Moving from PA to Tampa in 4 months. Need to find Elementary school ASAP. (Miami: to rent, house) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

Miks121 · 03-08-2013, 10:20 PM

Hi all. My family and I will be making the move from PA back to FL in just 4 months; we're originally from Miami so we're looking forward to being closer to home. I realize that registration for Kindergarten is happening now for most Elementary schools but I'm not at all familiar with the Tampa Bay area and have no idea where to even begin with getting my son registered.

My husband will be working at USF so we would like to be within at least an hour of campus. Main priority is finding a good school district for my son who has PDD-NOS. He's quite high-functioning and will probably be placed in a typical classroom with support. I've read lots of posts done tons of reading but fee a little more confused than before I started since it sounds like there are tons of good areas to choose from.

I've heard great things about Lutz, Odessa, Brandon, Safety Harbor. Which of these or any others would offer the best commute to USF and still provide good schools? I would prefer smaller classes for my son who issues attending and will just get lost if placed in a class with 30+ students. We're looking to rent at first, around $2K/month.

algia · 03-09-2013, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miks121

Hi all. My family and I will be making the move from PA back to FL in just 4 months; we're originally from Miami so we're looking forward to being closer to home. I realize that registration for Kindergarten is happening now for most Elementary schools but I'm not at all familiar with the Tampa Bay area and have no idea where to even begin with getting my son registered.

My husband will be working at USF so we would like to be within at least an hour of campus. Main priority is finding a good school district for my son who has PDD-NOS. He's quite high-functioning and will probably be placed in a typical classroom with support. I've read lots of posts done tons of reading but fee a little more confused than before I started since it sounds like there are tons of good areas to choose from.

I've heard great things about Lutz, Odessa, Brandon, Safety Harbor. Which of these or any others would offer the best commute to USF and still provide good schools? I would prefer smaller classes for my son who issues attending and will just get lost if placed in a class with 30+ students. We're looking to rent at first, around $2K/month.

If he works at USF, then New Tampa is your best bet. (33647 Zip) They have good schools there too, and the commute would be much better than from Lutz and Odessa. The commute from Lutz will be very slow, while if you were in New Tampa it is just a short drive down Bruce B Downs.
Safety Harbor would be the commute from hell to USF...and to get into Safety Harbor you'll need a year of exploring...not much available there.

displaced23 · 03-09-2013, 10:52 AM

New Tampa is closer and has good elementary schools, but if you're looking for a long-term stay (up to high school area), Lutz would be better with a shorter commute than Brandon. USF used to have an elementary school on campus I think (this was back in the 90's), and I don't know if that's still the case or not.
I believe all of Florida (or at least Hillsborough Co) has a class-size limit. I don't know of any specific PDD programs available or teacher experiences. You should be able to rent a house for less than your limit in just about any area I think.

Miks121 · 03-09-2013, 11:14 AM

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely look into New Tampa. In some of my online research, I've read that for certain grade levels (Kindergarten being among them), kids are sometimes assigned to schools outside of their district. Would that mean there's a chance we could move to New Tampa and possibly be assigned to an Elementary school in a neighboring city?

algia · 03-09-2013, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miks121

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely look into New Tampa. In some of my online research, I've read that for certain grade levels (Kindergarten being among them), kids are sometimes assigned to schools outside of their district. Would that mean there's a chance we could move to New Tampa and possibly be assigned to an Elementary school in a neighboring city?

No, if you rent inside the school boundary then you go to that school. In Hillsborough county they have a choice program but that is like a lottery, meaning that you can choose another school to go to if a certain school is part of it, however its like a lottery so there are no guarantees you'll get in, and also that the following year the school continues to participate in the choice program. Its better to just be in the boundary.

MortonR · 03-09-2013, 08:56 PM

Choice is only for schools that have less than 100% enrollment, and as a previous poster mentioned, it can vary from year to year and the initial effort to get in is pretty much a crapshoot. Your child will not be assigned to a school outside of their "attendance zone." Period. It's not done, and I'm not sure why someone would make that comment as it is not accurate.

I'm an ESE (special ed) person and I'm not sure what the acronyms you are using refer to. If you could be a little more descriptive it would help. Based on DSM-IV it sounds like you're describing Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, which is part of the autism spectrum.

Most elementary schools in Hillsborough County have services for ESE kids, depending on the severity of their exceptionality. If your child's school does not have the services they require the personnel can be brought in or your child can be assigned to a school that does have the services already in place, with transportation provided if you want it.

The school on the USF campus (Patel) is marginal at best, in my opinion. It has struggled for some time and continues to do so. For whatever reason they seem to have a tough time recruiting and keeping good help, why I don't know. One would think it would do well, as it has full access to the USF College of Education resources. Pizzo, which is literally right next door to it and which serves the local community, is a highly rated school. And this is a community that has a relatively high level of poverty, too.

If you're sold on New Tampa, by all means head that way. There are a number of good elementaries in the area and if you live in the neighborhood your children will go to their neighborhood school. With a well written IEP and strong advocacy for your child they should receive all of the services they require at their neighborhood school, in most cases.

Hillsborough County typically, but not always, has self contained classroom units for children in the autism spectrum. Often times they are divided up by the severity. Inclusion is a big deal and there is a lot of pressure for it these days not just here but everywhere. With that in mind if your child is capable or you're willing, inclusion either part time or full time is a possibility.

This is all purely speculative, so until you're here and they have been assessed by the District's ESE staff there is not a lot anyone can tell you. You might check with the elementary schools in the New Tampa area to see if any of them have ASD units, and if so, what level or severity they provide services for.

RM

Miks121 · 03-09-2013, 09:04 PM

@algia - thanks again for the info. I've been searching through old posts in this forum for info about schools and noticed a few posts from you. It seems you are familiar with the school systems in both PA and FL. Do you have any advice when it comes to moving from one state to another with an IEP? We just established an IEP for our son who has PDD-NOS this past November through Delaware County in PA. I've read that these IEPs have to be honored by any state the child moves to at least until the new school district can perform their own evaluation. Do you know anything about this?

Miks121 · 03-09-2013, 09:32 PM

@MortonR - thanks for the info. You're right...I was referring to Pervasive Developmental Disorder which will soon be replaced with Autism Spectrum Disorder with the release of the DSM-V. My son is high-functioning but does have some behavior and attention issues. I'm quite pleased to hear that inclusion, either part time or full time, could potentially be an option. When we moved to PA last summer, the Early Intervention team was on break for the summer so there was quite a delay in starting the application process, having the evaluation, and then finally the IEP. We actually were not able to implement his services until January despite starting the process the previous September. I'm hoping to avoid
that this time around but once again we will most like be moving over the summer months when the Hillsborough County ESE may be on summer break. Do you know if I can start the application process and even have the ESE assessment prior to establishing residency in the county? I plan on calling them next week, but just wondered if you had any insight. Thanks.

algia · 03-09-2013, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miks121

@algia - thanks again for the info. I've been searching through old posts in this forum for info about schools and noticed a few posts from you. It seems you are familiar with the school systems in both PA and FL. Do you have any advice when it comes to moving from one state to another with an IEP? We just established an IEP for our son who has PDD-NOS this past November through Delaware County in PA. I've read that these IEPs have to be honored by any state the child moves to at least until the new school district can perform their own evaluation. Do you know anything about this?

Our son is also PDD/NOS/ADHD (Vyvance helps him amazingly regarding class focus/controlling the ADHD FYI)

Yes, we "know"! We moved to PA because we were told fairy tales regarding PDD etc education opps and it wasn't true, they did not include him the way they included him here, and the whole school experience for him was awful.

You have to establish residency/have proof of living in the school boundary before you can request an IEP meeting. But once you do establish residency, you have to call the school and request the IEP meeting asap.

HPtampa · 04-12-2013, 09:30 AM

New Tampa is one of the best place to live and raise kids according to my experience. It falls in Hillsborough County and Pasco County. I moved here 7 yrs ago with the same thinking as yours and We love it. I live in Live Oak Preserves and the community has it own great Elementry and Middle School. In addition High school is within a mile. Shopping areas are within couple miles and USF is about 15-20 minute drive. The whole area is family residence with every need in near proximity. Let me know if you're thinking about renting in this area...I can help.