[tasdad4701]

Hello, we are from Michigan and a planning to move to Seminole County.
We are aware of the property taxes and insurance.
My wife is in the process of getting her status of eligability from FDOE.
There is lots of info about, a the need for teachers in Florida. We were
wondering if Seminole county is a good county to teach in?
If so what are some good Elementary schools.
We would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks

[pianogal]

Seminole County has the reputation for having the best school system in Central Florida. All the high schools are A rated schools as are most of the elementary schools. There are very many excellent A rated elementary schools in neighboring Orange County as well - the ones in Winter Park and the east side of Orlando (Waterford Lakes, etc.).

I'm sure you've already checked out the website: http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/
Some schools I know personally:

Bear Lake Elem. -Apopka - while I would be careful about Apopka - it has very good areas and some bad areas. This is a highly rated school with good test scores.

Eastbrook Elem. - the address for this is Winter Park but it is in Seminole County. This is the school my son attended. It is an older A school, but it not as great as it was in the past. Students didn't test as high as others - still an A but in the lower range.

Carillon Elem. - Oviedo. Very Highly rated school - with high test scores. Close to UCF.

Crystal Lake Elementary - Lake Mary - don't have the test scores, but have heard lots of good things about this school.

Heathrow Elementary - Lake Mary - another great school in a very upscale area.

Highlands - Winter Springs - still an A school although student's didn't test as high as some of the others. An older school in a more mixed area.

Keeth - Winter Springs - another VERY highly rated school. Students tested extrememly high in an newer, affluent area.

Lake Mary Elem. - Lake Mary - an older, but still very good school. Great test scores.

Longwood Elem. - Longwood - also older school. Has A scores but in an area where you will have a mixture of families and this is reflected in lower scores.

Redbug Elem - Casselberry - another older school - Scores are in the low A range. Again this school is fed by a mixture of upscale and struggling families.

Sabal Point - Longwood - in an very upscale community. Has the highest test scores of any elem. I've seen.

Spring Lake - Altamonte Springs - has high test scores, but I'm not as familiar with this school.

Sterling Park - Casselberry - an older school in Deer Run - a middle to upper middle class community of Casselberry off Red Bug Road. Highly rated.

Wekiva Elem. - Longwood - a very highly rated A school. Listed in the top 100 elem. schools in Florida for the past 5 years. In a beautiful area of Central Florida.

Woodlands - Longwood - an A school although not as high as some others. This is also an older school and more established communities feed into it.

These are not a complete list by any means and I'm sure there are other great schools, but these are the ones I can recommend. I either know teachers from these schools or have friends whose children attended these schools.

You can visit the Seminole County website for further info. Good Luck and Welcome to Central Florida!

[tasdad4701]

Thanks for all the information, I can only say that if all the parents are
as helpful as you, my wife will love teaching in Seminole county.
If any more people have feedback it will be appreciated.
Teachers do you have any advice?

[melcd]

I think it's ok to teach in Seminole County as long as you are not a black male. If you plan to teach in Seminole County or anywhere (other than big cites like Jacksonville or Miami) make sure you watch your back. Many white administrators and white parents don't like the idea of a black male teaching or disciplining their white students. It's ok if whites come to the inner city to teach black kids, but not the other way around. I only know of 1 black male teacher teaching a critical subject in all of
Seminole County. You don't have to take my word on it but be very,very,very careful of any attempts to get rid of you.

[rluey29]

Are the hiring freezes over???

[tamcim72]

Many areas of Florida are increasing class sizes (and needing fewer teachers) due to the lack of budget this year...so openings are few. The class size admentment is mandatory for next year, so if it isn't undone, things may be better. I have no idea the situation in Seminole, but i believe it's a statewide problem.

I am looking for a elementary position in NE florida after being SAHM for 8 years and am getting discouraged b/c of the lack of openings. Went to the Duval Co. Teacher Fair this summer and there were thousands of people for 8 open positions. I did a 4 mo. sub assignment for a teacher last year at my top choice school, and was able to get an interview there for next week. Secretary told me there were 500 applicants, so I feel lucky. I'm sure it was just b/c they know me well not b/c of my experience.

[RachelSCarlson]

The good thing about being in education is that you can bet on a job virtually anywhere in the country. I'd recommend Altamonte Montessori School or Longwood Montessori School. Are you Montessori certified? You might want to check into it, as it will give you a ton of options no matter where you end up. (GuidedStudies.com can certify you online, even.)

Good luck!