Every week there is some debate about zoning and school districts in the city of houston . I'm curious what are considered the "good" private schools within the city?

I'm curious if the one my grandmother taught at makes the list

I'm interested too...I'm thinking about sending my son to private school.

where did your grandmother teach?

Congrats on the upcoming bundle of joy! Will it be born with a miniature bicycle?

I went to John Paul II for elem. and middle school. It's off of briar Forrest on the west side of town. Went to Strake Jesuit for HS. Both good schools, would consider them if I can afford when the time comes.

[This message has been edited by cwpaggie07 (edited 4/23/2012 4:39p).]

I went to St. Thomas More in the Meyerland/Maplewood area from pre-k to 8th grade and then St. Thomas High School. St. Thomas HS is an excellent school.

A pure academic ranking is pretty straight forward for the top few schools. Once you factor budget, religion, and whether you feel comfortable with the people at a given school, the picture can quickly get muddy.

Purely based on academics:

1. St. Johns (undisputed academic champion). Avg SAT on a 1600 pt scale routinely over 1400.

Next group: Kinkaid, Cooper, Strake (Village School might soon join this group). Avg SAT on a 1600 pt scale routinely over 1300.

Next Group: St. Thomas Episcopal, Second Baptist, EHS, maybe a couple others. Avg SAT on a 1600 pt scale routinely over 1200.

Then a big mob of schools that are academically comparable to decent suburban public schools. Houston Christian, Woodlands Christian, etc.

My sister and I both went to st thomas more (where my grandmother taught as well). We were in the process of being transfered to st francis before my dad was relocated. STM still good? I loved it

Uncles went to strake, mom went to st agnes

What years were you and your sister and when did your grandmother teach there? I will bet that you know either myself or my cousins.

When looking at St. John's test scores keep in mind their well earned rep for driving off students they think will lower score averages. Those scores averages aren't all from the teaching.

[This message has been edited by Yakman (edited 4/23/2012 9:40p).]

Avoid Kinkaid. Their student population was so fond of cocaine that the school started implementing mandatory, random drug tests.

STM I still good stuff. I know a teacher.

for high school.
st. johns is elite. as above they select for it.
kinkaid as above has issues. tons of extracurricular stuff that only rich kids get to do (good and bad).
st. thomas episcopal as far as classical education goes was the apex in the late 90's. (so small though losing one or two professors really rocks the boat.)
as for the rest: strake, st. agnes, duchense, st. thomas, episcopal, bellaire (as good or better than most of above in IB type classes and magnet school) are all probably a toss up.

Big drug problem at Episcopal. Always have had a problem with that. Kinkaid a little better. If your kid is taking advanced classes, send them to Bellaire as they will not get a better education and it's FREE.

Big drug problem at Rice, too!

No kidding. Perspective, folks.

I'd send my kid to Kinkaid in a heartbeat.
...but I'd want him/her to MARRY the St. John's grad.

What do you guy think of St Francis for elementary and middle school (also considering Kinkaid and Second Baptist)? I'm considering private school until my son gets to Memorial High. Or if there are any other suggestions for someone who lives in Spring Valley and doesn't want to commute too far, please let me know.

Any opinions on Awty?

Too frenchy.

BSD thats a good plan. If you can live in Memorial , they have good schools all the way.

My kids went to Second. I know kids at all those schools, and they do well at each. There are problems at every school, but good kids avoid problems. Be a parent.

Curious about how long the "driving away" students at St. John's has been going on

I graduated in 95 and I don't remember anyone leaving in high school except a few people that went east for boarding school

I went to SJ. And LOL to those that think that one school has a drug problem while the other doesn't. Rich school = lots of money in kids' hands = drugs (if they are bored).

I knew plenty of guys at SJ who did drugs (all kinds, not just weed). But I feel that I got a way better education and was much more prepared for college than at other schools.

~egon

I didn't know we had so many private school snobs on this board...

Above posted is right. I went to Lamar and I remember a kid who came from St. John's because he was kicked out for smoking crack in the parking lot. Although somehow I doubt that is the drug of choice for most St. John's kids.

SJS > KHS & STM & JCS > SJS > SBS EHS STHS

And Kinkaid doesnt do drug testing*

some of the comments remind me of "she has pointy knees".

Most people here would send their kids to most the private schools listed if they could afford the 18k tuition and pass the entrance exam.

[This message has been edited by hombre (edited 4/24/2012 9:07a).]

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Avoid Kinkaid. Their student population was so fond of cocaine...

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Pointless fact. Applies to every private school.

I'm biased but think Jesuit is the best option for a son. It has top notch academics, provides a more well-rounded experience than other schools listed, and competes at the highest level (UIL 5A) athletically. Also, Jesuit has a good number of students that have financial aid/work-study that aren't spoiled brats.

How is taking classes with a single gender considered well rounded?

I was literally about to type the exact same thing.

The point is, all of these schools will get your kids where they want to go, IF they have their batteries turned on correctly and work hard.

I have a child who is a freshman this year. We looked at Episcopal, St. Agnes, Duchesne, Houston Christian and Kinkaid.

I graduated from Jesuit. It was then and is now the best education value in town, and Fr. Lahart has done absolute wonders there.

Since we are lifers in the Episcopal Church, we had high hopes for Episcopal HS. We went through the process and came away highly unimpressed. Admissions standards are largely "did the check clear?" They did implement mandatory drug testing this year and are the most expensive in town by a good margin. We were accepted.

Buck's perspective on St. Thomas Episcopal is dated. I love the rector there and end up at services there once a month. The school is small, with each class year having thirty students or less, pre-K thru 12. My issue is that easily two-thirds of each graduating class has been together since pre-K so the culture is odd. (I'll qualify this by disclosing I dated STES girls in both HS and college. Both were eye-opening experiences.)

Kinkaid is similar but not as overwhelming -- class years are much larger. We were wait listed. One of my Jesuit classmates had kids start middle school at Kinkaid a few years back; he swears he was waitlisted until his dad underwrote a new building.

Christian was interesting; that's going to be a very good school within the next few years but it's still developing. We were accepted and they were VERY aggressive about getting us to attend.

We chose St. Agnes. I was disinclined towards St. Agnes because I was unimpressed by the school when I was at Jesuit, but it's improved vastly since then. Single-sex education is also a benefit to certain kids, and there's crossover with Jesuit on most of the fine arts classes and some of the AP stuff. Another great value. Been there almost a full year and absolutely love it.

Oh yeah, all dudes, must be ghey, etc.

Most foreign language classes,theology electives, and upper level science electives are coed. The band is coed, the choir is coed, the drama departments of SJ and St. Agnes also work together. SJ and St. Agnes students also have lunch together. So yeah, well rounded.

"Kinkaid is similar but not as overwhelming "

Id venture to say that KHS is more entrenched. They havent been friends since birth, they have been friends or are related multiple generations back.

Kinkaid legacy admission is near 100%. If not, they accept maybe 3-5 kids per grade/door level and then 10-15 at 6th grade and 1-15 at HS.

"Most foreign language classes,theology electives, and upper level science electives are coed. The band is coed, the choir is coed, the drama departments of SJ and St. Agnes also work together. SJ and St. Agnes students also have lunch together. So yeah, well rounded."

Wouldnt that mean that 90+ of all public schools and other schools are well rounded? Sounds like a weak metric to measure well roundedness.


http://www.kinkaid.org/uploaded/About_Kinkaid/11_profile_final1.pdf

http://www.strakejesuit.org/s/103/images/editor_documents/GC/profile_2010_11_web.pdf

OVERALL, khs OUTPERFORMED sjs BY ABOUT 6% ACROSS THE BOARD. If you norm according to class size, then Strake would need 6 more NMF to keep pace on that front. I think the most impressive part of the entire equation is the SAT score sheet for KHS. 700+ in multiple areas is a heck on an average.

[This message has been edited by MisterHancock (edited 4/24/2012 11:30a).]

Lunch periods are open, I believe -- students from either school can eat at the other. They're not exactly cloistered at either school.

In re Kinkaid -- my point is that they are as entrenched as STES, but a Kinkaid graduating class is north of a hundred as opposed to the couple of dozen at STES. I'd use the term "inbred" in other contexts.

[This message has been edited by Czervik 86 (edited 4/24/2012 10:30a).]

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"Most foreign language classes,theology electives, and upper level science electives are coed. The band is coed, the choir is coed, the drama departments of SJ and St. Agnes also work together. SJ and St. Agnes students also have lunch together. So yeah, well rounded."

Wouldnt that mean that 90+ of all public schools and other schools are well rounded? Sounds like a weak metric to measure well roundedness.

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My comment was a direct response to the two posters that mentioned that fact that SJ is all male being counter to my argument that SJ provides a well-rounded education, not as my sole metric for determining well-rounded. For further evidence of why I believe it does, actually READ my original post. You know, the one where I listed the academics, athletics, students who aren't just there because they have rich parents, etc.

Granted most of the metrics to determine well-rounded are subjective in nature, but that's why I'm saying it's my opinion.

If you want metrics:
1. Jesuit, as previously mentioned, has average SAT scores at or above 1300 (on the 1600 scale).

2. Jesuit, when I was a student, was ranked the top Catholic HS in the state and a top 50 (top 50 isn't ranked, just top 50) Catholic HS in the US.

3. Jesuit grads are required to do a minimum 100 hrs community service their senior year to graduate, most grads do more.

There are many other points I could bring up, but since I'm trying to focus on 'metrics' I'll keep it at things that can be quantified off the top of my head.

[This message has been edited by cwpaggie07 (edited 4/24/2012 11:01a).]