Relocating - Please advise on private schools and homes (Houston: transplants, real estate) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

mommyengineer · 03-19-2012, 06:43 AM

We could possibly be relocating from Ohio to Houston this Summer. Would greatly appreciate any help/advise on schools and homes.
-Work place would likely be near Sam houston parkway.
- We have 2 kids : Older one is 5 yrs and younger one in 2.5 yrs.
- What are some good private schools (non-religious) to enroll my 5 yr old in near sam houston parkway. I have browsed and there seems to St Johns, Kinkaid but they are all booked for the cal yr 2012 -2013. What are my other options ?
- Looking for good daycares near sam houston parkway since she won't be eligible for preschool yet.
- Looking for good subdivisions for homes near the work place/school. Our budget is around 350 K.

Any other tips on traffic or day to day living would be greatly appreciated.

fnh · 03-19-2012, 07:46 AM

Secular private schools are few in Houston. Presuming you will be on the west side of town (Sam Houston Parkway encircles the city) I would recommend Yorkshire Academy to you for both of your children at their ages. Your budget should give you ample choices for neighborhoods, depends where you will be working.

mommyengineer · 03-19-2012, 08:12 AM

fnh, Thanks much for your quick reply. Zipcode for the work place would be 77064. Do you have any other recommendations on the the schools a little closer to that zipcode?

fnh · 03-19-2012, 09:12 AM

So you will be in northwest Houston, actually very near us. Our children attend Awty which is a secular international/French school in 77055. It is central/west Houston compared to Yorkshire or The Village School (also west Houston) but at this date would be difficult to get into. I'm not aware of secular private schools in northwest Houston proper, though that isn't to say they don't exist. If they do they would probably be quite small. Your best bet is west where generally there is a greater percentage of transplants working in the energy sector. I assumed you are willing to drive since you initially mentioned St. John's and Kinkaid, both of which are further away and not at all convenient to reach from points far.

We find living in NW Houston very convenient with easy access to energy corridor, IAH, downtown etc. It wouldn't be a hard drive down the beltway to reach those schools. A neighborhood like Lakes on Eldridge would be centrally located to both those schools and work. We live in Woodwind Lakes, closer to 77064 than LOE but the homes, while lovely, are relatively not as new or grand though (IMO) the neighborhood is prettier. You can search neighborhoods and real estate on HAR.com, a terrific resource.

*I should mention that several families who live in our neighborhood attend those schools in the energy corridor. Very doable via beltway even from 77064.

mommyengineer · 03-19-2012, 09:35 AM

Thank you. Yes, I mentioned St Johns and Kinkaid as they came across as one of the good schools while browsing the web. But, I am not familiar about the traffic - driving up 20 mins isn't a problem as long as we are not stuck in the traffic every day. I will check Awty and Village school as well.

Thanks for the tip on HAR.com.

mommyengineer · 03-20-2012, 08:53 AM

How does Awty school academics compare with St john's school ?

fnh · 03-20-2012, 10:10 AM

This is hard to answer.

First, Awty is two schools combined - an Int'l school and a French school. The French school is administered by the French Ministry of Education and follows the same curriculum as any French lycee in the world. So, you can't compare the French section at all with an American private school. When you apply to Awty you must specify which section you are applying to. Most Americans will be applying to the Int'l section as the French section is taught IN FRENCH by teachers from France. The two school concept is very confusing for people. They are not physically separated, the Int'l and French classes are taught across from each other and there is plenty of mixing.

Second, the Int'l school follows curriculum basics set forth in Geneva (I think) for accredited international schools worldwide but my understanding is that Awty teaches a year ahead. It is considered academically demanding.

Comparing Awty to a school like St. John's is very tricky. St. John's students are carefully hand-picked on test scores and legacy status and once admitted almost all students remain in this cocoon until graduation. Usually the parents are very affluent Americans who themselves have attended very good schools and have connections for their children to attend good colleges. These kids will do very well on an American standardized test and go on to elite colleges, the typical measures of a school's 'success'.

Awty students in contrast are typically affluent expats with English as a second (or third, or fourth) language. These are students whose families are very mobile, perhaps moving every two or three years. These are students who go to excellent universities all over the world (often for free in other countries) and do not even apply to Harvard, say. Every student graduates from Awty with either the Int'l Bac or the French Bac as well as an American diploma, both considered much more demanding than an American diploma alone. Yet these students may not score as highly on the American SAT and the percentage of Ivy college admissions won't be as impressive.

They are both excellent but very different schools. It really is comparing apples to oranges.

EasilyAmused · 03-20-2012, 10:22 AM

Considering your work location, I would look at John Cooper in the Woodlands and living somewhere north of the Beltway. Getting from St. Johns/Kinkaid areas to the North Beltway is not a fun drive. Look at over 40 minutes on a good day. not to mention they are exceedingly hard to get into.... so I wouldn't suggested buying a house in town under the assumption that you can go there.

Good luck

fnh · 03-20-2012, 10:32 AM

John Cooper is an excellent school, more similar to Kinkaid, but is 30 miles from 77064. Compare to around 16 miles from 77064 to St. John's or Kinkaid. The OP is working not far from Jersey Village. But you are right, getting to either St. John's or Kinkaid from northwest Houston is no fun, assuming one could even get in.

modster · 03-20-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Considering your work location, I would look at John Cooper in the Woodlands and living somewhere north of the Beltway. Getting from St. Johns/Kinkaid areas to the North Beltway is not a fun drive. Look at over 40 minutes on a good day. not to mention they are exceedingly hard to get into.... so I wouldn't suggested buying a house in town under the assumption that you can go there.

Good luck

That is what I was thinking. I don't know for sure, but isn't it very difficult to even get into these two schools?