MAS444 said:

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Bumping this old thread as we're now considering switching to private for middle school. Our kids are currently in 4th and we love our elementary school - but things are changing. We're in the Heights - so that's a pretty limiting factor as some of the schools mentioned here would be too far of a drive. But considering AOS, St. Anne, St. Cecilia, St. Rose...possibly even ROB and St. Theresa.

I've been told we're possibly SOL as it's very hard to get kids in these schools for 6th grade (some more than others of course)...but any advice to get kids in at this stage? Any other schools we should consider? We definitely don't want to go TOO far outside the loop just based on driving time...and galleria area is probably our limit southwest.

And what's everyone else doing? I'm guessing there are some of you that are similarly siuated. I appreciate any input, advice, etc.

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I'd suggest calling the schools on the list and ask if they are accepting kids at that age first. There's always people changing jobs or being relocated that can open up spots if you are serious about a school and stay in communication with the admissions.

What part of the "heights"? Depending where, I might have some other suggestions.

Also, where do you work. Many people prefer to drop kids near work since that often drives commutes more than where the home is.

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As far as schools, I think it makes sense to think about what your future plans would be for high school.

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Agree and for now we're thinking St. Thomas HS for the boy...but it's much tougher for our daughter as there doesn't seem to be a nearby equivalent. Duchesne seems much harder to get into (now or then) and a much more difficult transition to start there in high school (since many of the girls will have been there together for a long time). St. Agnes would be great but that's just a much longer commute.

St. Michaels is definitely on the list and we've got some good friends with kids there.

Thanks for the input.

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What part of the "heights"? Depending where, I might have some other suggestions.

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Northeast Woodland Heights

Fortunately, all of the schools on your list are good options. Some may be better than others, but it will mostly come down to what you prioritize. Have colleagues with kids at AOS, St. Michaels, St. Theresa, St. Rose, and ROBS. All generally speak highly of their experiences and they seem to be in the right spot. At smaller schools like St. Theresa and St. Michaels (two classes per grade), the composition of each grade can have a larger impact on overall experience. Families have different experiences at the school just between grades. I'm most familiar with St. Theresa and most of their students feed into St. Thomas, Strake / St. Agnes, IWA, and Duchesne for high school. Parents say they are well equipped for ninth grade.

The extracurriculars will likely be better at AOS and ROBS compared to the Catholic schools (i.e. no formal music department at St. T). Particularly in junior high. They just have bigger budgets because of the higher tuition.

Incarnate Word?

Duchesne was always an enigma to me. A couple normal girls came out of there in each class but seemed like a pretty anti-social group by and large. That could have changed of course.

I think St. Agnes and Episcopal is where most of the girls end up after St. Michael. Some go to Incarnate Word, but not a ton.

https://www.incarnateword.org/about/about-us

Lots of Heights girls go to Duchesne...and quite a few of their mothers went there too. I just think it's very clique ish with so many of the girls having gone there since they were younger. Probably not a good fit for our girl whose pretty reserved.

I think Episcopal is probably out of the equation at this point.

Presbyterian has a good middle school - it's not that much farther than AOS.

What about St Pius? Very close to the Heights. Might be an option. Had a few friends who had kids there and they turned out ok - but it was 10 years ago.

What about Awty? It's not far from the heights. Gives you an international school option to look at.

We know families at ROBS, AOS, and Presbyterian. All are difficult to get into in 2024 and it gets worse by the year.

Your best bet is getting in at PK3 or 4 level. Second best bet is kindergarten. Third is whenever they add a class at middle school.

My wife has heard anecdotally that the acceptance rate at ROBS is ~5% in kindergarten for non-legacy/sinling/teacher kids.

Unfortunately it is much more difficult to get into those three in a year where they aren't adding a class. You'll be competing for maybe 2 or 3 spots with dozens of other kids applying. But I completely agree with Diggity, better to apply to set up applying again the following year.

Have you thought about some other options - Trinity Classical, St Marks Lutheran, First Baptist Academy, Second Baptist? All are relatively close to the loop and may be available options for your kid.

Daytona22 said:

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What about Awty? It's not far from the heights. Gives you an international school option to look at.

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Awty is expensive AF. They have lots of ex-pats that the companies pay for the kids education.

no doubt.

I know it's not for everyone, but parochial Catholic schools are the best bang for your buck in private school world.

It's not until high school that you really get soaked

Serotonin said:

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We know families at ROBS, AOS, and Presbyterian. All are difficult to get into in 2024 and it gets worse by the year.

Your best bet is getting in at PK3 or 4 level. Second best bet is kindergarten. Third is whenever they add a class at middle school.

My wife has heard anecdotally that the acceptance rate at ROBS is ~5% in kindergarten for non-legacy/sinling/teacher kids.

Unfortunately it is much more difficult to get into those three in a year where they aren't adding a class. You'll be competing for maybe 2 or 3 spots with dozens of other kids applying. But I completely agree with Diggity, better to apply to set up applying again the following year.

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I would agree that there are less spots available for 5th grade, but there's also a lot less people applying for that grade, so you can get lucky. We got my kids in when they hit second and third grade IIRC.

6th grade can be tough, because you have a lot of people applying that don't like their middle school options, but you don't have a ton of people leaving.

ROBS is ultra-competitive because it's a St. John's feeder. If that's not on your radar, I wouldn't bother.

yea, my point was that Awty can almost charge whatever they want because a lot of students' parents aren't paying directly.

Definitely a big expat population. Similar to Village School and British International School.

I don't think they charge any more than the other (non-Catholic) private schools. They're all around $35K a year for upper school at this point.

Not sure the academics are comparable to St. John's/Kinkaid/etc.

It's probably already been said, but what are the main feeders for St. Thomas? Obviosuly I'd assume the nearby Catholics...

And how is IWA for high school- and is it comparable to Duchesne and St. Agnes? I just grew up knowing kids from Strake, STH, Duchesne and St. Agnes and had never heard of IWA until I went to law school downtown and saw IWA kids. Not that my experience on that matters. I've just also never heard much about it.

I've said it before but Memorial Lutheran is very solid on their tuition rates and offers a great Classical education.

They've had an elementary and middle school for a while, and just graduated their first high school.

Prior to starting the new school, they fed many of their middle schoolers to Strake.

Diggity said:

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Definitely a big expat population. Similar to Village School and British International School.

I don't think they charge any more than the other (non-Catholic) private schools. They're all around $35K a year for upper school at this point.

Not sure the academics are comparable to St. John's/Kinkaid/etc.

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Agree with everything you said except I do think Awty's academic program is in line with SJS (and might actually be more rigorous in some areas) and is definitely more rigorous than Kinkaid's (or Episcopal, etc). They go off of the IB Diploma which is a very difficult program.

Diggity said:

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Serotonin said:

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We know families at ROBS, AOS, and Presbyterian. All are difficult to get into in 2024 and it gets worse by the year.

Your best bet is getting in at PK3 or 4 level. Second best bet is kindergarten. Third is whenever they add a class at middle school.

My wife has heard anecdotally that the acceptance rate at ROBS is ~5% in kindergarten for non-legacy/sinling/teacher kids.

Unfortunately it is much more difficult to get into those three in a year where they aren't adding a class. You'll be competing for maybe 2 or 3 spots with dozens of other kids applying. But I completely agree with Diggity, better to apply to set up applying again the following year.

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I would agree that there are less spots available for 5th grade, but there's also a lot less people applying for that grade, so you can get lucky. We got my kids in when they hit second and third grade IIRC.

6th grade can be tough, because you have a lot of people applying that don't like their middle school options, but you don't have a ton of people leaving.

ROBS is ultra-competitive because it's a St. John's feeder. If that's not on your radar, I wouldn't bother.

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Yep, definitely the case.

I think ROBS has started shifting into more of a feeder to Episcopal than SJS (although probably 15-20 kids per class still go there). I assume this is because SJS has become even more difficult to get into over time.

This has caused a domino effect for other Episcopal feeder schools who have had to step their game up on curriculum to keep up.

Anyway, definitely a situation overall where supply isn't keeping up with demand.

Good info. My knowledge of Awty is very dated.

Yep. I'm amazed to hear about smart kids not getting into EHS these days.

That did not used to be the the case. Definitely supply and demand related. Will only get worse I fear.

St Anne opened up another class for 6 grade last year due to all the applications they had. They made it a priority and it has been successful. Now there are 3 classes of about 18 compared to 2 with about 25. Teachers are finding they are able to cover martial better and student have a better learning environment.

There is always turn over at every school even in the middle of the semester. I suggest you make some calls, schedule tours, and see what is the best fit for you.

IWA is pretty small, so that why you may not have heard much about it.

Looks like 350 girls total. They're landlocked over there as well so don't think they can/care to grow.

I know people who have really liked it but don't know a ton of them.

MAS444 said:

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It's probably already been said, but what are the main feeders for St. Thomas? Obviosuly I'd assume the nearby Catholics...

And how is IWA for high school- and is it comparable to Duchesne and St. Agnes? I just grew up knowing kids from Strake, STH, Duchesne and St. Agnes and had never heard of IWA until I went to law school downtown and saw IWA kids. Not that my experience on that matters. I've just also never heard much about it.

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I have family that went to IWA. 1 went Trinity then to USC for grad school. The other went to A&M.

Diggity said:

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Yep. I'm amazed to hear about smart kids not getting into EHS these days.

That did not used to be the the case. Definitely supply and demand related. Will only get worse I fear.

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Absolutely. Seemed like back in the 90s/00s if you could afford the tuition then your kid could go to EHS. Definitely not the case any more, which is crazy.

SnowboardAg said:

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Have you thought about some other options - Trinity Classical, St Marks Lutheran, First Baptist Academy, Second Baptist? All are relatively close to the loop and may be available options for your kid.

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I would agree that these schools - Trinity Classical, St Marks Lutheran, First Baptist Academy, Second Baptist - are all great options. I have experience at First and Second, and I have a lot of friends at Trinity Classical.

My 2 boys graduated from STH. There really isn't a feeder school, but many of the boys come from Catholic middle schools. My son's classmates lived in Katy to Woodlands to Clear Lake and everywhere in-between.

I mentioned this earlier in this thread, but my biggest advice would be to visit each school you are considering multiple times, and not just at an Open House. Attend football games or other extra curriculars to get a feel for the student population and the families. I would say that most of the schools are fairly similar academically, but they can "feel" very different. I think it's important to find one similar to your child & family personality.

My daughter is a HS Freshman. She was offered scholarships to both St. Agnes and Duchesne but decided to attend HSPVA and couldn't be happier. It's much harder to get into due to the audition process and every student actually wants to be there. They only have around 700-800 students so it's comparable size to the privates (smaller than St. Agnes, but larger than Duchesne and IWA). The academics are just as good or maybe better than what we've seen at the private schools.

Sounds like us. My oldest went to HSPVA back when it was in Montrose. I have tremendous respect for any kid who graduates from there. Just terrific with the creative kids and the environment.

Then our youngest went to St. Thomas. two very different high schools but both quite excellent. Both schools were perfect for our children as they are quite different individuals.

We have a child at Strake right now and are extremely happy with his experience and education. I would echo the "visit multiple times" sentiment above, and appreciate that Strake has a shadow program - where the 8th grader shadows a student from Strake for half of the day to get a great immersive experience into the atmosphere of the school.

Duchesne is not as clique-ish as you think. I know a lot of families that started in HS and had a fine experience. I have a friend on the board there if you want to know more. IWA is by far the most diverse Catholic option. They do an excellent job of pulling kids from a variety of walks of life and definitely the most down to earth and strongest Catholic education. Your kid would be fine at Duchesne if she senses a fit after the tour. They have a lot of girls that come in for HS only.

My daughter is at graduating St Agnes this year and for a group of 9 friends, only 5 are Catholic (not all practice). Definitely strongest education but weak Catholic formation.

Godwilling, my son will be at St Thomas next year. They come from all over. I met a kid who lives in Cleveland, TX on the tour. Parents choose to send their kids to St Thomas and/or Strake so if you look at a map, they come from all sides of town. Obviously, there are more from the closer areas (Heights -- St Thomas, Bellaire -- Strake). We prefer St Thomas because its smaller and they give more academic help than Strake which is bigger and really relies upon the student to seek out academic assistance.

MAS444 said:

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As far as schools, I think it makes sense to think about what your future plans would be for high school.

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Agree and for now we're thinking St. Thomas HS for the boy...but it's much tougher for our daughter as there doesn't seem to be a nearby equivalent. Duchesne seems much harder to get into (now or then) and a much more difficult transition to start there in high school (since many of the girls will have been there together for a long time). St. Agnes would be great but that's just a much longer commute.

St. Michaels is definitely on the list and we've got some good friends with kids there.

Thanks for the input.

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With your location I'd look at Incarnate Word downtown for the girl.

We happen to know a lot about Duchesne from the inside. It's a lot of money and I'm not convinced the value or leadership are there. Faculty and staff turnover should be a concern. If that budget is doable, I'd probably look at AWTY based on location for both.

Late to the party here, but still thought I would share my experience in case it can help OP (or anyone else). Our son is in middle school at Presbyterian. He loves it there and we're extremely thankful for him to have the opportunity to go to a private school. Both my wife and I went to public schools. The biggest issues we deal with are some woke leadership and the West U parents. They are generally a despicable group of people. Even dealing with those things, I'll take that over all the crap at public schools (CRT, extreme wokism, non-faith based, etc.).

As for the top schools in town, I would go with St, John's AOS, Pres, Kinkaid, then ROBS. For high schools, my son's top 5 are St. Johns, St. Thomas, Strake Jesuit, Kinkaid, and Episcopal.

fletch01 said:

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Late to the party here, but still thought I would share my experience in case it can help OP (or anyone else). Our son is in middle school at Presbyterian. He loves it there and we're extremely thankful for him to have the opportunity to go to a private school. Both my wife and I went to public schools. The biggest issues we deal with are some woke leadership and the West U parents. They are generally a despicable group of people. Even dealing with those things, I'll take that over all the crap at public schools (CRT, extreme wokism, non-faith based, etc.).

As for the top schools in town, I would go with St, John's AOS, Pres, Kinkaid, then ROBS. For high schools, my son's top 5 are St. Johns, St. Thomas, Strake Jesuit, Kinkaid, and Episcopal.

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That's great to hear. Did you bring him over in his 6th grade year from WU or did you get over in an earlier grade?