Need advice on best private schools in allen, plano, richardson area (Dallas: 2014, HOA)

[kwmcglon]

I'm looking to relocate from Oklahoma(finally) after a lil time overseas. My daughters education is priority and private schools are a must for me. I will be looking for homes in the 250-300k range and hope I can find a area without solar panel restrictions (HOA), the networking companies i will need to work with are all in plano but I should lock down a remote position upon my return.

Any assistance is appreciated.

.... any word on companies to handle solar installation and geothermal upgades would be nice as well... or i can post about that in later months


thanks

[Big G]

Honestly, none.

Just about all the top-notch private schools are located in the north Dallas area, not in the suburbs.

You can find decent Catholic schools in Plano and Richardson, and Prince of Peace Christian in Carrollton is OK, I guess. But students at these schools are there for primarily religious reasons, not academics.

[momof2dfw]

The BEST private schools are going to be in Dallas. Hockaday, Urseline, St Marks, Greenhill, etc.

I'd put my daughters education in public school up against any of the private schools in the burbs any day. Some districts offer G/T programs as well as IB. My daughter is in the IB program in the Garland ISD. Would not trade it for anything. I have plenty of friends that send their kids to private schools and they are not all that great and not ahead academically at all. They are all more concerned w/ "sheltering" their kids from public and it being a religious school than they are the actual academics being taught. Sorry, just the truth.

As far as the solar panels go. Avoid an HOA then at all costs and check w/ each city before you buy to see what they allow in their ordinances. In Allen it is going to be hard to find a house without an HOA and if your wanting THE BEST private schools in the Dallas area this would be a major drive. Most of the housing in Allen is new and will have an HOA. You will find homes in your price range in Richardson and Plano that may not have an HOA and that would make the solar panel situation easier. Just check with the city requirements first as well.

There was some movement that was trying to take place to make it where HOA's could not ban solar energy sources. Have not heard anything on it in awhile so doubt it has made any significant progress. Sad for sure. My husband has plans to put solar panels that look more like shingles on the house and tell the HOA to get lost. LOL!!! But by the time he probably gets around to actually doing it this legislation may have already taken place

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Check the schools out on www.GreatSchools.net (http://www.GreatSchools.net - broken link). They rate all public schools within a state against each other so you can see the best ones in each ISD. The DFW public schools have a very good reputation. A good private school will run $20K to $30K per year per kid.

[unexpected]

OP, I grew up in the PISD school system, was a top student, scored in the top 1% of my SATs, and went to an Ivy league school. I'm not tooting my horn, I just want to tell you my background. That being said, if you really want to go private, these are the only schools I would consider:

Greenhill
St. Marks (boys)
Jesuit (boys)
Ursuline (girls)
Hockaday (girls)

I really think Greenhill is the best school in the metroplex, bar none. It's really tough to get into. All of these schools, however, are located in the Dallas area.

If you want to re-consider public schools, these are the public schools that I'd send my kid to:

Plano Senior
Plano West
Pearce
Highland Park

I'd put all of these schools on par with all the private schools, except for Greenhill.

[kwmcglon]

thank you guys for the reply, even if I am a few years late on it I appreciate the responses

when we make a move in 2014 I'll absolutly look closer at these schools.

Have things changed over the years? that is always my concern when public schools that a good one now isnt a good one in 2/3 years.

[amartinez95]

We will be relocating to Allen in summer 2014. We have visited several private schools in the area as a smaller environment will be a better fit and we also want the Christian education aspect as well. We are currently looking very close at McKinney Christian and Lucas Christian. Does anyone have any recent feedback on either of these or others that we may want to consider?

[AllenEllen]

Both are fine if religious education and smaller student body are your only concerns. If academics and college prep is a matter of concern then try St Marks, Jesuit, Ursuline, Episcopal, Prestonwood Christian Academy, Prince of Peace, Carrollton Christian Academy, Trinity Christian Academy, or Parish.

You'll be better off to start house hunting in North Dallas or Carrollton. Far West Plano can work if you want to keep good public schools as your fallback or for better home resale. It all depends on your budget for tuition and mortgage.

[HockDad]

Originally Posted by kwmcglon

thank you guys for the reply, even if I am a few years late on it I appreciate the responses

when we make a move in 2014 I'll absolutly look closer at these schools.

Have things changed over the years? that is always my concern when public schools that a good one now isnt a good one in 2/3 years.

Not really. Hockaday and St. Marks still tops. Greenhill, Ursaline, and Jesuit are all very strong. The public have stayed about the same.

[AllenEllen]

Dallas Magnets, Highland ISD, Plano ISD, Coppell ISD, Carroll ISD still ahead by good margin.