School Choice (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: chapel, catholic schools, to move) - Fort Myers - Cape Coral area - Florida (FL) -Lee County - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

pool_ready · 11-14-2009, 11:51 PM

So how far in advance to you enroll? How often do you have to enroll?

If we were to take this job, we probably wouldn't move until the Spring. Have they already finished enrollment by then?

BakinMama · 11-15-2009, 10:23 AM

I have no idea about how that works - all I know is that my daughter will start VPK in August/September 2010 and we are enrolling her in February at the only day that the charter school is accepting public enrollment.

hiknapster · 11-15-2009, 01:28 PM

I've written about this many, many times. I had all the paperwork ready. I was the first in line. The staff member acted like I was crazy for even trying to get my kid into that school.

Oddly enough, they gave our daughter the school that was right near our neighborhood. It was brand new. Rayma C. Page. In Island Park, which is suppose to be so upscale.

I didn't pick it. (Well, it was last on the list, along with the other new school. They didn't have a track record.

It was a joke. Half the class didn't speak English. One little girl, who did speak English, ended up at the principal's office on the first day.

In five weeks, Lauren did not come home with one paper that was done in class. However, stacks of work came home every night as homework. It was clear that the teacher was having a very difficult time teaching the class.

I would prefer to buy a house in a good school area and no where my kid is going to school. End of story. That's the way it was in my town in Mass. and that is the way it is here in Knoxville.

I started the thread because "pool ready" needed some help and no one was responding. It's been four years, so things change.

But if you know anything about me you know that I will fight to the death for my daughter and education is everything to me. I was there the first day as soon as the doors opened.

If the school population has dwindled, then it may be easier to get in. But if the population starts going up (and I think that it will) you will have to deal with that nightmare.

Also, I've held my tongue all these years, but it is very, very possible that certain people didn't have a difficult time getting their kids in certain schools because they weren't that popular.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Actually, the lady at the superintendent's office told me that, without me even asking. She made it quite clear that my daughter was not going to get into the performing arts school. She said that staff and siblings have first choice. This was kindergarten and I was one of the first in line. So all of kindergarten was staff and siblings, according to her. Hmmm....

Anyway, thanks for answering, rainbow girl. I know that the school population has changed and someone had once speculated that it was easier to get in. But "pool ready" was wondering about the middle of the school year and I knew you had just been through it.

I hope that you can get your first choice in April.

Yes, pool ready, School Choice means it is the school department's choice, not yours. It really ticked me off. It wasn't that she couldn't get into that school. They have a performing arts school here, in Knoxville, that she could just go to, but we chose not to. So that wasn't the point. It's just that I think the system is ridiculous. You pay taxes so they can tell you where your children will go. I don't think so. And I felt that it was also who you knew.

Like pool ready asked, "What's the point?"

Actually, the whole thing came about due to desegregation. They were court-ordered. The mandate ran out in 2002 or 2003. The school system stuck with it, anyway.

hiknapster · 11-15-2009, 01:47 PM

Oh, here's the link for everything you need to know about School Choice. Once again, they took a survey and it is allegedly is wildly popular. Not with me, though!

Welcome to The School District of Lee County

Obxnc7 · 11-15-2009, 02:01 PM

I have stated this many times on here...........school choice stinks! Lee County schools stink! If you want a good school in Lee County, you need to be prepared to pick a private school and pay for it! We moved here a little over a year ago and hiknapster is right.......people who get into the school they want are not trying to get into a desireable school. We moved from up North, and Lee County schools, as a whole, are behind where my daughters were when we moved.....by about 2 or 3 grade levels in my opinion. A lot of it has to do with students who don't speak English.......and the amount of time teachers have to spend with these children alone. Charter Schools are a bit better, but the one we tried was HUGE, OVERCROWDED, and CHAOTIC. When your child has to eat lunch standing up, it's an indication that you have too many kids in the lunch room! There were 30 some kids per class and all of the students were on a different level. Eight third grades and no one thought to level these kids??? No teacher, no matter how good you are, can handle 7 different levels in a classroom of 30 kids.......and throw in discipline problems and it's a nightmare! By the way pool ready, we tried Gateway Charter. My child cried every day she had to go there. I won't lie.....she had a good teacher there......but as good as she was she had too many kids with too many problems to be the wonderful teacher she could have been!

hiknapster · 11-15-2009, 03:07 PM

I think Lauren's teacher would have been good, too. This was her second year of teaching. Her first was in Chicago. She moved down to be with her parents and this was her first year in swFlorida. She kept looking at me like, "What do I do?" I felt horrible for her.

You have to understand how we are about Lauren.

She is my husband's only child. He has only been married to me and he was 31 when she was born. I was an older parent, too. I have adult children from another marriage. So I also had kids that went through the schools up north. Lauren is our everything.

My husband's world revolved around his family and he lived in swFlorida for 25 years. He had no intention of moving.

But five weeks in that school system and we were through with it. We literally packed up and drove away.

I have no idea what the private schools are like.

I know that Fort Myers High wins awards all the time. My husband and his sister went there. They didn't think it was that great, and when they first moved down as kids from Chicago they were at least a grade ahead. But that was a long time ago?

But you can't guarantee that your kid will get into Fort Myers High.

Also, I looked up the school stats when I was looking for that link for poolready. Enrollment has steadily gone up since we left in 2005. I had read that before in The News Press. Apparently, people from Miami have been fleeing to Lee County.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obxnc7

I have stated this many times on here...........school choice stinks! Lee County schools stink! If you want a good school in Lee County, you need to be prepared to pick a private school and pay for it! We moved here a little over a year ago and hiknapster is right.......people who get into the school they want are not trying to get into a desireable school. We moved from up North, and Lee County schools, as a whole, are behind where my daughters were when we moved.....by about 2 or 3 grade levels in my opinion. A lot of it has to do with students who don't speak English.......and the amount of time teachers have to spend with these children alone. Charter Schools are a bit better, but the one we tried was HUGE, OVERCROWDED, and CHAOTIC. When your child has to eat lunch standing up, it's an indication that you have too many kids in the lunch room! There were 30 some kids per class and all of the students were on a different level. Eight third grades and no one thought to level these kids??? No teacher, no matter how good you are, can handle 7 different levels in a classroom of 30 kids.......and throw in discipline problems and it's a nightmare! By the way pool ready, we tried Gateway Charter. My child cried every day she had to go there. I won't lie.....she had a good teacher there......but as good as she was she had too many kids with too many problems to be the wonderful teacher she could have been!

'noer · 11-15-2009, 06:25 PM

There are still waiting list for some of the better schools.

Once you get your kids in a school you are fairly happy with, it is fairly easy.

Our kids have gone to Gulf (Cape) since first grade - and going to the same school is fairly simple. It's just getting them in the school you want the first time that is tough. Of course, the better schools fill up fast.

We considered moving them to a Charter because we liked the curriculum, but the waiting list was long. We still have not heard back from the charter.

pool_ready · 11-16-2009, 12:02 AM

wow...

thanks for all that information. As much as I want to put the kids in private school, I don't think I can afford the private schools in Ft Myers. I was looking at one the other night that was $13,000 per year per child. We have two kids...so $26,000. yikes!

I guess we will look at the schools in other counties. School Choice sounds like a nightmare.

justNancy · 11-16-2009, 02:41 AM

This must be common in FL. I was reading a thread on the PSL forum where parents purchased in a specific community because it has its own school. That way their children could go to school in the same neighborhood. Guess not. I just looked at the FAQs and it specifically states that, just because a child lives in that community, it does not guarantee she'll be accepted. I know this isn't the right forum, but I thought I'd mention it, since it's the same subject. This looks similar to a Charter School. The site states that the school "must reflect the racial and economic diversity of the state." Does this mean you might live next door, but your kid is bussed across town to go to kindergarten.

[URL="http://www.tradition.fau.edu/"]FAU - College of Education: Palm Pointe Educational Research School / Tradition[/URL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pool_ready

wow...

thanks for all that information. As much as I want to put the kids in private school, I don't think I can afford the private schools in Ft Myers. I was looking at one the other night that was $13,000 per year per child. We have two kids...so $26,000. yikes!

I guess we will look at the schools in other counties. School Choice sounds like a nightmare.

Yikes! That's a lot of money. Seacrest in Naples costs over $16,000 for a high school student. I know people with children who went there.

BakinMama · 11-16-2009, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pool_ready

wow...

thanks for all that information. As much as I want to put the kids in private school, I don't think I can afford the private schools in Ft Myers. I was looking at one the other night that was $13,000 per year per child. We have two kids...so $26,000. yikes!

I guess we will look at the schools in other counties. School Choice sounds like a nightmare.

Private school is super expensive. I would love to be able to send my kids to Canterbury but it's around $20K a year. They do offer scholarships, so maybe if my kids turn out to be geniuses we can get them one of those

I think school choice isn't that bad sometimes, but it is frustrating to not be able to get your children into your neighborhood school just because it is a charter school or a better school than the other. A lot of people are concerned about their child's education and I would hate it if we didn't have school choice and I was unable to send my child to a different/better school...