relocating with two small kids (Ocala: job, home, retire)

[teachingwith3]

Hi i am thinking of relocating to the jax area..i currently live in Ocala...I am looking for some input on public schools or private..I currently work in a private school here but would like to move to a bigger city to meet people and have more things for me/kids to enjoy...

look forward to hearing from some of you..

[SlickP]

Basically it will depend on how old are your kids and how much money do you have to spend on a home or rent? Private schools range from about $3.5k per yr on up. In general, St. Johns County has the best Public Schools.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by teachingwith3

Hi i am thinking of relocating to the jax area..i currently live in Ocala...I am looking for some input on public schools or private..I currently work in a private school here but would like to move to a bigger city to meet people and have more things for me/kids to enjoy...

look forward to hearing from some of you..

Are you looking for input on working in a private school and sending your children there, or is there some other kind of feedback you're looking for?

Duval county has a very large public school district in comparison to Clay and St. John's county, and all counties have private schools (Duval having the most), so there are a lot of schools to cover...maybe you can provide some more details about the info you're looking for?

[rtt]

You might check out the private schools where if you teach there your kids can go for a substantial discount.

[Sonja Emily Fitch]

Hi, I am a retired public school teacher. You have the best of the best in Clay, St.Johns and Duval Counties.
Clay has the longest and current standing for having the best public schools. Salaries are excellent for teachers
St.Johns, a lot growth....constant catchup....but are doing a good job.
Duval is so underestimated...the Schools are super....the magnet programs are the best I have seen... veryprogressive in the magnet programs and very solid in basic ed program throught out Duval.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by Sonja Emily Fitch

Hi, I am a retired public school teacher. You have the best of the best in Clay, St.Johns and Duval Counties.
Clay has the longest and current standing for having the best public schools. Salaries are excellent for teachers
St.Johns, a lot growth....constant catchup....but are doing a good job.
Duval is so underestimated...the Schools are super....the magnet programs are the best I have seen... veryprogressive in the magnet programs and very solid in basic ed program throught out Duval.

regarding duval, while the magnet programs may be great, what about the kids who do not make it into their top schools, from what I hear the mainstream schools leave a lot to be desired and some are just plain bad. Mainstream schools outside of duval tend to be better

[riveree]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

regarding duval, while the magnet programs may be great, what about the kids who do not make it into their top schools, from what I hear the mainstream schools leave a lot to be desired and some are just plain bad. Mainstream schools outside of duval tend to be better

Well, with FCAT, an A-rated school is an A-rated school no matter which county it is in and all of the counties have A, B, C and D-rated schools. Duval does have it's share of A-rated schools that have nothing to do with the Magnet program, they just tend to be at the elementary and middle school levels.

High school level is a big challenge in Duval right now and there are just a few high schools performing at an acceptable level. Many of those are Magnet high schools, but not all (Mandarin, for example, is highly rated and not Magnet).

[seteiwane]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

regarding duval, while the magnet programs may be great, what about the kids who do not make it into their top schools, from what I hear the mainstream schools leave a lot to be desired and some are just plain bad. Mainstream schools outside of duval tend to be better

Thing is, there are almost no non-magnets, becaue most public high schools in Duval (in the nine-oh-fo') have a magnet for something. It may not be academics, but there's something.

[joninclay]

Duval's special ed programs (especially autism) are atrocious. Clay's are excellent, and I don't know enough about St. Johns to say anything. That may or may not be relevant in your case.