Need help with schools/houses in Houston (Bellaire, West: transplants, real estate)

[flying2houston]

Hello Houston. We are potentially relocating this summer and I am doing some due diligence on the area. We are looking at private schools and I just have no clue what is what and looking for advice. Currently our kids go to a top Episcopal elementary school and we are thinking maybe another similar school would be great but are open to other schools if the education is top notch. Our family is fairly conservative so that should factor in as well as we will be working in the energy corridor area. I am also curious about the Memorial area--would that be the best opportunity to have a larger backyard? I have literally only been in Houston for a wedding and an event so not really familiar with your city. Also wondered about camps for kids in the summer--overnight camp or day camp as I am thinking that would be a great way for my kids to meet friends. Thank you in advance for any advice.

[EasilyAmused]

In the Memorial area St. Francis Episcopal is a great school, and I highly recommend it. It feeds into Episcopal High School and Kinkaid, as well as other various privates around the city.

The Memorial area requires a very healthy housing budget. I live here and love it.

Ps: Camp Longhorn, Camp La Junta (boys), Camp Mystic (girls),Skimasters at Lake McQueeny, have lots of kids from West Houston/Memorial who attend.

[flying2houston]

Thank you for your quick reply. I just actually looked at the St. Francis website--looks like a great school. As for Memorial budget--I am hoping for some good options. We are relocating from DC so we are sadly now sensitized to expensive housing Curious if you are from Houston or a transplant? I am also wondering how this area takes to new families? DC is so transient that you can move in and make great friends (kids and parents) quickly--hoping/praying for the same in Houston. Also wondering if people stay around in the summer or, if not, where do they go? Thanks again for your insight and anyone else who may be on this thread.

[EasilyAmused]

Native, but there aren't many of us left. Thus the area warms to transplants. I have a relative on the NW side of DC, near Battery Kemble.

Do you belong to the Junior League in DC? It's a great way to meet other ladies in the Houston Area. Volunteering at school helps break the ice too.

People stay in the summer for the most part. Many in the Memorial area have weekend ranches, places in Colorado, or like me in NC. Mostly they are in town, but do a lot of traveling, often taking children of friends along.

[marksmu]

Memorial is definetly your place for bigger yards, bigger houses, and mature landscapes...if you look at an aerial of Houston Memorial is a wide swath of green from essentially 610 to the beltway - from there on out it goes back to just housing.

Its a great area with great schools, but it dose require a very healthy budget. Housing starts in the $650K range and that is a tear down. $1M generally gets you into a house that is up to $1M home standards. The upside to the housing prices is that you get good public schools. Bunker Hill and Frostwood are both great elementary schools, Memorial middle, is a good middle school, and memorial high is as good as you can get in Houston.

The private schools are great, but they are very difficult to get into, and require another very healthy budget to attend. I am nearly complete with a new build in the memorial area, and as of right now I am planning on sending my kids to public school....My kids would be zoned Bunker Hill, Memorial, Memorial....I have mets lots of people in the area, and everyone seems very nice...the Schools are very active, and it seems to me that meeting people through the schools would be your best bet. I have heard (though not confirmed) that parents are actually interviewed and on a waiting list for the Bunker Hill Elementary PTO....supposedly they will not even consider you for the PTO if you work.

Hope that helps....just only look South of I-10, North of Memorial, West of 610 and East of Beltway 8 and you will land in the right area. If you choose public schools, I would suggest you limit your searches to schools that attend Memorial Middle School, as Middle School is the weakest link in the area. I would budget between $1M and $3M depending on your needs for size and your requirements for being updated. Remodeling & updating is a task in the villages b/c they are not technically Houston they have very strict requirements...for instance, Bunker Hill requires new construction have fire suppression sprinklers in all new builds or remodels over $100K...lots of nuances like that.

[flying2houston]

Thanks for all the info. We do have a good budget--I am thinking 2-3 range..hoping not more. I am lol about the only the SAHM at the PTA..that would make me miss DC--I have done both and feel there is a spirit of "let's work together" with all the moms. Also wondering and I am cringing--what are the average ages of the moms..I had my kids mid thirties on and am wondering if I am going to be looked at as grandmom (hopefully not as I try to keep it all together). At my kids' current private school I am actually on the lower range of age. We are hoping to stay on the private route--I do worry about the kids getting in but am hoping that a good recommendation will help and ditto that our kids do well in school/activities. I am thinking I should apply to a ton just to help the chances of getting in somewhere. DC private school vetting was brutal but, in the end, we were very happy with our school. The idea of leaving that school will be hard..great community of families..great education..but onward journey we go! Interesting that families from Houston may go to NC for vacation--I love Corolla. Oh one more thing on schools..are there any that have a rep for being mean for the sake of being mean? I don't mind competitive in the intellectual sense but not simply snobby ie the have and have nots. We work hard and have created success for our family but are not raising brats so would want to avoid any school that is known soley for social snobbery. Thank you again..I am enjoying talking to my new Houston neighbors!!

[Glossa]

If "2-3 range" means millions, here ya go:

415 White Wing, Houston, TX 77079 - HAR.com

It's outside marksmu's suggested boundaries, though.

[KatieKennedy]

Kinkaid is another excellent private school in the Memorial area. My daughter attends high school there and entered in the 9th grade. It is very good academically, athletically, and in the fine arts. It goes from preschool through 12th Grade. It is fairly hard to gain admission to Kinkaid. The natural entry points are K, 6th and 9th grade. St. Francis only goes through 8th grade, but is a feeder for Episcopal High School in the Bellaire area. If you decide to go the private school route you, should apply to Kinkaid, St. Francis, Awty, Duchesne (girls only) and the Village School. If I had it to do over again I would try to gain admission to a private school that goes all the way through high school as early as possible so as to avoid the 9th grade admission frenzy.

I agree with everything Easily Amused and Mark SMU say about schools and real estate.

[KatieKennedy]

I had my daughter when I was 39. My husband is two years older than I am. Lots of my daughter's classmates' parents are around our age. Many of the women are professionals, doctors, lawyers, etc. that had their kids after they were done with school and established professionally. Some of the mothers are younger and some are stay at home moms. All of the parents get along because we are involved in the school and our children's education.

If you plan to apply to Houston private schools for 2014-2015 school year, the applications are due in December and the acceptances come out in March. You should get started with the application process asap. Most schools have online applications and require testing and interviews in addition to teacher recommendations.

[aprillh]

I also have to chime in for Second Baptist if you are open to Christian based private schools. All three of my girls go there and we have been very happy with our decision. It is pre-k through 12th and our plan is to keep them there all 12 years. Most of the kids at Second live in the Memorial/Tanglewood area. And many families here like to have Memorial HS as a back up in case private doesn't work out for their kid(s) - which means moving to an area zoned to that HS.

I think many of us had kids around the same time. I was 35 and 38 when I had my girls and many of my mom friends are about the same age. I don't think you would be the oldest by any stretch! And there's always vitamin "B" for extra help, lol - I have some inside scoop on that too