Pinellas schools-WTF? (house, neighborhood, to buy)

[Max&Nora]

I'm trying to decide on a place to focus our realestate search. Hubby wants to land in Pinellas Co. Now, in the past, I have always targeted my home search by zeroing in on the schools I wanted my kids to attend and then look aroud that area. Soooo...in Pinellas, I could decide I LOOOVE "ABC Elementary School" and buy a house right across the street from it and I still might not get in? Is there any way to buy a house KNOWING what school my child will go to? My son has Aspergers I really need to place him in just the right environment. Did I get this assessment right? What's going on here?

leslie

[Bezzled]

school choice is what you are looking for at the moment. Pick schools in order of what school you want them to go to, and wait and see what you get

I believe this is the last year of this particular program.

next year they are implementing schools into zones, allowing kids to go to the closest school to their house. Alot of parents wanted neighborhood schools back, so next year they will be doing this.

[deckardc]

I think Pinellas will still have school choice as it is a state program. School choice allows parents to send their kids to whatever school they want within their county. The good schools usually have a waiting list so it may take a while to get the one you want.

Pinellas did have zoning program based more on integrating schools than anything else. It was sort of a busing type program. They just did away with it and they will revert to neighborhood zoning.

Since your son has Aspergers he will be in the FL Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program. Not all schools are equipped for this so the list of schools with a program suitable for him may narrow down your choices. Here is Pinellas' ESE site:
Pinellas County Schools - Exceptional Student Education

Florida schools are not great. Pinellas is ranked #29 out of 67 districts in the state so it isn't the worst but FL schools overall leave a lot to be desired. Pinellas is apparently closing several schools due to a decline in enrollment. I would find the A schools in the county and start from there.

Here is the attendance area map for Pinellas elementary schools:
Elementary School Map

Here is a link to school statistics for Pinellas County. It will tell you which schools in Pinellas Co. are A schools and some other statistics. You will need Microsoft Excel to read it:
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/xls/06...WASHINGTON.xls

[Max&Nora]

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that they will have to assign a school for my son. He has very mild aspergers but does have an IEP in place. We live in Broward Co now, so believe me, while I am definately NOT a fan of Fl schools--I am familiar with them. 2 questions: Would his younger sister automatically be placed in the same school? and, let's say the school assigned to me was 10 miles away and gets out smack in the middle of my work day, what if I did not have the resources (time or transportation) to take my child to this assigned school? I assume every school does not provide busing to every house. Also, if they do the zoning thing next year, will they kick out kids in the school not zoned for it? How would I know what zone to select to go to a particular school? Whose bright idea was this anyway? AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!

[Bezzled]

Next year they will have schools based on where you live. To bring back the neighborhood schools.

As it is right now, your 2 children may get placed in 2 seperate schools.

As far as school getting let out early, you would have to find a person to pick them up at school or pick them up at the bus stop.

[deckardc]

Originally Posted by Max&Nora

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that they will have to assign a school for my son. He has very mild aspergers but does have an IEP in place. We live in Broward Co now, so believe me, while I am definately NOT a fan of Fl schools--I am familiar with them. 2 questions: Would his younger sister automatically be placed in the same school? and, let's say the school assigned to me was 10 miles away and gets out smack in the middle of my work day, what if I did not have the resources (time or transportation) to take my child to this assigned school? I assume every school does not provide busing to every house. Also, if they do the zoning thing next year, will they kick out kids in the school not zoned for it? How would I know what zone to select to go to a particular school? Whose bright idea was this anyway? AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!

I don't know that they will assign him a specific school but not all of the schools may be equipped to meet all of the needs he may have in class. I assume since his Aspergers is mild, he is in mainstream classes but may need a few concessions from the teacher. They may simply tell you that you have these X schools to choose from so pick one. I'm not sure, I would call the ESE coordinator for Pinellas and ask.

It is entirely possible that your kids may be in different schools, which I agree is completely stupid. With the choice program, you should be able to request that they be placed in the same school. It may be better for him psychologically to know that his sister is in the same building. New schools are scary anyway and transitions are typically more difficult for kids on the spectrum. I would have it added to his IEP.

I'm not sure if it's different in Pinellas but in my county, if you live within 1 mile of your child's school, they do not ride the bus. More than 1 mile and they are assigned a bus. I think you can request bus service on your son's IEP regardless of where you live. I'm not sure what your work schedule will be but check with the school to see if they have an after school program. My girls' school has an after school program run by the local YMCA. They don't participate but I think it's pretty inexpensive.

As for the zoning, it is my understanding that they are switching the kids from schools they are not zoned for. I don't think they've officially worked out the zones yet. Here is the link for the preliminary draft of the zone map (you will need Adobe Acrobat to read it):
http://www.pcsb.org/choice/files/SAP...%208_27_07.pdf