School open enrollment? Private? (Orlando, Lake Mary: zoning, house, price)

[az4good]

We are considering a transfer to the Orlando area, particularly Lake Mary. Most likely it wouldn't be until next May so I have time, but I like to get a head start on things.

I've scrolled through the board here and have gone on greatschools.net for school information. Does Florida offer any sort of open enrollment for students? Here in AZ you can attend any school in any district as long as there is room and you provide transportation. That way you're not limited to a certain neighborhood in order to get a particular school.

From what I've found Heathrow Elementary is very highly regarded, but I also see it is somewhat over crowded. They seem to have weird boundaries for schools. It's hard to tell where you need to live. Is it worth trying to get into Heathrow's "zone"?

What about Lake Mary Prep? I read greatschools.net and saw some of the negative reviews. My son went to a private school last year and I know how some of those parents can be, nothing makes them happy. Is it any good? Any personal experience with it? Better off with public? Any info would be very appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

[rholborn]

i have lived in lake mary for 13 years, and heathrow elementary is a wonderful school. i haven't heard anything about overcrowding. that website is wonderful, but there are some other websites too to help in your research. the boundaries are "weird" for zoning, that is quite true! overall, seminole county public schools rate very well in the FCAT scores, and my daughter has attended public schools here since kindergarden and we've not felt the need to place her in a private school. i hope that helps a little!

[ItsAboutTime]

We stopped in the office at Lake Mary Elementary to see a tour of the school (we saw a house that we liked a while back and wanted to check out the school). They told us that Heathrow was overcrowded and many addresses would be rezoned to Lake Mary.

[darcie912]

In Seminole County you can apply for school choices program where if a school is not at capacity you can drive your child to that school. If you look on the Seminole county schools website you can read more about it.
I have a friend whose children attend Lake Mary Prep and she speaks highly of it except for the annual rise in tuition prices. Personally to me most public schools in Seminole county are excellent and you can save a lot of money.

[KrisCole]

I teach & coach for Seminole County Public Schools. I specifically chose SCPS for my family 11 years ago because of the school system for my children. We found Heathrow Elementary, Markham Woods Middle School, & Millennium Middle School to be AWESOME. One of the tools you can use is Florida Department of Education's website. You can compare FCAT scores and School grades of individual schools.