"Pearland Moms And/or teachers-Pearland ISD Vs. Alvin ISD"

I live in Pearland and my son will be attending 1st grade in PISD for the first time. One of my close friends who has lived in this area for most of her life live in Pearland as well. Her brother-in-law is in the process of moving here and she told him specifically NOT to move into the AISD. I also teach-not for PISD or AISD but I have teacher friends who have recommended not even attempting a job in the AISD system. PISD is a GREAT school system. I have a number of friends who teach or have taught for them.

I wish you luck. Which school in PISD? My son will be attending M. Ranch

Well, I live on the Pearland (20 yrs) end that splits with Missouri City/Alvin ISD and my son attended Challenger for three years and Silver Lake for 2 and have been very pleased with the Pearland schools on my end of town. I know that the newer schools have what seems to be the more progressive mentality, but the only complaint I have is how long it took to teach cursive to the fourth graders :-). Before the school year is out, take some time and go visit some of the schools and express your concerns. If you want more diversity, Pearland is your best bet. Also, I have a cousin who is a teacher at Miller Ranch and my son's 2nd grade teacher is the Assist Principal (if not principal now) and I love them both!

Having no experience with PISD I can only comment on AISD. I have 4 grown children who all graduated from AISD without having drug issues, gang issues or any other major issues. Every school district has problems, but the problems are not the district much of the time otherwise you wouldn't have kids with straight A averages and full blown scholarships. I believe school is what you make it. The teacher's attitude as well as the child's and parent involvement makes all the difference. I currently have a junior at AHS who is in the Chamber choir and on the Varsity Drill Team. Our son is a 7th grader at Harby this year. Neither of them have had any issues with drugs or gangs. The teachers are great about keeping in contact with us with good and bad reports. My advice is to pray about it and then go whichever direction you feel at peace about.

Hi A.,

I live in Pearland and have a son in kindergarten in PISD now and a daughter that will be starting kindergarten this year. I also have 3 very good friends who are teachers in PISD, and I used to work for the city. I must say that PISD is a wonderful district. You will be very pleased. What school will your daughter be attending? My son is at CJ Harris (near Pearland Parkway). It is a newer school, only a few years old. The principal is wonderful, and I have nothing but positive to say about the district. I have never had a child in AISD, so I don't have first had experiance with the district. Regardless, I would still recommend PISD.

Hi A.,

My kids both attend Mary Marek. I have found that their teachers are very attentive to each individual child. They are very appreciative of involved parents and communicate my children's status, as needed. And as a parent I appreciate that. I am very impressed with the curriculum at Marek. My children came from another district and although they were very prepared for the transition, it seems as though once they got to Marek their little minds just took off.
One of the biggest "likes" I have is the way they teach the children the value of homework/study habits. They begin I believe in the 2nd grade and by the time these kids are in the higher grades, its become a habit.
My suggestion is to really find a location that you are happy with. Although they are very close in distance, the areas can be very different. Being a single mother, you have to really pay attention to who your children will be associating themselves with after school, more so than during school. You want it to be a safe area as well. As long as you are a committed mother who is VERY involved in their studies and communicate well with their teacher, it will not matter if they go to AISD or PISD.

Good luck!
M.

I live in Alvin. I homeschool so I don't know much about the school district other then what I have seen with the other kids I've met (I worked with JH and HS kids at church.)

AISD has the reputation for drugs, gangs and violence. These church kids hated school. Substitute teachers I have known say that you should stay away from AISD. I was planning on homeschooling when I moved here so I didn't research the schools before we moved here.

Again, I have no PERSONAL experience with the schools and the lower grades are probably much better (little to no gang activity ext) but I don't really know. My sister said that Alvin has some of the highest paid teachers but maybe that's because the district is so bad they have to pay their teachers more.

S., mom to four

I would say stay in PISD. I currently live in Alvin ISD. The school district is great however I like PISD grade level break down of school. To many grade levels(PK thur 6) at one school is a headache.

We live just south of SCR, so we're AISD. I went through this same debate when we moved here 2 years ago. I'm very happy with our elementary (Wilder Elementary) and also pleased with AISD. My kindergartener is highly gifted, so I need a school and a district that is flexible and open to the idea of doing their best to educate each child as an individual within the system. I feel like AISD and Wilder have been very good at working with us to find a workable solution for my daughter's educational needs. I like that AISD screens ALL kindergarteners for GT, they actually start GT classes as kindergarteners. AISD also has an elementary level Dual Language program for GT kids, as well as cluster classes. Then they have a magnet program at the Jr high level, and a variety of programs and classes available at the high school level. To me, having such wonderful resources for the GT kids says that AISD values education overall. I hope our experience here continues to be this good, since all districts will vary at the school level.

Also, I went to CCISD most of the time I was growing up, and I remember having the impression, as a judgemental high-schooler, that AISD was for "hicks"...BUT wondering why they offered a wider variety of classes than where I went! (I had friends in AISD)

We see a LARGE diversity in our school...white, black, Asian, Latino, Indian...sometimes I'm not sure that covers it all! After living in Western Washington, we are enjoying the diversity.

I've met moms who have taught in both districts, and a few who have kids in PISD who say they found AISD to be more flexible and open to change than PISD.

This coming fall, AISD is also going to cap Elementary at 5th grade and start Jr High at 6th grade. HS will still begin at 9th grade.

You're going to get a wide variety of answers on this one!!

I am also a single mom and my daughter graduated from Pearland High School last year. Im sure you know all kids that graduate in top 10% of their class get automatic admission into any Texas college. My daughters graduating class was over 1000. She is a straight A student and barely made it. I know this is way in the future, but just something to keep in mind. Also, they are building the new Highschool on Cullen, so this should help.
When my daughter was in 9th grade, they had the 9th grade center that seperated them from the highshool kids. This was great, as I don't think 9th grade girls should be in the same school as 12th grade boys. Not sure if they will go back to that, or if Alvin has that.
Pearland schools were also very strict about dress code. I would get calls if she did not wear a belt to school and she would get In School Suspension after the third offense. However, they were also "on top of it" with other issues. My daughter had received some threatening e-mails from another girl. The school called the parents and were instramental in resolving the problem.
Best of luck! You have some wonderful years ahead of you! Enjoy every moment, because they go by so quick!