By Susan Gallaway
Uprooting kids from their home, school, and friends is never easy. But when we came here four years ago, San Antonio was a quick sell for our three school-aged children. Boasting state-of-the-art educational and sports facilities and home to Six Flags, Sea World and Splashtown, San Antonio is an exciting destination for kids of all ages.
It’s also reassuring to discover the Alamo City’s comfortable blend of home-grown, second and third-generation families with a steady influx of newcomers from military, corporate, and other transient careers. It’s common to meet someone who did a tour in San Antonio with his or her military parents and decided to return to make it home. So, your children won’t stand out as “new kids” here; they’ll encounter empathy and a culture accustomed to change. It’s a town that values family, keeps the slower pace of the South, and promises the adventures of the pioneering West.
Schools
If your children are school-aged, you know that where they spend nine-plus months out of the year will have the biggest influence on the transition to their new home. There’s no short-cut available in the search for the right education for your kids. The good news: information abounds online, in periodicals and at the campuses themselves, be they public or private.
Like all public schools in Texas, San Antonio-area public schools participate in the Accountability Rating System, receiving an annual grade of Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable, or Unacceptable. You can view the entire School Report containing test scores, attendance, class size, etc., on the Texas Education Agency website, www.tea.state.tx.us, or request a copy. But don’t stop there. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will list the public schools your kids should attend according to geographic boundaries. However, especially in the fast-growing areas outside Loop 1604, some schools are “capped” or closed to admission in certain grades until spots open up. In those cases, new students are placed in a nearby overflow school and are guaranteed transportation. This is much less common in older, more established neighborhoods.
The best way to determine where your child will attend school is to visit the campus and ask! They are the only people with up-to-the-minute numbers. Also, don’t let “capping” scare you away from a neighborhood. In many cases, there are quite a few new kids boarding the bus for a nearby school, and they’re all on the waiting list to get a spot in the neighborhood school. Truth is, once their number comes up, they may or may not want to switch!
High-schoolers looking for a specialized high school curriculum will find several public magnet programs ranging from health careers to interior design to performing arts and more. In most cases, you must reside within the magnet’s school district boundaries to attend, but you must apply, be accepted, and, if you’re outside the district, provide your own transportation.
Sports
While this is Texas and football reigns supreme, San Antonio grows athletes of all stripes. We enjoy multiple venues for youth sports. The YMCA offers a full menu of sports every season. In addition, the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and other church leagues organize teams in multiple sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, and baseball throughout the metropolitan area. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) is another thriving sports facility. In either case, you needn’t be a member to join
Club sports are another popular option for everything from swimming and soccer to karate and gymnastics. Just drive around town and you’ll notice several first class swimming facilities that host local USA Swimming clubs and teach all levels of lessons. Our temperate climate puts Little League baseball, softball, and tee-ball on the field in February and they’re back for fall ball.
If your kids are into skateboarding, San Antonio has 17 public skate parks. The SA Skate Park Association calls these projects “destination skate parks” that emulate obstacles present in a real-life street environment such as steps, handrails, ledges, and banks, along with the transitional “bowl” elements.
Our temperate climate permits many year-round pursuits like tennis, golf, cycling, and equestrian arts. If you’re migrating from the North, you’ll pinch yourself in January when you’re outside enjoying a sunny 65-degree afternoon playing with the kids.
Music and Dance
San Antonio enjoys a rich musical heritage. Music is everywhere in San Antonio. You’ll hear Mariachi bands along the riverwalk, in a parade, or a neighborhood party. Live bands appear at many local restaurants on a weekly basis. If your family enjoys dancing, there are numerous dance halls that offer family nights of country music, line dancing, and dinner.
San Antonians cherish our high caliber of middle and high school music programs driven by regional competitions and local support and appreciation for music. Band and orchestra begin officially in public schools in 6th grade, but string, piano, and other instrumental and voice instruction are readily available much earlier. Tap, ballet, and hip hop dance as well as competitive cheerleading are quite popular as well.
Summer and Weekend Fun
Let’s face it, summers here are H-O-T hot. You’ll want to head for water, shade, or air-conditioning. Luckily, there are pools in nearly every neighborhood, school district and major parks. If you’re not into Splashtown, Schlitterbahn, or other major theme parks, San Antonio is a short drive from so many other interesting places for kids.
Explore some of the nearby caves like the Cascade Caverns, the oldest operating cave in Texas, or The Cave-Without-A-Name, both in Boerne, or Natural Bridge Caverns near Schertz.
The Texas Hill Country is home to so many attractions and summer camps for kids. Head out to Fredericksburg for a WWII, Pacific theater re-enactment. They’ll provide the earplugs! Bandera, home of the Dude Ranch, is less than an hour away. And Enchanted Rock is a 600-foot dome of pink granite that challenges hikers to climb. The whole park is beautiful, with unusual vegetation, and after hot summer days, the huge rock creaks as it cools. Or head to New Braunfels for tubing along the Comal or Guadalupe Rivers.
Closer to home, the San Antonio Zoo makes for a day that passes all too quickly. Housing rare crocodiles, Komodo dragons, and a wonderful collection of rare birds, the San Antonio Zoo is great about hands-on and up-close activities.
Step into the glowing Wild West of The DoSeum! With live music, mechanical bull rides, and a petting zoo, it’s not just a museum—it’s an adventure. Recognized as one of the nation’s leading children’s museums, it manages to blend high-energy fun with those sneaky educational moments kids actually enjoy.
And don’t forget the Witte Museum on Broadway, where pre-historic animals reside.
Three Kids’ Favorites
Here’s a short list of things your kids might find novel in San Antonio.
3. The Rodeo. Coming from suburban New York, my city slicker kids can’t get enough of the rodeo. On our first visit, we weren’t sure they’d make it through all the events, but after watching more than two hours of roping, bull riding, and mutton busting (little kids riding sheep), they asked, “Is it over already?” Then came the concert! Each rodeo admission includes the competitive events as well as a big-name musical artist.
2. Friday Night Lights (or Thursday or Saturday). This is so much more than a football game, though the football is among the best in the country. At most high school games, both teams bring along their bands. We’re talking musicians, the color guard, 100-plus member pep squads in full uniform, the cheerleaders, the dance troupes, the baton twirlers, and the mascots. There is always something for the whole family to see, hear, or participate in.
1. Six Flags Fiesta Texas or Sea World. You have to go at least three times to make a season pass worth the price, but that’s not hard to do. Both sites have waterparks and once you’ve enjoyed all the attractions a couple times, you might just want to go to meet friends for a playdate, hang out by a wave pool, run through the fountains, or take on the thrilling slides. Some families go just to take in a show or watch the fireworks.
So, pack up the kids with a smile on your face because they’re headed for a great new life in the Alamo City. And remember – if you’re up-beat about the move, they’ll follow suit.
