Son class of 2000 is retiring from USAF. Wants to move back to San Antonio area. Has two young kids. What is the BEST school dist . Thanks

Some far north areas of Bexar county off I10 that reside in Northside ISD are good. Not sure where Northside ISD ends and Boerne ISD begins but ive heard good things about Boerne too. I'm in far north Bexar County off 281 and I'm in Comal ISD. Don't have kids in school yet but I hear good things. There is a brand new middle school that opened a year ago and a high school that is opening in august of this year. If he lives in the Kinder Ranch subdivision then elementary thru High school would be within a mile from their home. Plenty of other neighborhoods in the vicinity as well too.

Alamo Heights is probably the best district.

Reagan and it's surrounding middle schools and elementary schools in the Northeast District would be the best overall choice. IMO they are better than their Alamo Heights counterparts.

Boerne schools are also very good.

There is a wide variety in the overall quality of individual schools in the Northside (especially Northside) and Northeast districts. Some are good suburban schools. Some like Jay, Holmes, and Roosevelt are more like inner city schools.

All of the other districts are between mediocre and terrible.

Compared to some other locales you'll be totally underwhelmed by the academic standards and accomplishments of SA schools. For instance,Westwood HS in Austin and my granddaughters' high school in California each produce more National Merit scholars than all of the high schools in SA combined.

NastyNate said:

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Some far north areas of Bexar county off I10 that reside in Northside ISD are good. Not sure where Northside ISD ends and Boerne ISD begins but ive heard good things about Boerne too. I'm in far north Bexar County off 281 and I'm in Comal ISD. Don't have kids in school yet but I hear good things. There is a brand new middle school that opened a year ago and a high school that is opening in august of this year. If he lives in the Kinder Ranch subdivision then elementary thru High school would be within a mile from their home. Plenty of other neighborhoods in the vicinity as well too.

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Northside ends right past Leon Springs toward Boerne. We've been happy with Boerne ISD.

When we were looking in 2009 there were a lot of capping issues in the popular neighborhood elementary schools in Northside. If you were in a neighborhood and the grade was 'full', or 'capped', then your kid would go to another school for that year. Siblings weren't always affected the same; first grade might be capped but not third grade. That was enough to get us out of looking at Northside. idk if it is the same now.

We are very happy with NISD. Our graduated from Tom C. Clark fwiw.

Great summary of the schools by SA68AG. Only thing that I might add is that Alamo Heights can be very cliquish.

We have been looking at houses in these area and right now they move crazy fast. This is even with my wife being at Phyllis Browning and us getting early notice. If you need a realtor You can get her at bwaters@phyllisbrowning.com

Boerne ISD has been great.

Full disclosure I reside in Alamo Heights and it is a very good district. However if there isn't a need or want to be inner city or close to downtown I wouldn't pay freight to live in the district. My wife and I both work in 09 so the 1 mile commutes are great and a bonus that it's has good schools unlike like most of the other urban areas across the city and state. NEISD, NISD and Boerne are just as good if not better in most categories plus housing is much cheaper.

OK, my curiosity has the best of me. Are you on the faculty or recently retired from St. Mary's University?

Halconblack said:

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Great summary of the schools by SA68AG. Only thing that I might add is that Alamo Heights can be very cliquish.

We have been looking at houses in these area and right now they move crazy fast. This is even with my wife being at Phyllis Browning and us getting early notice. If you need a realtor You can get her at bwaters@phyllisbrowning.com

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So, not much has changed in 56 years? If your kids end up at Alamo Heights, good chance they'll be there with a number of my high school classmate's grandchildren.

AHHS '66

Look into Great Hearts or BASIS.

If you can get a spot, it removes the residency restrictions.

aggiejim70 said:

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OK, my curiosity has the best of me. Are you on the faculty or recently retired from St. Mary's University?

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No. Retired but not an academic.

aggiejim70 said:

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Halconblack said:

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Great summary of the schools by SA68AG. Only thing that I might add is that Alamo Heights can be very cliquish.

We have been looking at houses in these area and right now they move crazy fast. This is even with my wife being at Phyllis Browning and us getting early notice. If you need a realtor You can get her at bwaters@phyllisbrowning.com

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So, not much has changed in 56 years? If your kids end up at Alamo Heights, good chance they'll be there with a number of my high school classmate's grandchildren.

AHHS '66

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No kidding. You'll have kids at Cambridge Elementary whose parents, grandparents and even great grandparents went there together.

We have 3 kids in NEISD and absolutely love it. 2 girls at Oak Meadow Elementary and my son is an 8th grader at an aerospace engineering middle school magnet called KSAT at Krueger Middle School. He'll go to Churchill next year. We started out in Helotes in NISD at kuentz elementary and loved it too. There are so many great schools in NISD, NEISD, Boerne, AHISD, and the surrounding areas.

I would suggest to anyone looking that they research the covid response from each district also. That will tell a lot I would think about how the school board thinks and worked within the constraints imposed by TEA and the various cities around town. I get that covid is over, but the approach will give some sense of the overall attitude.

My wife did a lot of research and likes the direction of plans for the new schools in Comal ISD. So we moved to Kinder Ranch.

Just talking straight education, Alamo Heights by a landslide. Something ridiculous like 98% of graduates go to college. Highest percentage of teachers with graduate degrees in state ...last I looked. Nationally recognized in rocketry, robotics, music and even Latin.

Smallest school district in Texas, but has a tax base that include the McCombs and the Mays ... Two guys who have colleges of business named after them. Robinhood school district, so they have to give half their tax revenue to other school districts, but they more than make up for it in private donations.

Very diverse culture, which I will promote as a good thing verses a homogeneous, suburban exposure.

Main drawback is you get a lot less house for your money in this school district.

Lots of multigenerational residents, so plenty of graduates find the experience compelling enough to pay the high price to move back here to educate their children.

You actually never hear that.

98% that graduated go to college? Think we have a proud 09er

Alamo Heights parent here. We have nothing but praise for this district and I have learned a lot about citizenship by example from the active parents who donate their time (and money) to promote excellence. Active parents beget engaged learners.

The Alamo Heights School Foundation helps combat the robinhood tax THEFT by funding teachers and technology to keep the district competitive. I donate happily.

They did the best they could as a publc school re covid, and while I wish they could have ditched the masks, they went out of their way to open up in September and give the kids what they needed. By the 3rd 9 weeks, I *think* Woodridge Elementary had almost 70% in-person or more, with most students returning for the final quarter. We didn't have the remote learning challenges in the beginning that larger districts had, either.

Junior school has been amazing and our older child has bloomed in art, music, and academics. Especially the music program is crazy good and is engineered as a direct recruiting pipeline for HS band. High schoolers help with stuff and are mentors to the younger kids.

Yes, you don't get as much home for your buck but we have no regrets, especially now after the pandemic. I will take our rickety pier and beam funhouse for 6 more years here.

210 said:

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Evo said:

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Very diverse culture, which I will promote as a good thing verses a homogeneous, suburban exposure.

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You don't typically hear diverse and Alamo Heights (aka Alamo Whites) in the same sentence.

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Interesting since 48% of the AHISD student body is Hispanic/Latino. What is your definition of diverse?

Pretty much every school on the Northside is this. Parents outside 410 do invest in their kids.

americanaggie said:

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If your son is retired from USAF, I'd have them seriously consider Randolph! It's like a "private, public" school, and always scores in the top of the SA districts. We've enjoyed the safe, small town feel of the school (3A), and the surrounding suburbs (Schertz, Cibolo). It's not a DODDS school, but almost all the students are either in Active Duty or retired military families. Students are selected to attend based on academics, character, etc.

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+1 for Randolph. Wife and her siblings all graduated from there and rank high academically. Several kids this year going to elite schools.

boyz05 said:

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My wife did a lot of research and likes the direction of plans for the new schools in Comal ISD. So we moved to Kinder Ranch.

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Comal ISD has been great for my kids!