Memorial Area Schools

[wordgirl]

OK. Maybe it is a loaded question, but I welcome your feedback. My husband and I need more space for our growing family, but are still wrestling with the decision on whether to make the move out to the burbs. We are in HISD and can do the Vanguard/magnet thing, but kinda liked the idea of our kids growing up and going to school with the same bunch of kids. Spring Valley seemed like a good option because it is zoned to Valley Oaks, Spring Branch Middle and Memorial, and is still close in.

We are not millionaires, and I want to raise a grounded kid. Are we out of our league here? Does anyone have experience with these schools? Of course, academically, Memorial is excellent. Valley Oaks is recognized and Spring Branch Middle got an acceptable score this year, although they have performed better in the past.

Thanks!

[VicMan]

Where are you zoned?

Some of the zoned schools on HISD's west side are good too.

Type in your address at: http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/abcx_tool/search.asp

This should determine where you are zoned.

As for the Memorial area schools - They are in the Spring Branch ISD: http://www.springbranchisd.com/

[wordgirl]

Where are you zoned?

Some of the zoned schools on HISD's west side are good too.

Type in your address at: http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/abcx_tool/search.asp

This should determine where you are zoned.

As for the Memorial area schools - They are in the Spring Branch ISD: http://www.springbranchisd.com/

Thanks for the suggestion.

We are zoned to Garden Oaks elementary and Oak Forest in nearby. Choices nearby for middle and high schools get rough. We would have to be shuttling kids across town. Spring Valley is closer to here I work part time and downtown where my husband works, than the west side of Houston I think. I work at Gessner and Kempwood.

[VicMan]

Lanier Middle and Lamar High are rated highly and are located about 9 miles from your Garden Oaks house. While they have magnet programs that take up chunks of the campuses, they are "traditional" American schools at heart.

However if Spring Branch is closer to where you work and you can afford it, I would say "Go" for it.

Spring Valley is zoned to:

* Valley Oaks Elementary School in Houston - http://voe.springbranchisd.com/

* Spring Branch Middle School in Hedwig Village - http://www.springbranchisd.com/schools/allcampus/mid/sbm.htm

* Memorial High School in Hedwig Village - http://www.springbranchisd.com/schools/all...us/high/mhs.htm

Spring Branch ISD also has a school zone feature at http://fmp.springbranchisd.com/address/address.htm

Also, Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD provide school buses to all kids who live more than 2 miles from their schools (this also applied to magnet programs) or have major obstacles. In other words, if your child(ren) are in an HISD magnet school and it's more than 2 miles from the the house, the kids get school bus transportation.

Edited April 11, 2006 by VicMan

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Lanier Middle and Lamar High are rated highly and are located about 9 miles from your Garden Oaks house. While they have magnet programs that take up chunks of the campuses, they are "traditional" American schools at heart.

However if Spring Branch is closer to where you work and you can afford it, I would say "Go" for it.

Also, Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD provide school buses to all kids who live more than 2 miles from their schools (this also applied to magnet programs) or have major obstacles. In other words, if your child(ren) are in an HISD magnet school and it's more than 2 miles from the the house, the kids get school bus transportation.

Ah school busses......we used to call them the "Big yellow cheese wagons" when i was in school

[wordgirl]

Huh...I didn't know they bussed to magnet schools. Something to consider.

[mbgriffith1]

I am a graduate of Memorial High School and strongly believe that it is the best public education in the city, bar none. Lamar, Bellaire, and Stratford would be the only other schools in the actual city of Houston that I would consider as far as public schools go. However, Memorial can be rather snotty as many of the kids live in multi million dollar mansions and they all drive 40k and up foreign cars, but if a great education is what you're looking for then look no further. However, I will warn you that both Valley Oaks and Spring Branch have apartments and lower end housing zoned to them so I would be wary of those schools. Personally, I would move in the Villages south of I-10 to avoid those problems and get zoned to Memorial Middle School.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

I am a graduate of Memorial High School and strongly believe that it is the best public education in the city, bar none. Lamar, Bellaire, and Stratford would be the only other schools in the actual city of Houston that I would consider as far as public schools go. However, Memorial can be rather snotty as many of the kids live in multi million dollar mansions and they all drive 40k and up foreign cars, but if a great education is what you're looking for then look no further. However, I will warn you that both Valley Oaks and Spring Branch have apartments and lower end housing zoned to them so I would be wary of those schools. Personally, I would move in the Villages south of I-10 to avoid those problems and get zoned to Memorial Middle School.

Better have deep pockets for the villages, atleast now.......my parents property value has skyrocketed since they first moved and built there in the 1970's :):)

[Lowbrow]

Memorial Bend is zoned to Memorial High, Memorial Middle, and Rummel Creek Elem. All are great schools and the Bend isn't crazy overpriced like much of the 77024 zip area. Although I believe there are even less expensive homes bordered by I-10, Beltway-8, Gessner, and Memorial. They are probably zoned to Frostwood Elementry.

[MexAmerican_Moose]

Huh...I didn't know they bussed to magnet schools. Something to consider.

i used to go to Lanier Middle Middle School, a bus picked me up at Carrillo Elem. in Magnolia in the East End. i had to wake up pretty early though. the kids are pretty snobby though. if you are black or hispanic like me and you go there, expect some haters

[wordgirl]

Better have deep pockets for the villages, atleast now.......my parents property value has skyrocketed since they first moved and built there in the 1970's :):)

What villages are we talking about? Hilshire? That's too rich for my blood.

[VicMan]

I am a graduate of Memorial High School and strongly believe that it is the best public education in the city, bar none. Lamar, Bellaire, and Stratford would be the only other schools in the actual city of Houston that I would consider as far as public schools go. However, Memorial can be rather snotty as many of the kids live in multi million dollar mansions and they all drive 40k and up foreign cars, but if a great education is what you're looking for then look no further. However, I will warn you that both Valley Oaks and Spring Branch have apartments and lower end housing zoned to them so I would be wary of those schools. Personally, I would move in the Villages south of I-10 to avoid those problems and get zoned to Memorial Middle School.

Actually the villages south of I-10 are also zoned to Spring Branch Middle School. In fact, Spring Branch Middle School is in Hedwig Village - South of I-10.

i used to go to Lanier Middle Middle School, a bus picked me up at Carrillo Elem. in Magnolia in the East End. i had to wake up pretty early though. the kids are pretty snobby though. if you are black or hispanic like me and you go there, expect some haters

How long ago did you go to Lanier?

My sister went to Lanier from 1998 to 2001. Lanier was a mix of kids when she was there. There are a lot of wealthy kids at Lanier since Lanier is the neighborhood school of River Oaks.

Edited April 12, 2006 by VicMan

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

What villages are we talking about? Hilshire? That's too rich for my blood.

I grew up in Bunker Hill Village.......

[wordgirl]

I am a graduate of Memorial High School and strongly believe that it is the best public education in the city, bar none. Lamar, Bellaire, and Stratford would be the only other schools in the actual city of Houston that I would consider as far as public schools go. However, Memorial can be rather snotty as many of the kids live in multi million dollar mansions and th ey all drive 40k and up foreign cars, but if a great education is what you're looking for then look no further. However, I will warn you that both Valley Oaks and Spring Branch have apartments and lower end housing zoned to them so I would be wary of those schools. Personally, I would move in the Villages south of I-10 to avoid those problems and get zoned to Memorial Middle School.

Thanks for the info. Sounds lilke Memorial has a lot to offer, but I'm not too keen on the snotty factor. Can't keep up with those Joneses. Guess it is too much to hope for a mostly middle class experience near the city. Seems like what you get is a mix of very rich and very poor.

I grew up in Bunker Hill Village.......

Oh, you did say south of I-10. Got my directions mixed up.

[VicMan]

My family has a middle-class experience in a neighborhood near West U. My sister was "middle class" and did fine at Lanier Middle School and Lamar High School.

If you want a "middle class" experience, you may want to try Oak Forest or Garden Oaks and then shoot for Lanier and Lamar.

By the way, I want Spring Branch ISD to merge with Houston ISD so Memorial High School is open to all Houston residents. MHS can establish a magnet program and get kids in Houston.

Edited April 13, 2006 by VicMan

[MexAmerican_Moose]

Actually the villages south of I-10 are also zoned to Spring Branch Middle School. In fact, Spring Branch Middle School is in Hedwig Village - South of I-10.

How long ago did you go to Lanier?

My sister went to Lanier from 1998 to 2001. Lanier was a mix of kids when she was there. There are a lot of wealthy kids at Lanier since Lanier is the neighborhood school of River Oaks.

i went at the same time..exactly 1998-2001

[mrfootball]

y the way, I want Spring Branch ISD to merge with Houston ISD so Memorial High School is open to all Houston residents. MHS can establish a magnet program and get kids in Houston.

Yes, I imagine the Memorial folks would be 'thrilled' for this to happen...

[VicMan]

Yes, I imagine the Memorial folks would be 'thrilled' for this to happen...

Actually, they would... after I point to the fact that Bellaire HS and Lamar HS (of West University Place and River Oaks) are open to most city residents... AND are still very successful schools. Also, in this scenario, Memorial HS gets to pick its out of zone students, rejecting kids with severe disciplinary problems. Also it gets to have tons of more athletes for sports competitions. Oh, sure, schools are technically not allowed to "recruit". But the big schools still do that.

Edited April 13, 2006 by VicMan

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Actually, they would... after I point to the fact that Bellaire HS and Lamar HS (of West University Place and River Oaks) are open to most city residents... AND are still very successful schools. Also, in this scenario, Memorial HS gets to pick its out of zone students, rejecting kids with severe disciplinary problems. Also it gets to have tons of more athletes for sports competitions. Oh, sure, schools are technically not allowed to "recruit". But the big schools still do that.

SSSHHHHHHH. stop telling well known secrets :):):)

[VicMan]

SSSHHHHHHH. stop telling well known secrets :):):)

Aww, dude, I love telling them since some people don't know or understand those things

By the way, it's also good since a kid in Bunker Hill could apply to and get into a school like HSPVA or DeBakey. So you would have kids go back and forth between Spring Branch and what is currently HISD.

Edited April 13, 2006 by VicMan

[GhostDog]

I say if you're kids are zoned to HISD or any public school in the city, do what you can to get 'em in the magnate programs.

I graduated from HSPVA after having spent a couple years in the Pasadena District (I caught a bus on the edge of Houston near Glenbrook Valley area) and the quality of education and students was night and day different...

Even more than that- EXPECTATIONS of the students were much higher.

we had kids from all the great neighborhoods in houston and all the worst neighborhoods too.

had kids that were part of the country club and kids that were in gangs...

however for the most part when the bell rang (or the A 440 sounded) kids were there because they wanted to be there...

we had no fights at school and i'd come from a school where daily fights were common place...

granted HSPVA is a performing/visual arts school however if you can get your kids to something similar...IMO its the way to go in Houston...

oh and try to realize that just cause school isn't all white middle class does not make it a bad school.

Edited June 16, 2006 by GhostDog

[lilyheights]

Huh...I didn't know they bussed to magnet schools. Something to consider.

I thought that was the point.

[lofiunico]

I just graduated in May from Stratford HS. I went to Rummel Creek Elementary and Memorial MS. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed a pretty down to earth public school experience. Memorial MS was a little snotty, I'll admit. Everyone has insecurity issues in middle school anyway. Stratford is certainly a bit more balanced in terms of diversity than say Memorial HS. The snotty attitude is much less noticeable there. There are a couple of kids who do the whole $40k + automobile thing, but for the most part they stay within their own realm. Most people are firmly middle or upper middle class, but the apartments surrounding the school bring economic diversity. The education, while not without its problems, is top notch (especially in the Honors and AP Programs). I had 5 or 6 friends transfer from Memorial HS to Stratford because of a pervasive snotty attitude (plus there's a more noticable drug scene due to disposable income). In the same way, I had 5 or 6 friends who transfered from Spring Woods HS to Stratford because the school was not challenging enough. Hope that helps.

[KatieDidIt]

Wilchester is booming like crazy now, like it did in the early 80's. It sure would be nice to see Westchester High School open again and give that area more choices. Friend's parents that still live there say not only have house prices doubled in the past three years, but our generation in buying them up like crazy and gutting. True Memorial has gotten way too expensive for most of the 30-40 year old set, so they are having to move back into West Memorial to get into Spring Branch Schools. I don't know if Stratford can handle to population load of this "rebirth."

[lofiunico]

I know about this first hand, but I can't say that it is yet at the level in which you speak of it. Just driving through my neighborhood, I can see several of the smaller flat roof style homes closer to Beltway 8 on Kimberley and Queensbury are being demolished to build brick mini mansions, but there hasn't been much of a strain on Stratford itself if you ask me. I've noticed a few more young families in the area, so this could certainly be the case in 5-10 years, however the enrollment for the 2004-2005 school year was only something like 1900 students (and the change in the past school year including Katrina was less than 100 students). The Westchester high school is open as a charter school focusing on International Studies, but the enrollment there across both Middle and High School levels in somewhere near 700. It could surely house more, as Stratford was relocated there for the 2004-2005 school year due to construction issues alongside the original Westchester crowd. The majority of my neighbors are older couples or widows whose houses will eventually go back onto the market ithus creating ample real estate and possibly lower housing costs that will be more accesible to the 30-40 year old crowd. I guess I can informally monitor the progress coming back and forth from college.

[plumber2]

If you want real snotty, check out Kinkaid.

[KinkaidAlum]

If you want real snotty, check out Kinkaid.

Hey!

Tis true though...

[hbcu]

Lamar, Bellaire....none of those schools have any pride.....the kids don't attend football, basketball, events, etc. because I guess they think Butler Stadium is too far....that's a big chunk of high school life...no community pride

Most of the athletes at those schools aren't zoned there anyway....most of Lamar comes from the 3rd ward or the Southside just like Bellaire.

Those schools are good if your kid wants to go to school and come back home

[KatieDidIt]

We just applied to Second Baptist School. Any "SnootySnot" report on that one?

[MemorialVillagesPostOffice]

Memorial grad here. I moved back to the MHS zone as fast as I could to give public schools a shot for my two kids. Exorbitant property tax bills, but at least I get the best that tax dollars can buy (and for less than having two kids in respectable private schools like Kinkaid or St. John's). Worth the stretch for my family.

And my take on the snobbiness issue - you will find it at any high school.

Edited March 16, 2007 by MemorialVillagesPostOffice