16019 Echo Hill Dr
Houston, TX 77059

The teachers generally seem nice and caring, but some teachers use antiquated negative reinforcement techniques such as clip charts and they take away recess time from children as punishment. The kids also generally don't seem to be able to socialize with each other much throughout the day. In kinder, the focus seems to be on learning by rote memorization, when perhaps learning through play might be more fitting for that age. It also doesn't appear that there is much differentiated learning for kids who excel. There is a GT program, but the students only spend a very limited time in the GT class.

Being a senior at this school (at the time of writing this), the best word I can use to describe this school is confused. There's a repeating message that the staff prioritizes students' education to the fullest, but to me I only see a standard and plain amount of effort in terms of education. From what I know, there's more money spent on sports than anything. To give the staff credit though, there are many AP and honors class options to choose from, I'd say the biggest flaw here is their choice in teachers. I've had a good few teachers who were visibly unmotivated for their job, dispassionate about what they taught, and/or unwilling to help students who didn't immediately understand their lessons. I'm not sure what this school's system is for hiring, but I hope it improves to weed out these types of non-teachers. On the good side, many teachers I've had were genuine, impactful, and understanding. Props to them.In terms of safety, it's honestly alright. Fights are rare, and security and staff are always quick to break up the conflict. Safety protocols are strongly enforced, so I've never personally worried about any intruders or getting attacked by any students. That being said, I am white. Emotional support is honestly debatable depending on the person and severity of the discussion. My counselor is really kind and accommodating, but others say their counselor doesn't listen or care... mixed bag, I guess.Now, my older sister went to this same school a few years ago, she's on a part of the autism spectrum that requires her to be put into the special education system... the absolute disregard for the differences in disabled children is appalling. They bunch every single type of child with varying stims and triggers onto the same bus, into the same classroom, students who scream and talk uncontrollably paired with students who become extremely panicked and overwhelmed at sound (like my sister). Not to mention, they teach every student the SAME way with the unrealistic expectation that they'll ALL be able to participate in the workforce. Some will, some won't, depending on the job they take, but that nuance is completely thrown out the window. It really feels like the system doesn't actually care to respect disabilities; they just want more cogs for the machine. I'm not sure how much control this school has over the way special education is done, but if they have any liberty at all, they REALLY need to step it up and start accounting for differing needs.

Very good school would recommend very good sports teams with great players like me