Relocating from London to Dallas, need infos ! (Austin, Plano: appointed, real estate)

[London29]

Hi everyone,

We are a French-American family, currently living in London and moving to Dallas in December.

We have concerns about schools and housing :

We have come to a conclusion and decided to whether go for a Public school in Plano or for a Private School elsewhere ( fees around $13 000 ) not Hockday type...

We have looked at the Public ones in Highland Park, they seem to be really good but the houses are not as spacious and nice as in Plano for the price we want to put in.

We also considered the French International School but I 've had some bad reviews about it saying that actually the academic level is pretty low ! Anything to say about it ?

The private school need to be co-ed and non religious. Can Anyone give me a short list ? The private school doesn't have to be in Plano.

Also For the Plano public Schools, we were advised to look at the ones in West Plano, Would appreciate a top 4 or 5 list.
Have got on my list : Skaggs, Centennial, Wyatt, Bethany, Hightower, Beverley, Stinson, Boggess and Borchardt.

I hope I am not asking for too much infos but coming from the UK where our daughter has been going to a very good private school, we don't want make a mistake...

I am looking forward to reading your posts !

Best,

N

[jennifw]

My daughter attends Dallas International School. We think it is a great school, but there are some haters out there. Please let me know if you have any specific questions about it.

Good luck with your move.

[cuquitina]

Hi!!
We are also moving from Europe to Dallas!!
I'm checking some areas as I've been in the States several times but never around Texas. I've been reading this forum for about 2 months and IMHO it's quite better to find a good area with nice public schools than having a private one, although my kids are both in a private Catholic School here. Take a look at some posts talking about Highland Park ISD or Lake Highlands Highschools!!

I've read a lot of good things about schools in Flower Mound too.

I hope you find all the help you are looking for. Next step for me is to plan and get prices for moving... :S

[TurtleCreek80]

Where is your job/office, London? How long do you want to commute - in minutes- each way?

As you have discovered the Park Cities (HPISD) has the most expensive real estate in DFW. It also has - by far- the best public schools AND small schools at that. Each grade in high school has about 400 students vs Plano's 1,100-1,500 per grade in each of the 3 high schools. HPISD has only 4 elementay (K-4) schools that all feed into the same middle & high schools. It is a very small, close-knit district where all teachers and administrators will know your kids. Plano has dozens of elementary schools, many middle schools, high schools, and then three "mega" senior highs that are grades 11 & 12 only. My best friend teaches in the district, and while the kids score well on college entrance exams (SAT & AP) and state exit exams (TAKS), it can be overwhelming for some kids/families to be in a mega-district. There is a good reason those HPISD homes are smaller & more expensive- the schools and also distance from downtown Dallas (7-10 minute drive vs 40+ minutes from Plano).

There aren't many private schools in Plano because the public schools are good. The ones that are there are Catholic & Baptist. Even in Dallas, where there are tons of private schools, the only ones ghat are $13,000 /year range are going to be Catholic (a bit less for lower grades and around $15-17k for high school). The non-religious co-ed school requirement pretty much limits you to Greenhill ($20k++) at the top-tier level schools, Lakehill ($20k+) at a lesser academic level, the international school, and some of the schools that mostly focus on learning disabilities (Winston, Shelton).

[debtex]

I would caution you to take a look at the Plano high school size. As someone who grew up here & went to public schools, I think the size of the Plano high schools is detrimental to the kids. And the commute into downtown, if that's where the work is, is pretty awful. There are other good options if you want good public schools. Richardson, for a start.

Private schools here tend to be run by churches, but they are not all indoctrination factories. We go to a very good private school, and while my kids get religious education, it really feels very comfortable and manageable, even though it's not our religion they're learning about. I think of it as one more subject to be exposed to.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by debtex

I would caution you to take a look at the Plano high school size. As someone who grew up here & went to public schools, I think the size of the Plano high schools is detrimental to the kids. And the commute into downtown, if that's where the work is, is pretty awful. There are other good options if you want good public schools. Richardson, for a start.

Private schools here tend to be run by churches, but they are not all indoctrination factories. We go to a very good private school, and while my kids get religious education, it really feels very comfortable and manageable, even though it's not our religion they're learning about. I think of it as one more subject to be exposed to.

Very true. Unfortunately too many new arrivals to DFW are seeking a new build in a 90%+ white area for less than $85/sq ft. Unrealistic, but definitely NOT a possibility in Richardson.

Not saying that the OP is looking for this. Just saying it seems to be a pattern.

[London29]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the posts. It really helps to have different point of views.

I think that it is worth looking at houses in the Park Cities even if we are already focused on Plano but as I said on my previous post, we definitely want to have space ( After almost 7 years in the UK ). Our Budget for rent can go up to $4500 though if there is a bargain to be found we won't say NO

Commute is not a problem, I am a housewife, just had a baby... My husband doesn't mind commuting, his commute in London is about an hour !

Does anyone know a school called Westwood ?

In London, our Daughter goes to a Private English School, the fees are ridiculously expensive
( $ 22 000 ) and now that we have 2 kids, we thought that a good public school or a cheaper private school would be a wiser choice.

Anyone lives in Plano ? I have only seen the houses on the web, I don't know anything about it ? How is Plano ? Can you find everything ? ( Is there a wallmart, wholefoods... )

Jennifw : I would love to know more about the International school. Our daughter speaks english and French but doesn't read and write well in French that is the reason why we are considering that option.
Does it give you automatic entry to any other French Lycee ?


Have to go pick up my daughter from school, will post later.

Thanks !

[jennifw]

Originally Posted by London29

Jennifw : I would love to know more about the International school. Our daughter speaks english and French but doesn't read and write well in French that is the reason why we are considering that option.
Does it give you automatic entry to any other French Lycee ?

Thanks !

The school is about 600 students from Mat1 (3yr old) to 12th grade. We are currently on 2 campuses. The main campus is just south of 635 off of Preston & Forest. The high school is located on the campus of UT-Dallas. In January, the middle school will join the high school in a new building that is adjacent to UT-D.

The instruction is about 70% French and the rest English. Depending on your child's age, they will also get some Spanish. It is 3 hours per week in pre-school, one-hour in elementary and then back to 3 hours per week in middle school.

My daughter is in 5th grade and is completely fluent in French and English. Since they only get about 7 hours of English a week, a lot of subjects are taught in French. Almost all of her math & science is in French as is computer, gym and library. Because they follow the French system, we have to do *some* catch-up at home. This is only because they learn things in a different order than the American schools. (i.e geometry now as opposed to later) The kids take an American standardized test each Spring and doing the extra work in Math helps since the test doesn't care if they haven't learned the same subjects yet.

If you are looking for an English/American experience, you won't get it at DIS. We have a lot of great programs, but no real sports teams until you get to high school, no band, limited cheerleading, etc. I love the class size, the small environment and all of that stuff. It is a great environment, but not for everyone.

I am not sure how old your older child is, but if she/he does not write in French, that is okay, too. They pull some of the students out for a bit each day to focus on those that need a little more English or a little more French. I see this more in the lower grades than in the higher grades. I think if your child didn't atleast speak French, it would be hard to start after 3rd grade or so.

I am not sure if you would gain automatic acceptance into other French schools, but I can't see why not. DIS is part of the MLF program (mission Language Francaise) and I would think that transfer would be pretty simple.

Let me know if that helped!
Jennifer

[corfo]

Hi,
I am from the UK and moved to Plano in June.
I don't have much experience with high school in Plano, but Centennial is a great school. We live in west Plano, and the houses are very spacious most come with a pool and we live very close to some really nice parks. We had considered the park cities but you definitely get much more for your money in Plano. We were told by quite a few people that the schools in west Plano were better, I don't know how true this is.
I have met quite a few graduates from the west Plano high schools and they were all attending very good universities here (MIT, Boston College, UT Austin etc) , so I assume that class size isn't harming all the students.
The neighbours are friendly and we are close to the supermarkets, malls, restaurants etc.
Hope this helps

[compSciGuy]

You have several schools outside of Plano or outside of Plano ISD. Basically from what I've heard the curriculum for the Plano schools is basically the same, but it's the local demographics that drive the school ratings (and are often partially driven by after school / weekend programs, etc.). The schools you have listed are relatively good for the area and you are not likely to be disappointed academically (or if you are you probably won't like any of them). About half the schools on your list are diverse where being white would be a minority (main languages at home likely to be Chinese & Hindi).