Catholic school with lower grades in Plano.

2. Why don't you give Prestonwood a call and ask if they'll accept an atheist / Muslim/ Buddhist etc application? They absolutely will not- they would probably reject a liberal, pro-choice Methodist application too. Which they have every right to do being a private Christian school, not arguing that. Just not an option in this situation.

3. I don't have kids. Nice try.