Round Rock--good and bad please (Austin, Bowie: home, neighborhood, school rankings)
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Drop the RR out of your vocabulary & search (unless your kids intend to take classes in the district offices). You're asking about NW Austin (not RR). Re: Westwood, it IS academically rigorous, if that's what you're looking for.
Also agree that Canyon Creek (which flows into WW) and all areas that flow into Vandegrift should be in your search area (given your work / home price situation). More asians go to the WW feeders than Vandegrift fwiw. If you decide on Canyon Creek, I can give you the low down on the ES & on the MS (cause everyone eventually has questions on Grisham). Do your kids play sports?
Thanks everyone for all the responses--they're very useful and please keep 'em coming!
We're fine with all minorities. We used to live in Northern VA. We get that the abundance of high tech jobs tends to attract certain demographics--not an issue. Your insights into the differences between Westlake and portion of Austin that feeds into Westwood are exactly what I'm looking for--thanks!
I have looked at Steiner Ranch and the Leander school district and it simply isn't competitive enough for us. Again, our 7th grader currently attends what is probably one of the top 20 (if not 10) public high schools in the country (it's only been open for 2 years and most surveys require 5 years before inclusion, but the only 2 BASIS schools that have been open for 5+ years are both in the top 10). I think it's down to Westlake or Westwood, with Lake Travis as a longshot given my perception of academic excellence between the first two and LT.
In addition to the TEA's rankings, here are the three national surveys that I typically rely upon (USNews, Newsweek, and Washington Post):
I have looked at Steiner Ranch and the Leander school district and it simply isn't competitive enough for us. Again, our 7th grader currently attends what is probably one of the top 20 (if not 10) public high schools in the country (it's only been open for 2 years and most surveys require 5 years before inclusion, but the only 2 BASIS schools that have been open for 5+ years are both in the top 10). I think it's down to Westlake or Westwood, with Lake Travis as a longshot given my perception of academic excellence between the first two and LT.
That's great and it's great that you're doing in-depth on-line research, but for those of us that have lived here for even just a few years, stating that the schools Steiner Ranch feeds into aren't competitive enough for you and that you're only considering Westwood, Westlake, or Lake Travis just sounds a bit off to us. Just find a way to get into Eanes (Westlake High) if public schools are your main concern over everything else. I don't think that I've heard someone rule out Steiner Ranch because of the schools before in the 7 years that I've lived here so it sounds like you'll only be happy with what gets the best ratings/has the best local reputation (as an entire district) and that is definitely Eanes.
Thanks everyone for all the responses--they're very useful and please keep 'em coming!
We're fine with all minorities. We used to live in Northern VA. We get that the abundance of high tech jobs tends to attract certain demographics--not an issue. Your insights into the differences between Westlake and portion of Austin that feeds into Westwood are exactly what I'm looking for--thanks!
I have looked at Steiner Ranch and the Leander school district and it simply isn't competitive enough for us. Again, our 7th grader currently attends what is probably one of the top 20 (if not 10) public high schools in the country (it's only been open for 2 years and most surveys require 5 years before inclusion, but the only 2 BASIS schools that have been open for 5+ years are both in the top 10). I think it's down to Westlake or Westwood, with Lake Travis as a longshot given my perception of academic excellence between the first two and LT.
I am encouraged you've done research on both Westwood and Westlake and, in fact, found them worthy since my responses to your posts earlier this month on the Boulder/Denver forums regarding your interest in Denver area high schools.
We are zoned to Spicewood/Canyon Vista/ Westwood and purposefully sought out this area for public school academic excellence. We are near the Spicewood/Bull Creek area. These schools serve the southern portion of 78750 (south of Anderson Mill) and far east 78726. For the most part, homes 2000 sq ft and larger range from mid 300s-700s. There is a solid sense of community in individual neighborhoods and for the overall area given the reputation of the schools.
That's great and it's great that you're doing in-depth on-line research, but for those of us that have lived here for even just a few years, stating that the schools Steiner Ranch feeds into aren't competitive enough for you and that you're only considering Westwood, Westlake, or Lake Travis just sounds a bit off to us. Just find a way to get into Eanes (Westlake High) if public schools are your main concern over everything else. I don't think that I've heard someone rule out Steiner Ranch because of the schools before in the 7 years that I've lived here so it sounds like you'll only be happy with what gets the best ratings/has the best local reputation (as an entire district) and that is definitely Eanes.
I apologize Mark. That certainly wasn't my intention. I think SR is an awesome community and it's very similar to other large, upscale master-planned communities where I've owned in Nova, Chapel Hill, and here in Phoenix. I also think that the Leander school system is very good. That being said, I'm looking to push our children as much as possible academically (within reason--hence the reason we're not looking at private or charter schools this time), and that's why I'm trying to determine the very best public, neighborhood high school in Austin (or as Idle pointed out, I'm also considering a possible relo to Denver/Boulder instead and am probably being just as much of a jerk with this same question on that forum).
The dilemma I was having (before discovering Westwood) was that Eanes was head-and-shoulders #1 in the Austin metro (according to my criteria--public/neighborhood, academically rigorous) but at my $600k max price point, I wasn't really happy with what we'd buy or where we'd fit in relative to the rest of the community, which seems to start around $400k and go up to around $10m! We fit in much better socioeconomically and LT seems to be a bit more diverse culturally, but there was a fairly significant gap between the performance of Eanes and LT High, which made the decision that much tougher. Now that I've found Westwood, it appears to me to be every bit as good as Eanes (even if it doesn't have the same reputation locally, probably due to Eanes/Westlake's overwhelming wealth would be my guess), if not slightly better, it's much more diverse (not too much) and I think we're much closer to the mid-point (maybe even near the upper-end, which, while not desirable, is certainly acceptable) in the housing market at $500-$600k.
As a result, at this point I suspect we'll continue to focus on Westwood (while not eliminating Eanes) until we learn anything that would discourage us from buying there.
I don't know why you think that Westwood doesn't have a top reputation locally. It certainly does! Most folks at least know its nickname "Stresswood."
If you are looking for academic rigor than you should investigate the magnet schools in AISD, specifically Kealing Middle School and LASA high school. Both have competitive entry and very rigorous. If you check your various surveys, LASA is the top HS in the area.
Here's the rub I see with your criteria. You're using the scores of the average to set a level of expectation for the highly motivated. Also, your information sources are highly reliant on test scores, and don't really encompass the large number of factors that surround them. I'm still trying to see where you find a performance gap between LTHS and Westlake?
Each of a large number of schools in the Austin area will provide a challenging, competitive, environment for the student that wants it, and has the backing and support in their home life (IMO, what you do is 100X more important than any school they go to). Students from Vandergrift, Westlake, Westwood, Anderson, Lake Travis, etc. all end up at the same colleges. The top 5% at each school are going to be interchangeable. All your rating and rankings aren't even looking at them, they're looking at the lower performers, as this is the only area in which these schools vary (aside from athletics and other school activities).
The only person who will care or see a difference in the added prestige/reputation of any school district is the parent. Look for the best fit for the family and the student, this "prestige" thing is wildly overrated. It's not like putting Westlake HS on a college application is going to get you any further than Akins or Bowie.
My point of view is this:
School is important, but the family is more important. Find the house that fits your needs/wants with the shortest commute possible, that's located near the most things that you like to do as a family - this allows more time together as a family, doing what your family enjoys to do.
Continue to support, push and motivate your child at home, as relying on paid strangers for that is not an effective long-term strategy, this will likely mean more than anything else.
Use the money you've saved from being able to sit around the midpoint of your price range to save up for the college tuition payments you'll be making at a top school, as your child will end up at the same colleges, regardless of where they go to HS.
Here's the rub I see with your criteria. You're using the scores of the average to set a level of expectation for the highly motivated. Also, your information sources are highly reliant on test scores, and don't really encompass the large number of factors that surround them. I'm still trying to see where you find a performance gap between LTHS and Westlake?
Each of a large number of schools in the Austin area will provide a challenging, competitive, environment for the student that wants it, and has the backing and support in their home life (IMO, what you do is 100X more important than any school they go to). Students from Vandergrift, Westlake, Westwood, Anderson, Lake Travis, etc. all end up at the same colleges. The top 5% at each school are going to be interchangeable. All your rating and rankings aren't even looking at them, they're looking at the lower performers, as this is the only area in which these schools vary (aside from athletics and other school activities).
The only person who will care or see a difference in the added prestige/reputation of any school district is the parent. Look for the best fit for the family and the student, this "prestige" thing is wildly overrated. It's not like putting Westlake HS on a college application is going to get you any further than Akins or Bowie.
My point of view is this:
School is important, but the family is more important. Find the house that fits your needs/wants with the shortest commute possible, that's located near the most things that you like to do as a family - this allows more time together as a family, doing what your family enjoys to do.
Continue to support, push and motivate your child at home, as relying on paid strangers for that is not an effective long-term strategy, this will likely mean more than anything else.
Use the money you've saved from being able to sit around the midpoint of your price range to save up for the college tuition payments you'll be making at a top school, as your child will end up at the same colleges, regardless of where they go to HS.
the challenge with lake travis or steiner is that they are really far out. You basically arent in austin. What is great about the great hills/spicewood area is that you can get to downtown in 15 minutes or so and therefore are much more likely to take advantage of all the stuff that austin has to offer.
One other thing is that when the average is higher, that implies that there are less undesirables in the school. At westwood, the academic culture is extremely intense (not for everyone) and if you are a slacker you are looked down upon. The biggest influence on your kids is the other kids they hang out with. When the average is higher the chance that your kid is going to end up with the undesirables is lower.
At westlake I would count undesirables is spoiled entitled rich kids too.
the challenge with lake travis or steiner is that they are really far out. You basically arent in austin. What is great about the great hills/spicewood area is that you can get to downtown in 15 minutes or so and therefore are much more likely to take advantage of all the stuff that austin has to offer.
One other thing is that when the average is higher, that implies that there are less undesirables in the school. At westwood, the academic culture is extremely intense (not for everyone) and if you are a slacker you are looked down upon. The biggest influence on your kids is the other kids they hang out with. When the average is higher the chance that your kid is going to end up with the undesirables is lower.
At westlake I would count undesirables is spoiled entitled rich kids too.
Well, if you have a boat and love being on the lake, then SR/LT is actually closer to what you want! I wasn't debating area v. area, I was just questioning the methodology for determining the "ideal" location based solely off regurgitated reports and implications.
One point I strongly disagree with you on: YOU are the biggest influence on your child, not their friends. And when the average is higher, there's a better chance of just being average too!
I don't know why you think that Westwood doesn't have a top reputation locally. It certainly does! Most folks at least know its nickname "Stresswood."
I definitely think it has a top reputation locally, but Eanes ISD had a better reputation as a whole compared to RRISD in regards to all schools at all levels. I would definitely do my homework since the OP has a 9 year old in order to make sure that there wouldn't be any district rezoning in the future as the area grows. I haven't researched that specifically.
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