Kindergarten in CS

8,184 Views | 41 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by 94AggieME
Gabriella0713
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I am looking for some suggestions/info about best schools in the CS area. We will be moving from Indiana hopefully by this fall. My daughter will be starting Kindergarten and we want to consider the schools in relation to the neighborhoods we are considering. Public, private, dos, donts? Any info would be appreciated
curry97
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AG
Greens Prairie Elementary or Forest Ridge
agswife
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ditto curry97
Tailgate88
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AG
And between those two, Forest Ridge for sure.
Gabriella0713
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So I've heard that Castlegate is the only neighborhood that filters into Forest Ridge....is that right?
agswife
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Nope, it's Castlegate I, Nantucket, Indian Lakes, etc.

Here's the attendance map, but the Shenandoah kids will be going to the new elementary school that opens this fall so the map hasn't been updated.

http://www.csisd.org/ourpages/auto/2011/10/19/61778507/Elementary%20School%20Attendance%20Zones.pdf
Gabriella0713
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Ok that helps Thanks
DPlainview
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AG
There are LOTS of excellent elementary schools throughout the district. Throughout numerous rezzonings of CSISD nobody ever wants to leave the school they are at. I think it says a lot that everyone thinks their elementary school is the best.
Barry Potter 09
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Here is the proposed elementary school zone for the 2015 - 2016 school year.

2015 - 2016 Proposed Elementary School Zones

As for what school you want, with the overall quality of the public schools in College Station, there is no need to enroll in a private school. As for the schools individually, here is some basic information concerning each of the schools' Academic Performance Report. For a more in depth look, go to each of the school's websites and look under the Parents tab. You will find more specific information about each school, academically.

Now, the two school mentioned earlier in this thread, Forest Ridge and Greens Prairie, are both good schools. I have friends who teach at each school, and both have said wonderful things about each school. If you want some more specific details or information about the schools and school district, you can send me a PM.

Stay warm.
aggmaroon
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AG
My daughter went to Creek View. All her teachers were great. We were very happy with it. She is now at CSMS and doing very well. I have nieces and a nephew at Greens Prairie, they are very hapoy with the school. I also had nephews that went through College Hills and did great. You really can't go wrong with CSISD.
69ag
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All CSISD school are amazing. Greens Prairie can't be beat!
Gabriella0713
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Thank you all so much---this makes me feel much better. Its overwhelming to try to think about everything to prepare for a move and kindergarten is a big step as well!
Oogway
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Moving to BCS? Welcome!

You may wish to consider asking/looking into CSISD's Dual Language program. It begins in kindergarten (I believe) and is available at specific elementary schools. More info here: http://www.csisd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=164498&type=d&pREC_ID=337465


My children participate in the Gifted and Talented program and have enjoyed it, others on here have said their kiddos did not. It really depends upon the child and where their interests are.

The District also has some very capable specialists for a variety of needs.

The school websites have improved a lot of the years so hopefully that can assist you in your search. I, too, echo the posters above who said that all the elementary schools are good, we looked at houses in College Hills, but ultimately liked Rock Prairie too. The one thing we learned after moving here was that the school your student starts at may not be the one they finish at due to rezoning (lots of growth!) so keeping an open mind about a school or having a willingness to move is a good plan.
Gabriella0713
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Do all the schools offer the gifted and talented program? Where we are moving from, only 2 schools had it and children were bussed to and from to participate in the program.
69ag
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Every school has it!
techno-ag
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AG
Just move here. The schools are great in BCS. Focus on a house & neighborhood instead.
understandingmom
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I've experienced creekview and only creekview. I love love love creekview. I'm involved, not room parent or on the PTO but I am involved: on top of my kids and their work, read notes sent home, and respond to emails.
As stated above College Station has very good schools. My daughter has classmates in intermediate school that she went to preschool with but not elementary school...they picked up as friends classmates right where they left off.
Biased, sure, but did I mention I love creekview.
Gabriella0713
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Haha thanks. It's nice to hear that people are so happy. I'm going to struggle with this whole kindergarten thing so I'll probably sign up to be everything hahaha
Pyewacket
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I will put in a vote for Bryan. I know your realtor has told you that Bryan is a crime ridden ghetto, I am here to tell you it is not. Families move to Bryan because they like more individual established neighborhoods. I also like local businesses, a little less traffic and a diverse community. In addition, houses in CS are higher just because they are in CS. There are some great neighborhoods in Bryan. The residents tend to be older, but if you want neighborhoods with kids try Copperfield or Tiffany Park area. While I agree the schools in CS are better there are still highly rated schools around Copperfield and in Johnson Elementary.

I disagree that there is no need to put your children in private school. My kids attend Allen prep school because I am alarmed at the direction public school has taken. I love the way smaller class sizes, a de-emphasis on testing, programs that have been eliminated elsewhere and actual cirriculum created by educators instead non-educators driven by a personal agenda.
Gabriella0713
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There are opinions about places no matter where you live. And I'm sure Bryan is a great place. We will stay in the college station area for other reasons most likely. If we choose private school we are considering visiting BCS. Thanks for the input
Stupe
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S
That map is so embarrassing.
BQ_90
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AG
The map gets even better when you look to see where the neighborhoods feed into the high schools
Stupe
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S
No kidding. CSISD is so impressed with their elementary schools that they let one of their first graders design the attendance zone map.
techno-ag
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AgResearch
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AG
quote:
The map gets even better when you look to see where the neighborhoods feed into the high schools
Have to have 2 good football programs....I mean balance the economic profile of each high school.
DPlainview
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I tell you what Stupe, why don't you give drawing a map a shot. Feel free to post it and make sure to do it how a "smart" person would do it. I think we would all like to see your results.
Oogway
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Pardon the interruption into your discussion, but to get back to the OP's original questions--some dos (that you probably already know, but just in case)
Have your child's vaccines current and double check to ensure Indiana's requirements are the same as Texas'

Each school has a PTO and at the start of the school year you can usually be placed on a volunteer list. There are many ways to be involved (as one poster mentioned earlier) I won't list them all here, but volunteering is also a great way to get to know your child's school.

For elementary ages, there is usually a 'meet the teacher' prior to the start of school in the fall. The schools also host an open house after the start of school as well.

I mentioned the website earlier and you may have noticed the schools each have their own pages within the website, but they also have facebook too. I will add that it is a good idea to make sure your daughter's school has your correct email address--we had a problem with that one year that took a little while to sort out.

I agree with techno, though, find the house you love and your family will make it a home no matter where you live.
msaggie98
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AG
First of all, welcome!!! I noticed that you mentioned private school and I'm assuming by "BCS" you mean Brazos Christian School. We are a BCS family and we currently have a kindergartener, so I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. It is a FANTASTIC school and both Kinder teachers are amazing. I would strongly recommend that you apply early, as classes fill quickly and there are always waiting lists.
Again, please let me know if I can help at all!!
Barry Potter 09
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quote:
I will put in a vote for Bryan. I know your realtor has told you that Bryan is a crime ridden ghetto, I am here to tell you it is not. Families move to Bryan because they like more individual established neighborhoods. I also like local businesses, a little less traffic and a diverse community. In addition, houses in CS are higher just because they are in CS. There are some great neighborhoods in Bryan. The residents tend to be older, but if you want neighborhoods with kids try Copperfield or Tiffany Park area. While I agree the schools in CS are better there are still highly rated schools around Copperfield and in Johnson Elementary.

I disagree that there is no need to put your children in private school. My kids attend Allen prep school because I am alarmed at the direction public school has taken. I love the way smaller class sizes, a de-emphasis on testing, programs that have been eliminated elsewhere and actual cirriculum created by educators instead non-educators driven by a personal agenda.

With your thoughts about attending Bryan schools, there is plenty of truth with your words. Taxes also seem to be higher in CS. The main thing, unfortunately, there is the mindset about Bryan ISD not being as academically successful as CSISD, overall, in the view of many people.

As for your thoughts about private school, I see your point for being pro-private school. But, when you experience a positive public school experience, it can outweigh the negatives that sometimes come with it. I know about plenty of public schools that have a similar mentality as private schools. That mentality can go a long way.

Ultimately, there are positives and negatives for both private and public. More importantly is how parents interact with their children, teachers of their children, and other school staff members.

To be more specific, I've heard from friends whose children go to Greens Prairie say many positive things about the school. I'm not saying that it is the best, because people have different standards and expectations, but it is a highly respected school.
AgySkeet06
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AG
I have heard Christ United Methodist's School for Little People has a strong Kindergarten program. It is Monday - Thursday, but the small class size allows for lots of hands on activity with teachers.
The Grinder (99)
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AG
I will also be moving to the area with elementary school age kiddos and will continue to read this discussion for feedback. I am a little surprised that pebble creek hasn't come up one way or another. I have heard from everyone I talk to that its between pebble creek and Forrest ridge as "the best". I sort of assume that may imply the feed from the highest property value areas. I figure that these elementary school are prob fine. My bigger question was life after elementary school, ie middle and high school. Is it true that the socioeconomic breakdown of the two high schools has been kept about equal? Is there concern that consolidated is rougher than cshs? I have aver been leaning a bit towards pebble creek for the larger neighborhood and the golf course. Any further thoughts appreciated.








firefly1204
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I moved from Bryan to College Station a couple of years ago. Have no problems with Bryan but really wanted my son to end up at College Station High School, not Consol. My reason was that I believe Consol will still be larger and I wanted him in a smaller high school when the time comes, my son is still in elementary school at the moment but I was looking ahead.

Currently Pebble Creek will feed into Consol, not the newer CS High School.

Neighborhoods will just end up being what you are looking for and price range. If you want a golf course then Pebble Creek is the one, they also have a park and a neighborhood school. If you want newer houses, smaller lots and neighborhood swimming pools, then there are several "newer" subdivisions to choose from depending upon price such as Meadowcreek, Creek Meadows, Castle Rock, etc. If you want larger houses on 1 acre lots then that would end up being Indian Lakes (Forest Ridge), Williams Creek (Pebble Creek), Duck Haven, etc. Wood Creek has older homes on larger lots with trees, park & neighborhood pool, Castlegate has small lots and larger lots, walking trails, park/basketball & tennis courts and a neighborhood school. College Hills Elementary is nice, in an older neighborhood but it is hard to find decently priced houses for sale there because it is so close to A&M and the smaller houses are mainly rentals.

So like others have said, decide on what you are looking for in a house and location, while also looking at the schools. I chose Castlegate myself because of the the elementary school, high school, lots of children in the neighborhood, neighborhood school within walking distance, etc. My next choice of elementary school would have been College Hills but it feeds into the older high school when I really wanted the smaller, newer one. You really can't go wrong with any of the elementary schools.





TXTransplant
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quote:
I will also be moving to the area with elementary school age kiddos and will continue to read this discussion for feedback. I am a little surprised that pebble creek hasn't come up one way or another. I have heard from everyone I talk to that its between pebble creek and Forrest ridge as "the best". I sort of assume that may imply the feed from the highest property value areas. I figure that these elementary school are prob fine. My bigger question was life after elementary school, ie middle and high school. Is it true that the socioeconomic breakdown of the two high schools has been kept about equal? Is there concern that consolidated is rougher than cshs? I have aver been leaning a bit towards pebble creek for the larger neighborhood and the golf course. Any further thoughts appreciated.


The issue with Pebble Creek was, just before Greens Prairie first opened, the principal at PC was named the principal at GP. The way it was explained to me (by a teacher) was in order to become a teacher at GP, you had to essentially "interview" and Mrs. Bairrington (the principal) hand-picked her team. As a result, many of the best teachers at PC moved to GP when it opened. I can vouch for the great leadership and teachers at GP...my son was VERY happy there and his teachers for first and second were the kind a kid (and his mom) remembers forever. We have since moved out of the area, so I'm not sure what the current status is, but that was the situation with Pebble Creek a couple of years ago. I heard grumbling from people who were zoned to PC about the situation, but nothing major, so I don't really know how much that school was ultimately affected.
Stupe
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S
quote:
I tell you what Stupe, why don't you give drawing a map a shot. Feel free to post it and make sure to do it how a "smart" person would do it. I think we would all like to see your results.
Because designing a map for the school district is not my job and I am not paid to do it. However, someone is paid to develop and update it and it is not a very useful tool for people that are looking at buying or renting a home in this area and want to check attendance zones.
As far as CSISD as a whole, I'm very happy with the education that my kids are receiving and I have very few complaints about the teachers. As a matter of fact, we have only had one teacher/student issue and there wasn't a "fault" from either side, it was just a personality clash that was worked out.

That doesn't change the fact that something as important as an attendance zone map should be more interactive with at least an address search function and not a PDF.
Ratsa
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Stupe, there is an address lookup feature under the bus route information. I'll grant you, that might not be the first place I would think of looking for attendance zones. But if you go the the "Parent Info" section on the CSISD website, then choose "Transportation", and then "Bus Stop Information", you can type in an address, and it will show you the school that that address is zoned to for the current year.
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