# Schooling system in USA, Houston TX in particular



## Kaska (Mar 28, 2011)

Can someone please tell me a bit more about schooling system in USA? Does it vary in different states? we are looking to relocate to Houston from South Africa early next year and by then we will have a 5.5 year old and a 8 month old, Our son is due to start hist first year of primary school in January and if i understand correctly your school year start in September? how old are the children when they start school and what level is basic education on? ( meaning is it necessary to send our son to private school or state school are sufficient enough ?

all info will be greatly appreciated


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The schools in the US are generally run at the local level, with a certain amount of oversight from the state level. If you're going to be living in Houston (and not in a nearby town), this site will get you started: HISD Connect - Home
Cheers,
Bev


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## Bsingh (Mar 30, 2011)

School year does usually start in Sept, although best to check local school systems. The first day of school could vary - I have heard of schedules beginning in the last week of August, for instance. In our school district, a child needs to be 5 years old by Sept 30 of that year to start school. If you're son is 5.5 years old, I don't see any issue in his starting Kindergarten. The level of skills required are usually basic. The child should be conversant with the alphabet and should be able to read simple, 2 letter words, that's about what I can remember of my son's case.


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## xchaos777 (Dec 15, 2010)

The actually quality of the school is VERY dependent on the neighborhood it is in. There are many ways to see how a school rates in Texas with some research, but in the end choose carefully where you actually live. You will be bound by the public school based on the location of residence.

As others have stated, if he is 5.5 he would be ready to start Kindergarten (which actually isn't required in most districts, but highly recommended and part of the public system).

One word of caution: Do NOT place on the application that he speaks a second language if possible. There is a program in Texas for "English as a Second Language" and the individual schools will actually get more funding if they place your child in it. However, this program is geared towards Spanish speakers and the children there literally (even if born in the US) have ZERO english from their parents. I made this mistake with my oldest son, born in the US, fully bilingual before kindergarten. To us, it was a positive thing to be fluent in two languages...the school system promptly put him in the ESL class which was at a DIFFERENT school and it took making ALLOT of noise that we did NOT approve of them busing him to this program that he didn't need. All because I checked the damn little box on the application.


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## mderashri (Apr 24, 2011)

Kaska said:


> Can someone please tell me a bit more about schooling system in USA? Does it vary in different states? we are looking to relocate to Houston from South Africa early next year and by then we will have a 5.5 year old and a 8 month old, Our son is due to start hist first year of primary school in January and if i understand correctly your school year start in September? how old are the children when they start school and what level is basic education on? ( meaning is it necessary to send our son to private school or state school are sufficient enough ?
> 
> all info will be greatly appreciated


Public schools are excellent in Houston. A child has to be 5 years old as of Sept. 1 of the schools year to start in a public school. We have lived in Houston for some time and are now moving to New Orleans, but our children had very good education here in public schools. Cy-fair schools district is an excellent school district. If you work in the energy corridor, housing is very attractively priced in this area. Great value for money.


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## Houstonian (Apr 20, 2011)

School year starts in fall (Aug - Sept time frame). CY-fair and Fortbend schools are the better ones. Also I believe the one in Spring is not bad either. You can get more information about the school districts on their websites


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