As the new school year approaches rapidly during the Coronavirus pandemic, parents are having to make hard decisions. How will your children learn this year? Online, in person, at home, etc? So we wanted to break down the school choices in the Lake Conroe area, which include public, private, and home school options.
Public School:
Knowing what school district you move into is important when you purchase a home. If you choose to send your children to public school, then your child will attend the district in which you reside. The Lake Conroe area has three main school districts: Conroe, Montgomery, and Willis ISDs.
Conroe ISD, a very large district, encompasses numerous schools. To see each one and get their contact information, click here. The Montgomery ISD has two high schools, two junior highs, and six elementary schools. To explore their many schools, click here. Willis ISD is slightly smaller than the prior district, but to see all of their schools click here. Conroe ISD, Montgomery ISD, and Willis ISD will all begin instruction on August 12th without any in-person option until September 8th. Therefore they are all beginning with remote instruction.
Private School:
Parents can choose to send their children to any private school as long as they meet set criteria and can afford it. Each school sets their requirements and tuition. Lake Conroe has many highly-rated private schools. There are several in the area that do not offer a complete education from kindergarten to graduation. Therefore, we are only focusing on full PK-12th grade private institutions. They are: Calvary Baptist, Covenant Christian, Lifestyle Christian, Conroe Adventist Academy, and Woodlands Christian Academy.
Calvary Baptist is planning on beginning their school year traditionally, but are making plans for distance learning if the need arises. Covenant Christian begins on August 13th in-person. Lifestyle Christian and Conroe Adventist Academy both begin in-person instruction on August 17th. The latter academy has an easy to find opening plan that parents can read to see all the requirements and protocol they are implementing. Woodlands Christian Academy also has created a detailed re-opening plan that addresses increased cases of COVID-19, which include on campus, hybrid, and distance learning scenarios. They are planning on opening in-person on August 12th.
Home School:
Each home school is considered by the state of Texas to be its own private school. There are legal requirements that you should know before beginning this route. The Texas Homeschool Coalition provides an easy to read article on these requirements as well as many tips, advice, and support for parents considering this educational path.
Conroe Area Christian Educators (CACHE) is an organization that seeks to support families in the Lake Conroe area. For more instructional help, there are also home school co-ops in the area. For example, The Training Center offers many classes for home-schooled students. They have published a COVID policy. August 24th is the first day of Monday classes and September 2nd is the first day for Wednesday classes. In addition there are several very active Classical Conversations co-ops. Click here to see all your options.
This is in no way a completely exhaustive list of educational choices in the Lake Conroe area. However, it should give you a good place to start as you make decisions about your children’s education in the midst of the pandemic. Needless to say, everyone wants what is best for the children. Fortunately, the state of Texas values parental choice in the education of their children. It is always nice to know your options.