Looking for elementary school help in Sugar Land please (Houston: apartments, to rent)

[descovy]

Originally Posted by winniethepooh

Thanks everyone ! Great to hear different tips.

I think the uniform thing will be no problem really. My daughter will like it as a novelty. It will be me who'll find that a big deal as used to just flinging on tracksuits and the like on her with no need to keep uniforms clean and tidy : )

I do see with the schools there there is smaller numbers in the classes which is a great think.

My daughter is lucky here, only 23 in her class but most class sizes here are 30 or a few more. So reading 16 :1 in alot of schools looks great.

I think entering a huge school would be daunting to my daughter but I think she'd adjust fast if it was a good school and mainly just with their own class which some of you have said.

I like the look of commonwealth elementary after reading about it now. It's another one to add to the list for my husband to view when he's over there in June.

I do think the Montessori private schools look like they would suit my daughter best overall but the cost would be a problem so if we can find a public that we think would suit her that would be first option.

Can any of you tell me how busy the freeways are near Sugar Land. I keep reading traffic is a nightmare in Houston. Is it pretty heavy near Sugar Land too ? My husband will be working near Clay Road intersection on the Sam Houston Tollway. Most places I've looked at in Sugar Land are about a 20 minute drive from there according to google maps but just wondering taking into account traffic, can it take alot longer regularly ? I guess if it would we may be best to settle in north Sugar Land area?

Please don't be fooled by the "16:1" ratio. Don't expect to walk into an average 2nd grade classroom and see 16 kids to one teacher. I believe that number includes all staff... aides for special ed (disabilities), instructional caoch, librarian, etc., The ESL preschool in my kids' elementry school has 8 kids and 2 teachers... average that out to my 3rd grader who has 23 kids in her class with one homeroom teacher.

Both FBISD and Katy ISD (among other districts) are facing funding cuts, which has resulted in teacher layoffs in both districts. I have friends who teach elementry school in KISD and say expect 25 kids per classroom next year, realisticly.

In other thoughts, since you are talking about moving to "north Sugar Land" for sake of commute to Clay & 8, why not consider Katy? No public school is perfect, but Katy has an excellent reputation. The area is very family friendly, and (especially S Katy) full of expats from all over the world... so very diverse in that regard. In my neighborhood (bus stop kids) are families from Mexico, Venezuela, UK, Korea, India, Norway, Philippeans.

You can pick from an older mature neighborhood with canapies of trees or new master planned communites with dozens of pools/parks/trails to choose from... or anything in between.

Why are you thinking Sugar Land? It is nice, but if all your wants and needs can be met in Katy, may as well shorten the commute too! (live closer to work for the same lifestyle)

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I'll never understand the whole "small class" thing.
I went to a catholic school where there was usually 40-45 kids per class and I turned out ok.

And how did the other 40-44 kids turn out?

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

And how did the other 40-44 kids turn out?

Gosh could you imagine that number in a 7th grade class...

[notready]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Gosh could you imagine that number in a 7th grade class...

I can't imagine that number in any pre-HS class. Way too many autism spectrum, learning issue, behavior issue, attention issue kiddos in the population now. I've got the heebie jeebies just thinking about it...

[TimBomb]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

And how did the other 40-44 kids turn out?

yeah, small classes do not produce firemen/servicemen, stay at home moms, married to school bully blue collar guys, medical assistants and everyone else earning below 100k. nope.

[TimBomb]

Originally Posted by notready

I can't imagine that number in any pre-HS class. Way too many autism spectrum, learning issue, behavior issue, attention issue kiddos in the population now. I've got the heebie jeebies just thinking about it...

Because Discipline is unimaginable here, unlike in other parts of the world.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by TimBomb

yeah, small classes do not produce firemen/servicemen, stay at home moms, married to school bully blue collar guys, medical assistants and everyone else earning below 100k. nope.

Okay....

[winniethepooh]

Thanks everyone for the replies with all the helpful advice !
We thought originally Sugar Land looked liked best bet but we had considered Katy. According the google maps it would take 25 mins from Katy to my husbands work and about 17 mins from his work to Sugar Land.

It is very hard from accross the world to decide what looks best. I think when my husband gets out there alone in a few weeks with work he'll just have to drive around to see.

Thanks for tips about the beltways. It really would be good to pick a nice spot with a short commute.
Was looking at Memorial tonight. The school district looks good, their website pretty helpful, much more helpful that the FBISD site. Is the memorial area nice with most things you need as a family ?

Does anyone know a website that compares / ranks the different school districts?

Also would we be best to stay west, north or south of his work ? I presume schools and family life is all a bit nicer in these directions then closer to the city ?

[houstonfan]

Originally Posted by TimBomb

Because Discipline is unimaginable here, unlike in other parts of the world.

I'll have to give you double reps on this one. Unimaginable is the right word, it's something people can't believe unless theyve seen it working, and discipline starts in the home long before the kids reach school so those teachers actually have an easier time than american teachers.

OP: Katy, Cypress, Sugarland and Memorial are all nice areas with all the amenities and relatively good public schools. It comes down to personal choice and your husband can decide that quickly once he visits. To me, Katy cypress and sugarland Master planned communities are more or less the same, memorial is a bit different. Commute should be around stated times if your husband leaves at 4:30, it gets worse between 5-6. Obviously Memorial/srping Branch will have shortest commute out of those 4

[EasilyAmused]

Memorial is very nice and meets all family needs, and then some. It just comes with a higher price tag than other places. It certainly would be the best commute.