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Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Originally Posted by descovy
I live in Cinco Ranch and just want to share my insights FWIW...
Katy schools are good simply because they are "perceived" to be good. My kids go to Katy schools, and do great at them. I'm a happy parent. But make no mistake... they are not doing anything "super-special" that any other school would/would not do. There isn't magic school dust on the North side on FM 1093 (the line that divides Lamar Consolidated and Katy ISD) My kids have had great teachers, and they have had "eh" teachers. Also a lot of new, young teachers! They have also dealt with over-crowded schools, rezones (even if you get to stay... half your friends leave) So its good... but its not magical. I can't imagine an individual child doing better/worse at a Richmond school vs a Katy school. It's just that Katy has the flashy reputation, and is certainly the "safe bet" for out of towners.
Completely agree with this. And we're not at either... we're in FBISD. Certainly some schools stand out, especially Clements in FBISD. But overall, these three districts are generally similar IMO.
I would also check out the "old" Katy neighborhoods like Green Trails and Kelliwood. These are fantastic and have some gorgeous homes, and good schools.
We just bought an inventory home in Northwest Harris County (and it was helpful to have a realtor when working with the builder). We are also new to Houston and didn't know if we were going to buy new or older-our realtor is amazing and was very helpful! She specializes in the Cypress/Northwest area, but also works in Katy. I can't recommend her enough.
Shannon Lester Our Agents | Shannon Lester - Heritagetexas.com
If you are looking for good public schools, consider Katy (KISD) or Sugar Land (FBISD), both have excellent schools. I personally know that people move out of Richmond once their pre-K kids grow up and need to attend public elementary schools. They want better public schools for their kids. Of course, if you attend private school, that's another story.
Can you give me any specific information on why Katy would be better?? Here is exactly why we are so conflicted, if you read my thread there are people who say "definitely" stay in Katy (vs Richmond). Then there are those who say, really it's just "reputation".
The one thing I do know is that Katy has two high schools rated in the top 1000 schools in the country. It seems that I saw school test rankings somewhere but now I can't find them. Would love some actual data to compare which schools are the best.
Agree that a Realtor will be very helpful to you as you don't know the area.
I live in Cinco Ranch and just want to share my insights FWIW...
Katy schools are good simply because they are "perceived" to be good. My kids go to Katy schools, and do great at them. I'm a happy parent. But make no mistake... they are not doing anything "super-special" that any other school would/would not do. There isn't magic school dust on the North side on FM 1093 (the line that divides Lamar Consolidated and Katy ISD) My kids have had great teachers, and they have had "eh" teachers. Also a lot of new, young teachers! They have also dealt with over-crowded schools, rezones (even if you get to stay... half your friends leave) So its good... but its not magical. I can't imagine an individual child doing better/worse at a Richmond school vs a Katy school. It's just that Katy has the flashy reputation, and is certainly the "safe bet" for out of towners.
On housing... you may get "more" for your money in Richmond. But I ask you to consider, how much "more" do you really need? You will be heating/cooling/maintaing/repairing all that space. A big kitchen sounds awesome until you find yourself logging thousand of footsteps cooking dinner. So are you looking at 2500 sq ft, 3500sq ft, 4500 sq ft? Why? because you "can" or because you will actually use the space? Marry that with the neighborhood... will you be as happy outside your big house as you are on the inside? Map out where you think you'll grocery shop, dine out, go to church, see the dentist, take the kids to dance class... Do you like the distance and choices given?
We did the Richmond vs Katy decision in 2007. Almost signed on a new build in Long Meadow Farms. I'm sure we would have been happy there. But thinking through all these factors (above), we chose a home in Cinco Ranch. Our house is 2700 sq ft... not huge, but fits our family of 5 nicely. Every kid gets their own room, they have a playroom, we're all happy. We enjoy the amenities of the neighborhood, especially having 9 pools to choose from. Yes, we 5 each have our favorites! Schools are good, kids are happy. We like our choices for shopping, dining, church, etc... Back in 2007 it seemed that all our errand running would be in Katy, may as well live in Katy. There has been more growth south of 1093 since then, though. But I rarely go that way, you will need to look into that on your own.
Good luck! Home my experience helps some in your decision.
Thank you so much! This sounds exactly like us . . . we are also a family of 5, comparing these two areas/subdivisions/schools, looking for a house 2500- 3000 sq ft (hopefully). I LOVE the idea of the amenities at Cinco Ranch, actually, once we found Cinco Ranch I thought that was it, no more looking around necessary, I wanted to live there. Then my husband started looking around & found larger houses in other areas, with bigger trees, etc.
I, personally, think the amenities at Cinco outweigh having a bigger house, bigger trees, etc., but he is not convinced. Would love a little more info, if you don't mind . . . . do you guys LOVE living in Cinco? Do they have great family activities? Plenty of shopping, restaurants, churches, etc.? Are there too many people at activities, amenities? We are concerned about the size of Cinco & size of the schools since it is SO big, what do you think???
I would also check out the "old" Katy neighborhoods like Green Trails and Kelliwood. These are fantastic and have some gorgeous homes, and good schools.
Thank you! We have seen some houses in these as well that we liked. Definitely would consider either of these, depending on if we can find a house in our price range that has what we need.
We just bought an inventory home in Northwest Harris County (and it was helpful to have a realtor when working with the builder). We are also new to Houston and didn't know if we were going to buy new or older-our realtor is amazing and was very helpful! She specializes in the Cypress/Northwest area, but also works in Katy. I can't recommend her enough.
Shannon Lester Our Agents | Shannon Lester - Heritagetexas.com
Thank you so much! This sounds exactly like us . . . we are also a family of 5, comparing these two areas/subdivisions/schools, looking for a house 2500- 3000 sq ft (hopefully). I LOVE the idea of the amenities at Cinco Ranch, actually, once we found Cinco Ranch I thought that was it, no more looking around necessary, I wanted to live there. Then my husband started looking around & found larger houses in other areas, with bigger trees, etc.
I, personally, think the amenities at Cinco outweigh having a bigger house, bigger trees, etc., but he is not convinced. Would love a little more info, if you don't mind . . . . do you guys LOVE living in Cinco? Do they have great family activities? Plenty of shopping, restaurants, churches, etc.? Are there too many people at activities, amenities? We are concerned about the size of Cinco & size of the schools since it is SO big, what do you think???
I appreciate any input! Thank you!!!!!
The people who say you MUST be in the Katy school district most likely will not be able to tell you why bc thats jsut the reputation that KISD has.. Lamar CISD has come a long way in the last 5 years. There has been a lot of growth in North Richmond , 77407, and those schools are just as good as KISD.
"Lamar CISD achieved Recognized status for the second straight year, continuing a history of academic success. This status came in spite of new measures added to the state’s rating system, making it more difficult for schools and districts to earn this honor. The Texas Education Agency rated 11 campuses as Exemplary and 13 as Recognized, meaning 75 percent of Lamar CISD schools are ranked in the upper tiers of the state’s academic rating system. Earning Exemplary status are Wertheimer Middle School and Austin, Bowie, Campbell, Dickinson, Frost, Hubenak, Long, Ray, Velasquez and Williams elementary schools. Foster High School, Briscoe and Reading junior highs, Navarro and Wessendorff middle schools and Hutchison, McNeill, Meyer, Pink, Seguin, Smith, Thomas and Travis elementary schools are ranked Recognized."
We live in Lakemont, which is the northern border of LCISD. We enjoy all of the restaraunts, retail, and shops that are located in Cinco Ranch along Mason and Fry. When buying in KISD, you are going to pay extra just for that name.
Thank you so much! This sounds exactly like us . . . we are also a family of 5, comparing these two areas/subdivisions/schools, looking for a house 2500- 3000 sq ft (hopefully). I LOVE the idea of the amenities at Cinco Ranch, actually, once we found Cinco Ranch I thought that was it, no more looking around necessary, I wanted to live there. Then my husband started looking around & found larger houses in other areas, with bigger trees, etc.
I, personally, think the amenities at Cinco outweigh having a bigger house, bigger trees, etc., but he is not convinced. Would love a little more info, if you don't mind . . . . do you guys LOVE living in Cinco? Do they have great family activities? Plenty of shopping, restaurants, churches, etc.? Are there too many people at activities, amenities? We are concerned about the size of Cinco & size of the schools since it is SO big, what do you think???
I appreciate any input! Thank you!!!!!
We really are happy to be living in Cinco. As mentioned earlier, we do make full use of the amenities especially the pools and parks. Cinco does do family activities such as fishing near fathers day, back to school pool party at the water park, easter egg hunts, movie nights, concert nights. Im pretty sure theres a cinco website. Im subcribed to the email list so its been years since I went to the site directly.
For big trees, look in more established areas in Cinco Ranch such as Northlake Village, Southlake Village, etc... Driving down Cinco Ranch Blvd between Mason & Peek is a canopy of mature trees, so the neighborhoods nearby would be similar. The bigger the tree, the older the house. Katy is "prairie" on its own. And as stated by another poster, venture out of Cinco ranch to neighborhoods like Kelliwood, Green Trails, Nottingham for established neighborhoods with beautiful houses and large trees.
Shopping is good... La Centerra has some nice shopping/dining and also holds community events. Dining is good too, although we arent big out-to-eaters. I do most of my shopping at Super Target or up and down Mason Rd. Just about anything you need is on Mason Rd.
Cinco is big, but it certainly isnt any more crowded than anywhere else. I am not going to lie, the schools are huge though. Elem is built for 1,020, Jr High for 1,400, High School for 3,000. Many are at or over capacity. My kids are easy-going and have gotten along with all the overcrowding issues, but I admit, they have experienced them. You asked about "rankings" Seven Lakes and Cinco Ranch I think are the ones in the national rankings. Honestly I dont put that much stock in the rankings though. I dont think a few test score points adequately reflect the day-to-day life of an individual student. Say you pick SLHS... yeah you get the "high rankings" but it is currently the most overcrowded school.
My kids used to go to Griffin Elem, now rezoned to Stanley elem. My oldest went to Woodcreek Jr High, now rezoned to Seven Lakes Junior High. We are slated to go to Seven Lakes high school. I have liked all the schools my kids have attended, but as stated earlier, they have had great teachers and just ok teachers. I really dont see how their specific experiences would have varied much at a different school nearby (even Lamar Consolidated)
BTW... if worried about overcrowding, look into the zoning of Griffin. They are "landlocked" into about 800 students without much future growth. Fantastic principal, and I am close friends with a few great teachers there. Parts of Cinco Ranch and Grand Lakes are zoned to Griffin.
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