High Schools in Sugar Land (Houston, Austin: apartment, crime, buying a home)

[oyealiz]

I'm looking at homes in the Sugar Land area and wondering about the high schools. This is my single most important factor in buying a home.

Anyone from the area...what are your thoughts?

Is there a website that gives demographics data? And information on the programs at each school?

I'm moving from Tampa, FL and the school district here makes it very easy to access that data. Perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place for Sugar Land?

Some of the homes I'm considering are in Lamar and some in Fort Bend.

Thanks for any information.

[jfre81]

TEA - Data Resources and Research Links

This has links that might answer several questions you have.

[oyealiz]

Thanks for the link! I've been reading the data there for 15 minutes now...that's exactly what I was looking for.

[jfre81]

Fort Bend ISD is having trouble keeping up with growth....Lamar CISD is supposed to be building a new high school too.

Sugar Land has become very crowded and very suburban. Think Boca Raton without the beach - that's in nearby Galveston and elsewhere on the actual coast, but they are not up to par with Florida's. Lots of construction along US 59 and (Texas) Highway 6. I live just south of Loop 610 on South Main/US 90A and it can take me an hour to get to Rosenberg during the evening rush. I'm hoping it will be saner when the construction is done. Beware of some of the northern parts of Sugar Land that border high-crime areas of southwest Houston, because some of that has leeched across city lines into Sugar Land.

I myself prefer Rosenberg or Richmond over Sugar Land, if only because they still have a distinct small-town identity which is not suburban (even though there is a Wal-Mart along 59). But commuting anywhere along 59 or 90A is terrible right now. I passed on a job opportunity in Rosenberg a couple months ago because of the traffic from my apartment in Houston to there. You might want to come down here and scope it out yourself first, and if you can deal with it, start looking around Sugar Land and if not, start looking around elsewhere. I-10 west out of Houston is also under construction and is in fact going to be closed off entirely for part of this weekend. The entire west-northwest area outside Houston is growing quickly and the city and state are scrambling to upgrade infrastructure.

[Premont]

Here's another site - Clements High School - Sugar Land, Texas - TX - school overview

[mjewell]

I live in Sugar Land and looked into Lamar Consolidated and Katy ISD before buying here. Look at Texas Education Agency's statistics and you'll see that Lamar schools don't rank nearly as well as Fort Bend schools. Katy schools are also excellent, but with I-10 under constant construction Katy is a lot more difficult to get in and out of. The construction on US 59 is almost complete and new schools are being built as we speak.

Clements is the absolute best for academics and offers every activity under the sun, but is EXTREMELY competitive. Dulles is really good and I've heard has an excellent drama department. The buildings need work but I've heard the city is starting to renovate. I've heard good things about the school in New Territory (Austin I think?) and about Elkins. Avoid Willowridge like the plague! For sports you can't beat the programs offered in Sugar Land and there is also every diversion your kid(s) could possibly want within the city limits.

The Texas Education Agency has all the stats and Fort Bend ISD has a good website that can give you info on the individual schools. Pay attention to the info on rezoning. Both Clements and Dulles have had several subdivisions rezoned over the last 2 years, so when you see the school listed under the house on HAR.com, double check that the info is correct before buying into the wrong neighborhood. You might also check out a couple of new development websites for info about new schools being built. Telfair (near New Territory) and Riverstone are both under construction and planning new schools. FYI, part of the deal with Telfair means University of Houston-Sugar Land and one of the local junior colleges in this area are expanding too. They do grow up fast.

Good luck, and welcome to the area.

[sagardip]

I am also newbee to Sugar land. My son will be grade :9 this year.I like to get home in telfair but it is served by kampner. I checked data on FBISD and TAKS website which is not impressive. What shall I do? My builder says it will chnage and I can try school name Hightower , which is magnet school.But no any history data. Any suggesstion will be highly appreciated.

[oyealiz]

Anyone with experience with Lamar High School? I'm looking at several homes in Richmond and that's the school.

Also looking at a home where Austin is the high school.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by sagardip

I am also newbee to Sugar land. My son will be grade :9 this year.I like to get home in telfair but it is served by kampner. I checked data on FBISD and TAKS website which is not impressive. What shall I do? My builder says it will chnage and I can try school name Hightower , which is magnet school.But no any history data. Any suggesstion will be highly appreciated.

Check out the high schools individually, NOT the district. The Eastern FBISD tends to not do as well as the Western FBISD.

[mjewell]

I'm talking to people that are moving out of Greatwood just because of Lamar HS. I don't have personal experience with either school, but I have heard good things about Austin and New Territory has a nice sports program too.