Do people live IN Waco or are there nicer communities outside of town? I have a job offer there.

I have elementary school aged children, so good schools are a big deal to me when deciding where to live.

With elementary aged kids, you do not want to live in Waco ISD. It's easier to list by school districts because they don't follow city boundaries.

Midway ISD
Robinson ISD
China Spring ISD
or Lorena ISD

Do not bother to look in Waco ISD, La Vega ISD, Connelly ISD, or McGregor ISD.

We live in waco but in china spring isd. We love it out here!

Cameron

Midway, Lorena, Robinson, and China Spring are probably your best bets. I went to Midway, but it's fallen pretty far since I graduated in 2001. Lots if rental property has dragged Midway down the last decade. I never thought of McGregor as being bad, just small kind of like Crawford.

Waco ISD is a step below prison. Avoid it at all costs. University isn't quite as bad, but it's still bad.

Move to Woodway. We can always use more Aggies. But stay on the Midway ISD side of town.

Midway ISD was the most talked about (it's THE best, so I hear) when we moved to the Waco area last year. On top of that, there are additional accolades I hear for South Bosque Elementary (Midway ISD).

West

Good to see there are other ISD fights than Temple/Belton.

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Waco ISD is a step below prison. Avoid it at all costs. University isn't quite as bad, but it's still bad.

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I think the UHS Principal is an Aggie. Maybe that's why it's slightly better than WHS.

As far as the School District fights, yeah, it's Midway v. everybody else (including Belton).

It seems like a lot of former Midway folks have moved out to China Spring. I don't know if that is white flight from the white flight now that Hewitt has more lower rent places. Although, I must say, when we checked out the Parade of Homes 2 months ago, it's amazing how much you can pay to live in Hewitt.

HS Buddy of mine bought his place in Lorena ISD probably 10-12 years ago and I don't think it has taken off the way he was expecting. That's alright though because his kid can play 3 sports whereas at Midway they might only get to play 1 sport.

Lorena growth was stymied for a long time by a moratorium on new building due to lack of a sewer plant out that way from what I understand. They just built a new plant out there a year or two ago, so I think Lorena has a shot to take off in growth again. I could be wrong on this, but that's my understanding.

Depends on what you're looking for in a school district. If you want to go for a larger district Midway is what I would pick. If you're looking for something smaller I'd take a look at Lorena or China Spring.

What area of town will you be working in?

Wow, lots of hate on Waco ISD. Do y'all have specific examples of why you believe it to be so bad?

Did you want quantitative metrics or are anecdotal stories about Waco High sufficient?

Anything factual; alot of people rag on Waco without having any real reason for it. Just trying to determine if there are facts to back up the negative comments i'm seeing here.

Look up the school ratings and crime reports for Waco ISD. About the only other crime reports from high schools in the Waco area will come from La Vega.

Waco ISD has some dedicated teachers, but the schools are filled with kids mostly from single parent households. Many of those parents are illiterate and their expectations for the school is to watch the kid during the day so they have some free time. It's hard to teach kids when they are taught nothing at home and their guardians don't give a damn.

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Anything factual

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Got plenty but honestly, I purge most of my mom's firsthand stories. They just kind of go in one ear and out the other. Now that's anecdotal of course. My observations from the past 25 years of her teaching in WISD, the main focus doesn't seem to be on education but rather on:

• TAAS/TAKS/TEAMS, whatever state scores they get rated on. And especially the sub-populations that the state monitors
• Teen Pregnancy - apparently success in a certain part of Waco is measured not by how well you do in school and what college you get into but rather by how fertile you are. Before or after your Quinceañera doesn't seem to matter
• And then there's whatever the latest crazy program that they spend money on rather than focusing on book learning. I'm sure we all have heard enough about the WISD stadium (which from a financial standpoint I believe is actually a money maker for them) which is certainly not related to academics. And when my mom brought home an iPhone/iPad/iPod whatever, I was like - how does this help you teach?

Anyway as my HS Classmate EMY92 said, the problem is really mostly with the parents and the multi-generational quest to hold the next generation back from success.

You can live on the west side of the lake (China Spring)and work any where in Waco. Over 300 new homes being built in the school district with City of Waco services.

Fair enough; y'all definitely had different experiences than me & my family have. My mom also taught in Waco ISD for 20 some years.

We just got a house in Robinson but I will be teaching at Connally. If you are looking for a good district then look at the smaller districts...lorena, robinson, china spring. Some of what EMY said was true but it is not a Waco ISD problem....it is a state and national problem. Temple had a lot of the same problems Waco does. Midland where I came from before we moved had the same problems but to a lesser extent. You actually had kids who wanted to work.

And really if you want to talk about test scores....most of the state is doing below average especially in English, which is what I teach. If you aren't fully in education and what you hear is second hand from family or from the tv or newspapers, I'm sorry but you really don't have a clear picture of what exactly is going on.

[This message has been edited by State of Texas (edited 7/26/2013 12:03a).]

[This message has been edited by State of Texas (edited 7/26/2013 12:04a).]

Yes this type of stuff takes place in Lorena, Robinson and China Spring everyday... I don't think so.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/police/waco-police-investigate-drive-by-shooting/article_41db4efb-a9d4-526f-bcef-e63b89a2912f.html



[This message has been edited by Rabid Cougar (edited 7/26/2013 8:47p).]

[This message has been edited by Rabid Cougar (edited 7/26/2013 8:47p).]

Didn't Billy Joe Shaver shoot a guy in Lorena?

Haha, yep Pabs, at Papa Joes right off of 35! Lorena's claim to fame, other than Holly Tucker and high school football legend John Henry.

and the Cheese House!

Riesel.

John Henry

If you want really small and a nice school go Bosqueville. It is a large 1-A about to be 2-A school. However all of the people there are nice.

Putting my house on the market in Lorena soon. Great schools

harker heights, its a bit of a drive and no kids for me that schools aren't important