Buying a Home

Hi Dee,
I live in Old LAke Highglands, which is Dallas ISD. I have been very happy with the elementray school (Hexter), but have said I will homeschool before I send my son to the Jr High, which is very poorly rated. Thye good news is that Dallas ISD offers a great magnet program, so we have gone that route.
Many Many of my friends live in Lake Highlands, right across the street from me, and are happy with RISD and those schools. White Rock Elementary consistantly gets rave reviews from all.
If I can answer any other questions please feel free to ask!
D.

A very dear friend is a realtor here in our area (Plano, Richardson.....) She is very personable & quite knowledgable about the concerns you might have. She is Saima Dhillon: ###-###-####. I know you won't be disappointed with her.

M. & Dan F.

Dee,

My husband and I live in the Richardson area, but I am a former teacher in the RISD district. Having left the district just a year ago I feel I have a lot of insight into it. I feel that it is one of the best districts in the area. I am now in a different district, but am not nearly as impressed with it as I was with RISD. The curriculum is amazing, it really pushes the students to reach their highest potential and the teachers are extremely nurturing.

As with any district in the Dallas area, make sure that when you are looking at the neighborhood you also check into the school's zoning. Most of the time the schools in the Dallas area do not just service the neighborhood, but local apartments and condos as well.

If you have any other questions about RISD or specific schools, feel free to email me!

J.

Hi,

I'm studying to be a teacher and I've must tell you that requiring that education be free for all children is the best thing our country ever did. I must also say that it's my opinion that while less and less money makes its way to the public schools resulting in less resouces, any child can succeed with a public education with parental influence. In addition, kids who attend public school are much more socially conscious, well rounded, and ready for a diverse workforce. Additionally, if your child has aspirations of foreign travel or foreign employment opportunities, growing up in a multi-cultural public school environment helps immensely with foreign country cultural understanding and transitions.

Just my thoughts...

Oh by the way, in a sociology class, I once took, the professor told us, "It used to be that people put their kids in private school because they didn't like black people, now it boils down to not liking poor people."

I guess its worth thinking about...

My aunt used to live over at Walnut Hill and Hillcrest and my cousin went to the schools over there for the majority of his school years. From what she said from time to time, I wouldn't say she was real impressed. There are quite a few people over in that area that send their kids to private school.

Lake Highlands and the Richarson ISD used to be pretty good. I'm not sure how they are now, but I'd be willing to bet they are head and shoulder's above the Dallas ISD, at least in general.

I attended Dallas ISD, but that was almost 20 years ago. Even then though, they were not as good as most of the other ISD's. I went to one of the better schools and I wouldn't say the general education was anything great.

Unfortunately, you really have to get out into the suburbs before you start seeing the better districts... like Frisco, Allen, Plano, etc (unless you can afford to live in Highland Park).

I am sure there a great schools in not so great districts though, so try this link...
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2005/index....

They give ratings of the districts and individual schools.

Hi Dee,
We live in Far North Dallas (75287), we are under Plano ISD (very good). Our elementary school -Mitchell- is rated one of the best in the district. As far as houses prices, they are more $$$ than new areas like Frisco or McKinney. But you are close to malls (Galleria, Willow Bend) and restaurants. There is easy access to the tollway and George Bush Turnpike. You can be Downtown Dallas in 25 minutes by taking the tollroad. You can`t beat the location! We have been living here now for 5 years and love it.

we have lived in preston hollow for the past 6 years. we absolutely love the area and appreciate the unique character of all the homes. the lots are huge and we are close to everything. however, disd is a complete disaster and i would not send my child to any of our schools. i felt very strongly that we should utilize disd since we pay for it and that it is silly to pay private school costs. however, after attending multiple meetings and school tours i am completely against it for my children. there are many private schools in the preston hollow area, which are very good. however, they got between 12K to 17K per year!!! richardson has a much better school district and two of their high schools made the recent top 100 in US rating. we are riding it out in preston hollow and deciding if we should move to plano or richardson or bite the bullet and do private school. it's really frustrating and sad that disd is in as terrible of shape as it is.
you will love preston hollow, but just be prepared to not utilize the public schools. best wishes and feel free to contact me should you have any questions!
M.
i think you also posted on nanny pay??? the going rate for an experienced nanny is about $10-$14/hour.

Hi, Dallas schools are not as great as a lot of the suburbs, but the school in far north dallas are better. in the south side suburbs duncaville, cedar hill, desoto the schools are great call me i do mortgages and real estate be glad to help ###-###-#### or email ____@____.com

North Dallas is best. Frisco, Allen, Carrollton,Mckinney. East or South Dallas not so good. Preston area is Very Good. Richardson is okay. Private school is best if in Dallas.

I have lived in the Carrollton area for 28 yrs and I know all areas of Dallas.
Good Luck!