Texas Schools (West Fort Worth Area)

I used to work in a private school in west fort worth. The biggest complaint I heard from parents in Aledo was that it was growing too fast for the schools to keep up. The school system does have an excellent reputation, but again, the growth in Aledo is so fast that in a few years, the schools there COULD be hurting. White settlement, as previously mentioned has a lot of transient type people. Lakeside is a great area, so maybe you can look at a different part of Lakeside that might not be in White Settlement? If you are at all interested in private schools, msg me and I'll tell you about the ones on the west side.

The biggest problem with Texas public schools is that damn assessment test (this year called STARR) there is such a huge push for the schools to have great scores that it becomes the end all and be all of the curriculum with a large emphasis on the kids that cannot pass in order to get them to pass. So it almost ignores the mid to upper intellectual kids. They do have a talented and gifted program, but not sure how much that helps.

If it were me, I would not send my kiddos to White Settlement. There is a large transient population for the area the school serves and that is reflected in the schools. While there are a few exceptions, the majority is not favorable in terms of behavior and TEKS scores.
Bite the bullet and go with Weatherford or if you like the home send your kiddos to one of the private schools nearby.
While Aledo has had a great reputation, there have been recent issues with finances that could translate to changes in class size, offerings, etc. For example, they are closing the schools for all breaks. Read some online issue of the Community News to see what has been gonig on in the district.
In the grand scheme of the area, Weatherford is not too far away and most of the museums and zoo, etc are more west/central.
Good luck with your decision and the good thing is if renting and you make a decision that doesn't suit your family, you can always move when the lease is up:)

I would avoid White Settlement if possible. I live in River Oaks, which is across the air base from WS. My kids go this private school http://www.fwacademy.org/ ...which is wonderful.

You have great answers already, but I wanted to add that my brother and SIL lived in White Settlement when his girls were little. They were careful to move while their girls were still small because the schools were so bad. I'm a teacher in a nearby school district, and I hear awful things about White Settlement, as well. Aledo and Weatherford are wonderful! I really don't know much about Azle, but some of these other ladies seem to have good input. Welcome to Texas! :)

Hi, I live in Lakeside! So out of curiosity, which house? Lakeside is split, some White Settlement ISD and some AZLE ISD. Our neighborhood actually is even split, weird. So anyway, our child will be starting kinder next year and we'll be sending him to private school. There are some great private school options that don't have outrageous tuition. I taught 1st grade in public schools for ten years. I didn't teach in White Settlement or Azle, but I would not send my children to either. I think, especially if you're coming from a highly rated district, that both these districts would be a disappointment for you. Aledo on the other hand has a great district as of right now. (as mentioned already, given the recent financial issues that all Texas public school districts are facing, this could change soon. We too had a hard choice when we home shopped in this area. We just couldn't find what we wanted and could afford in Aledo, so we bought in Lakeside knowing private school was probably going to be our only option.

There are only 2 or so charter schools that I know of and they would be quite a juant from where you would be, like 30-40 minutes or more depending on traffic. They are also both based on lottery only, so her chances of getting in them are slim but posisble. One is for science and the other is for arts, so the downside is picking between the two. I can't remember their names but hopefully you can find it by google if you'd be interested. If you still can't find it, email me and I will ask my friend who applied there for the name. I would go for Aledo ISD well before WSISD. My friend who worked at WSISD liked it but "wouldn't send her own kids there" kinda thing. It's not a horrible ISD but it's not the best either. Sorry Im' not more help! Good luck with the move!

Don't know anything about Aledo or White Settlement. I know you said Weatherford is too rural but it is growing a tremendous amount and it is so close to getting to Ft. Worth. I do not know anything about their schools though. Not sure about charter schools in Ft. Worth either. Have you talked with a realtor about finding a rental home and about the schools ? They could direct you on school districts also.