Hi, I am from the UK and we have the oppurtunity to relocate to Keller in the summer, now we have done this before 3 years ago with husbands job and lived in woodlandsprings area and loved living in Keller. Now it had come up again this time for a longer time length and now our oldest child turned 6 years last November. Just asking if anyone has any information on schools as of course last time we where there she was just a baby so didn't need to worry about that sort of thing although she did attend MDO programme. Now as i understand it in USA the children start school 1 year later than the UK. My child has already done nursery, reception, (which i think is your kinder) and is now nearly done with year 1. which for you would be 1st grade. I suppose i am asking about the work levels and what grade she would go into in the USA ? Can she go up a grade judging on her abilities? At the moment they are learning punctuation in sentences, Writing sentences. multiply maths as in counting in 2's, 5's 10's e.c.t her spelling test this week is on words like high, wait, gate, her reading is way ahead of others . So just wondering if anyone can give me any information on schools in the keller area she currently goes to a good catholic school here but as i understand in TX they are private schools as here they are local county schools. I heard that hidden lakes school was a good school? I also have a ton of other questions but will leave for later ha ha !!!! Thank you for reading this and you help as i am trying to figure out what to do before we make the move again.
Hi, Just want to say thank you all so much on your responses, you all gave me a lot to think about and follow up on, we are just waiting for confirmation on a few things here then i will be contacting the school districts for more information but as my child seems to be ahead in her abilities at school and is doing work that yr 2 are doing here not sure repeating 1st grade as she would be doing in TX would be good for her she would be bored so will look into getting her tested when we need too . School here in UK only finishes at the end of July i believe you guys finish in May? So we may have her finish her year here then do the move around that time to start a new school year in TX but as you guys start back in Aug she won't have much of a break or we may finish her school a few weeks earlier as at this age its no big problem. Anyway thank you all so much will be back soon i am sure for more info. xxx
As a Texas teacher it sounds like she'll be ready for 2nd grade. Fight for that despite age or she'll have a very boring year at school. Spelling words in first grade are much easier than hers right now.
I have heard Keller schools are good, but I've never taught there or attended any. They have a great reputation though. It's hard to get a job there. People stay forever!
My son spent Kindergarten through 4th grade at Park Glen Elementary and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It is a smaller school and you just feel like you are part of a family there. The principal is great and all of the teachers there are wonderful and caring individuals. I would definitely call now and talk to them about what grade she would best fit in. I'm not sure when it is going to take effect but I think there is going to be some changes with Pre-K and Kindergarten this next year, but that probably won't affect you. Just about any Keller school you go to, will be a great school. Good luck with your move!
Hello M.,
I am also from the UK originally but have lived in Texas for 18 years... I have two children aged 11 and 8, the whole school thing confused me when we started!! I live in Euless and we are Grapevine / Colleyville schools so Keller may be different but my experience is that the grade your child will be in is based purely on age as of September 1st. I think your child would only be 1st grade next year. Doing the maths she would have to have been 5 by Sept 1 2007 to start kindergarten, so with a November birthday I don't think she would have been old enough, which means she would have started K in 2008 and would be 1st grade in 2009. Did I do that right??? My daughter's birthday is Sept 6th and she had this issue, she did not start K until she was almost 6. Again this is my experience but they would not move her up a grade even though she is very clever. They did put her in the "gifted and talented" program. A teacher friend told us that they don't move kids up anymore because the smarter kids help the grades on the annual testing (TAKS) which in part determines school funding.... We decided to move our kids to a charter school. School is free and they still have to meet state requirements but they have a bit more flexibility. At our school the classes are smaller so the kids get more individual attention which helps when your child is advanced or behind! I also like the fact that our school is on a lot of land and they do a lot more outside, nature walks etc (being from a small village it makes me feel more at home!) Our school may be a bit far from you in Keller but you may want to check out Charters as an option. Here's the website to our school www.treetops.org On another note, I don't know if you found English supplies last time you were here but I use the British Emporium in Grapevine www.british-emporium.com As much as I love the food here I have to have my PG Tips!!! Feel free to email me direct if you have any questions.
Judi
highly recommend private school: Lake Country Christian School (near Eagle Mountain Lake, Saginaw area) for academics, fine arts, etc, also have program for pre-K (your 3 yr old), great place to "plug-in".
You need to contact the schools now before they close for the summer and tell them you need your daughter tested for appropriate class level. I went to private first grade and then moved to public schools. My mother when through the above process because they wanted me to repeat first grade. I tested into 3rd grade so they let me go to 2nd. I was incredibly bored for a whole year. I can't imagine what would have happened if I'd been forced to go back to first!!!! I would probably be a criminal today. As it was, I hated school for most of elementary, even though I was a straight a student.
D. Kimbriel
Grandma to 2 beautiful boys
I have a current 1st grade daughter, and it sounds like your child is doing comparable work. You can definitely test and have her moved into the appropriate grade when you get here. The cut off age here is 9/1....so they look at the kids' age at that date. So, if she was still 5 last 9/1, then she would normally have begun kinder this year....but you can always test and move straight into 1st if your child is ready (you just can't start kinder early...you can be old enouogh for kinder and move straight to 1st). So it soulds like your daughter should be in 2nd next year. I also think that being a tad young is less of a deterrant for females than males...(more so fo males b/c of being small for sports and driving later than all their buddies.)
My daughter is not yet in school but lots of my friends are school teachers and they said Keller has gifted and talented classes they can be tested for. I also live in Woodland Springs and have not heard any complaints with the schools at all. I would go to the website and look at the schols for Keller. There are so many elemantary schools and remember it depends on where you live in Keller to decide whick schools she will attend. Good Luck
I have heard that Hidden Lakes is a good school. My son attended 2nd grade at Woodland Springs last year and the team of 2nd grade teachers is WONDERFUL. They really work as a team and they absolutely love their students. We were new to the district last year and I was pleasantly surprised at how much we ended up loving Woodland Springs.
My best friend is the lead 1st grade teacher at Hidden Lakes in Keller. She is awesome with kids and loves what she does. From what I have heard from others about Hidden Lakes is a great school. I went through the Keller School district from 8th-12th grade. Keller is a good district. You can always check with the school about placement testing. I imagine they would do a placement test for her anyway since you are coming from another country. Just to make sure she is where she needs to be. Good luck with your decision. I live in Hurst, but if I could relocate back to Keller I would! I love Keller!
Hi! I can't really comment on the Keller Independent School District, as I live a little southeast of Keller in Bedford. My daughters attend school in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district and I HIGHLY recommend it! I truly believe my girls are getting the equivalent of a private school education, but in a public school setting. Please visit the district's ____@____.com daughters are 6 and 11 and, based on current course availability, they'll graduate knowing English, being almost native in Spanish and, depending on what's offered when , either being fluent in a third language or familiar with four. They will also both graduate high school with AT LEAST 24 college credit hours. The programs we have here are FANTASTIC. We cater to Gifted and Talented children (those who tend to be brighter and more creative than their peers) and we offer Spanish Immursion, Suzuki Strings, orchestra and Hindi and Mandarin Chinese at different schools within the district. Not only am I a parent, but I'm also a former student. I'm convinced that there are VERY FEW school district that even rival, much less beat, our school district. I can go on and on, but if you're set on living in Keller, there's really no reason to do so. Please let me know if you'd like more information and I'd be happy to communicate via e-mail or talk to you on the phone.
Sincerely,
S. King
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We live in Keller ISD and our kids attended Park Glen Elementary. It is rated "Exemplary" (highest rating) and we really loved it there. Great Principal, lots of parental involvement, loved the teachers.
I don't know if this is still the case, but at one time, you were able to have your child take a test, and move up a grade if appropriate.
And yes, they do have a Gifted and Talented Program where the child is pulled from the classroom with other kids for enrichment. But it sounds like your child would benefit from testing out of 1st grade.
