Confused about Vanguard Magnet and neighborhood programs (Bellaire, River Oaks: elementary schools, university)

[lotophage]

If you aren't entering kindergarten then the G/T test isn't really going to make much difference anyway. There will be, maybe, one or two slots open for the good Vanguard magnets schools at each higher grade level and the children with siblings already at the school will be first on the wait-list.

But . . . TH Rogers is the only exclusively G/T school and it actually still ranks below River Oaks, Horn, Bush, Roberts, Oak Forest and Twain in HISD and you can just move into the attendance area for any of those schools.

[predatorprey]

Just to give you an idea on tH Rodgers admission chances

1000+ applies
Roughly 60% are GT qualifies.

Only 44 open seats of which at least 20% go to siblings. This applies only for entry grades, typically kinder.

There are many good schools that exceed or are within margin of error in quality. Best bet would to go private or target a school that meet your needs.

Never heard of any court cases in relation to the gt selection process. Even if you win You potentially take away a seat from someone just as worthy of one. Food for thought.

[lhafer]

Honestly - I think the magnet and vanguard programs are a little over rated, and that the regular neighborhood schools get slighted. You’re best bet is to rent and move to an area that is zoned to a school you are interested in. Spend the next year looking at various schools and programs and then figure out what you want to do.

[vanduzz123]

Thank you for all the responses! Moving to the suburbs seems like the best bet for good academics, guaranteed spots and some consistency with housing. Then.. there is the commute

[Vicman]

Is the ranking only for TH Rogers Elementary or does it include the Middle School too? lotophage, check to make sure whether the ranking includes all students or only the G/T ones. Rogers has three distinct programs: Deaf, Vanguard, and Multiply Impaired. If the rankings you are citing lump all three groups together, the real performance of G/T may be masked.

Originally Posted by lotophage

If you aren't entering kindergarten then the G/T test isn't really going to make much difference anyway. There will be, maybe, one or two slots open for the good Vanguard magnets schools at each higher grade level and the children with siblings already at the school will be first on the wait-list.

But . . . TH Rogers is the only exclusively G/T school and it actually still ranks below River Oaks, Horn, Bush, Roberts, Oak Forest and Twain in HISD and you can just move into the attendance area for any of those schools.

[lotophage]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Is the ranking only for TH Rogers Elementary or does it include the Middle School too? lotophage, check to make sure whether the ranking includes all students or only the G/T ones. Rogers has three distinct programs: Deaf, Vanguard, and Multiply Impaired. If the rankings you are citing lump all three groups together, the real performance of G/T may be masked.

I was looking at the Children at Risk rankings and they separate the elementary students from the middle school students. I assume the students are lumped together but 85% of the total student body at Rogers is G/T. The Deaf program students should be academically similar to the at-large district student population and there are only 25 Multiply Impaired for the entire pre-k through 8 program. When you compare that to some of these other schools were only 1/3 of the students are G/T -- in those schools the performance of the G/T students should be even more masked. Rogers has lower ESL, economically disadvantaged and at-risk populations than some of the schools ranked above it. I don't really see an obvious reason to interpret the Rogers ranking differently than the others.

[Vicman]

I notice it was No. 2 in 2016 http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-content...l-Rankings.zip but No. 7 in 2017 Children at Risk ranks the best schools in the Houston area - Houston Chronicle

Originally Posted by lotophage

I was looking at the Children at Risk rankings and they separate the elementary students from the middle school students. I assume the students are lumped together but 85% of the total student body at Rogers is G/T. The Deaf program students should be academically similar to the at-large district student population and there are only 25 Multiply Impaired for the entire pre-k through 8 program. When you compare that to some of these other schools were only 1/3 of the students are G/T -- in those schools the performance of the G/T students should be even more masked. Rogers has lower ESL, economically disadvantaged and at-risk populations than some of the schools ranked above it. I don't really see an obvious reason to interpret the Rogers ranking differently than the others.

[lotophage]

Originally Posted by Vicman

I notice it was No. 2 in 2016 http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-content...l-Rankings.zip but No. 7 in 2017 Children at Risk ranks the best schools in the Houston area - Houston Chronicle

I'm pretty sure I remember it even being No. 1 a few years before that. But I get the sense talking to other parents that, for the most part, the inner-loop elementary schools have reached "good enough" status and that there isn't much point in playing the magnet/lottery game anymore. Why stick your young kids on a school bus at 7 in the morning or fight traffic into the Galleria area if you don't have to?

[vanduzz123]

Please share some info about those "good" elementary schools. Thanks!

[Vicman]

If people in the ES program automatically get into Rogers MS, I can see some parents deciding they want their kid to get into the elementary. TH Rogers MS is smaller than those of Lanier, Pershing, and Pin Oak and I can see parents deciding that's a plus.

Originally Posted by lotophage

I'm pretty sure I remember it even being No. 1 a few years before that. But I get the sense talking to other parents that, for the most part, the inner-loop elementary schools have reached "good enough" status and that there isn't much point in playing the magnet/lottery game anymore. Why stick your young kids on a school bus at 7 in the morning or fight traffic into the Galleria area if you don't have to?