SugarLand Move (Houston, Sugar Land, Spring: spring break, homes, neighbourhoods)

[SLandToDecide]

Hi, Iam trying to find a home in Sugarland close to some good schools in the FBISD school district..
Rating of these schools seem to be really good but Iam wondering if its all based on just the test scores?
How diff is Common Wealth elementary from the colony bend (same with middle schools)? Do these schools have good enrichment programs? We are moving from an area which is supposed to have good public schools but I dont see anything great happening in those schools other than the asian parents driving the kids to all the afterschool classes. We have a middle schooler and a 2nd grader..

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Mustang1]

Ratings are based on test scores. What's your price range?

[SLandToDecide]

We are looking at homes between 450-550K..

[Jonathz]

For this price range, you can look at Avalon, Telfair, and Riverstone. They are zoned to exemplary school in SL

[SLandToDecide]

We found lot of neighbourhoods we can afford but not yet convinced about the academics at these exemplary schools..Can anyone give me input on how good these public schools are as far the curriculum goes. Do they have good enrichment programs etc. for above average learners?

[mingna]

I can only speak to the elementary school level, and only to my children's specific elementary, in this particular area of Sugar Land (First Colony). With this in mind, here are my thoughts:

I believe that the rankings do not necessarily reflect the quality of a particular child's educational experience; as mentioned they are based mainly on test-taking abilities, which comprises only a fraction of the learning experience. The heavy dependence of a school's rankings on test scores can lead to a school falling from an "exemplary" rating to a "recognized" rating with no noticeable change in curriculum, staff, or leadership - but more probably due to changing demographics.

Only you know how well your child will do in any particular educational setting be it public, private or homeschooling. It depends on many variables: your child's innate intellectual capabilities, temperment (self-motivated or require more hands-on instruction), parental support and lifestyle, socialization influences, and finally the curriculum itself (the easiest to supplement).

Given all that, I have not seen any special formal enrichment programs at my children's school, at their particular grade level (K and 2nd). I do not find that an impediment, however, because my kids receive that same enrichment through their daily life's activities, and Houston offers ample opportunities for enrichment that are often free and readily available.

For example, our local library offers reading programs that uses reward incentives, the Museum of Fine Arts have free weekly summer programs for kids that exposes them to different artists, genres and medium in a fun interactive setting, the Health and Children's Museum offers scientific exploration, the Miller Outdoor Theatre and SL Town Square provides free musical and artistic performances that exposes them to a wide variety of music/culture (they particularly enjoyed the taiko drums performance by Taikoza) and finally just letting them romp outside in nature encourages exploration, observation and imagination. And there are many options for learning secondary languages at schools, out and about in town, and at home, if you are a bi-lingual family, and ample volunteer/community service programs and organizations.

All of these are enrichment opportunities that stimulate questions and answers, intellectual and emotional growth, that we incorporate into our children's educational experience, independent of any particular school program.

I will add that I have found my children's teachers and school principal to be quite receptive to any of our educational concerns, requests, or suggestions. And a strong PTO definitely helps.

[mingna]

I wanted to clarify that a rating based mainly on test results does not imply that the students are not learning effectively, or that the curriculum is not rigorous. The best approach is to talk to the school administrators and teachers themselves about their curriculum, teaching methods and educational philosophy. Relay any concerns you may have, and note their responsiveness.

I believe my 2nd grader is sufficiently challenged in her GT class. Her coursework does not teach to the test, but challenges her to use her reading comprehension and reasoning skills to extrapolate and accurately predict future events. Her teacher's enthusiasm for science and conducting fun in-class experiments has rubbed off on her, and now science is one of her favorite subjects (surprising to us because she has always preferred- and excelled at - reading, writing and creative arts).

All of our children's teachers have shown interest in challenging our children as needed, and have been very observant to their specific needs and temperament (2nd grader is a nervous test taker while the K gets bored quickly, therefore their teachers know that the test results sometimes do not accurately reflect their actual knowledge of the subject matter).

[SLandToDecide]

Mingna, Thank you so much for that response..

[mingna]

Your welcome; I hope it was helpful.

FWIW, my children and I attended an origami craft session at our library over Spring Break that was led by about 10 Clement High volunteers. They had 5 tables staffed with about 2 volunteers each helping up to 6 kids at a time make different origami crafts. I was impressed with their maturity, patience and poise in teaching multiple kids (pre-K to elementary) at the same time, many clamoring for help and attention.