From Austin suburb to southern Houston suburb with high school daughter (Sugar Land: fit in, crime)

[FleurD]

Hello,

I've read through the Houston forum on moving to the Houston area, but would like more information. We've never moved our children out of district, but my husband is looking to take a job in Pearland. Our daughter is interested in engineering. I read some of the schools even have biotechnology? Of higher importance, is a good school that is friendly to newcomers - she'll be a junior. Many of the schools in southern Houston suburbs are ranked in US News, but I'm a bit surprised at how low the math scores are showing from this website. Many are 38 - 41% proficient?! That doesn't sound great.

As far as which city, I like lots of walking trails and clean, nice stores/activities (the latter sounds odd and superficial when I read it ). We like to do things around town, but are not into night life. A neighborhood with a trail is a plus. I've considered some of the master planned communities, since we are new to the area. I thought it might be easier to become involved in the community. We would probably expect to spend around 400K. We have older children, who visit quite a bit, plus extended family who will visit often so a larger home is helpful. I don't see a lot of crime in this area so I can look up statistics myself. I'm asking more for the vibe/personality of the area. (As an example: Georgetown north of Austin is more conservative, with nice shopping, Liberty Hill is more rural/also conservative, and Round Rock is little more similar to Austin - a mix of liberal/moderate/conservative with a large number of restaurants. That's simply my opinion - I'm not trying to state fact.) We're moderate so I'm not worried about politically - tend to avoid those type of discussions. Suggestions or thoughts anyone as I continue my research?

Recap:

1) Good schools with a friendly atmosphere - not too cliquish - anxious about my high schooler
2) Walking trails
3) Nice shopping/restaurants/family activities

Thank you in advance for your time - FleurD

[Turnerbro]

Pearland/Missouri City area.

[swopoe]

What the above commenter said, or even Sugar Land.

[War Beagle]

Chances are this will probably be a very crappy experience for your daughter. I got moved halfway through my sophomore year and I never really fit in the last two years of high school. Wanting a high school that isn't cliqueish is kind of like wanting a lion that doesn't eat meat. Most of the kids will be well entrenched in their cliques and "roles" by junior year.

The best thing your daughter can do is find some activities with like-minded kids, or find other new kids. What I ended up doing was getting a part-time job. For whatever reason, the friends I made junior or senior year were through work rather than school.

[nana053]

Dawson High school is very good and I don't find it too cliquish as it is extremely diverse. If your daughter has an activity that she can get involved in that can help with making friends. My granddaughter is in band which is extremely intense, but gives her a social outlet. The school is very competitive for academics though.

Turner High school has dual credit college classes and there are classes in engineering there, not biotech though.

As for the test scores, you need to look at the numbers of students that are on free lunch, etc. We may have more students who are ESL students as well, not sure. Not knowing which school she is coming from, I just compared Austin and Pearland on Niche

This rating may be helpful>
https://www.niche.com/k12/glenda-daw...l-pearland-tx/

https://www.niche.com/k12/d/pearland...l-district-tx/

https://www.niche.com/k12/d/austin-i...l-district-tx/

[sentrywoods]

Pearland will be a good fit especially if your husband is working in Pearland. A short commute to work allows you to more time to spend together as a family. The schools are good and I have found the people to be very friendly.

[pc50]

Clear Lake on the north side. (Clear Lake HS). Not a bad commute to Pearland. Nice communities

[FleurD]

Thank you for all replies.

My husband has accepted the job in Pearland. Our daughter is not crazy about the idea of solid shirts/pants in this district or Alvin District because she had to wear a uniform several years (elementary/middle). I know it's minor, yet since she didn't choose the move, I'm willing to check out options.

1) What is the commute like from League City?
2) What about Friendswood - perhaps Clear Brook? I've read some negative opinions on Clear Brook.
3) Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend ISD (Sienna Plantation) and commute from this area?

We'll schedule a visit to a few schools in early May so I'm trying to narrow the field a little.
Thank you again for responding.

[Vicman]

1. One note is that under Texas state law one can choose to opt out of public school uniforms http://web.archive.org/web/200802080.../uniforms.html (as long as you present evidence of a bona fide philosophical and/or religious objection), but I don't think the Pearland and Alvin ISD dress codes will be considered uniforms and therefore she won't be able to be opted out of them. (The state law doesn't define what "uniform" means, so the case law determines that, and the case law seems to say that it's a uniform if it restricts what colors may be worn).

2. AFAIK Sienna Plantation and Friendswood are doable!

Originally Posted by FleurD

Thank you for all replies.

My husband has accepted the job in Pearland. Our daughter is not crazy about the idea of solid shirts/pants in this district or Alvin District because she had to wear a uniform several years (elementary/middle). I know it's minor, yet since she didn't choose the move, I'm willing to check out options.

1) What is the commute like from League City?
2) What about Friendswood - perhaps Clear Brook? I've read some negative opinions on Clear Brook.
3) Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend ISD (Sienna Plantation) and commute from this area?

We'll schedule a visit to a few schools in early May so I'm trying to narrow the field a little.
Thank you again for responding.

[MAROON79]

Pearland HS
Friendswood HS
Clear Lake HS
Clear Springs HS