It wasn't just scores. It was based on a full review of the condition of the school, teaching staff performance, etc. It's the same process just about every private school or public school board uses to determine current performance and the path to improvement. Except HISD.

And so it was easier to paint this as something evil instead of self evaluating, taking a hard look in the mirror about deficiencies, and rolling up the sleeves to improve like education professionals do.

Just another day in HISD that had to be taken over by the state due to gross misconduct and failing our children.

trestamu said:

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I've been getting caught up on this thread. Our daughter got her HS acceptances yesterday. Now we're going to struggle with which one to choose.

Houston Christian and Duchesne are at the top of list followed by St. Agnes. Logistics might make the difference as Houston Christian is very close to where we live and my office. I don't mind the drive to Duchesne considering we're in W. Houston.

Curious what the board says about those three high schools.

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My niece graduated from St Agnes. It is pretty woke. They even had a transgender girl who dressed and was treated as a boy. Which seems bizarre for an all girls school.

My nephew goes to Strake (her brother). Strake seems to have its values in order. It is not woke.

Carmine Scarpacio said:

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trestamu said:

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I've been getting caught up on this thread. Our daughter got her HS acceptances yesterday. Now we're going to struggle with which one to choose.

Houston Christian and Duchesne are at the top of list followed by St. Agnes. Logistics might make the difference as Houston Christian is very close to where we live and my office. I don't mind the drive to Duchesne considering we're in W. Houston.

Curious what the board says about those three high schools.

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My niece graduated from St Agnes. It is pretty woke. They even had a transgender girl who dressed and was treated as a boy. Which seems bizarre for an all girls school.

My nephew goes to Strake (her brother). Strake seems to have its values in order. It is not woke.

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Strake had two twins that decided they were girls a few years ago. They both were asked to leave. At that time, they tried to go to St Agnes but were also turned away.

Lojo ain't woke!

bigjag19 said:

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Jesuits are not woke. Except the damn one in charge.

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no, but they are quite liberal. Social justice, liberation theology etc


(Speaking of the religious order, not of school administration)

BMX Bandit said:

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bigjag19 said:

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Jesuits are not woke. Except the damn one in charge.

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no, but they are quite liberal. Social justice, liberation theology etc


(Speaking of the religious order, not of school administration)

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and they have an uncanny knack for fielding good college basketball teams

MAROON said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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bigjag19 said:

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Jesuits are not woke. Except the damn one in charge.

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no, but they are quite liberal. Social justice, liberation theology etc


(Speaking of the religious order, not of school administration)

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and they have an uncanny knack for fielding good college basketball teams

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It's not just basketball teams. Strake tended to have a pretty solid soccer team that tended to align with the club teams. I wonder if they give "scholarships" to good athletes?

I remember running at Texas Relays in the 4x4. Our heat included Desoto, Dallas Lincoln, and a couple other name schools that typically make regular appearances atop the state meet and season records list. I look over and see a fellow honky in a Strake Jesuit uni thinking it would be good to have some solidarity at the back of the pack.

I'll be damned if they didn't almost beat Desoto for the heat win

What year? Might have been Mathew Boling .

MAROON said:

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What year? Might have been Mathew Boling .

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Boling went to ROBS until 8th grade prior to Strake. I was up there the other day and noticed he only had one record on the wall, and it was for some relay event. It surprised me. I would think an athlete like him would have all the junior high records.I guess he just blew up / developed in high school.

Jerzzy said:

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For some transparency I am not completely new to private education world. My husband is though. He went through DISD.

I went to St Thomas More here in Houston, family also went to strake/st Agnes. I moved away before high school. My grandmother taught in both HISD and in private catholic schools.

The parental involvement and class size is a plus for me and I have no problem helping with homework. And If we have to sacrafice some family vacations for tuition costs, absolutely worth it to me.

Looking at the various schools, st rose of lima. St theresa, Duchesne/St Regis (pricey I know), is there any sort of ranking or grade these schools receive or would a tour be the best way to find out the school info? Are scholarships still a thing with private? I know it was when I went through.

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I have several friends with kids at St Rose of Lima and all seem pretty happy.

Also, there's a better than decent chance that we know each other and almost certainly know some of the same people.

If you live out in the northwestern burbs, want a real Christian education coupled with good academics, good sports and zero wokeness, I would recommend Cypress Christian. BTW, they are building a brand new campus in Bridgeland and will move in after next year (depending on construction progress).

A couple other decent options up north include Woodlands Christian and Providence Classical School.

So much of this thread has focused on inner loop or Memorial area schools that I thought I'd throw out some options that had not been discussed yet.

The burbs and private school really aren't much of a thing.

People move out for bigger / cheaper homes and better school districts so they "don't' have to pay for private school". What most don't get is it isn't just about the quality of the school, but the type of education you get from private school.

Even though many families don't necessarily claim a particular religion anymore (or the denomination of the school the kids attend), almost to a family they cite morals / ethics and a wholesome caring staff as a major reason they chose private schools on their surveys.

It's the best way to say they chose a Christian environment without saying they chose a Christian environment.

And what is a bit amusing to me are those 1-3 posters who make sure to tell us they are don't want to send their kids to private school for those very same icky Christian values.

Is that formerly CCCS? I was there when the school was simply at Cypress Bible Church. I've got some super old yearbooks.

AgLA06 said:

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The burbs and private school really aren't much of a thing.

People move out for bigger / cheaper homes and better school districts so they "don't' have to pay for private school". What most don't get is it isn't just about the quality of the school, but the type of education you get from private school.

Even though many families don't necessarily claim a particular religion anymore (or the denomination of the school the kids attend), almost to a family they cite morals / ethics and a wholesome caring staff as a major reason they chose private schools on their surveys.

It's the best way to say they chose a Christian environment without saying they chose a Christian environment.

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While not as big of a deal or necessity as inside the Loop or Beltway, there are a number of fairly large private schools in the burbs (or were the burbs when founded). Concordia Lutheran, John Cooper, Lutheran South, Houston Christian, and Cypress Christian are all pretty large private schools.

You're generally correct though that part of the lure of the burbs are better value on homes and better public schools.

Did you just call Houston Christian in the burbs?

AgLA06 said:

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The burbs and private school really aren't much of a thing.

People move out for bigger / cheaper homes and better school districts so they "don't' have to pay for private school". What most don't get is it isn't just about the quality of the school, but the type of education you get from private school.

Even though many families don't necessarily claim a particular religion anymore (or the denomination of the school the kids attend), almost to a family they cite morals / ethics and a wholesome caring staff as a major reason they chose private schools on their surveys.

It's the best way to say they chose a Christian environment without saying they chose a Christian environment.

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I was actually talking to a friend about this yesterday. We had a suburban home we bought to be zoned to a great elementary. We made the switch to private school and I couldn't be happier. Our purely private school kindergarten student is easily a year ahead of where my oldest was in public school at the same point. My oldest is now reading on a nearly 5th grade level in 2nd grade. The benefits to me are innumerable. I'm so glad we made the switch and personally I am pretty anti religious, but why should I let that get in the way of the best education possible for my kids.

CDUB98 said:

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Did you just call Houston Christian in the burbs?

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It was when it was built. It's basically Jersey Village and all the stuff around it was pretty sketchy until 10-15 years ago.

Jersey Village?

Houston Christian is inside of BW-8 and south of 290. It's only a few miles from JV, but it's a world apart. The neighborhood apartments are still a bit sketchy though.

CDUB98 said:

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Jersey Village?

Houston Christian is inside of BW-8 and south of 290. It's only a few miles from JV, but it's a world apart. The neighborhood apartments are still a bit sketchy though.

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16 mile drive from downtown and surrounded by SFH, apartments, and strip malls.

If that's not a suburb then I no longer know what a suburb is.

Well, for one, it's the city of Houston, but details...

And yes, I realize I opened the can of worms, but I didn't expect it to go more than one response. So, let's not drag it further off topic. Agree?

Sea Speed said:

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Is that formerly CCCS? I was there when the school was simply at Cypress Bible Church. I've got some super old yearbooks.

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Yes, now its shortened to CCS (removed "community" from the name). About 700-750 kids now, I think.

TarponChaser said:

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AgLA06 said:

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The burbs and private school really aren't much of a thing.

People move out for bigger / cheaper homes and better school districts so they "don't' have to pay for private school". What most don't get is it isn't just about the quality of the school, but the type of education you get from private school.

Even though many families don't necessarily claim a particular religion anymore (or the denomination of the school the kids attend), almost to a family they cite morals / ethics and a wholesome caring staff as a major reason they chose private schools on their surveys.

It's the best way to say they chose a Christian environment without saying they chose a Christian environment.

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While not as big of a deal or necessity as inside the Loop or Beltway, there are a number of fairly large private schools in the burbs (or were the burbs when founded). Concordia Lutheran, John Cooper, Lutheran South, Houston Christian, and Cypress Christian are all pretty large private schools.

You're generally correct though that part of the lure of the burbs are better value on homes and better public schools.

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I'm very aware, but there's a lot less than inside Beltway 8. Schools that can make it the first 10 years are seeing success in the burbs. But almost every one cites what I posted as their biggest challenges that isn't something the Houston proper schools are facing.

I attended private schools growing up in Houston, my kids attend private schools, and I chaired the school board for a school in the same sports league that has played all but one of those.

Serotonin said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Jersey Village?

Houston Christian is inside of BW-8 and south of 290. It's only a few miles from JV, but it's a world apart. The neighborhood apartments are still a bit sketchy though.

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16 mile drive from downtown and surrounded by SFH, apartments, and strip malls.

If that's not a suburb then I no longer know what a suburb is.

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You're off base here. While Spring Branch and the Villages definitely help, Houston Christian has established itself as one of the few options for those not catholic or that can't afford tier 1. A very large part of their demographics drive quite a distance going from in town to out. Especially since there isn't a viable Lutheran option in town at this point anymore. They also appeal quite a bit to the non-denominational families.

We used to live pretty close to Houston Christian and they have really nice facilities. I will say, though, that I've felt like they might have had a secular drift after joining SW Prep and leaving TAPPS. I used to take my boys to Houston Christian football games once in awhile when they were little and enrolled at the now defunct Clay Road Baptist School.

CDUB98 said:

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And yes, I realize I opened the can of worms, but I didn't expect it to go more than one response. So, let's not drag it further off topic. Agree?

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Haha, agree. I get it, there are different ways of looking at it.

Buck Turgidson said:

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We used to live pretty close to Houston Christian and they have really nice facilities. I will say, though, that I've felt like they might have had a secular drift after joining SW Prep and leaving TAPPS. I used to take my boys to Houston Christian football games once in awhile when they were little and enrolled at the now defunct Clay Road Baptist School.

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My understanding is they aren't drifting and it was always part of the plan (although they may not have mentioned it to some of the financial backers) to be less religious / denominational than they let on. That's been there strategy for a while and it's paid off in revenue. Even if it is a bit hypocritical.

Another note on Providence Classical School - I was impressed with them and gave them a really hard look about 7 years ago. We ultimately went another direction because they were on the smaller side and a long drive from where we lived at that time. However, if you want a smaller school and don't need football or cheer programs (my kids are in both football and cheer), Providence offers a really good Christian education. Providence does have good track and basketball teams.

Good - I hope they hold the line and don't end up like so many other SW Prep schools (woke and secular). They were on our short list years ago and I hope they can continue as a legit Christian school.