School Districts CCISD vs. FISD (Houston, Dallas: houses, neighborhoods, subdivision)

[Junnipur79]

Hello, my husband and I are thinking of a move, I had fallen in love with Clear Lake City, but then heard, read actually, that Friendswood school district is better. I heard that CCISD was recognized, but FISD was rated exemplary. Anyone have any feed back? How far apart are the two? We are big water people, we want to have access to water (not waterfront property). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank ya'll!!

[txtransplant2010]

I haven't had kids in either, but I used to live in Pearland and did classroom observations as a teacher trainee in FISD and CCISD a few years back. First of all both are great districts, but CCISD is a LOT larger (several high schools vs. just one in Friendswood), so there is probably some variability based on exactly which schools you are zoned to.

Check out Texas School Performance Maps to see performance based on standardized tests (not everything, but a good comparison tool).

And unless things have changed in the last 5 years, IMHO, Friendswood seems like its less diverse/more exclusive than CCISD... But of course people whose kids have attended these might like to weigh in for a different perspective. You can also check for demographic info on the district websites.

[DanielWayne]

Friendswood ISD is much smaller - 1 high school vs 4 or 5 large high schools in Clear Creek ISD. Friendswood is just a few miles further from the bay than anywhere in Clear Lake. That distance is negligible in Texas miles. Friendswood is right adjacent to Clear Lake City area(going from west to east you can basically say it is Friendswood, Clear Lake area, and then Galveston Bay). The local mall is technically in Friendswood, but is considered to be in Clear Lake in the local media. That being said I wouldn't look at the overall district rankings since CCISD has a few underperforming elementary schools while other schools are in neighborhoods that have $1,000,000 homes, and rich people generally take academics seriously. I would say find a neighborhood where you want to live, and look at the schools zoned to it. Friendswood high school is well known for academics. I believe they regularly compete in an academic decathalon on the NATIONAL level. It is also a smaller high school. If you prefer a small town feel, then Friendswood is your best choice. Among CCISD high schools, Clear Lake high is really large, and it has a really high percentage of National Merit Scholars because a high percentage of the kids there are children of NASA employees. I work with a Clear Lake high grad, and it is really competitive at the top 10% there. Don't look at the overall district rankings because that covers a lot of territory. Look at individual schools and neighborhoods.

Yeah as said above, the Clear Lake schools are much more diverse.

[Junnipur79]

Thanks so much!!

[LostInHouston]

Here's a cool chart with the TEA rankings over the past 5 years of all the CCISD schools.

Clear Creek Independent School District: District: TEA Ratings

Also, children at risk does a yearly ranking of public high schools in the Houston area. This years rankings come out next month, but last years are located here:

http://www.childrenatrisk.org//cmsFiles/Files/2009%20Final%20List%20to%20Post.pdf (broken link)

They have Friendswood HS at #11 and Clear Lake HS (usually thought of as the best in CCISD) at #15.

[texasdiver]

Last year Friendswood won the 4A Lonestar cup which is the award given to the school at each size level that achieves the most success in UIL sponsored activities. The state has a system that assigns points for performance in every boys and girls team and individual sport as well as music, drama, debate and academic competitions. It's basically an award for the best extracurricular program in the state. Highland Park, the uber-rich high school in Dallas had won the cup in the previous 5 years before Friendswood did it last year.

That should tell you something about Friendswood. It basically means they are good at everything from choir and debate to tennis and soccer. And they provide equally good opportunities for both girls and boys. It's one thing for a school to build a good football team. It's another thing to build strong boys and girls programs in every single sport and activity.

[fryeguyltd]

We (wife + 3 elementary age kids) live in Friendswood but are zoned for CCISD. For decades, Friendswood schools have had the "image" that they are the best in the area, but recent data from har.com and tea.com shows that it is only "image".... It is often thought that because Friendswood schools are smaller that your child will get more attention from the teacher. Actually, the student : teacher ratio is higher (16.5 vs 14.5) in Friendswood, and after visiting two of the elementary schools in Friendswood, we realized that the kids were in "cubicle-like" classrooms where the noise from one bled into another. Here is another piece of data that Friendswood schools don't want you to know.... CCISD spends $10,256 / student while Friendswood schools only spend $6,980 / student. And if you're not yet sold on CCISD over the Friendswood school district, Friendswood mayor David Smith spoke at an Autumn Creek subdivision meeting and said that there is a possibility that Friendswood and Alvin school districts will be combined due to financial difficulties. It has already been reported on the news that they are going to lay off teachers....

Anyway, we love Friendswood but are often puzzled at how the school district has this false reputation of being better than CCISD....

Hope this helps....

[fryeguyltd]

First of all, thank you so much to Daniel Wayne and others for your wisdom that illustrates the pitfalls associated with school comparison. Before my first of three children started school, I was under the assumption that the right school for my child would simply be the one that "ranked higher", but I never thought about what that really meant. As I said before, we live in Friendswood but are zoned for CCISD (Clear Springs HS) by choice for our children. The best advice that I can give Junnipr79 is to research and visit as many schools as possible and not to rely on "image". For example, recent posts would have Junnipr79 believe that because Friendswood ISD is a smaller school district that their child will go to high school with less students and somehow receive more attention somehow. Actually, my children will go to the same sized high school at the new Clear Springs high school (1,804 students vs 1,995 students at Friendswood high school). Clear Springs is one of the newest and most innovative high school buildings in the area and has significantly more funding available for new academic programs than Friendswood. At the end of the day, it all comes down to comparing the actual schools and not simply the statistics. One interesting stat is that houses in Friendswood Oaks (Clear Springs high school) are selling for $75-$85 / sq ft while similar homes 5 minutes down the street in West Ranch (FISD) are selling for well over $100 / sq ft. The realtors will tell you that it's because of the school district. I only ask that Junnipr79 become a bit more educated before they believe that FISD is worth $100,000 premium on a home??? Everyone should seek to find the right school for their child because they are the most important commodity of all in this debate!!!!!