Information on High Schools in Brevard (Palm Bay, Melbourne: real estate, houses, neighborhoods)

[NewtoMelb]

My husband has accepted a job in Melbourne, and our family will be moving to the area in the summer. We have a 9th grader and a 3rd grader, so we're looking for a family-friendly neighborhood with a great school district. We're from the Northeast, so we're trying to get as much information as possible before we go down for another visit.

We need some feedback on the best high schools and elementary schools in the area. I have gotten a lot of information on this forum, and have narrowed it down to Merritt Island, Viera, Melbourne High School and Satellite High School. We are also very interested in Central Catholic High School in Melbourne, but haven't been able to get much information, except for their website. We were able to visit the area recently, and wondering how Central Catholic compares to the public schools. We also really love Merritt Island, but concerned a bit about the high school. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[ExIslander]

We're fortunate in that the public high schools -- most of them, anyway -- in Brevard County are good, especially for good students. So it's not as if you need to put your kids in private school.

Having said that, Central Catholic (everyone around here calls it MCC) compares well with the public schools. Some religious schools are more about getting kids away from public schools and influences thereof than any particular academic aspect, but MCC is strong in that regard. Add to it the typical advantages of a smaller school, invested parents, etc. and it would be an excellent choice IMO. Our daughter toured it in eighth grade and seriously considered it.

Viera, Satellite and Melbourne are all fine choices for good students. Most people consider the beachside, Viera and West Melbourne areas as the best parts of the Melbourne vicinity, and those are the schools where those kids go. I'm partial to Mel High (my daughter is in IB there) but lots of people move to Viera for the schools, and Satellite has the same favorable demographics in a friendlier-size school.

I don't know much about Merritt Island HS. Unless you've ruled it out for commute reasons, though, you should have Cocoa Beach HS on your board too. It's supposed to be very good.

[NewtoMelb]

Thank you very much. My son is currently enrolled in an IB program in NJ, so we are very interested in Melbourne High as well. What neighborhoods in this school district would you recommend that are safe and family-friendly, in the $400K range? What are the elementary schools in this area? I really appreciate your help!

[LetLaRue]

Good morning!

There are several lovely neighborhoods with homes within your price range. As far as schools, for grade schools there is Indiatlantic, Harbor City, Meadowlane, University Park... Middle School, Hoover, Central, Stone....

If I can help you with any questions, feel free to call me at 386-401-9100 and I am more than happy to answer them.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by LetLaRue

Good morning!

There are several lovely neighborhoods with homes within your price range. As far as schools, for grade schools there is Indiatlantic, Harbor City, Meadowlane, University Park... Middle School, Hoover, Central, Stone....

If I can help you with any questions, feel free to call me at 386-401-9100 and I am more than happy to answer them.

I really would not advise this new resident to seek out some of the areas that you listed. $400,000 homes are more likely to be beach side, Lake Washington, Viera areas, and Bayside in Palm Bay. Some of the high schools have high population which some families do not like their kids to get lost in the shuffle or end up with classes in portables. Some of the high schools have slipped a little with the new way of testing. Are HS sports important to the curriculum for the OP? Would the kids be interested in being on the surfing team, swim team. Some schools have pools most don't and use community pools etc. Are they interested in law, science, math, the arts? Individual high schools concentrate on different things. Brevard does have school of choice. You do have to apply for a change during the correct time and the school of choice has to be open to accepting new students. Some schools do have a sort of lottery and higher requirements to get in, too.

People that live in Indiatlantic South would go to beach side elementary schools and then attend Mel High on the mainland.

People who live North of Indialantic in beachside areas but South of 35th street(?) generally go to Satellite Beach High School.


Cocoa Beach Jr/Senior high boundary is North of 35th St.(?) to about 528.

The OP might also want to consider charter elems because a few of them are listed as A schools .
For private schools there are some good schools too. MCC is a great school as is Holy Trinity Episcopal schools.
Florida Prep is also a good choice for locals now too since they accept day students.

Lots of choices to think about when it comes to schools.

[NewtoMelb]

Thanks again to everyone for all of the information. Which schools have overcrowding issues?

Unfortunately, we will be too late for the lottery for Edgewood Jr/Senior H.S. and Westshore, since we will not be arriving until the summer. We were able to briefly look around the area a few months ago. Viera looks like a nice community, but we are looking for a little bit more privacy, and really like being near the beach. I was told that Viera has an overcrowding issue, but cannot confirm if that is the case? Music, robotics and science are important. My kids also are involved tennis and swimming, so we would be willing to sacrifice the beach if Viera has the best school for us. We would really love some feedback on the Merritt Island schools. Maybe Satellite Beach, West Melbourne or Cocoa Beach would be a good area for what we are looking for?

[ExIslander]

Without being too specific, in what part of the Melbourne area will your husband be working? All things being equal, shorter commutes are better.

Based on what you've been saying -- strong preference for beachside if possible, your oldest is already in IB, music, science, robotics, sports etc. -- I'd focus on these schools to start, in no particular order:

Melbourne -- has IB, and there's plenty of beachside to choose from in that zone. Strong music program (one of its feeder schools is a music magnet). Larger school, around 2000-ish, so tons of extracurricular options. Of course, a bigger school comes with its own set of potential problems. And the school itself is not beachside.

Satellite -- does not have IB but has a smaller, friendlier school size (about 1300) and solid academics. Unlike Mel High, nearly all of its students live beachside in a fairly small geographic area, so it has that "neighborhood school" feel many people love.

Cocoa Beach -- has IB and is also a smaller school (around 1200 last time I checked), although it's co-located with a middle school. Probably the best public high school in the county reputation-wise, not counting Edgewood or West Shore. The commute might be a disadvantage, depending. Real estate-wise, you're getting less for your money there than in the Satellite or Mel High zones.

Speaking of beachside real estate, wherever you look, you'll probably find that what's within your budget (assuming you are looking for a single-family home) are older existing homes. The advantage to areas like Viera or West Melbourne is the availability of new or recent construction. Not much of that beachside except for expensive custom houses. Depending on what kind of house you need/expect to get within your budget, if you're struggling to find it beachside, then maybe come back around to Viera or West Melbourne (which is zoned for Mel High).

As always, the advice is worth what you're paying for it!

[NewtoMelb]

Thank you very much! We will hopefully be down in the area again very soon to look around. We are definitely still considering Viera and West Melbourne. This is very detailed, and helpful information for our family. I really appreciate it.

[NewtoMelb]

Hi everyone,

After doing more research, we've decided to focus on the areas near Melbourne High School or Viera High School. Aside from the IB program at Melbourne High School, what sets these schools apart? Is it sports, academics, music program, or a combination of both? Is overcrowding an issue at both the these schools? Is one area safer than the other? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ExIslander]

Taking out the IB factor, very little differentiates the schools, academically speaking. They both have a wide range of classes and clubs. AP participation rates are near 50% at both last time I looked. Music is very strong at Mel High, probably is at Viera too. Etc.

Sports-wise, Viera has been very good in football lately. Both are excellent in soccer, including recent state titles for Melbourne (both boys and girls) and Viera (girls). There are probably other recent achievements I'm not remembering. Mel High has around 20 sports, I assume Viera does likewise.

I don't believe Viera is currently overcrowded, at least so far as I can find it documented. Because the area is still building out, there is a risk of overcrowding in the next 5-10 years. Future school expansion plans are kind of up in the air. Middle schools seem to be the biggest problem, crowding-wise.

Speaking frankly for a moment, the main variable in the perception of the two schools is demographics. And I don't mean that as code for race -- the two schools have similar stats in that regard. It's more of an economic thing; Viera has a considerably lower rate of so-called "disadvantaged" students than the other public high schools around here because its zone is largely the desirable Viera/Suntree area. Therefore, Viera is perceived as a safer school than most others in Brevard. (It may actually be, I don't know the stats.) Mel High draws most of its kids from good areas beachside and in West Melbourne, and then adds in the IB program, but also has some pockets of not-so-great in its zone. Thus, the percentage of disadvantaged students is more typical. Having said that, as I mentioned before, mine goes there and I am not worried about her safety (well, any more than a dad will always do).

If anyone has some more specifics about Viera, please toss them in! Obviously I'm more familiar with Mel High.