Naples schools (Oak Ridge, Laurel, Pine Ridge: houses, neighborhoods, best school)

[cinnamon01]

Can someone tell me what it is about the public schools that is so bad? Is it from personal experience or reports? My husband has been offered a job in Naples but reading all the negatives about the schools has me worried. We would need a middle school and a high school. We are currently in our area's best school district, but from our personal experience they are not that great, so ratings and test scores don't equal great schools. Does anyone have children in school that can comment. Thanks

[janp]

We moved to Naples last Sept. My daughter just finished 8th grade where she attended Oak Ridge MS, she starts HS at Gulf Coast in the fall. We have been relatively happy with the schools...some good teachers, some not so good, but overall pretty good. The elementary school in this area is decent as well (Laurel Oaks). She has met and become friends with a great group of kids...such a relief after moving a middle-schooler away from her friends.

Honestly, she was in a "good" school in UT last year and a "good" school in VA the year before. I don't see a huge amount of difference. I would encourage you to get your kids into honors classes just so they are with the better students. So much of a school experience is what the kid puts into it. I would also encourage band and sports...nice kids involved in both and a great way for them to meet kids with similar interests.

I think in general FL schools rank pretty low. Collier County schools do fair better than Lee Co. In general, the better schools tend to be in better socioeconomic areas. This is for various reasons I am sure...but that does seem to be a real trend.

FYI if you have been scared away by the negative "there are no kids in Naples" comments, there are some great kid friendly parts of town. We live in a VERY family friendly neighborhood (Indigo Lakes), in fact, I've never lived anywhere with so many kids out playing (with the flat sidewalks and streets, kids are always on bikes scooters and skateboards). Not so many seasonal residents in this neighborhood, probably because the houses are bigger and condusive to bigger families. There are several other neighborhoods on this side of town with lots of kids and decent schools (Saturnia Lakes, Heritage Bay, Pebblebrook, Laurel Lakes to name a few).

If you have any specific questions, ask away…I’ll be happy to help if I can.

[TANaples]

Generally speaking, the farther south (below Pine Ridge Road) you go in Naples, well, the worse they get. North Naples is where all the kids and families are.