I am looking at a job in Plano off Bush between 75 and 78.

Can anyone recommend good neighborhoods that I should look at? Would like to target low-mid 300s, but willing to go up to 425k for the right house/community.

Any recommendations for good public schools for high-functioning autism would also be appreciated, but have a couple of private schools picked out as some options.

Willing to drive in from North McKinney/Frisco for the right situation/cost.

Appreciate any help with information. I'm possibly going to visit this weekend to look through some neighborhoods.

We live in Woodbridge, and are in the Sachse city limits on the Dallas County/GISD side. Don't have a school aged child yet so can't say much for the schools we would feed into other than what online stuff says. North of Creek Crossing through the Sachse side gets into Wylie ISD and Collin County. North of 78 gets into Wylie city limits. (Oddly enough, I can hit a 5 iron and land the ball at Cox elementary (WISD) but would still have to send my kid to GISD...just the way the county lines break down.

As far as the neighborhood, we like it. Lots of young families, lots of community pools that seem well maintained. Having the golf course close is nice, especially for twilight 9-hole runs when random time becomes available. There are some newer developments in the neighborhood that probably push closer to 400k, but there are regularly pre-owned homes in the $300-350k range. There are also lots of other neighborhoods popping up in the Sachse/Wylie corridor along 78 and along Sachse Rd.

I will say that generally speaking City of Sachse seems to be slow to move on things. Merrit Rd sucked for along time but they recently repaved it. I think they did that due to the new Station multi-use development coming up at 78 between Miles and Merrit. Both Sachse and Wylie seems to be trying to add more to their offerings as small towns since the growth is trending that direction anyways. Food truck parks, cleaning up old downtown areas (or in Sachse's case, developing a new downtown area along 5th street in the near future).

I like that we can get to Plano/Richardson areas quickly (less than 25 minutes or so to get up the Tollway if no traffic) but are still relatively remote for being in the suburbs. It's mostly quiet at night and "feels" a bit more rural.

A couple of observations:

78 is turning into problem due to the railroad yard that has added a lot of trucks carrying containers into the metroplex. But it is do able.

Wylie schools (with the exception of the woke junior high social studies teacher who attempted to connect the KKK with the police) are excellent.

Best traffic situation would be to look at something in the Richardson ISD. ie schools that feed into J J Pearce High School but those homes are getting pricier. You would be going to work opposite of the traffic.

If you lived in McKinney/Allen/Plano, traffic on Central is not ideal.

I teach in Frisco but not SPED. We have a pretty robust SPED department with a lot of different settings. Most of the surrounding districts should as well. As for neighborhood, you want to pick a feeder pattern which can be daunting. Also, with the amount of programs we have, not all of the 10 campuses have everything on site. For instance the high school I'm at has the job placement class where kids from all over town are bused here then go out to their jobs with the teachers and aids.
I would reach out to district SPED folks in your target areas to see what they have. Then talk to Cody Robinson (an Aggie realtor out of Prosper) to figure out neighborhoods.

Seconding the Cody Robinson recommendation.

cadetjay02 said:

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As for neighborhood, you want to pick a feeder pattern which can be daunting.

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Not sure how it might differ for a SPED situation but this doesn't really apply to Garland ISD due to school choice.

Here are some ideas for you:

Richardson ISD- Bowie Elem, Parkhill JH, JJ Pearce. Look in zip code 75248 for houses in this feeder pattern. You will be looking at high 300's to mid 400's.

Richardson ISD- (houses here are hard to come by)- Canyon Creek Elem, North JH, JJ Pearce. 75080
Mohawk Elem also follows same JH and Highschool feeder pattern, but houses are hard to come by and usually more than you are wanting to spend. Prairie Creek Elem is same way and houses will always be more than you're looking to spend.

I'd also look into Plano ISD schools because they are very well versed in teaching kids with autism. They were one of the first districts in the country to really invest a lot of money for autism related classes and programs back in the early 90s. 75082 and 75094 would be close to your job- Boggess Elem (75094), Hunt Elem (75094), Miller Elem (75082)

For Wylie ISD-

I'd suggest Whitt Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High school feeder. (75048 and a few neighborhoods south of Renner Rd. in 75094)

Also, Tibbals Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High.

We lived in that area for 24 years and I grew up not far from there.

While the JJ Pearce track in RISD is a good one. You are also in Dallas County. Having also grown up in the area we both didn't want Dallas county so we crossed that off our list.

Collin County but in the City of Richardson turned out to be a great option for us. Plano ISD schools are excellent, and there are plenty of resources within the district. I'm not aware of the details for SPED but both our kids had some relatively minor issues that they were able to work through and go on to succeed.

The 75/Bush corridor is centrally located with every store imaginable within 20-30 minutes or less. DART is right there so you can hop on it to downtown, zoo, etc. Also, it's an easy commute down Renner or Bush going toward 78 for your job.

My wife and I moved to Wylie a few months ago and love it so far. We live in Inspiration, a master development community unlike anything we've ever seen. Lots of younger families, with an elementary school in the neighborhood. Would recommend you check it out

murphyag said:

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Here are some ideas for you:

Richardson ISD- Bowie Elem, Parkhill JH, JJ Pearce. Look in zip code 75248 for houses in this feeder pattern. You will be looking at high 300's to mid 400's.

Richardson ISD- (houses here are hard to come by)- Canyon Creek Elem, North JH, JJ Pearce. 75080
Mohawk Elem also follows same JH and Highschool feeder pattern, but houses are hard to come by and usually more than you are wanting to spend. Prairie Creek Elem is same way and houses will always be more than you're looking to spend.

I'd also look into Plano ISD schools because they are very well versed in teaching kids with autism. They were one of the first districts in the country to really invest a lot of money for autism related classes and programs back in the early 90s. 75082 and 75094 would be close to your job- Boggess Elem (75094), Hunt Elem (75094), Miller Elem (75082)

For Wylie ISD-

I'd suggest Whitt Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High school feeder. (75048 and a few neighborhoods south of Renner Rd. in 75094)

Also, Tibbals Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High.

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If you decide to look in this zip code, don't rely on your realtor to tell you which district a home is in. Most of these houses are along Murphy Road and the district boundaries can be confusing. Some neighborhoods are split between the districts (much like the Woodbridge example someone mentioned above). If the district matters to you, then I would visit the district website and enter each address that interests you.

I second the TIbbals and Whitt feeder pattern suggestions. Check out Murphy Farms and Sachse Farms for Whitt and Maxwell Creek for Tibbals.

I'm in Murphy but Wylie ISD (Whitt Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High school feeder). So far we really like the schools. Our superintendent is great and provides great leadership. If you are looking for larger lots, I recommend Murphy Farms. Our neighborhood is close to Murphy farms, but mostly older folks and very few kids (my biggest gripe). However, there's no HOA which can be really good if you want a shop in the back. From these couple of neighborhoods, your commute would be less than 10 minutes. I have a pretty good guess of where you will be working.

I second CCag. The realtor listed my house as Plano ISD. It ended up being Wylie. It worked out. If needed, we could help with those types of questions.

Thanks Everyone for the comments. I appreciate the all the help.

cc_ag92 said:

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murphyag said:

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Here are some ideas for you:

Richardson ISD- Bowie Elem, Parkhill JH, JJ Pearce. Look in zip code 75248 for houses in this feeder pattern. You will be looking at high 300's to mid 400's.

Richardson ISD- (houses here are hard to come by)- Canyon Creek Elem, North JH, JJ Pearce. 75080
Mohawk Elem also follows same JH and Highschool feeder pattern, but houses are hard to come by and usually more than you are wanting to spend. Prairie Creek Elem is same way and houses will always be more than you're looking to spend.

I'd also look into Plano ISD schools because they are very well versed in teaching kids with autism. They were one of the first districts in the country to really invest a lot of money for autism related classes and programs back in the early 90s. 75082 and 75094 would be close to your job- Boggess Elem (75094), Hunt Elem (75094), Miller Elem (75082)

For Wylie ISD-

I'd suggest Whitt Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High school feeder. (75048 and a few neighborhoods south of Renner Rd. in 75094)

Also, Tibbals Elem, Draper Intermediate, Cooper JH, Wylie High.

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If you decide to look in this zip code, don't rely on your realtor to tell you which district a home is in. Most of these houses are along Murphy Road and the district boundaries can be confusing. Some neighborhoods are split between the districts (much like the Woodbridge example someone mentioned above). If the district matters to you, then I would visit the district website and enter each address that interests you.

I second the TIbbals and Whitt feeder pattern suggestions. Check out Murphy Farms and Sachse Farms for Whitt and Maxwell Creek for Tibbals.

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The districts, unfortunately, don't know much better than anyone else does where their boundaries are in many cases. As an RPLS I've dealt with ISD boundaries and they are a special case of convoluted unlike anything else of which I'm aware.

If you want to really know where an ISD boundary is anywhere it doesn't follow a major geographic feature at the least you need both ISD's descriptions and a competent surveyor (and possibly an attorney).

Quote:

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Merrit Rd sucked for along time but they recently repaved it. I think they did that due to the new Station multi-use development coming up at 78 between Miles and Merrit.

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FYI in case you were not aware - https://movingmerritt.com/

I'm partial to the West Frisco area that feeds into Wakeland HS. Purefoy Elementary is top notch as are all the other elementary schools on the west side of the DNT that are close to El Dorado Parkway..(Corbell, Fischer, Pink, etc.)...although some feed into Lone Star HS...I'm partial to the Wakeland feed though. In regards to Special Ed., for Frisco ISD, we personally know 3 families with kids on the spectrum (HF side) and they have no complaints that they have spoken of. They talk often about what's going on and are happy with their kids progress in the schools.

Draw a big rectangle from El Dorado, to the Dallas NT, down to Lebanon, over to FM423..and back up to El Dorado. Work in that rectangle...If you want to fine tune that...Go from El Dorado, over to DNT, down to main, over to FM 423 and back up. We live in that square (3 kids in elementary school). Family life is wonderful. We have access to everything I/We could possibly need within in 5 minutes or less.

Now, the commute...if you live up here, you will be paying tolls to go to work everyday so factor that in. Commute time wise, it shouldn't be over 45 minutes if you work a 7-4 schedule. I commute the opposite way from West Frisco to DFW area and it takes 30-40 minutes which is just fine to me.

I am a product of the Richardson ISD as are my kids. We all went to JJ Pearce. While the district is still pretty good it's not what it used to be. You've got to make sure you're zoned in the right areas. There are some very sketchy areas within the RISD.

Not going to get into the Richardson / JJ Pearce feeder for ~$350k unless it's a dump.

In that price range, for a good district with SPED programs, you're better at looking in South Plano and hoping to get zoned into Plano West...

or look at Allen/McKinney.

Could do Frisco too but I see higher cost and longer commute.

My advice to anyone with a child on the SPED spectrum, whether it's dyslexia, behavior, autism, or life skills - get a PROFESSIONAL advocate for your child. There are tons of state laws on what your child must be provided in the form of education that many people aren't aware of... and, sadly, many educators aren't either.

No offense, but I don't know why anybody would want to put their kid in Allen ISD. I can't see any benefits to a high school of 6,000 kids.

cadetjay02 said:

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No offense, but I don't know why anybody would want to put their kid in Allen ISD. I can't see any benefits to a high school of 6,000 kids.

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Maybe because kids are in school for 9 years before they get to that high school?

Allen ISD seems to be the highest rated of all the districts listed in this discussion by a wide margin (Richardson, Plano, Wylie).

OP - my wife is a BCBA and has 8 years experience working with kids with autism on the private side. She knows where to go and not to go in the area. I'll post later this morning on areas when she's awake and had coffee.

I recall a Plano elementary school specifically set up to help kids on the spectrum. There is also a non-profit center in Plano that is supposed to be great. She can also give you recommendations of places to get services if you have the insurance coverage, whether it's center based or after school.

A few random thoughts. Her order of what she thought was best.

1. Private school. Public schools for SPED are mostly terrible and now even worse with COVID. My wife mentioned researching Frisco ISD as they do a better job than most and finding out the best teachers. She mentioned any district could work so long as the special ed teachers are good, but Can't go more into specifics as she left the public side very early in her career as it was a bad experience.

2. Public school route - Get an advocate - second what the poster above said. She warned that higher functioning kids have a harder time in public school, so doing this sooner will make your child's life easier.

3. If high functioning, she recommended that any center or home based therapy might be too much, but that's obviously for you and your family to decide.

4. If you go private school, East Richardson will be much cheaper than west Richardson. Also, south Plano with the Plano West pipeline would be ideal also. We lived in Allen, and you can get a nice house under $350k easy. Commute to your office would be under 30 min. Bought a home in Allen and commuted to Richardson so I have experience there.

I'd say high school is pretty important seeing as that's how you get into college. So for Allen, you have 1 valedictorian, 1 starting quarterback, and 1 student body president. A Frisco school is less than a third of Allen High and for those 6,000 kids, there are 3 valedictorians, 3 quarterbacks, and 3 presidents. All three of those are difficult to achieve, but I'd take my odds at the smaller school.
If you want your kid to be in the band of 900 kids and be able to go to more football playoff games because there are hundreds of kids on the various teams then more power to you. Otherwise, I'd rather improve their odds of actually having an impact and being recognized for it.

cadetjay02 said:

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I'd say high school is pretty important seeing as that's how you get into college. So for Allen, you have 1 valedictorian, 1 starting quarterback, and 1 student body president. A Frisco school is less than a third of Allen High and for those 6,000 kids, there are 3 valedictorians, 3 quarterbacks, and 3 presidents. All three of those are difficult to achieve, but I'd take my odds at the smaller school.
If you want your kid to be in the band of 900 kids and be able to go to more football playoff games because there are hundreds of kids on the various teams then more power to you. Otherwise, I'd rather improve their odds of actually having an impact and being recognized for it.

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More power to you. Drinking that Frisco KoolAid homey. And in that same vein, is the reason why Frisco hasn't won anything since they were the Home of the Fightin' Coons.

I guess I'm guilty of caring more about academics and student achievement than freaking high school football. I guess the academic state championships, better AP scores, and number of national merit scholars aren't your thing.
FYI- Frisco schools do win sports championships regularly at the 5A level. For instance, did you know that the last UIL championship played in the spring was girls basketball. You know who won 5A? Frisco Liberty, have a nice day.

My son has autism and we're finishing up in Frisco. Good experience. Get on the list for "my possibilities" in Plano. It's a forever school and heard nothing but good things. My son starts there next year.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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cadetjay02 said:

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I'd say high school is pretty important seeing as that's how you get into college. So for Allen, you have 1 valedictorian, 1 starting quarterback, and 1 student body president. A Frisco school is less than a third of Allen High and for those 6,000 kids, there are 3 valedictorians, 3 quarterbacks, and 3 presidents. All three of those are difficult to achieve, but I'd take my odds at the smaller school.
If you want your kid to be in the band of 900 kids and be able to go to more football playoff games because there are hundreds of kids on the various teams then more power to you. Otherwise, I'd rather improve their odds of actually having an impact and being recognized for it.

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More power to you. Drinking that Frisco KoolAid homey. And in that same vein, is the reason why Frisco hasn't won anything since they were the Home of the Fightin' Coons.

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Allen wouldn't win a damn thing if it were a normal sized high school.

Allen should win state in basketball and football every single year if you have 7,000 kids.

For Richardson the Parkhill side of Pearce is probably the sweet spot. North has gotten a little sketchy so those leaving PCE/CCE have to just hang on for two years. There is a threat that PCE/CCE are to lose their 6th grade which makes that side less a value.

Problem is a bare lot is going for 350k+ now in any of the elem districts that have value. New construction is now averaging over 1000k and built out stuff that is reasonably updated is 250/ft.

Brentfield ES

If you do want to look at the Frisco school district, look in the Westridge area of Mckinney. We just moved out of that neighborhood after living there for 10 years and it is a little pocket that is in the Mckinney city limits but Frisco ISD. The market rounds out right at your budget as well. Your commute would be further but if you use Custer or Coit going South it isn't awful(my wife drove from there to Rockwall).

ChoppinDs40 said:

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cadetjay02 said:

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I'd say high school is pretty important seeing as that's how you get into college. So for Allen, you have 1 valedictorian, 1 starting quarterback, and 1 student body president. A Frisco school is less than a third of Allen High and for those 6,000 kids, there are 3 valedictorians, 3 quarterbacks, and 3 presidents. All three of those are difficult to achieve, but I'd take my odds at the smaller school.
If you want your kid to be in the band of 900 kids and be able to go to more football playoff games because there are hundreds of kids on the various teams then more power to you. Otherwise, I'd rather improve their odds of actually having an impact and being recognized for it.

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More power to you. Drinking that Frisco KoolAid homey. And in that same vein, is the reason why Frisco hasn't won anything since they were the Home of the Fightin' Coons.

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High school smack by grown-ups is really, really depressing.

It was hard to resist.

The zealots of Frisco kind of drive me crazy. I've got no beef with cadetjay.

I just know he's a vocal anti-prosper/allen/plano/mckinney and thinks Frisco walks on water.

To each his own - he's not the only one.

Growing up in the area, it's been interesting to see the stark differences in these districts that all butt up against one another.

Burb vs. burb; kind of refreshing to have some fighting going on here besides Dallas/Ft. Worth or Dallas/Collin County.