Private vs magnet schools (Houston, Pearland: rent, crime, houses)

[pawtucketpatriot]

I've posted here before (appreciate the advice)...looks like a move will actually happen in 6 months or so. In the meantime, I've reconsidered the option of living in the city (Meyerland, Westbury, etc.) to make a commute to the TMC area reasonable.

My question is this: would you consider some of the highly rated magnet schools an equally good option if private school affordability was not an issue? What about Bellaire or Lamar? I'm leaning to private, only because giant city schools seems daunting for my kids used to a much smaller environment.

Our other idea was to go the suburb route, but seems like a horrid commute and really not an escape from crime: at least the crime maps I've seen show just as much in Sugarland as Meyerland. Although recent threads have other opinions.


Thanks in advance

[houston-nomad]

Are you looking only at high schools?

[pawtucketpatriot]

Good question, thanks

Middle school as well, which I know can be tricky. We are also willing to go with private for middle, public for high school if that works out best. Seems like options for a house zoned to both good middle and good high schools leaves us few options under 650-700K (upper budget limit).

[Houston321]

From your screen name I assume you are coming from the New England area? You may already know this, but beware of the property tax in Texas. Bank on about 3%, that can alter your home price range if not accounted for. I am also from the Boston area, so feel free to PM me with any questions. Here are a few takes from me. Let me preface this by saying I love living in Houston and would never go back to Boston...only to visit.

1. The public schools here for the most part are pathetic to what I was used to in Massachusetts, which is why we go private. However, some of the specialty public schools are excellent....just depends on how smart your kids are.
2. The seafood here sucks, not even close to what we get back there
3. If you are working in TMC people are going to recommend Pearland. Don't do it, Pearland sucks
4. Traffic is a nightmare. People say Boston traffic is bad, not even close to here, and I used to take Rte. 1 into Boston quite often.

[houston-nomad]

I live in the neighborhood you are targeting. My kids have been to public elementary and one is going to public middle. The other is going to private for the end of elementary and for middle. This is because they are different kids. One is psyched about the big middle school and all it offers for sports, music, etc. The other will do better in a smaller environment.

For high school, we will see-- if a magnet school is the right fit, hells yeah we'll save ourselves the money. If not, we will find a way to pay for private. There is no one-size-fits-all answer with Houston schools.

PS The public middle my kid is going to is Johnston. We turned down Lanier MS, Pin Oak MS, and a private school acceptance, to go there.

[Jonathz]

I think for elementary or middle school, I would go to the private school route. it is simply because the best time to form the study habit is elementary and middle school. It pays to have more attention from the teacher in private school.

[Augiec]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

I live in the neighborhood you are targeting. My kids have been to public elementary and one is going to public middle. The other is going to private for the end of elementary and for middle. This is because they are different kids. One is psyched about the big middle school and all it offers for sports, music, etc. The other will do better in a smaller environment.

For high school, we will see-- if a magnet school is the right fit, hells yeah we'll save ourselves the money. If not, we will find a way to pay for private. There is no one-size-fits-all answer with Houston schools.

PS The public middle my kid is going to is Johnston. We turned down Lanier MS, Pin Oak MS, and a private school acceptance, to go there.

Strictly out of curiosity, and not to derail the thread, but why Johnston? My kids are young, with the oldest being in Pre-K, so I'm not going to dwell on MS yet; but from my understanding getting them into Pin Oak is considered desirable.

[pawtucketpatriot]

Thanks everyone. Very helpful comments

Houston321: yup, Boston area. I knew about the taxes. I'd like to say the lack of income taxes make up for it, but not quite.

I appreciate the other comments as well. My kids are more likely to be on the math team than football team, so a smaller environment will probably work better.

And yeah, I've spent years fighting Boston (and 128) traffic, but I always have the T option, which I won't in Houston. I think I understand why the prices are so high in Bellaire, West U, etc. (typical nice Boston suburb prices, though). I think avoiding the aggravation is worth a premium. We don't need a huge house.

By the way, Houston321, how do you feel in terms of crime/safety versus Boston? Apples and oranges I know: Boston is puny compared to Houston. I'm just trying to take the comments here on citydata with a grain of salt.

We'll probably rent at first unless prices crash in the next few months due to the oil situation (fat chance, I know), but I'd like to at least target the general area.

Thanks again

[KatieKennedy]

My daughter went to a very good public school for elementary school and private for middle and high school. There are some very good private middle schools in HISD, but many of them are in high demand with lotteries for the available slots. If you are zoned to a good middle school, you are in luck. Your kids can always apply to a magnet or Vanguard program for high school with private as an alternate plan. Many families do this.

Bellaire and Lamar are pretty good high schools, but they are not as good as some of the private high schools. Both are very large schools. Private school admissions can be a tricky business. The competition for the few slots is fierce. The natural private school entry points are 6th and 9th grade. Other years, the openings are by attrition. If you plan to move here in 6 months, your kids should start interviewing and applying this fall for private school slots for the fall of the following year. Many of the private schools have open houses in the fall with applications due in December. Decision letters go out in mid March.

[KatieKennedy]

Typo . I should have said very good public middle schools in HISD