Comments on: Baby Needs a New Pair of Schools

By: Wilchester Resident

Wilchester Resident — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:40:43 +0000

I live in the Wilchester West Neighborhood just west of the beltway. It is a fantastic neighborhood with lots of children and a wonderful school. The homes are generally in the $400 - $700 range and are typically 2400 - 3500 sq ft in size. It is a fabulous neighborhood for anyone with children. The school has been rated exemplary for many years and is going to be rebuilt in the next few years according the the bond issued by the school district. Wilchester feeds into Memorial Middle and Stratford High School.

By: Sociology Class

Sociology Class — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:08:53 +0000

@77055-ster:
“sorry this has devolved into a sociology class discussion…I wouldn’t worry about your children’s schools…I’d worry more about how screwed up they’ll be growing up in another vapid household with your kind of priorities! I hope you don’t move in next to us Buffy.”

I guess it turned into a parenting class discussion led by parent of the year, 77055-ster.

BTW,

“Memorial HS, today, is the finest public HS the metro area has to offer” probably neglects Carnegie…But that has admission standards beyond where Mom & Dad live.

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:04:34 +0000

77055 is definitely on an upward trend. Look at the high school boundary map here: http://www.springbranchisd.com.....ainmap.htm Then find houses that are within the boundaries of Memorial High School. Areas that are within the boundaries of Memorial High School are appreciating rapidly and have done so for the last decade.

Areas outside the MHS boundaries but still within 77055 are also appreciating rapidly. Although below your price range, check some of the appreciation rates in neighborhoods like Westview Terrace and Pine Terrace. Many houses in these neighborhoods have appreciated well over 200% in the last 15 years.

Here’s my method to determine medium-term appreciation rates:

1. Look up a given house in HCAD.org. Make note of the current year’s appraised value.
2. Click the View link for the Harris County Tax Records.
3. Click the “View 15 year tax/value history” link on the following page.
4. On the graph on the following page, hover your mouse over the year farthest back (e.g. 1993).
5. Find the percentage difference between the appraised value from the current year and the appraised value from the year farthest back, and there’s your medium-term appreciation rate.

It’s a quick and dirty method, but it really opened my eyes to the areas that are the best investments from a financial standpoint.

As far as long-term stability and/or improvements within schools, look at the TEA testing and demographic data here for schools like Valley Oaks, Spring Branch Middle, and Memorial High School: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/......srch.html

All those schools have been solid as a rock or improving for the past 15 years.

77055 is an up-and-coming ZIP code, and it will continue to improve into the future. It’s a great area to raise kids, big lot sizes, and it’s close in to town.

By: Skipper

Skipper — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:58:01 +0000

Can’t really comment on schools outside of HISD however I can comment on those in HISD including Bellaire High School. Bellaire is still resting on the laurels from decades ago. The truth is that unless your child is all AP, they get lost in the 100s of other students at Bellaire. Then there’s the gang problem that exists at Bellaire that is denied by the administration. For as many high school age kids there are that live in the area around Bellaire High School, I would venture a guess that at least half go to private (Episcopal, etc.) or small alternative high schools in HISD (HSPVA,DeBakey,Challenge,etc.) Even HCAD knows the negative of living close to Bellaire High School: mention it when you protest the value of your home and they knock off $$$. Something to consider for sure.

By: CK

CK — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:12:06 +0000

I raised my kid in HISD and both he and I wish he would have taken my offer to move him into MHS right by my office. It’s a great high school and the middle school (even closer to my office) is very good as well. There are some very good elementary schools in the area, but hardly any of them are north of I-10. The areas north of ten that are acceptable are Hillshire and Spring Valley.

One thing that nobody here has pointed out is the property tax burden one accepts when you buy into Spring Valley or one of the other villages. That little boutique neighborhood with it’s own band of thei….. excuse me, force of workers has nothing in the way of economies of scale. Property taxes in these little hoods needs to be closely considered.

School vouchers would make most of this conversation moot.

By: 77055-ster

77055-ster — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:49:19 +0000

To original poster - sorry this has devolved into a sociology class discussion…but in my personal opinion, Memorial HS, today, is the finest public HS the metro area has to offer. This includes all the Cy, Katy and Woodlands campuses. Just look up the college attendence figures. Bellaire is not close, nor is the sad excuse known as the HISD. This is based on documented facts and stats, not bias, provided by the districts. The truth, however, is that by the time your child hits that age, all this could change. But the area feeding MHS is pretty assured of not undergoing any major demographic changes, unlike say Bellaire or Stratford. We are up to speed on this issue, since our child started in the HISD, but we were forced to purchase a home in Spring Valley to get them out of HISD…he would have been their valedictorian, instead he was one at MHS (their loss).

But the one thing that really bothers me about your post…if you’re so worried about the “perception of 77055 among Houstonians”, I wouldn’t worry about your children’s schools…I’d worry more about how screwed up they’ll be growing up in another vapid household with your kind of priorities! I hope you don’t move in next to us Buffy.

By: markd

markd — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:20:23 +0000

You could always home school and live wherever you’d like to live.

By: Irritated

Irritated — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:31:26 +0000

Ha Ha… well the ’success’ is definitely taking a hit living in the Obamanation, but I fail to see how the other statement endorses #3’s point.

Regardless of how you are intrepretiting either my previous two statement, my point is this: MEDIOCRITY SHOULD NOT BE REWARDED AT THE COST OF SOCIALIZING SUCCESS.

Beyond this statement, there is not point for further comment… you either agree or don’t agree… best of luck.

By: LoopDLoop

LoopDLoop — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:10:33 +0000

@Irritated

Didn’t you just prove #3s point, “craptastic public education…[that] you would do anything to keep my children from having to endure”

Which presumably may involve a portion of your earned success?

Or were you just in dispair that your earned success isn’t going to be enough to help your children fend off all the poor and minority children receiving handouts?

By: Irritated

Irritated — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:53:45 +0000

You misunderstand… I’m talking about the current ’status quo’ versus future adversities. Its a relative statement about the future, rather than an absolute statement about the middle class versus the lower class. The initial statement I had issues with implied a lack of fairness… and as far as fair goes… there are plenty of people in the ’subject area’ who have done nothing to deserve the forthcoming penalties for being successful (hence, the irritation). Conversely, there a ton of people who done things to explicitly be denied the benefits headed their way, and those same people are still making claims for more ‘Equal Opportunities’…
…That, Mr. Boyd, is “inane”.

By: RWB

RWB — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:39:38 +0000

Irritated: Are you really suggesting that upper-middle-class and wealthy people are somehow worse off than poor people?

Because as a fellow 024-er, that just sounds inane.

By: Irritated

Irritated — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:19:41 +0000

In reference to comment #3 (Ian): “So we get …’Equal opportunity’ my arse.” I find these types of statements both appalling and almost always hyper-hypocritical. The audacity to make cries about ‘equal opportunity’ when government handouts are peaking at an all time high is absolute insanity. The fact of the matter is, people who live in these affluent zip codes have the bleakest future ahead of them: outrageous taxes, a national management/executive workforce reduction and their kids will be overlooked for most of their lives with countless benefits given to either the poor or minorities (which is a joke in Texas).

To explain my obvious bias, I am fairly young, own a home in one of the aforementioned zip code, came from a broken ‘middle class’ home, paid may way through college and earned all of my success on my own.

I hate to sound like a martyr, but the “cycle” can be broken… and having lived through a ‘craptastic’ public education system, I would do anything to keep my children from having to endure the same.

- Can I get a shout-out to the ‘024!