Many people choose to live in Parker, Texas because of its bucolic setting with stunning homes offering one and two acre lots. D Magazine ranked Parker as the #2 best suburb to live in in North Texas for good reason. Parker is a small town suburb with all the amenities of the larger cities close by. There’s virtually no crime, it’s served by two exemplary school districts and the homes are beautiful.
Take a drive down a country road or head to nearby Plano, McKinney and Fairview for a variety of shopping and restaurants to enjoy. It’s not unusual to pass by fields of cattle grazing next door to luxury home developments. Enjoy a day strolling through the dinosaur trails at the nearby Heard Museum or take a tour of the world famous, Southfork Ranch from the popular TV series Dallas. Parker is close to Plano, Allen and McKinney so you’ll always find fun things to do!
SCHOOLS
Parker is served by two exemplary school districts, Allen ISD and Plano ISD
Allen Independent School District has been ranked as the sixth best school district in Texas, according to Niche.com. The website, which calculates the rankings based on data from the U.S. Department of Education and survey responses from families, also listed AISD as the 33rd best district in the nation.
Other Niche rankings include:
- Districts with the Best Teachers in Texas – #6 of 984
- Safest School Districts in Texas – #9 of 985
- Best Places to Teach in Texas – #12 of 981
- Best School Districts in Dallas-Fort Worth Area – #4 of 72
- Best School Districts in Collin County – #1 of 14
- Districts with the Best Teachers in Collin County – #1 of 14
- Allen High School was named the 41st best public high school in Texas out of 1,523 schools. Nationally, AHS ranked near the top 3% of the best public high schools out of nearly 18,000 campuses.
- In Niche’s list of the best public elementary schools in Texas, four of the top five schools are from AISD: #1 Kerr, #2 Evans, #4 Bolin, and #5 Boon. A total of nine elementary schools were named in the top 25 in the state.
- All three middle schools were listed in the top 50 in Texas, with Ereckson at #10, Ford at #16, and Curtis at #33.
Student enrollment has increased dramatically over the past few decades. PISD has a unique high school system, in which grades 9-10 attend a high school and grades 11-12 attend a senior high. There are three senior high schools (grades 11-12), Six junior highs (9-10), 13 middle schools (6-8) and 44 elementary schools. In Newsweek’s 2012 list of best national high schools, Plano West was ranked as 63rd, Plano Senior as 108th, and Plano East as 243rd.
Area: 96.14 mi²
Students: ≈55,000
Teachers: ≈7,000
Budget: $479 million