Dr Phil,Windermere, Lake Mary, Celebration,Winter Pk-Which is best? (Orlando: rent, house)

[Long Island Mermaid]

I realize this has a lot to do w/opinion but...can anyone tell me if any of these schools are clearly better than the others. I have a house in Independence(Windermere) that I bought as an investment but figured I'd want to go somewhere with better schools (WP or Lake Mary)to live...now I am hearing Windermere schools are very good. We are moving from Long Island NY, my daughter is entering 7th grade and school comes first. I will work my business around the school so someone please tell me the name of the best. If I absolutely must go private I will. If anyone is familiar with LI, I am currently in 3Village,(not the best but very good).
Any and all advice will be appreciated but I would also love to hear from Long Island relocators. Thank you!
LA

[Echooo3]

Lake Mary was just voted one of the top 10 places to live in the United States.

[rholborn]

It's kind of like this, remember when you go into NYC and the village has a different feel than wallstreet, and times square has a different feel than central park? that's how the different towns are, they all have their own feel to them. you've picked all great areas to live, now you just have to narrow them down and see which ones feels right for you!

[Jfunk]

Windermere has very good schools and has recently been ranked the number 1 place for families in all of Florida by neighborhood scout.

Here is a link for the Florida School Grades

School Accountability Report

[Long Island Mermaid]

Thanks for the responses as they have been very helpful. My home is in Independence which I was told was really part of Windermere. However, it has a Winter Garden zip code because Windermere was out of zip codes. Does anyone know the truth about this and what is the chance of Independence being rezoned out of Olympia?

[afghan67]

Independence is in Winter Garden. The subdivisions on 535 that have Windermere addresses are actually in unincorporated Orange County - they are not in the town of Windermere.

All of the 535 area subdivisions (including Independence) are zoned for West Orange High School. Eventually, all of these subdivisions will be zoned for the new high school that is supposed to be built on 535 by Summerport.

[Long Island Mermaid]

Hope I am not being a pest. So if we move to Independence in Aug. and my daughter started 7th grade, what Middle School would she attend? If it is Orange Park, is that a bad thing? Where does that school rank? Independence is eventually supposed to have its own schools. I am not currently tied into any one area -I don't need to move into my house (could rent that out).

[afghan67]

The new high school will not be completed by the time your daughter is in high school. For that reason, unless you are going to send her to private school, I would recommend finding a home that is zoned for Olympia high school. Better yet, move to Longwood in a house zoned for Lake Brantley High or Lake Mary in a house zoned for Lake Mary High.

[momto5boys1girl]

We are relocating to Orlando and were thinking the Lake Mary Area. what is the scoop on the HS in Seminole County.All grades are B or better I believe and Seminols HS seems to be zoned for most of Lake Mary. Is this true?

[afghan67]

Originally Posted by momto5boys1girl

We are relocating to Orlando and were thinking the Lake Mary Area. what is the scoop on the HS in Seminole County.All grades are B or better I believe and Seminols HS seems to be zoned for most of Lake Mary. Is this true?

In Seminole County, the best high schools are Lake Mary HS and Lake Brantley HS. Seminole HS is a notch below these schools.