How can I evaluate Barton Hills, Zilker, Eanes elementary schools? (Houston: real estate, home)

[yam]

I'm trying to evaluate Barton Hills Elementary, Zilker Elementary, and Eanes Elementary schools, with the goal of selecting a neighborhood where my kid can grow up within walking distance of Zilker Park. I'm aware of their TAKS scores and I've read the reviews at greatschools but the reviews represent an awfully small sample size, and many of them are not recent. The reviewers also seem like a self-selected group that is not necessarily representative of the overall population.

Any tips on how to evaluate the actual education the kids receive at each school? For instance, how does BHE handle smart kids with no gifted/talented program? And how well are the kids at Zilker Elementary prepared for the rest of their education after 5th grade? My impression from Zilker's website was that the school is creative and fun but not terribly scholastic.

[austinnerd]

One additional resource are the rankings put out by "Children at Risk":

Children At Risk [Improving the lives of Children in Houston]: Data & Issues :: Austin Public School Rankings 2010

That said, if possible, I'd highly recommend actually visiting each school and talking to them. Better yet, find out who the teachers are for the grade(s) that you are interested in and then try to find out information from others on those specific teachers. If there's one thing I've learned is that it's really the teacher that makes all the difference in the world. A bad teacher at a good school can ruin the whole experience.

As for your question about GT programs in AISD, I've commented on other threads about how dissatisfied I am with how AISD handles this. Since they don't have a dedicated GT curriculum, teachers, or classes, you are highly dependent on the skills of the individual teacher (back to that again).

As for preparedness, that's a tough call. Since you mentioned GT, would you be satisfied if your kiddo was just as prepared as an average student heading into an average middle school? If that's the case, then I'm sure any of those elementary schools would meet that goal. However, if you have something more in mind, then you need to nail down what that is (check out the 6th grade curriculum and decide where you want your kid to be relative to that) and then see if any of those schools can meet that. If you are thinking of possibly sending your kid to Kealing Magnet, then you will likely have different requirements from the elementary school.

In general, I'd recommend the following:

- First and foremost, keep on top of what's going on with your kiddo in school. Communicate with the teachers and make sure they have a clear understanding of what your goals and expectations are since it might not mesh with theirs (e.g. they might think your kiddo getting a B is wonderful, you might think it's unacceptable). Not all teachers will take this to heart, some might not even agree with your, but a lack of communications should never be an excuse for your kid not maximizing their time in school.

- Be prepared to supplement. As mentioned previously if your kid shows above average ability in various subject categories, the teacher/program may not be able to bring your child along at an optimal level so you might have to fill in the gap yourself.

- Be one step ahead. It's never too early to be looking forward to the next level. If your kid is very bright and self motivated, then start looking at places like Kealing and be sure to understand what type of requirements it takes to gain entry. We actually went backwards, started at the high schools (e.g. LASA) and said what is the best path to get them ready for it. You can't hit the rewind button on your kiddos education, but you can peek forward, use it to your advantage.

- In real estate it's "location, location, location". In education it's "teacher, teacher, teacher". Communicate with neighbors, folks online, wherever to get peoples opinions on individual teachers and then use it to your advantage. For example, while AISD doesn't allow you to explicitly ask for a teacher, you can gear your answers to their questionnaire to try to steer the "powers that be" to select the teacher you want.

Good luck.

[yam]

Thanks Austinnerd. Anyone else have comments?

[centralaustinite]

Well, as TexasHorseLady, says, not every school is a good fit for every child!

Much depends on the child and on what you value. Zilker will have the most economic and ethnic diversity. Families transfer in just for that, they have an involved parent community and an emphasis on art and music. Barton Hills is less diverse, the academics a bit more traditional. Parents also very involved. For a different perspective on Eanes and info on GT, you can look here: Keep Eanes Informed Home

The best advice is to visit the school and talk to the principal and teachers.

good luck

[yam]

Thanks. I'm aware of the Keep Eanes Informed website. I must say it was quite a shock the first time I stumbled across it. I'm actually in Eanes right now, Forest Trail area. I originally moved out here for the schools and the (relatively) close access to Town Lake. Now that I've been here a few years, I find that I'm not entirely comfortable with the way Eanes operates (the fight over the physics teacher really upset me), and that I'd rather be a bit closer to Zilker (ie walking/biking distance rather than short driving distance). I find myself driving to Zilker almost every day, either for a run at Town Lake or to take my toddler son to the various attractions nearby. I'm just not quite sure how to balance out the world-class academics at Eanes versus the intangibles at the other schools.

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Well, as TexasHorseLady, says, not every school is a good fit for every child!

Much depends on the child and on what you value. Zilker will have the most economic and ethnic diversity. Families transfer in just for that, they have an involved parent community and an emphasis on art and music. Barton Hills is less diverse, the academics a bit more traditional. Parents also very involved. For a different perspective on Eanes and info on GT, you can look here: Keep Eanes Informed Home

The best advice is to visit the school and talk to the principal and teachers.

good luck

Curious to what you mean about BH being more traditional? I'm looking at these schools as well.

Thanks!

[yam]

Any other comments???

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by yam

Thanks. I'm aware of the Keep Eanes Informed website. I must say it was quite a shock the first time I stumbled across it. I'm actually in Eanes right now, Forest Trail area. I originally moved out here for the schools and the (relatively) close access to Town Lake. Now that I've been here a few years, I find that I'm not entirely comfortable with the way Eanes operates (the fight over the physics teacher really upset me), and that I'd rather be a bit closer to Zilker (ie walking/biking distance rather than short driving distance). I find myself driving to Zilker almost every day, either for a run at Town Lake or to take my toddler son to the various attractions nearby. I'm just not quite sure how to balance out the world-class academics at Eanes versus the intangibles at the other schools.

Just consider that having your child go to Eanes schools does not guarantee that they will flourish, just as going to one of the non-Eanes schools you've mentioned is going to doom your child to second class status. If you're willing to put some effort into your child's education, then whether they go to Eanes or not is likely a secondary issue if the quality of life plus' of living by Zilker is that important to you and your family.

That said, another thing to explore is that Eanes does accept out of district transfers. Doing something like this is always iffy of course since you're never quite sure you'll make it in, but it certainly is a way to "have your cake and eat it too".

Yet another thought is that you could take the money you _might_ save by not purchasing that Eanes home and using it to send your kiddo to a private school or augment their public schooling with tutoring. If your kid is bright then going to a private elementary school and then going to Kealing/LASA could work out ok for you.

[Acuda]

Austinnerd gave some solid advice/tips. Bright kids can succeed and progress most places. I teach in Pflugerville and we have 3 former Dessau students, a middle school not even remotely comparable to Eanes/West Austin, and they are off to Harvard this year. I agree one should visit the campus, get a tour, and talk with the administrators.

Pflugerville Independent School District :: Harvard Bound (http://www.pflugervilleisd.net/features/harvard.cfm - broken link)

Oh, if I remember correctly, I believe that Fulmore Middle is the magnet more geared towards Liberal Arts/Humanities in AISD.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Acuda

Oh, if I remember correctly, I believe that Fulmore Middle is the magnet more geared towards Liberal Arts/Humanities in AISD.

Yes it is. AISD is also considering starting a Fine Arts magnet middle school at Lamar Middle School (McCallum is the existing Fine Arts magnet high school). The list of AISD magnets can be found here:

Austin Independent School District : Schools