Best School District's in Houston Area??? (Dallas, Katy: home, colleges, salary)

[usc619]

Originally Posted by kenoshakristy

Thanks for all the great info. I have been finding houses in The Woodlands, Spring and Katy that I like so far. My thought is that I should find a great High School then work down from there. Any thought on that??

Do what makes you happy, it's not like a school dist. is going to guarantee your kids success.

[dweej]

Originally Posted by AlexTx

Is there a website that shows the test scores and profile for each school?

I used to have a link to the Chronicle that had a "grade" for each school, but the link doesn't work anymore.

I think someone may have mentioned this one already, but it's very easy to use and to spot performance trends in certain areas: School Performance Maps

And of course, there's always GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community which lets you read reviews by actual parents.

[blkgiraffe]

the private school district.....

[kimber6337]

Houston is really big and if you live in Katy and work on the other side of town you are in for one heck of a drive, so what part of Houston would will live/work would be helpful. You also have to be very careful in Houston- as many have posted this school is good and that one isn't theory - it could never be more true!

If you have at LEAST 500K to spend on housing, the spring branch schools mentioned above are great and the area is central for pretty much anywhere you could be working.

Bellaire is also good, but there are a lot of tear-downs there and the prices are jumping quickly and have for years. Not sure if the economy has slowed those prices down any.

If you have a very smart child/ren, Cyfair ISD is great, but don't waste your time if you need assistance.

[kimber6337]

Originally Posted by kenoshakristy

Thanks for all the great info. I have been finding houses in The Woodlands, Spring and Katy that I like so far. My thought is that I should find a great High School then work down from there. Any thought on that??

that works good on paper, but Cy-Fair is rezoning pretty frequently due to the HUGE growth of the already massive district. I'm not sure about Katy and I think the Woodlands is about as expanded as its going to get.

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by sevfiv

^Schooldigger has some information, as well as Schoolmatters..
Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.
SchoolMatters - Home (http://www.schoolmatters.com/ - broken link)

for the OP, I would look in to magnet programs as well - I think they can be a b*tch to deal with sometimes, but it offers options to attend schools not in your immediate zoned area.

Fwiw, I went to all HISD schools - Horn Elementary, Lanier MS, and Bellaire HS. No complaints here.

Yeah, I attended all Fine Arts magnet schools in HISD. Roberts ES, Pershing MS, Westside HS (Fine Arts/Integrated Technology)--all fine schools. I was zoned to some not so great schools like Sharpstown MS/HS. Granted my family moved to attend Westside, but great schools can be had, for the right price (and/or sacrifice)

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by kimber6337

that works good on paper, but Cy-Fair is rezoning pretty frequently due to the HUGE growth of the already massive district. I'm not sure about Katy and I think the Woodlands is about as expanded as its going to get.

The Woodlands is still expanding. They have lower schools with 1300 kids in them. Temp buildings all over the campus'. The schools are realitively safe, but very average for such a driving commitment.

To the OP- I don't know where you are working, but The Woodlands is a big commuting commitment unless you work there.
Also, just like anywhere, the more money you have to spend on a house, the better districts and schools you can get into. Or, like said before, go private and live in a more modest house if you have to. Or if you have crazy amounts of income, get a great house in a great district in a great location and go private anyway.

[citizen_jane]

Oh my gosh... the schools in the Woodlands are so overcrowded! Especially the high school and 9th grade campus. My daughter plays on a select basketball team that practices in the Woodlands and most of the kids go to The Woodlands High School or College Park. One of the parents told me they were very pleased with the lower grade schools but they've been less impressed with the jr high and high school. Basically said, if your kids are in the top percentile or lower you get a lot of attention and resources. Anywhere in the middle and you're ignored. However, I think it's that way at many schools.

[sevfiv]

Originally Posted by dweej

School Performance Maps

Geez - from the amount of red on that map (if you are hesitant about sending kids to school with other kids that do poorly on standardized tests), looks like private schools will come in handy.

Also, here is a link to the TEA's 2007-2008 AEIS reports:
2007-08 AEIS Reports

[dweej]

Originally Posted by sevfiv

Geez - from the amount of red on that map (if you are hesitant about sending kids to school with other kids that do poorly on standardized tests), looks like private schools will come in handy.

It seems to me to be pretty typical of a large metro area- the affordable areas closer to city center tend to have, on paper, schools that perform more poorly. Areas near city center that have highly ranked schools are in very affluent, expensive neighborhoods, and the affordable neighborhoods with high performing schools are further from city center. You'll see the same pattern if you use that map to look at Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, San Diego....