AWTY vs JOHN COOPER (Houston, The Woodlands: neighborhoods, private schools, university)

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by donblackie

I went to HSPVA and that was the type of school (im sure there are many others across the country) where you truly had kids from very wealthy families intermingling with kids straight from the hood and everything in between. I myself was on more of the side of the less priveleged but never really felt like an outcast or unaccepted. We were bonded by a common theme.....the arts.

I went to HSHP and graduated in the late 80s and had the same experience as you. Despite having a small student body, it was very diverse racially, culturally and socioeconomically. I had friends and classmates that lived all over Houston. I think back then, if you lived in a lower middle class community where the zoned HS wasn't good, but you were high achieving academically and your parents emphasized education, one of the only feasible options you had to have an excellent experience was to go to one of the magnet stand alone campuses- HSHP, HSPVA, LECJ. Obviously, these schools are not easy to get into and students may or may not continue along those particular career paths after graduation.

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

I went to HSHP and graduated in the late 80s and had the same experience as you. Despite having a small student body, it was very diverse racially, culturally and socioeconomically. I had friends and classmates that lived all over Houston. I think back then, if you lived in a lower middle class community where the zoned HS wasn't good, but you were high achieving academically and your parents emphasized education, one of the only feasible options you had to have an excellent experience was to go to one of the magnet stand alone campuses- HSHP, HSPVA, LECJ. Obviously, these schools are not easy to get into and students may or may not continue along those particular career paths after graduation.

That was 100% my experience as well. We literally had a friend where her father ran an engineering firm. Her house in West U was Sick. Easily $3-4M in today's standards of cost for homes. I remember her having a party where kids like myself came to her house along with straight up kids from South Park affiliated with Piru gangs. Her parents were so welcoming to all of us. It didnt dawn on me at the time about the diversity. I wish i was able to appreciate that more in the moment.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by donblackie

That was 100% my experience as well. We literally had a friend where her father ran an engineering firm. Her house in West U was Sick. Easily $3-4M in today's standards of cost for homes. I remember her having a party where kids like myself came to her house along with straight up kids from South Park affiliated with Piru gangs. Her parents were so welcoming to all of us. It didnt dawn on me at the time about the diversity. I wish i was able to appreciate that more in the moment.

I did recognize it at the time and appreciated it to a point, but I didn't really get how much until I was a bit older. The overwhelming and vast majority of those kids I knew who were really smart and driven, did in fact end up very successful. Many of them are physicians not surprisingly, but my classmates (there were about 150 of us) also can be found in all careers, including a few artists. We rode the bus with HSPVA kids. Half the bus of science nerds who wanted to work in healthcare and half the bus goth artistic kids. Strange bedfellows, LOL.

[Waffleton]

The schools you mentioned are public magnet schools, not private academies that cost $30k+ a year. Even if you live in a nice area, your local public school has more diversity in both race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background than a private school:

Lamar HS, which West U is zoned for:
Hispanic: 36%
Black: 30%
White: 27%
Asian: 5%

Memorial HS, which Piney Point is zoned for:
White: 59%
Hispanic: 19%
Asian: 16%
Black: 2%

Westside HS, which Energy Corridor is zoned for:
Hispanic: 43%
Black: 29%
White: 19%
Asian: 7%


St John's:
White: 83%
Asian: 9%
Black: 4%
Hispanic 4%

Awty:
White 73%
Hispanic: 14%
Asian: 8%
Black: 5%

John Cooper:
White: 74%
Asian: 11%
Hispanic: 5%
Black: 3%

Kinkaid:
White: 78%
Asian: 8%
Hispanic: 4%
Black: 4%

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by Waffleton

The schools you mentioned are public magnet schools, not private academies that cost $30k+ a year. Even if you live in a nice area, your local public school has more diversity in both race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background than a private school:



Memorial HS, which Piney Point is zoned for:
White: 59%
Hispanic: 19%
Asian: 16%
Black: 2%



Awty:
White 73%
Hispanic: 14%
Asian: 8%
Black: 5%

Good data points. The only public school on the list I would consider as high quality is Memorial HS which is very close in demographic it seems like to AWTY. My position is the better the school ranks, the less diverse it feels like. I could be wrong.

Ive spent a considerable amount of time at Kinkaid. There is definitely no diversity there and I assume St Johns feels the same

[TallGreengrass]

Originally Posted by Waffleton

The schools you mentioned are public magnet schools, not private academies that cost $30k+ a year. Even if you live in a nice area, your local public school has more diversity in both race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background than a private school:

Lamar HS, which West U is zoned for:
Hispanic: 36%
Black: 30%
White: 27%
Asian: 5%

Memorial HS, which Piney Point is zoned for:
White: 59%
Hispanic: 19%
Asian: 16%
Black: 2%

Westside HS, which Energy Corridor is zoned for:
Hispanic: 43%
Black: 29%
White: 19%
Asian: 7%


St John's:
White: 83%
Asian: 9%
Black: 4%
Hispanic 4%

Awty:
White 73%
Hispanic: 14%
Asian: 8%
Black: 5%

John Cooper:
White: 74%
Asian: 11%
Hispanic: 5%
Black: 3%

Kinkaid:
White: 78%
Asian: 8%
Hispanic: 4%
Black: 4%

Why didn’t you include Bellaire in your list? It’s got rich zoned kids and it busses in kids from all over and it’s a magnet school that chooses kids for its programs.

[Waffleton]

Only further reinforces my point:

Bellaire HS:
Hispanic: 42%
White: 22%
Black: 20%
Asian: 13%

[Waffleton]

Originally Posted by donblackie

Good data points. The only public school on the list I would consider as high quality is Memorial HS which is very close in demographic it seems like to AWTY. My position is the better the school ranks, the less diverse it feels like. I could be wrong.

Ive spent a considerable amount of time at Kinkaid. There is definitely no diversity there and I assume St Johns feels the same

I'd say that's a good rule of thumb for anything inside/near the loop. Otherwise, I imagine all the good to great suburban schools have a fairly good mix of diversity, at least at the high school level.

[hbcu]

Damn Hispanics have taken over a lot of places

Is there data where once they settle a reverse pattern happens?

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by Waffleton

I'd say that's a good rule of thumb for anything inside/near the loop. Otherwise, I imagine all the good to great suburban schools have a fairly good mix of diversity, at least at the high school level.

Lets look at Clements HS which was the zoned HS where my mother used to live and one which I consider to be a good school for academics.

Asian:53.9%
White:23.2%
Hispanic:12.1%
African American:6.7%

I wouldnt call that very diverse.