Looking for specifics on Longwood/Lake Mary Neighborhoods & Schools (Orlando: lender, real estate)

[hb703]

Thanks for the additional input. That makes me feel much better about Sanford HS. I have no problem with diversity nor does my son, but I just want to make sure he can get a good education there.

Thanks for letting me pick your brains ;-)

[asdasd12345]

Seminole High school student came to lake mary high school for summer school. the students at seminole high are not as affluent as lake mary or lake brantley. lake brantley and lake mary are huge rivals. its debatable which school is better. but assuming you are american, you should know american public school education is underpar compared to most civilized nations.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by asdasd12345

Seminole High school student came to lake mary high school for summer school. the students at seminole high are not as affluent as lake mary or lake brantley. lake brantley and lake mary are huge rivals. its debatable which school is better. but assuming you are american, you should know american public school education is underpar compared to most civilized nations.

.....and in my opinion, while Seminole High gets bashed perhaps a bit more than it should, Lake Mary High is a bit overrated from what I've seen. I think both are living with labels that were handed out to the two schools over 10 or 15 years ago. Lake Mary High had gotten pretty ugly there for awhile, but they too have had some major rennovations over the last few years. As far as "affluence", yeah, Lake Mary is naturally going to be better than Seminole in that regard, but I think it's fallen pretty far behind Brantley in that category. Unless recent redistricting changed that up some.

[mom4]

I live in Lake Mary my children go to Lake Mary High School. I have friends in the neighborhoods you have mentioned. I also have friends who have children in Seminole High School. Moving into Seminole school district is something I would not do. It does have the IB program and the medical program so if you want to keep your children somewhat away from the problems then put them into those programs. Heathrow & Magnolia Plantation neighborhood kids go to Heathrow elementary and Markham middle then to Seminole High. If you are not concerned with Seminole than you can move into some other neighborhoods that are nice also. My best friend lived in Lake Forest. Near the mall, shopping and easy access to I-4. They are building a lot of new homes in that area. Alaqua Lakes & Wingfield are nice too. They go to Lake Mary High school. It depends on the type of kids you have and what they are use to. Not to be mean, but after a couple of lock downs that Semionle has because of the area it is in, my girls would be crying to get out. Lake Mary has its problems too dont get me wrong but after the last football game where Seminole came to play at Lake Mary and we had helicopters flying over head and police surrounding the school due to Seminole kids causing problems that was it for me. Seminole has a great principle who is trying to clean up the school and I have to say he has done a great job but I was told that he may be leaving due to a promotion. Good luck in your move.

[Rhett_Butler]

There's much I'd like to say, but I'll simply reiterate that Lake Mary High is not the mecca it's made out to be any more than Seminole High is the Juvenile detention center it's made out to be........

I have more to say about this, but don't wish to get into a pissing match here about this over two schools that both have positive aspects...

[hb703]

This high school issue is one that I know can be contentious. It is around here, too. We live in an affluent county near DC with some of the best public schools in the country and it can get very ugly when we have boundary shifts. Many of the "best" high school districts here have 1% free and reduced lunch. Go figure. We also have a large and growing immigrant population as well. We live in a high school district that definitely has a lot of diversity and kids are still able to do well because the academics are great. What a lot of people here fail to understand is that the curriculum and standards are the same county-wide. Safety...yeah it's definitely a concern of mine, but here it's usually bad crowds against bad crowds - rarely does it affect other students. Kids here really self-segregate based on academics, not by race or money. Those who are serious about school and those who are not. If we choose to find a home with a more diverse high school, I hope it will be similiar.

I posted on this board for opinions. I'd love to hear from everyone. A little debate is expected and encouraged ;-) I'm learning a lot.

[Rhett_Butler]

Well, I dont think there's any debate really. Fact of the matter is Lake Mary High is a better school than Seminole..... I just take reports of "there were helicopters flying over our football stadium and it was the other school's kids' fault." with a grain of salt, that's all......

[asdasd12345]

Originally Posted by VAFury

There's much I'd like to say, but I'll simply reiterate that Lake Mary High is not the mecca it's made out to be any more than Seminole High is the Juvenile detention center it's made out to be........

I have more to say about this, but don't wish to get into a pissing match here about this over two schools that both have positive aspects...

i agree, but we are talking about american public high schools. they will never be a mecca of anything other than crappy educational standards. but when i was at lake mary, there was the same type of crap at every school - racism, fighting, drugs, stabbings, kids bringing guns to school, sex in school, all the rest of the crap you can imagine.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by asdasd12345

but when i was at lake mary, there was the same type of crap at every school - racism, fighting, drugs, stabbings, kids bringing guns to school, sex in school, all the rest of the crap you can imagine.

And that's all I'm saying. Some want to pretend that this only goes on at that "other school", but the crap is everywhere. All one can do is be the best, most involved parent and worry about your own child and things will usually work out.

[lovinit]

Hi hb703,

I live in Magnolia Plantation! We built our home in 2002 and recently found out
that we have to move to NC -and are so sad to leave the neighborhood! Magnolia has lots to offer: dinner at the golf club, bunko, playgroups, loads of kids, fall festivel at the park, convient to shopping and tons of great restuarants! My only recommendation would be to stay away from buying a home on Shadowmoss if you have children as it is a very high traffic area.

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