Location advice for good high school (Plano, McKinney: appointed, private schools, colleges)

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by tcualum

I hate to be negative, but athletics here are insanely competitive. I've seen kids move here who were the athletic stars in their former state/town and they qualified for the B team here. Athletics are a great way to make friends but don't assume she'll have the same level of athletic success here that she has where you currently live.

It seems like everything is more competitive here.

[Pintea]

Originally Posted by tcualum

I hate to be negative, but athletics here are insanely competitive. I've seen kids move here who were the athletic stars in their former state/town and they qualified for the B team here. Athletics are a great way to make friends but don't assume she'll have the same level of athletic success here that she has where you currently live.

Oh, it's the last thing I would worry about. She's very good, but I'm mainly interested in that as a way for her to make friends. She's even stronger academically, and that is our focus.

So while I think she's better than team B, I wouldn't have a problem if she wasn't. Good competition is what makes one stronger.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

There is no such combo available in DFW as great public high school with safe walkable urban setting. However, some suburban schools like Highland Park High and Plano West are pretty walkable for suburban setting.

Plano has evolved a lot since last decade and you can walk from Plano West Senior High to almost everything you need, including but not limited to, restaurants, grocery, theater, recreation center, park, Walmart, Target, salons, bank, medical/dental/optician offices, Starbucks etc. You may find it pleasantly surprising. Shops at Legacy and Shops at Willow bend as well as Park/Preston shopping area has lots of attractions adding to an urban-suburban fusion feel.

It’s a big and diverse school with dozens of clubs, sports and activities so very easy for a new student to find like minded friends. They are arguably the best academically among DFW’s public schools so no worries there either.

Who is walking the 2 miles from Plano West Senior High to the Target down on Park? LOL!

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

It seems like everything is more competitive here.

Yes, because everything is.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Who is walking the 2 miles from Plano West Senior High to the Target down on Park? LOL!

Only 4,000 steps. Any healthy teen should be able to walk a whole lot more and shouldn’t have to go to Target every day but it’s there when she needs to. Even in NY, you unlikely to have a Walmart and Target at 800 steps.

There are dozens of other restaurants and shops, where most basic needs can be taken care of. Tom Thumb and Eatzi are only 0.8 miles, about 1800 steps.

It’s not like other equally good public schools are more walkable than PWSH.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Only 4,000 steps. Any healthy teen should be able to walk a whole lot more and shouldn’t have to go to Target every day but it’s there when she needs to. Even in NY, you unlikely to have a Walmart and Target at 800 steps.

There are dozens of other restaurants and shops, where most basic needs can be taken care of. Tom Thumb and Eatzi are only 0.8 miles, about 1800 steps.

It’s not like other equally good public schools are more walkable than PWSH.

I really doubt that Plano West Senior High's kids are walking to anything on Park (from the school) on a regular basis. Shepton kids maybe.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I really doubt that Plano West Senior High's kids are walking to anything on Park (from the school) on a regular basis. Shepton kids maybe.

Today’s busy teens with new driver’s licenses and shiny cars prefer driving over walking but on good weather days, i often see many walking to and from recreation center and nearby Parker/Parkwood restaurants.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Today’s busy teens with new driver’s licenses and shiny cars prefer driving over walking but on good weather days, i often see many walking to and from recreation center and nearby Parker/Parkwood restaurants.

I never do, but I try to avoid that part of Parker when there's a bunch of kids around.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

It seems like everything is more competitive here.

^^So much that. And IMHO, often not in a good way. I often say that "competitiveness is good" [moving one hand horizontally, high in the air] "until it isn't" [suddenly drop hand down]

Some kids thrive on intense competition, but many get burnt out or overwhelmed. Competition can push anyone to improve and achieve at a level they may not have thought possible, but it can also become grueling and cause one to set impossibly high standards and not take pride in accomplishments that would be very impressive in other contexts.

I'd say with any parent of school age kids moving here, they need to think about their child's personality and what might be a better fit for them. Sadly, one doesn't really know until they're in the school. Sometimes they just "click" with a group of friends and it makes everything work even if other aspects might not be the best, sometimes they don't even if the school would otherwise make sense. Every kid changes as they grow from 1st grade to 5th to 10th. It's tough.

To the OP's point, DFW in general is not really "walkable". There are many high quality schools here that will do an excellent job preparing a student for college. The "best" metrics may not mean the school is "better" for any individual student, and there are many things far more important than, say, a 40 point difference in average SAT score for a high school campus.

A last item, regarding college - in terms of admission, if one is looking outside of this state, "going to a better school" in general will have less weight than "higher GPA", and both will likely pale compared to SAT/ACT score. A 3.9 at "slightly above average school" will be viewed more favorably than 3.5 from "Usual Suspects High School"* (and although AP/Honors classes can weight grades, an A in a "regular" class will still likely be viewed better than a B in AP/Honors, weighting be damned), and regardless, rather than do some in-depth analysis of a particular high school, admissions officials will look at the SAT/ACT of the student as a major factor. If one is trying to optimize college entry chances, standardized test prep is likely the best use of time and resources. (And yes, competition with top talent does help, but at any "pretty good" school a driven student interacting with the top 10%-15% of their class will get plenty of competition, and parents with educational and financial resources will have those whether the kid goes to HEB ISD (a solid ISD with good programs) or HP ISD (we all know about HP).

In short, unless it is extremely important that your kid has the best shot possible at getting in to an Ivy or similar (and they are one of the few students that legitimately could do so), most any "above average" district should provide enough challenges and opportunities for a disciplined, driven kid to excel in college and in life. And really, that last part is what it's all about anyway. As I noted at my kid's elementary school when they had flags of parent's alma maters up in the cafeteria "I see a lot of average state schools represented and no Harvard/Princeton/Dartmouths, and yet, those people all did well enough at something that they could afford to buy houses here"**


*- The "Usual Suspects" are schools/ISDs mentioned often here with metrics that are in the top 10 or so in all of DFW. In no particular order, these would include HP, Plano, Southlake Carroll, and Coppell among others. (Flower Mound HS and Pearce HS are also discussed often, and there are a handful more I'm forgetting right now).
**- not that "success" is defined solely as "financial", that's NOT my point, there are multiple ways one succeeds in life, but just noting that "only" going to Texas Tech or whatever doesn't stop one from achieving in that area.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

^^So much that. And IMHO, often not in a good way. I often say that "competitiveness is good" [moving one hand horizontally, high in the air] "until it isn't" [suddenly drop hand down]

Some kids thrive on intense competition, but many get burnt out or overwhelmed. Competition can push anyone to improve and achieve at a level they may not have thought possible, but it can also become grueling and cause one to set impossibly high standards and not take pride in accomplishments that would be very impressive in other contexts.

I'd say with any parent of school age kids moving here, they need to think about their child's personality and what might be a better fit for them. Sadly, one doesn't really know until they're in the school. Sometimes they just "click" with a group of friends and it makes everything work even if other aspects might not be the best, sometimes they don't even if the school would otherwise make sense. Every kid changes as they grow from 1st grade to 5th to 10th. It's tough.

We are living through exactly this right now with our son. You have described it perfectly. He is in a school I would say is in the top 10 to 20, which we chose deliberately thinking it might not be as intense. And now that he's a junior, the teachers keep pushing the need to enter certain competitions, do more of xyz, etc. I know HS sucks but student culture seems so awful now.

My daughter is in 7th and she does better partly because is does not have learning disabilities like her brother. But I am astonished at her friend's lives--one of her friends is in cheer, band, and was in the fall play. She was at school every evening until at least 6:00. Aside from the time commitment, these activities become expensive quickly when they are all added up. This seems to be the norm here.

Maybe it is easier the earlier you move into it, instead of moving in at HS, unless like you say, you are one of those kids who thrives under pressure or lucks out with a friend group.

I'm still glad we moved because a lot of people at my husband's old employer have been let go, and my son gets tons more help here for his learning disabilities than he did in our old state (he got no help in our old state), but I do wish that it was easier or simpler or better here. We are thinking about moving again.

[mSooner]

Coppell HS is a great school and pretty diverse. Not urban, but at least closer to downtown than some of the other suburban options.