Duval County or St John's County? (Jacksonville, Golf: 2009, to rent, credit)

[dashelter]

We are a young couple with 2 kids of elementary-school ages.
We are a bi-racial family and planning to move to Jax area due to my job relo.
We plan to rent first and then potentially buy.
Of course, safety is key when moving. In addition, with kids, a great school system is VERY important.
Driving 30 minutes or so to work is not a problem for me. Work will be in Jax in Zip 32224.

1) What are the "A" Schools areas of Jax in Duval County that are somewhat diverse/integrated, safe, family-oriented with kids?
2) What are the "A" schools areas in St John's county that are somewhat diverse/integrated, family-oriented with kids?
3) what about between St Augustine and Jax?

Thanks for all your replies.

[parks71]

Overall for schools, St. Johns county is WAYYY better than Duval. Same goes for Clay county and Nassau county. There are a select few and I mean few in Duval overall.

[dashelter]

Originally Posted by parks71

Overall for schools, St. Johns county is WAYYY better than Duval. Same goes for Clay county and Nassau county. There are a select few and I mean few in Duval overall.

Great.
What is a good, family-oriented, kids-friendly neighborhood in St John's County?

[SmileDoc]

I believe most responses will be the neighborhoods along county rd 210 and World Golf Village (Heritage Landing being the most family oriented in WGV). 210 has traffic problems during rush hour that should be much better/solved in another few months as they finish up some interchange work... to be continued with more interchange work.

[dashelter]

Originally Posted by SmileDoc

I believe most responses will be the neighborhoods along county rd 210 and World Golf Village (Heritage Landing being the most family oriented in WGV). 210 has traffic problems during rush hour that should be much better/solved in another few months as they finish up some interchange work... to be continued with more interchange work.

Ok.
What zip codes would you recommend for our search in St John;s county that would yield the "A" schools from elementary to HS?
Also, in terms of some diversity?

Thanks again.

[SmileDoc]

those would be 32259, 32092, 32095. hope that helps.

[fsu813]

To the OP,

While many High Schools in Duval County are suffering, elementary (your kid's age) & middle schools are not.

101 Duval County schools recived A or B's recently, that's over 2/3rds of the schools in the County.

Here's a recent article with links to the actual school grades:

Jacksonville, FL - Duval County Public Schools has increased the number of schools receiving a school grade of an A or B to 101, which is more than two-thirds of the schools that receive grades compared to 85 last year, according to results released today by the Florida Department of Education. Additionally, the number of schools receiving a D or F has decreased.
This year, 101 schools out of 148 earned good or excellent grades, which represents about two-thirds of the district's schools. Nineteen schools received a D or F, down from 26 in 2008.
"These gains in achievement can be attributed to the hard work of our students, teachers, principals and district support staff," said Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. "We are especially encouraged by the progress the majority of our elementary and middle turnaround schools have made."
Forty-five schools have improved their grades, 17 of which have increased dramatically by two or more letter grades.
The district credits many of the successes, particularly in the turnaround elementary and middle schools, to an increased focus and support to students and staff. Additional support and professional development opportunities will be provided to the schools with the greatest challenges.
"Community involvement is vital to student success," said School Board Chairman Tommy Hazouri. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of our teachers, community members and collaborative partnerships, the quality of education for Duval County students has greatly improved."
School grades are based on student performance as measured by the Sunshine State Standards section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The 2009 FCAT results released in May reported that more Duval County students are performing at or above grade level in reading, math and science compared to previous years.
Duval County's school-level summary reports are available here. Complete state, district, and school-level summary reports are available at: http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org. Duval County Public Schools operates more than 160 schools and serves approximately 125,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.

Obviously there is no dearth a good schools in Duval County for your kids, as you can see....

If you are looking in St. John's Couty, then I assume you are in a certain price range. This price range can be found in Ortega, Avondale, San Marco, & Riverside.....all family friendly areas as well, much closer to everything.

[dashelter]

Originally Posted by fsu813

To the OP,

While many High Schools in Duval County are suffering, elementary (your kid's age) & middle schools are not.

101 Duval County schools recived A or B's recently, that's over 2/3rds of the schools in the County.

Here's a recent article with links to the actual school grades:

Jacksonville, FL - Duval County Public Schools has increased the number of schools receiving a school grade of an A or B to 101, which is more than two-thirds of the schools that receive grades compared to 85 last year, according to results released today by the Florida Department of Education. Additionally, the number of schools receiving a D or F has decreased.
This year, 101 schools out of 148 earned good or excellent grades, which represents about two-thirds of the district's schools. Nineteen schools received a D or F, down from 26 in 2008.
"These gains in achievement can be attributed to the hard work of our students, teachers, principals and district support staff," said Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. "We are especially encouraged by the progress the majority of our elementary and middle turnaround schools have made."
Forty-five schools have improved their grades, 17 of which have increased dramatically by two or more letter grades.
The district credits many of the successes, particularly in the turnaround elementary and middle schools, to an increased focus and support to students and staff. Additional support and professional development opportunities will be provided to the schools with the greatest challenges.
"Community involvement is vital to student success," said School Board Chairman Tommy Hazouri. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of our teachers, community members and collaborative partnerships, the quality of education for Duval County students has greatly improved."
School grades are based on student performance as measured by the Sunshine State Standards section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The 2009 FCAT results released in May reported that more Duval County students are performing at or above grade level in reading, math and science compared to previous years.
Duval County's school-level summary reports are available here. Complete state, district, and school-level summary reports are available at: http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org. Duval County Public Schools operates more than 160 schools and serves approximately 125,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.

Obviously there is no dearth a good schools in Duval County for your kids, as you can see....

If you are looking in St. John's Couty, then I assume you are in a certain price range. This price range can be found in Ortega, Avondale, San Marco, & Riverside.....all family friendly areas as well, much closer to everything.

Thanks for the reply.
Our price range would be up to $350k. Newer single-family home. In a very kids-friendly, secure, welcoming environment, open to diversity, with lots of kids activities. Of course, "A" schools (elementary, middle, HS)...In addition to being at proximity of a Catholic Church.
In light of that, if we were to choose
a) Duval County: which would be better between Ortega, Avondale, San Marco or Riverside?
b) St John's County: which area would you suggest the best?

Thanks much again.

[fsu813]

All those areas are older, Historic neighborhoods. Some, but not many new contruction houses there. Of course these are revonated, very nice historic homes, not falling apart. So if new construction is a must, then a home in these areas may be hard to find. The "Southside" of town and St. Johns county have plenty of new contructionn homes though, though I find those distasteful for unrelated reasons.

There are Catholic churches in all these areas, that's not a problem.

Ortega, San Marco, Avondale, & Riverside...probably in that order, though the first three are all very similar, in terms of being family friendly. Plenty of families in Riverside too...but not as family-centered as the other areas. It's more funky.

I couldn't tell you anything about St. John's County.

As far as 'A' schools go, the difference b/t A or B is really insignificant and the grade can change yearly. I wouldn't worry at all about that difference, as long as you are an involved parent. Heck, great students are produced from bad schools every year...it's really about support at home IMO.


BTW, here's some another report, with different, but very similar info about Duval County school grades last year:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- More Florida schools earned average or outstanding grades from the state's board of education, but in Duval County, four high schools, three elementary schools and one charter school received failing grades this year.

The school grades, based largely on results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, were released Tuesday morning.

Florida education officials said more schools are earning "A" and "B" grades than ever before, and the number of low-performing schools is shrinking. It reports that nearly three-fourths earned the top two grades, while 45 schools got an "F."

The number of Duval's 153 schools receiving an "A" or "B" rose from 79 last year to 85 this year. The number graded "F" dropped from 11 last year to eight this year.
In Duval County, Forrest, Jackson, Raines and Ed White high schools received "F" grades -- Forrest and Jackson for the second year in a row. But Ribault, which had received F grades in five of the last six years, received a D in 2007-2008.

Martin Luther King Jr., Biltmore and George Washington Carver elementary schools also received an "F" this year, as did Wayman Academy of the Arts, a charter elementary school.

There were several success stories in Duval County, where 62 schools received an "A" grade. Rutledge-Pearson Elementary brought its grade from an F to a B and Pinedale Elementary rose from an F to a C. School of Success Academy, a charter middle school, improved its grade from F to C.

"The school grade also reflects what the community is, and the community is not an 'F,'" Rutledge-Pearson Principal Debbie Crotty told Channel 4's Vickie Pierre.

"We are pleased that more of our schools are performing at a higher level, and I commend the hard work of our teachers, students and staff," Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals said in a statement. "These results show we are moving in the right direction, but we will continue to work to surpass the scores of the state and other large urban school districts."

Most School Grades Up, But State Flunks 8 In Duval County - Education News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

& here's an easy spread sheet with the grades:

http://www.duvalschools.org/reseval/...ch%20Alpha.pdf

[dashelter]

Since we will be renting before buying, which place(s) would you recommend either in St John's County or in Ortega, San Marco, Mandarin areas?

Thanks.