Lake Pointe Elementary vs Rough Hollow Elementary: What Families Need to Know

Two Great Schools, Two Very Different Stories

If you are narrowing your family’s search to the Lake Travis ISD corridor west of Austin, chances are good you have already landed on two names. Lake Pointe Elementary and Rough Hollow Elementary. Both feed into the same middle and high school path. Both sit inside neighborhoods that families move across the country to reach. But the vibe at each campus is genuinely different, and understanding those differences can save you months of second-guessing after closing day.

Lake Pointe Elementary is the proven performer. Ranked number one in the district and in the top three percent of all Texas elementary schools, it has built that reputation over years of consistent results. Rough Hollow Elementary is the newest campus in LTISD, opening its doors in 2020 with a purpose-built STEM maker space and a principal who brought 25 years of experience from one of the highest-regarded districts in Central Texas. So you are not choosing between a good school and a bad school. You are choosing between two flavors of excellent.

Let me walk you through what actually matters so you can figure out which one fits your family best.

Lake Pointe Elementary vs Rough Hollow Elementary at a Glance

Lake Pointe Elementary: The Track Record Speaks

When a school lands at the top of its district and stays there, you stop calling it a fluke and start calling it culture. That is exactly what Principal Julianne Reich has built at Lake Pointe Elementary. The campus consistently posts assessment scores that put it in the top three percent of all Texas elementary schools, and that kind of sustained performance does not happen by accident.

What does that look like day to day for your kid? It means a teaching staff that has been refined over time. It means systems and routines that work so well they almost feel invisible. And it means a parent community that is deeply invested because many of those families moved to Flintrock or Lake Pointe specifically for this school.

I have worked with dozens of families who targeted Lake Pointe Elementary as their non-negotiable. They wanted the data. They wanted the reputation. And honestly, the campus delivers on both. If academic performance and a proven leadership team are your top priorities, Lake Pointe is hard to beat.

But here is something worth knowing. Because the campus is well established and its attendance zone covers some of Lakeway’s most desirable neighborhoods, inventory can be competitive. Homes in the Lake Pointe Elementary zone tend to move quickly, and you will want to be ready to act when the right one comes up.

Rough Hollow Elementary: New Campus, Big Vision

Rough Hollow Elementary opened in 2020, which makes it the newest elementary in Lake Travis ISD. And when LTISD builds a new school, they do not cut corners. The facility itself was designed with modern learning in mind, including a dedicated STEM maker space that gives students hands-on access to engineering, coding, and creative problem-solving from an early age.

But the real story here is leadership. Principal Angela Page came to Rough Hollow with 25 years of education experience, including time as assistant principal at Double File Trail Elementary in Round Rock ISD. If you know anything about Round Rock schools, you know that district runs tight ships. She brought that operational discipline to a brand-new campus and layered in a strong student leadership program that encourages kids to take ownership of their school community.

What does that mean for your family? It means Rough Hollow Elementary has the energy of a startup backed by the experience of a veteran. The culture is still being shaped, and that is actually a draw for a lot of parents. You are not walking into decades of “this is how we have always done it.” You are walking into a campus where your involvement as a parent can genuinely influence the direction things go.

The student body is nearly identical in size to Lake Pointe at around 751 students, so you are not trading down to a smaller or less resourced school. You are trading into a different kind of momentum. Families moving into the Rough Hollow Elementary zone right now are getting in on the ground floor of what looks like it will be one of the district’s flagship campuses within a few years.

The Neighborhoods Behind Each School

Schools do not exist in a vacuum. The neighborhood your family lives in shapes your daily experience just as much as the classroom does. So let me give you the quick version of what surrounds each campus.

Lake Pointe and Flintrock

Lake Pointe Elementary draws primarily from Flintrock and the Lake Pointe neighborhood. These are established communities in Lakeway with mature trees, completed amenities, and a settled feel. Flintrock in particular is known for its golf course community and homes that range from solid family-friendly floor plans to custom builds. You know exactly what you are getting because the neighborhood has been built out for years.

If you value a community where the neighbors already know each other and the PTA has its systems dialed in, this side of the zone is a natural fit. The tradeoff is that you are buying into a more established price floor, and new construction options are limited.

Rough Hollow and Sweetwater

Rough Hollow is one of the most distinctive communities in the entire Lakeway area. It sits right on Lake Travis with its own marina, resort-style pool complex, trails, and a yacht club that makes the neighborhood feel more like a vacation destination than a suburb. Sweetwater is a newer community nearby that shares the same school zone and offers additional new-build inventory at a range of price points.

For families who want lakefront access and newer construction without sacrificing school quality, this side of the equation is incredibly appealing. You get the outdoor lifestyle that draws people to the Hill Country in the first place, paired with a school that was built to match the energy of the community around it.

So Which School Fits Your Family?

I have helped families land on both sides of this comparison, and I can tell you there is no wrong answer here. But there is probably a better answer for your specific situation. Here is how I usually frame it.

Choose Lake Pointe Elementary if you want the highest-ranked campus in the district with years of data backing it up. If academic metrics are the thing you look at first and you want a leadership team with a long track record of delivering results, Lake Pointe is your school. You will also be in a more established neighborhood where the community roots run deep.

Choose Rough Hollow Elementary if you are drawn to a newer campus with modern facilities, a STEM-forward approach, and a culture that is still taking shape. If you want your family to be part of building something rather than joining something that is already built, Rough Hollow offers that opportunity. And if lake access and outdoor lifestyle are high on your list, the surrounding neighborhoods are hard to match.

Both schools feed into the same middle and high school pathway within Lake Travis ISD, so your child’s long-term educational trajectory stays on the same track regardless of which elementary you choose. The difference really comes down to campus culture, neighborhood lifestyle, and what your family values most in those early years.

Why I Care About This Comparison

I have spent over 15 years helping families find homes in the Lake Travis corridor, and school choice comes up in almost every single conversation. It is usually the first filter families apply before they even start looking at homes. That is why I stay plugged into what is actually happening on these campuses rather than just pointing people to ratings websites.

I also serve on the Lake Travis Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC), so I have a window into the district that goes beyond test scores. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, or if you just want to understand how each campus supports different learners, I am happy to have that conversation. It is one of those topics where having someone in your corner who knows the district personally makes a real difference.

If you want the full picture of how all the LTISD elementary campuses stack up, I put together a broader guide that covers every school in the district. You can read that here: Lake Travis ISD Elementary Schools Compared.

Ready to Find Your Family’s Fit?

Whether you are leaning toward Lake Pointe Elementary or Rough Hollow Elementary, the next step is the same. Let me help you find a home in the right attendance zone before the best options are gone. I know these neighborhoods block by block, and I can walk you through what is available right now in either school zone.

Reach out to me directly and let’s figure out which campus and which neighborhood check every box for your family. No pressure, no sales pitch. Just 15 years of local knowledge and a genuine interest in getting this decision right for your kids.