Relocating to Dallas...Christ the King or HPISD? (Houston, Plano: home, transfer)

[JTC Mom]

We're relocating soon to Dallas from out of state and will be selecting a school for our young children. We are moving to the Park Cities area and I've read about the excellent reputation of their schools. We are also considering sending them to catholic schools, which I understand in that area is Christ the King. I've read on this forum that CTK is also an excellent school and I'm interested in people's insight and thoughts on either or both options.

Besides the obvious catholic vs. public difference, are there any other considerations we should take into account in making our choice? Catholic school appeals to us but not essential and we'll likely be involved in the CTK church community regardless of where our children go to school. I like the idea of walking to school and given that there are multiple elementary school locations in the district it seems more likely that could happen if we go public. On the other hand, I have learned that two of the elementary schools are overcrowded in our grades (Bradfield, Hyer) and that mid-year newcomers to those areas would be transferred to one of the schools that has openings (Armstrong, UP) so we may not get to attend our "home school" anyway, at least not in our first year. Other than that, I like that the public schools have parents groups for preschool aged children, since one of our children is still preschool age. Does CTK have something similar? Anything else we should think about...e.g class size, how welcoming the community is to newcomers, general culture of the schools, etc.? About us: Texan by birth but it's been awhile since we've lived there, moving from East Coast, we will probably be considered "older" parents by Texas standards , successful professionals both working full time, we know Dallas fairly well and each lived there briefly in the past, before kids.

I appreciate any advice - thanks!

[DitsyD]

Just know that Catholic schools tend to have waiting lists around here. And, acceptance into the school is often based on church membership and support.

I don't know about Christ the King, only about a few other Dallas area Catholic schools. So, your children may not get into Christ the King right away. If you want them to attend, join the parish quickly and give generously.

[Leopard3]

Our family has done public schools (in Houston, with an exemplary school extremely similar to University Park schools and neighborhood) and now that we're in Dallas we're doing Catholic schools. While we're only a few weeks in at Catholic school, here are my initial thoughts:
Both schools will offer my children an excellent education.
The public schools have much to offer--in my case and in yours (HPISD) it won't be diversity of race, but it will be diversity of world views. That can be a great thing.
Catholic schools have much to offer--support in bringing up your children in the Catholic faith, reinforcing lessons you're likely teaching at home.
I'd visit the schools you're likely to live near in HPISD and also Christ the King and get a feel for the schools. There really is just nothing like visiting the schools.
We'd more or less decided (in our heads) we were doing one thing here in Dallas, then we visited a Catholic school in an area of town we liked and we fell in love with the school.
(and while most Catholic schools do have waiting lists--it is not impossible to squeeze in if you're a devoted Catholic, you plan to join the parish, and have your former priest write a letter to the parish stating you're a member in good standing and give you a glowing recommendation. I've had lots of friends complain about the waiting lists of Catholic schools...and they aren't Catholic! We were able to secure 2 slots in July in a very in-demand Catholic school--it can be done if you've been an active member in a previous parish)
We were on the east coast for 15 years prior to moving to TX a few years ago--and for what it's worth--lots of old parents here in Dallas too! No worries there! :-)

[zuzuspetalsTX]

The parents at Armstrong tend to be a bit older than the parents at other HPISD elementaries, FWIW.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by zuzuspetalsTX

The parents at Armstrong tend to be a bit older than the parents at other HPISD elementaries, FWIW.

Bradfield, too. Makes sense considering the avg home prices in Armstrong and Bradfield zones are closer to $2M vs just over $1M in Hyer / UP. It seems like there are more working moms at Bradfield than Hyer or UP, ( FWIW that's more a sampling of our friends and people I grew up with in HPISD who have moved back into the district already).

There are three "early childhood PTA's" (Hyer, UP, and Bradfield/Armstrong) that have parent social events and kid-centered events (and raise money for the elementary schools) for families with kids who are not yet kindergarten aged. I'm sure Christ the King school has something similar - or at least a kid's education program and young family groups through the parish itself.

The Park Cities is very welcoming overall. Neighbors come over with baked goods to introduce themselves, kids play freely with neighborhood friends (in addition scheduled playdates). Most families are very involved in the community, whether volunteering at the schools or supporting the high school football team on Friday nights or as involved members of a neighborhood church. Use the great city facilities like the UP public pool, the many public parks and playgrounds, etc and you'll start to find your footing in your new neighborhood.

The only thing about CKS or other private schools is that you miss out on a big part of the community since its SO HPISD focused and your kid's classmates will be from all over Dallas vs just the neighborhood. Good and bad points to each, but just wanted to say that you may have to "work it" a little harder to meet people since you wouldn't have the #1 common bond of the majority (80%+) of Park Cities families.

[mami2emily]

A lot of families I have met here in UP do public elementary, then private for the middle school years. MIS and HPMS have not impressed me whatsoever. Weak academics, not enough done in the area of bullying. Even in TAG and exploration classes, my 5th grader last year had done everything at a 4th grade magnet school.

This year I have one in high school and the difference already has been amazing. SO much better than the middle school, and this after only the first week of school.

If K-8 experience is important, do catholic school. Otherwise, public elementary, then start trying for Catholic in 4th grade.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by mami2emily

A lot of families I have met here in UP do public elementary, then private for the middle school years. MIS and HPMS have not impressed me whatsoever. Weak academics, not enough done in the area of bullying. Even in TAG and exploration classes, my 5th grader last year had done everything at a 4th grade magnet school.

This year I have one in high school and the difference already has been amazing. SO much better than the middle school, and this after only the first week of school.

If K-8 experience is important, do catholic school. Otherwise, public elementary, then start trying for Catholic in 4th grade.

The middle school has been the weak link in the district since they did away with starting to "fast-track" kids in grade 7 (back when the elem was K-6 and middle school was 7-9), laying the path for the kids who would go on to AP (then called "major works" classes) in high school. Math is currently the only subject where kids can jump ahead in grade 7. Some administrative genius thought it was better for all kids to have the same middle school experience since that age is hard enough anyways. Not completely untrue but it makes it harder on the advanced kids to be bored and stuck in classes with a bunch of kids they don't relate to at that age! The school also seems to suffer more teacher retention issues than the other 5 campuses.

A good friend of mine did HPISD elementary, Hockaday for 6-8 (or 5-8?), and then back to HPHs for high school. I have always tucked that in the back of my head for future kiddos since she seemed to have a far more positive middle school experience than we did!

Glad to hear your older one is having a good experience at HPHS! Are you going to look into private for your middle schooler?

[Spree]

You could also look at St Monica or St Rita, especially if you have a boy as Jesuit sort of shares the campus. Are the kids coming from a Catholic school? Might be a little easier finding them a spot in a Catholic school here.

[HockDad]

My understanding is that MIS has approximately 500 5th graders this year. I am not sure why, but 500 5th graders (who are still pretty young) at one school seems considerably more disconcerting than 500 seniors, etc. I am not sure if some of the Plano schools have large amounts of 5th graders in one school, but the number seems shocking and I would fear that my kid would get lost in the crowd.

Another poster referenced a plan of going to elementary at HPISD and then middle school at Hockaday. I don't think that any reasonable parent can realistically "count" on this plan. Girls transfer over every year (especially 5th grade) from the park cities, but it is alway a dicey proposition.

The HPISD schools are great, but parents do have concerns that have crept us as a result of Robin Hood. HPISD has done a great job of limiting the impact of Robin Hood (see the Mad for Plaid! campaign), but they are certainly impacted. If I had a son or daughter with lots of personality or star athlete, I would send them to HPISD. If my kid was quiet and a wallflower, private school might be a better fit.

I don't know much about CKS, but I know that the top catholic high schools are equal or close to equal of St. Marks, Greenhill, Hockaday, etc.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by HockDad

I am not sure if some of the Plano schools have large amounts of 5th graders in one school, but the number seems shocking and I would fear that my kid would get lost in the crowd.

Not even close. My kid had 57 kids in his 5th grade class in PISD.

PISD runs 6-8 middle schools, but even those max out at 400 kids per grade (with many campuses more like 300), with the 6th graders largely physically isolated from the older kids during the school day. I agree that 500+ kids for 10-year-olds seems extreme. OTOH, they're developing a "Scots" cohort from that age on, vs. PISD, where kids don't become Wolves, Panthers, or Wildcats until 11th grade.

The HPISD schools are great, but parents do have concerns that have crept us as a result of Robin Hood. HPISD has done a great job of limiting the impact of Robin Hood (see the Mad for Plaid! campaign), but they are certainly impacted. If I had a son or daughter with lots of personality or star athlete, I would send them to HPISD. If my kid was quiet and a wallflower, private school might be a better fit.

Same action in PISD. They're holding the line in cutbacks in the elementaries by really stuffing the classrooms at the secondary level. My HS kid's biology class has FORTY students. Down the line, it's the same thing. 38 kids in geography. 37 kids in math. 60 kids in humanities. If he hadn't taken oddball electives, EVERY class would be in the 35+ range. Kids who don't naturally draw attention to themselves are going to completely fade into the background.

All these yahoos yammering about schools not needing money need to get stuffed. I gotta believe that learning is impacted when you have 6 students huddled around a dissection experiment designed for 3 or 4.