Schools in Montrose: A Houston Parent's Guide

Schools in Montrose, Houston are zoned to the Houston Independent School District, and the campuses most Montrose families deal with — Baker Montessori, Wharton Dual Language Academy, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School — sit either inside the neighborhood or within a short drive. Baker Montessori at 2100 Yupon Street is the standout: renamed from Woodrow Wilson Montessori in 2021, it is a K-8 campus that is both the zoned neighborhood school for Cherryhurst and parts of Montrose and a district-wide Montessori magnet, with Montessori instruction in the lower grades and middle-school programming for grades 6-8. Lanier, also inside Montrose, and Lamar on Westheimer round out the path for older students.

Several well-regarded private schools sit inside or adjacent to the neighborhood, including St. Stephen's Episcopal School on Sul Ross Street, The Kinkaid School (just west, in Piney Point), St. Thomas High School near Memorial Park, and The Awty International School in nearby Spring Branch. Below is a structured rundown of public zoning, magnet options, and the most-considered private choices.

HISD zoned schools by grade band

For the elementary years, Baker Montessori at 2100 Yupon and Wharton Dual Language Academy at 900 West Gray both serve parts of Montrose, and both are zoned campuses as well as magnets. Baker's attendance zone covers Cherryhurst, Hyde Park and parts of Montrose; Wharton's covers East Montrose, most of Avondale and a section of North Montrose. Zoned families attend without applying, while out-of-zone families go through the magnet lottery, which Baker's Montessori program fills several times over. MacGregor Elementary, sometimes listed for Montrose, is at 4801 La Branch Street in the Riverside Terrace area about three miles east and serves Westmoreland and Riverside rather than Montrose.

For grades 6-8, Lanier Middle School at 2600 Woodhead Street is the zoned campus and one of the higher-performing middle schools in HISD. Lanier is inside Montrose itself, in the Winlow Place blocks of Neartown — not in River Oaks, as it is often described — so many of the neighborhood's children walk or carpool there. It enrolls roughly 1,460 across grades 6-8 and runs a Vanguard and IB Middle Years magnet alongside the neighborhood program, offering about 256 magnet seats a year by lottery. For grades 9-12, Lamar High School at 3325 Westheimer Road is the zoned campus, with International Baccalaureate programming open to every zoned student and transfers admitted on a Magnet Matrix score of 80.

Magnet and transfer options

HISD's magnet system is the main alternative to zoned attendance. Beyond Baker Montessori and Wharton, Montrose families often apply to T.H. Rogers (a K-8 gifted-and-talented school in Tanglewood), Carnegie Vanguard High School (a competitive-admission high school downtown), or DeBakey High School for Health Professions in the Medical Center. For 2027-2028, the HISD School Choice application's Phase One runs December 8, 2026 to February 12, 2027, with lottery notifications on March 17, 2027 and seats to be accepted by March 23; one form ranks up to ten programs, and a Phase Two then runs until a week before school opens. Confirm the current year's dates before you plan around them.

Charter schools have a smaller presence in the area. KIPP and YES Prep operate campuses elsewhere in Houston, but few sit within Montrose itself. For a broader sense of the neighborhood beyond schools, our living in Montrose guide covers restaurants, parks, and daily logistics.

Private schools in and around Montrose

St. Stephen's Episcopal School at 1800 Sul Ross Street is the most-mentioned private K-8 option inside the neighborhood, with a long waitlist and tuition in the $20,000-$30,000 range depending on grade. The Kinkaid School in Piney Point Village (about 10 miles west) and River Oaks Baptist School at 2300 Willowick Road in River Oaks — not near Memorial Park — serve as the next tier for Montrose families willing to drive, though River Oaks Baptist stops at grade 8.

For high school, St. Thomas High School (Catholic, all-boys) on Memorial Drive and Strake Jesuit further west are the most-considered private options. Episcopal High School in the Bellaire area and St. John's School at 2401 Claremont Lane in River Oaks — not Tanglewood, as it is often listed — round out the upper-tier list. Tuition at the major private high schools runs $25,000 to $35,000 a year.

How school choice shapes neighborhood moves

Real estate buyers in Montrose often filter homes by zoning. A house on the east side of the neighborhood may zone to one elementary school while a house six blocks west zones to another, and pricing can reflect that gap. Before you sign, verify the address-specific zoning on the HISD school locator tool. Our Montrose real estate snapshot covers how housing prices vary across the neighborhood.

School transportation matters here. HISD bus routes serve most zoned middle and high school students, but pre-K through grade 5 families generally drive or walk. Westheimer traffic at 7:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. can stretch a half-mile drive to twenty minutes. For broader commuting context, see our I-10 navigation guide and our METRO Houston guide for bus routes that run through the area.

Visiting before you commit

Most zoned and magnet schools host fall open-house nights for prospective families. Private schools schedule individual tours and admissions interviews on rolling timelines starting in September. Plan to visit at least two or three options before deciding, even if you're set on a zoned route — campus culture varies more than the test scores suggest.

If you're new to Houston and visiting to scout schools and housing at the same time, the 2 days in Houston itinerary covers how to use a weekend efficiently. For families with children old enough to enjoy a museum afternoon between school visits, the things to do in Montrose guide covers the Menil Collection and the rest of the neighborhood's free cultural assets.