weston schools - are middle and senior high ok? (Miami: relocating, work)

[chunter]

i've heard weston is a great community with A rated schools....but then i read some posts that suggest the elementary are fine, but that the middle and high school are not good and would require private?

is there another town similar to weston that is closer to the beach and offers shorter commute?

what is differnce between weston and pembroke pines?

[jhlcomp]

I live in Weston and to me the difference is considerable. Pembroke Pines does have some lovely areas but gets terribly congested. It is not as well planned as Weston.

You are correct about the schools. Fort Lauderdale has some lovely areas - I don't know your price range. Do you want to send your children to public ro private?

[chunter]

we'd prefer public if the schools were good. i read on the school reports that the middle and senior are A rated, so is that not true? i don't know what to believe? we are coming from a community in MA where the schools are truly wonderful where we would be silly to consider private. but schools are really important to us, so if necessary we could consider finding a way to afford private. our home range is right at $500k..would prefer 5 bed as we are losing a basement playroom and would to have an extra room for that in the house. (does anybody have basements?...i'm guessing no.)

[chunter]

i guess where would you go if schools were not an issue...assuming you'd do private for middle and high......

and where would you live if you wanted to stick to public?

do you plan to send your kids to the schools in weston? i had heard weston schools are great...are there areas that have better? or is the FL education standard just lower? again, hard to evaluate...

[jjnnino]

Originally Posted by chunter

i guess where would you go if schools were not an issue...assuming you'd do private for middle and high......

and where would you live if you wanted to stick to public?

do you plan to send your kids to the schools in weston? i had heard weston schools are great...are there areas that have better? or is the FL education standard just lower? again, hard to evaluate...

I also live in Weston , and my kids go to public school here . Yes the schools are A rated including the Middle and High Schools . The only negative is that the schools are overcrowded , but the teachers seem to care and if you are an involved parent you will be fine . There are several excellent private schools in the area .... American Heritage , Pinecrest , Archbishop MCarthy , Sagemont , etc , etc . No gang problems , although you always have your wannabes ... mostly spoiled rich kids .

Weston is diverse , the population is approximately 50% Anglo and the rest a mix of mainly Hispanic , Caribbean , Canadians , and smaller communities of Indians ( Hindu ) and Asians . Everyone seems to get along well , it is an upscale community with many nice parks , sports leagues and good restaurants . It also close to Ft. Lauderdale ( 20 minutes ) Miami Beach
( 45 minutes ) , Plantation , Coral Springs and the West Coast i.e. Naples , Marco Island , Ft.Myers etc , etc as we border the Everglades .

It is nicer and more desirable ( in my opinion ) than Pembroke Pines .

Good luck

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by chunter

we'd prefer public if the schools were good. i read on the school reports that the middle and senior are A rated, so is that not true? i don't know what to believe? we are coming from a community in MA where the schools are truly wonderful where we would be silly to consider private. but schools are really important to us, so if necessary we could consider finding a way to afford private. our home range is right at $500k..would prefer 5 bed as we are losing a basement playroom and would to have an extra room for that in the house. (does anybody have basements?...i'm guessing no.)

Obviously we don't have basements

I dont live in Weston but I'm sure the schools there are great considering it's such a wealthy area...

[ready2move]

I just want to add that my son attended "A" schools in the Cooper City schools from K-12. Just because it is an "A" doesn't mean that it is an excellent school. IMO, the school systems pay way more attention to their status and FCAT scores than the actual reason to be in school. My son was in advanced classes, but he was bored and still got all A's.

I was a very involved parent, and I know that the drugs were rampant and widespread through Broward County and not limited to public schools.


Good luck!

[bostonbaby]

I have the same dilema since we are relocating from Boston as well. We are just researching about schools in different web sites.
That is a wealthy area doesn't mean it has good schools... we've realized wealthy people in Florida send their kids to private schools , different here in Boston area where schools are great.
Just keep researching, we checked into Miami Shores for small houses starting at 400K and public schools are rated pretty bad there... what I asked to people that live there they said they send to kids to the private school that costs around 17K per year.
I'll keep track of your posting, we are thinking going further north around ft lauderdale.. seems to me the school system there works better , but again all I have been doing is researching in webs and with people or this city data as well. good luck.. tough choice if your kids where raised here in Boston as our kids.. that go to a Magnet School here rated A...

[jhlcomp]

No we don't have basement here - forgot to mention that. And, just because an area is considered wealthy does not necessarily mean we have quality education. Weston can be a bit of a dichotomy - I don't mean this as a negative.

[ready2move]

I was glad to see your post about researching. I am not sure about the school system in MA, but I know the FLA system pretty well. You are right about the wealthy areas, just means more $$ for kids to get into potential trouble. South Florida is quite urban, more than I ever realized. The drugs in the private and public schools are plentiful. We lived in an middle-upper middle class area, and I can tell you it was all over the place. Scary times for parents no matter how involved you are!

Good Luck!