rick348

I have an allergy attack everytime I enter that theater.

Winborn Elementary in Williamsburg Settlement Named one of the best schools in Texas.

Katy News

Jan. 29, 2007, 11:10AM

Magazine names 10 Katy schools as among best in Texas

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Ten Katy school district campuses are among the best public schools in Texas based on academic performance, according to a December report by Texas Monthly.

The list of the best schools includes 574. Texas has more than 1,000 school districts.

Katy schools recognized are Creech, Pattison, Williams and Winborn elementaries; Beck, Cinco Ranch, Katy and McMeans junior highs; and Cinco Ranch and Taylor high schools.

Katy district spokesman Steve Stanford said the district "apparently found out by accident" that it had made the list.

"We never received an official notice from Texas Monthly," Stanford said. "One of the principals just happened to come across it and told us. So, Marcie (King, a district communication specialist) in our office went to their Web site, got the list of schools, and thus we recognized them at the board meeting (Monday)."

An Austin-based educational national research center called the National Center for Educational Accountability developed the criteria that Texas Monthly used.

To make the list, schools had to demonstrate outstanding performance in comparison to similar schools across several grades and during several years of testing.

The performance analysis, done about every three years, focuses on students who have been in the school for a sufficient period for their achievement level to reflect the efforts of that particular school.

Schools were judged on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, including student performance in core subject areas such as math, science, reading, writing and social studies, as well as demographics from 2004-06. The analysis also took into consideration enrollment and the number of low-income students.

Katy was one of three local school districts to make the list, along with the Fort Bend and Lamar Consolidated school districts.

Let's just hope it's not another Cinemark. Everyone one of these places turns into a dive within 2 years. Before you know it they smell musty and moldy.

I've lived in the settlement for the past 3 years. I can't imagine living anywhere else in Katy. I have a large lot with a detached garage. The homes, for the most part, are well kept. All of my family has been impressed when they have come to visit. It is easy to get to I-10, Grand Parkway, shopping, and restaurants. It also has some of the lowest MUD taxes in the area. I will be very sad when I have to sell in a couple of years when I get transfered again.

I believe the original developer was JMC Homes.

I was curious if anyone knew about the former builder in Pine Lakes. The current builder is Carlisle, but there was abuilder in there before that ended up pulling out of the neighborhood. Does anyone know the story?

Also, does anyone know about this neighborhood in general? Are homes in this neighborhood going to appreciate? Is it a good neighborhood?

I bought my house in Williamsburg Settlement a couple of years ago and could not be happier. It has great access to I-10 and the Grand Parkway. It's just minutes from shopping and medical services. The best feature is the neighborhood has no streets that go straight through the subdivision. A large circle encompasses the neighborhood so we don't have a lot of drive through traffic. I live on one of the busier streets and it is always quiet. The homes are starting to age a little, so you will have some typical maintenance for a home that is 20 - 25 years old. I had also looked in Nottingham Country as well when I was in the process of looking for a new home and Williamsburg Settlement just seemed more "homey" to me. I work with quite a few people that live in my neighborhood and we all feel the same way.

Have you thought about Nottingham Country? It best to buy a least expensive house in a subdivision than the most expensive house in a subdivision. Look at some of the houses in the Dominion/Hoveden area of Nottingham. They might be in your price range. You might pick up a good deal.

Get on I-10, exit at Katy (Hwy 90).  Turn right (north) at the light on Avenue D, and Morton is about a half mile up.  The development I was talking about is on the left maybe another half mile.

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I beleive what you were talking about is the lake that the city of Katy is building for their flood plan. There will be some develpment around it but I haven't heard of anything on a grand scale. I'm under the impression that the city or county is to put a park in as well (not the Pope John Paul Park, but a different one). The Bridgelands that everyone is talking about is much further north in Cypress or Hockley. Only a small part of it will be in Katy ISD, most of it will be in Cy-Fair ISD.

Here is the latest information on the mall. It provides the same map below, except now there is a link to the rough plans for the mall and area shopping.

http://www.interfin.com/projects/westside.html

The land is owned by Simon Property Group.  I didn't see anything on their website about the development, and I don't have any pretty pictures to share.

Here's an aerial of vicinity, though.  It gives a good overview of the area.  Interfin still owns the land between the proposed mall and Mason Road, and their history would suggest that they'll do some quality things there as well.

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what ever happened to this development?

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I think you are refering to the mall to be build at Grand Parkway and I-10. The last I heard there is still a committment of the project, but specifics had not been released. Currently JC Penny is builing a new format store similar to Kohls just on the other side of the Cinimark Theater. The walls are up as well as a sign with the JC Penny logo, this store will be a free standing store similar to what you see in a Kohls development. There is also work on putting a new road into the "mall" area off of Westside Parkway. They have also been doing quite a bit of utility work in the area as well.