Florida schools what do you hate about them?

[elf]

Can you recommend any good elementary schools in the Central Orlando area.
We are seriously considering leaving Long Island. The only other place I've ever wanted to live was Florida (love hot weather).
My family loves to hike, ride bikes, swim, kayak etc.
I want to stay within 1 hour to attractions, hoping lots of our family disney nuts will visit often.
One of the places I was looking at was Sanford, Clermont (a little high in my price range), Lake Mary. We are looking at the 300,000-$350,000 range.

I really don't want year round school or an overcrowded school. What do you hate about the schools in the area? What are things to watch for? What schools do you love? and why?
MY kids will be in 3rd and 1st grade next Aug./sept.
I also need some special services for 3rd grader anyone familiar with spec. ed there?
Thanks, for any input.

 

[2buzzboys]

The Longwood area has good schools. I beleive they are top in the state. Longwood lake brantly school is supposed to be excellent. The longwood area is an exit away from lake mary and closer to disney. I am in deltona which is growing like crazy and new schools are being added. My son is only in first grade and I have a 3 yrs old that goes to pre-school and everybody raves about his pre-school. Someone told me tonight that they have been on a waiting list dying to get into that pre-school. My husband and I came from LI also 10 yrs ago. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

copy of my post on your other thread:



Couldn't find it on the CB, so I will answer here.

There can be good schools and bad schools. Florida schools are graded based on the previous years FCAT results. So an A school did well in the previous year while another school with an F did horribly.


However--one thing that I do NOT like is "teaching the test". Now I don't mind test prep--however this is like prepping for the SATs. My sitters just the other day were working on their FCAT prep work. one had 8 pages of math in this FCAT workbook and the other had 23 b/c she missed one day of school. I don't know when they started this prep--but FCAT isn't until something like March (I think) and this is all they will be doing until then for the subject areas for which they test.

IMHO--that isn't teaching. That isn't learning. That's just learning how to take ONE test that will get the school its desired grade (if they do well) which makes them look good as well as impact funding.

Children can excel in schools---there are some great public schools...but this one little thing just bugs me. Testing 6 months into the year to assess how students did for the year. School is 9 months long...I think they should have a full learning schedule and then take these as somewhat of a "final".

"No student left behind" is code for "cram test information so we can get $$$$".

Don't get me wrong--I love Florida and we have a good elem. school in my area (I live on the coast). However--one of many reasons we have chosen to homeschool. So this post does have some bias. Though I no many school parents who are on the same page KWIM!

(Note--answered per your request of "what I hate about them")
__________________

 

[hmp2z]

We just bought land in Clermont, at Greengrove Estates; I've heard from others that the schools there are good (I'm a teacher, so that's important to me, when we move).
As far as teaching to the test, that's a sad result of NCLB, and it's merely a drop in the bucket of what that act has done to our schools. Unfortunately, the tests are a reality in public schools today; if we don't get the desired test results, funding gets cut then the school gets shut down. And guess which schools get the lowest scores - you guessed it - those in low income areas that actually need the MOST funding & don't deserve to be penalized. Those AYP's are driving us nuts at the school I'm at now in NC; we have over 90% literacy in a school where almost 1/2 the kids are on free & reduced lunch, which is pretty darn good, but we never make AYP's for all of our branches of students, possibly because once a new English learner scores on grade level, they're removed from the ELL category, so by definition any ELL students are those who don't pass!
Sorry to rant, but I was just responding to the post about teaching to the tests; I teach in NC & my mother & in-laws teach in VA, and it's the same everywhere, at least in this part of the country.
Good luck with the move! If you want an excellent buyer's agent who works at no charge to you (splits commission with the seller's agent so comes out of seller's pocket), you can e-mail me. Our agent was fabulous.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sorry to rant, but I was just responding to the post about teaching to the tests; I teach in NC & my mother & in-laws teach in VA, and it's the same everywhere, at least in this part of the country.

No worries--that's why I ETA: that I was answering what I hated about the schools. I am not familiar with the school systems in other parts of the country as I graduated well before NCLB. I was only responding about what I hated about the schools per the OP's request.

 

[kbkids]

No personal experience here, but I do have a friend who moved from Sanford to - oh, can't remember now - I'm thinking Winter Park - but basically, she hated the schools in Sanford.

 

[Poohnatic]

I'm in Hillsborough, 55 minutes from my front door to space mountain. You can get a very nice house for what you want to pay around these parts.

My 9yo is in special ed. Asperger's Syndrome. My gripe with the school system is that last year was a waste for him-he was in a class with kids across the autism spectrum, 1st through 3rd graders. Late last year, we were informed that Florida doesn't equate Asperger's with Autism.

Somewhere around here I have the direct lines to Sp.Ed coordinators for Lake, Polk and Hillsborough counties, as we first thought we'd be in Clermont, then Lakeland or Plant City. Ended up a bit further west. All the coordinators are EXTREMELY helpful. Denise Provenzano was the Hillsborough coordinator, can't remember the other two. We did A LOT of school research before moving, due to my son's SpEd needs.

Central Florida schools-if it's not crowded today, it will be soon. I consider us fortunate-not much more growth can be added in our feeder, and it's a big school. We won't have the problems they've got in Clermont with overcrowding.

Suzanne

 

[Uuaww]

wait? housing exists for under 500,000 I hate the Bay Area of California...

 

[tkd lisa]

I'm also in Hillsborough County, and must just be slightly farther west than Poohnatic, since it took me an hour to make it to Wilderness Lodge last month.

Most of the suburbian Hillsborough County schools are EXCELLENT (all the ones in the area I was looking were "a" graded, at least for Middle Schools). Again, my kids are middle school, so I can't specifically speak to elementary, but here are some things I like and some I don't.

School itself is pretty big (I think it's smaller in the elementaries though). But they do maintain fairly small class sizes.

I've found that the teachers are VERY accessable. Hillsborough County is set up with great web pages that have each teacher, special teacher, administrator and counselor and offer instant access to: email, homework, and grades. Now out of my two kids 4 main teachers, the email has always worked; homework is regularly updated for 1/2 of them, and the grades are there for 3/4 of them. So that does depend on the specific teacher, but at least there's a format available (didn't have that where we came from, so it's a BIG deal to me).

Fair amount of extracurricular type activities. DD is in chorus, and DS is in art and "tech club" - sort of engineering based. And they offer band, orchestra, sports (club and competitve), and yearbook. Their first school in FL (Lee County) offered none of that.

I personally don't think this school goes overboard with teaching the test. They do offer FCAT prep classes, and do require a tutoring program for kids that have low grades, but I think it's on par with other public schools after the NCLB program began. In particular, several of the teachers take a very good approach to class, integrating projects and discussions into the lessons. So it's not just rote learning.

Hope this helps, and good luck with the move!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Can you recommend any good elementary schools in the Central Orlando area.
We are seriously considering leaving Long Island. The only other place I've ever wanted to live was Florida (love hot weather).
My family loves to hike, ride bikes, swim, kayak etc.
I want to stay within 1 hour to attractions, hoping lots of our family disney nuts will visit often.
One of the places I was looking at was Sanford, Clermont (a little high in my price range), Lake Mary. We are looking at the 300,000-$350,000 range.

I really don't want year round school or an overcrowded school. What do you hate about the schools in the area? What are things to watch for? What schools do you love? and why?
MY kids will be in 3rd and 1st grade next Aug./sept.
I also need some special services for 3rd grader anyone familiar with spec. ed there?
Thanks, for any input.

I must say that after having seen past FCAT the degree of difficulty is much lower than state testing with which you might be familiar. If what they are testing on the FCAT is an indication of what is being taught in the schools you might be a little disappointed in the curriculum . I live in Ma and the MCAS is substantially more difficult (therefore higher expectations by the state =more subsantive classwork) than the FCAT. Maybe you should check it out. You can get copies of these tests on line and compare. That will give you an indication of what the expectation for your current state NY and Fl.

 

[Galahad]

Every State "teaches to the test"

Biggest problems we saw were related to overcrowding. Even the state's "best" schools weren't all that good - especially for kids at either end of the spectrum. We went the private school route when we lived in Florida. As long and everybody and their brother want to move to Florida, the schools will be in a constant state of catch-up. They are lucky to keep their head above water let alone excel, IMO

 

[Martha7]

The thing I don't like about the Florida schools is the way the FCAT tests are used. The kids take the FCATs each year, but especially when your child gets to high school, they hit critical mass. They take the FCAT tests in the tenth grade. If they don't pass the tests, they have other opportunities to re-take them before they graduate. I knew several kids who developed such test anxiety that they could never perform well on the tests, since they knew that the stakes were so high. They must pass the tests in order to graduate and receive their diplomas! If they don't pass, they get a "certificate of minimum completion", and have to study on their own and get their GED in order to even attend a community college! (I don't remember if they are allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies with their friends or not.) We moved to Michigan for my DH's job, and while there is standardized testing here, (MEAPS), the tests aren't used to bar anyone from graduating yet. I just feel that it's unfair to have different standards from state to state throughout the US. So, if you have a kid with learning disabilities, (I have two, one of which passed the FCAT by a hair!), you might be a nervous wreck until they get out of their Florida high school! I really feel that the intent of No Child Left Behind is very good, but the execution has been a problem, often without sufficient funding for the schools to be able to lessen class sizes and provide enough teachers to make it successful. I'm sure that the entire country will eventually move to this model, but for the time being, I'm glad that we live in a state where the tests are not considered to be "high stakes." That said, I'd still move back down to Florida in a heartbeat because we loved our time there! Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[floridafam]

I can't speakl for all of the schools in Florida but..

We moved from Michigan to Florida in 2004. All we heard from everyone up North was how bad the schools were down here. Our DS was in a wonderful school in Michigan and we were sad to leave it behind.

We home schooled the 1st year here because we moved down in the middle of the year and moved when we bought a home and didn't want the kids to go to 3 different schools.

The school they go to now is WONDERFUL!!!!!! The teachers are great, the school is great, etc. They actually have a gifted program, which they didn't have in Michigan, that both of my children are in. They also have a very dedicated special education staff.

There is a website where you can look at the "grade" the school receives from the state each year. I'll try and find a link.

Just do a lot of research. Many people from all over the country move to Florida every day and they are demanding good schools. From what I have seen, we are getting them.

Mine are in 1st and 3rd right now and my 3rd grader is preparing for the FCAT. I really don't think it's any big deal. Most every state in the country has some test students have to pass.

 

[CEDmom]

Here's a website that might help: http://www.greatschools.net

 

[elf]

Thanks everyone for giving so much valuable information I always get such great information from everyone here on these boards.

I'm going to look into Longwood and Hillsborough.
I'm not big on judging a school from FCAT ratings. I am not a fan for the "teaches to the test" method either, but we all have it, even here on Long Island.
But , I am interested in class size, student/teacher ratio and activities such as computer clubs, music or art clubs, sports, etc.

If anyone has anymore info. I would appreciate it.
Wow 55 minutes door to door with space mountain. I could live with that

 

[floridafam]

My 1st and 3rd graders each have only 18 children in their classes. It's great.

They actually had more than that at the start of the year and the school, by law, had to hire more teachers to get the class sizes down.

Our elementary school has a Geography Bowl, a track team, an academic bowl, a soccer team, etc. We had NONE of these in Michigan.

 

[Martha7]

Elf~ There was a law enacted a few years ago, which mandated that class sizes be held to certain limits. It was called the "Class Size Amendment." The Florida schools had to scurry to hire more teachers, and I recently read that the solution of pairing a teacher and an aide together in a large class was recently voted down by the state courts. I don't think you'll have too much to worry about, but I think you can expect the schools to be more crowded in general than you may be used to. Another result of the overcrowding was that where we lived, we were constantly dealing with the need for new schools and the shift of students once the new schools were built. It was unusual in my area, (Weston, suburb of Ft. Lauderdale), for a child to start and end at the same elementary school, for example.) My kids did fine, since their friends from the neighborhood were moved alongside them, but some parents became very upset by this. The state government is in Tallahassee, and I recall hearing the opinion that the state lawmakers didn't appreciate our overcrowding issues in Broward County, since their schools generally didn't suffer from the large influx of South Americans and people from colder climates! I found in general that the students survived the overcrowding, but that the parents had huge issues with it. Don't be surprised to find a significant Hispanic population, which was no problem for us, (especially since we speak Spanish), but others become unnerved by that as well, especially when they couldn't find an english-speaking clerk in a store. This is less likely in Central Florida, I imagine. People in South Florida are moving up into Central Florida to try to find real estate that's more reasonable, and it may be tough to find a nice home in a good school district. We recently thought that we'd be moving to the Ocala area, and I researched quite a bit. I remember thinking that if we could swing it, I'd prefer to live in the Clermont area, since the schools and homes looked good, while a reasonable drive to WDW. I was very involved in the schools, and found that my DSs got an excellent education there! Sorry that my information is about South Florida, but that's what I know! Good luck with your research!: goodvibes

 

[elf]

Vero Beach sounds interesting, I'm going to look into that next. So far Longwood is looking perfect for our needs, and I found out about it from this thread. Love the Greatschools web site very helpful.

Has anyone every heard of Sunrise element school in Orlando? I think it's in the Eastwood subdivision. But I can't find house prices for that community. I wrote to real estate, but dont' expect to hear back too soon.


Thats interesting about the law on class size and not using aides. Are there any teachers aides anywhere? That's what I do here, I just assumed I could find something there. My school just eliminated all the aides in Kindergarten classes and the library (which didn't affect me). They only kept one-on-one aides (shadows).

 

[Buckleybunch]

I can't speakl for all of the schools in Florida but..

We moved from Michigan to Florida in 2004. All we heard from everyone up North was how bad the schools were down here. Our DS was in a wonderful school in Michigan and we were sad to leave it behind.

We home schooled the 1st year here because we moved down in the middle of the year and moved when we bought a home and didn't want the kids to go to 3 different schools.

The school they go to now is WONDERFUL!!!!!! The teachers are great, the school is great, etc. They actually have a gifted program, which they didn't have in Michigan, that both of my children are in. They also have a very dedicated special education staff.

There is a website where you can look at the "grade" the school receives from the state each year. I'll try and find a link.

Just do a lot of research. Many people from all over the country move to Florida every day and they are demanding good schools. From what I have seen, we are getting them.

Mine are in 1st and 3rd right now and my 3rd grader is preparing for the FCAT. I really don't think it's any big deal. Most every state in the country has some test students have to pass.

We moved in August to Clay County, FL( Orange Park - just a subur from Jacksonville). I do't understand the FCAT's.. but that's okay..
My three little kids are actually having a heck of a time catching up at the school they go to.. We moved from Valley, NE. What they are learning in 4th grade my oldest daughter learned in 6th.. Now.. My daughter in High school says she sin't being challeged at all in school.

 

[floridafam]

Just wanted to clarify,

My kids are in the Sebastian school system-North of Vero Beach. It's the Indian River County Schools.

I didn't really understand the FCAT's when we first moved here. I look at it as a way to track progress, etc. Sure, there are some parents who don't like it.

I'm lucky, my kids are good at tests. I know some of the kids have a heck of a time with it.

The school does sponsor info nights on the test and they send out a bunch of info to the parents so I can't say they don't try and inform people what the test is like. I think there are even sample tests available online.

We took the MEAP tests when I was in school and I'm sure it's similar to that.

I thought I would hate Florida. I loved coming here on vacation but wasn't sure about living here. I can't stress how happy we are with the school. It's just wonderful. My kids feel safe there and they love going to school.

We have adjusted well. Our town is nice and small with larger towns nearby. We have a great hospital and my DH loves his job. We just couldn't be happier.