M.E.A

Hey all,

Me and family are potentially moving to Houston end of 2010.
We have two kids that'll be 3 1/2 and 2 years old by the time we move.

We are most likely going to live in the Katy area and was hoping you can recommend suitable preschools that follows the British or International curriculum in the Houston / Katy area?

So far we've come accross:

- The British School of Houston, read mixed reviews?!

- Awty International School, great reviews but might be outside our price range.

Appreciate any information on those two schools and/or any alternative recommendation on other schools that follow the British system.

Thanks ... M.E.A

lisa67

Hi

Can I ask how long you intend to stay in the states?
If it isn't very long, and your kids are still very young, I would recommend (as a teacher and as a Mum) that you not worry too much about the "international" side of a good early years facility, just find one that offers a well balanced curriculum.
You could also ask your question on the forum of www.city-data.com

M.E.A

Hi Lisa67,

Good point.

We've been jumping countries every 3-4 years with my work. I think we'll be staying in Houston for around the same time.

There are three main reasons to wanting to go with British or International schools and not US school system:

1- British system takes kid on from age of 3 into nursery. Both my kids go to British nursery/day care since they turned 1, and they love it. My eldest is scheduled to go to british school (nursery) in September where we currently live. Going to American school system will mean they'll lose the first 1-2 years since they have to enter at an older age. This is a big price for a 3-4 year assignement.
If the kid were older they could have flipped between British and American system and entered at an equivalent and appropriate level/grade. We know this first hand from my wife ... she was raised as an Expat kid jumping between US/UK schools for 15 odd years.

2- Post Houston, we'll be going international again. British expat schools in general tend to be cheaper. Also on the long run, we might be going back to Britain and I prefer the IB system.

3- Kids in British and International school system tend to be 1-2 years ahead than US system of same age. No offence, that's what i read ... plz don't shoot the messenger .

If we were planning to stay in the US, i would agree with you. But given the above?!

Thoughts?

Thanks ...

penguinsix

It's nowhere near as cut and dried as that, but I can understand if that is what you hear overseas. You'll get a lot of that and other "in America they..." kind of things, but when you get here you can easily find quite a different reality.

You might like to read through this thread. It goes into detail about some experience people have had putting their kids in class that didn't match up with their kids age (because they thought they should be in the same grade as their UK counterparts). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=643985
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/What_d...kids_in_school

But as for your general point, if you are certain to be continuing the expat life, then getting into an international school is probably a better solution, but not necessarily on the 'British track' but possibly the IB track in that it might give you more options later in your expat travels (should you end up somewhere the British system schools are awful but say the Canadian or Australian schools which might be following IB are better off). I think IB might give you more options later.

I'd also agree that at this age I wouldn't worry about it too much. Does the Houston Brit school even have 3-year-old nursery? I think it varies when overseas. You might also note that many American schools start with K-4 for four year olds. I think 5 is the age when the 'have' to go legally for truancy reasons, but more and more districts offer 4 year old classes (usually a half-day). You might see if that is an option.

Have fun.

lisa67

Just as an aside to this, when we moved here (many moons ago) my son had already done reception in the UK and we thought we'd be going back after 18 months and so, although he was only 5, he went into 1st grade in the US and then our daughter started kindergarten here at the same age she would have done reception in the UK. The school was fine with it, but I think it depends on your child and the school district (we agreed that if either of the kids struggled then we would re consider)

Bill_S

I don't doubt that you've read that, but it's important to note that there really isn't a single "US system". In the US, schooling is local, local, local. You could well put your kids into a US school that is full of very smart, competitive, hard-working overachievers. I believe there are members here who have found that to be true. Good luck.

Bob

I don't know if you can find it, but someone asked this question about the area last year and I'm pretty sure there was a few recommendations.

kfrantz

The British School of Houston has a very good reputation in the Houston area - you should give them a call and arrange a tour if you are in town. I have several friends who have children there and they have had a very good experience. Good luck in your search!

ChocolateBabz

Check out the city-data.com forum for Houston for lots of reviews on the British School, Awty, Village school etc. The British school does seem to get negative reviews for high staff turnover etc but I know that lots of families have kids there. The main disadvantage I see is that if your kids go to any of these school you really limit where you are going to stay unless of course work is nearby as traffic/commutes in Houston are a nightmare. I think a lot of Brits with kids at the British School stay around the Lakes on Eldridge area.

On a side note I did not find that the US system was 'behind' the UK system - very much on par however the kids in my sons school are certainly less mature in a lot of ways.

tigerbaywarrior

Hi.

My daughter is 3 years old and was going to pre-K school in the Woodlands. She was in there since she was 2 1/2 years old. She was going part-time but could just has easily gone almost full time for more money. My son was in the same school - he started schooling when he was 3 and hasn't stopped.

Also, The AWTY School is a customer of mine and I am always VERY impressed when I visit. Should at least take a visit and see how it's done.

Good luck!