[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

The FL schools are really bad.

As a whole they are but there are many great individual public schools. There are many Florida HS in the top 100 in the nation.

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010...ools/list.html

[Minier]

I'm hoping we can find at least a few schools that can match the Chapel Hill schools - pipe dream?

[FloridaKash]

I would go to Pinellas county in Tampa Bay by the gulf.

I am absolutely impressed by the school my kids go to and think they are getting a great education. I think the really good schools in FL are far and few between and those that are bad are really bad. There are two great elementary schools near my home along with great middle and high school's as well. In fact, the High School near my home had their band play in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by Minier

I'm hoping we can find at least a few schools that can match the Chapel Hill schools - pipe dream?

Well the entire CH school system is great and you won't find that in FL where an entire local system all has very good schools. CH is kind of unique in almost it's entire population is very rich/liberal which leads to great funding for schools.

In Florida it's more about being set up in the right school districts when you buy a house. All of those kids going to top high schools are coming from quality middle/elementary schools. Odds are if you move to a county with six elementary schools you'll end up finding one/two very good ones while the rest are bad.

[cjbeach]

There is no comparison between Chapel Hill, NC and many FL public schools due to funding. The funding isn't here. I moved to a small town in FL with "9" and "10" rated schools via greatschools.net expecting good schools. I live in Port Orange. I kinda bought into the fairy tale. Coming from NJ the difference in the public schools (even "A" rated) schools has been STAGGERING. Staggering. There is no comparison.
At this point we decided to private school and/or homeschool only. Having many family members as teachers (and one principal) in NJ we were told point blank that most of the kids moving up or back from FL are held back a year. Nice.
We live in an area with a top-120 high school (Spruce Creek HS). I do think there are some good high schools in FL because of the IB programs. However kids NOT in the IB programs have an entirely different view of the local high school versus the IBers.
I did find a website a while back (moving.com) I believe that gave you a national ranking of schools. For example, my old hometown had a national ranking of "10" in NJ. Here, our national ranking was a "4." For me that spoke volumes.
Most people that are in public schools here and are enjoying their experience in public schools spend a lot of time afterschooling their children or are utilizing the services of places like Sylvan/Learning RX. I know many teachers who have lost their faith in the system.
Honestly the teachers I have met here have been dedicated and wonderful but there's only so much you can do as an individual.
As a mother with a special needs child I have been hard pressed to find ANY services for my child that are even slightly comparable to those he would receive back home. The lack of services here in FL is really unbelievable. Frightening actually.
Good luck!

[markhunt]

Originally Posted by cjbeach

There is no comparison between Chapel Hill, NC and many FL public schools due to funding. The funding isn't here. I moved to a small town in FL with "9" and "10" rated schools via greatschools.net expecting good schools. I live in Port Orange. I kinda bought into the fairy tale. Coming from NJ the difference in the public schools (even "A" rated) schools has been STAGGERING. Staggering. There is no comparison.
At this point we decided to private school and/or homeschool only. Having many family members as teachers (and one principal) in NJ we were told point blank that most of the kids moving up or back from FL are held back a year. Nice.
We live in an area with a top-120 high school (Spruce Creek HS). I do think there are some good high schools in FL because of the IB programs. However kids NOT in the IB programs have an entirely different view of the local high school versus the IBers.
I did find a website a while back (moving.com) I believe that gave you a national ranking of schools. For example, my old hometown had a national ranking of "10" in NJ. Here, our national ranking was a "4." For me that spoke volumes.
Most people that are in public schools here and are enjoying their experience in public schools spend a lot of time afterschooling their children or are utilizing the services of places like Sylvan/Learning RX. I know many teachers who have lost their faith in the system.
Honestly the teachers I have met here have been dedicated and wonderful but there's only so much you can do as an individual.
As a mother with a special needs child I have been hard pressed to find ANY services for my child that are even slightly comparable to those he would receive back home. The lack of services here in FL is really unbelievable. Frightening actually.
Good luck!

This was the #1 reason we moved back to CT. You hit the nail on the head with this!

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by cjbeach

There is no comparison between Chapel Hill, NC and many FL public schools due to funding. The funding isn't here. I moved to a small town in FL with "9" and "10" rated schools via greatschools.net expecting good schools. I live in Port Orange. I kinda bought into the fairy tale. Coming from NJ the difference in the public schools (even "A" rated) schools has been STAGGERING. Staggering. There is no comparison.
At this point we decided to private school and/or homeschool only. Having many family members as teachers (and one principal) in NJ we were told point blank that most of the kids moving up or back from FL are held back a year. Nice.
We live in an area with a top-120 high school (Spruce Creek HS). I do think there are some good high schools in FL because of the IB programs. However kids NOT in the IB programs have an entirely different view of the local high school versus the IBers.
I did find a website a while back (moving.com) I believe that gave you a national ranking of schools. For example, my old hometown had a national ranking of "10" in NJ. Here, our national ranking was a "4." For me that spoke volumes.
Most people that are in public schools here and are enjoying their experience in public schools spend a lot of time afterschooling their children or are utilizing the services of places like Sylvan/Learning RX. I know many teachers who have lost their faith in the system.
Honestly the teachers I have met here have been dedicated and wonderful but there's only so much you can do as an individual.
As a mother with a special needs child I have been hard pressed to find ANY services for my child that are even slightly comparable to those he would receive back home. The lack of services here in FL is really unbelievable. Frightening actually.
Good luck!

Few places in US could compare with CH. The schools with IB are skewed in rankings a bit. There are still a good amount of schools in FL that don't have IB which are highly ranked. It's all about living in expensive areas for the most part in FL to have access to top schools.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Jlopes26

Sarasota has some of the best schools in florida. We have a nice downtown and the beaches are impecible compared to most areas. It's really a dream out here. You have areas around your range at the Palmer Ranch which is a exclusive area to say the least.

I agree with the recommendation of Sarasota county. It has Pine View School , which is the top rated school in FL and one of the top in the Nation. The whole school district is top notch.

[beachmouse]

There are some very good schools up in the Panhandle; my local high school has a reputation for sending kids off to the service academies and Ivies well-prepared for that level of college work. But it's somewhere to the right of Atilla the Hun politically, and the job market for graphic designers is terrible unless you've got the connections and security clearance to pick up a contracting job on one of the military bases.

[dmccauley]

I moved from NJ to Sarasota Fl with 3 children. I can say that their schools were not that bad. I recently returned back to NJ and my kids had some catching up to do but not as much as I thought. I recommend, Ashton Elementary, Sarasota Middle School and Riverview School District.