“It’s not easy,” he says of their process. “For several years of our lives, it seemed like every conversation with other parents came back to schools. It still does. One of the biggest challenges is that the situation is so dynamic. The possibilities and options keep changing. You could get your kid into certain excellent public elementary schools, like Roberts and Poe, through the magnet process until about two or three years ago. Now those schools get all or nearly all of their spots filled with children in their zone. Other schools that did not have many options for advanced classes in the past now do, like Hogg Middle School in the Heights, and have become big draws.” He says also that parents have to identify what constitutes a “good” school. For some, it might be test scores; for others, it might be the overall atmosphere of the place. Those things mattered to Mankad and Arnold, for sure, but there was another factor they wanted to be sure their children had: diversity in their classrooms. “Living in rural Georgia gave us a lot of perspective. Although there are plenty of things we don’t think are perfect about HISD— unhealthy food in the cafeteria and excessive standardized testing come to mind—there are many things to appreciate about Houston schools. For example, our children have a complex ethnic background that’s accepted and celebrated here. We don’t take that for granted.” Arnold agrees. She works with a program called Writers in the Schools, which places working writers in public schools around Houston to offer classes and provide writing programs. That experience gave her an edge she knows other parents might not have. While they are mostly happy with their decision, there have been a couple of bumps. Lila is in the school’s GT (gifted and talented), and Arnold calls her a very academically driven girl. Vishwa is also very
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intelligent, but he didn’t test into the GT program because of some reading issues; he has dyslexia. “The easy part is after the [school] choice is made and you watch your kids make their mark at the school you end up in,” she says. “The kids are most of the magic, and if you support them, they’ll excel where they end up. I have loved the Travis community, and volunteer in it; but with my son not in the GT program I see the weakness that a school divided produces, especially in his confidence level. I’m not sure what the answer is.” Currently, they’re trying to determine which middle school will be best for Lila; they are considering Hogg, Lanier or TH Rogers. Arnold said she might home school Vishwa next year, to help him grow his confidence in his abilities and realize his full potential. And, while Arnold understands that she can make these choices for her family because she has something of an inside perspective on her neighborhood’s schools, she knows other families may not. “I think young families can get a good sense
of what kinds of schools they want to check out, thanks to Learn Central,” she says. “They can get a sense of the personality of a school, the goals, the administration. I had the benefit of teaching in a lot of schools, but most people don’t. Hearing stories about schools and principals and teachers and neighborhoods will be a great service. There are websites that rate schools by stars, but they don’t ask as many questions as a person has. Learn Central will help people make more confident choices.”
“There is no way to predict what a 5 year old will be like as a seventh grader,” says Wilson, who explains that she encourages parents to be open to the changing needs of their children as they continue their education journey. “Children change over time. And that’s ok.” As parents notice those changes, whether it’s a child’s deeper dive into a particular subject, or