Is there anything good about Riverview?? (Tampa, Ruskin: appointed, new house, safe area)

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Thanks, no harm done.

And yes, having worked in a Title 1 school and at least temporarily in a number of inner city schools it's difficult, at best. The people that do it are far, far better than I, and I have nothing but respect for them. Sadly, it takes a toll, but they're doing yeoman's work for sure.

I also get a bit worked up when I see people using nothing but school grades to judge a school. Sometimes some of the very best educators are in the worst places, as that's where they like to be and feel like they're doing the most under those circumstances (and they are!)

One of my children attended Gibsonton Elementary back in the 90s when it was carny central, and far from one of the better schools in the District. They had some of the very best, effective and most caring educators I have ever had the experience to know when they were there, and the years they attended Gibsonton were some of the most productive in their educational life. Even the kids who's parents couldn't be involved did pretty well there because of the great job the faculty and staff did for the students.

That stuff doesn't come out in school grades.

RM

Public schools can be difficult to sort out. When we lived in South Florida, we ran into a math teacher from a high school in an area that was working class, income-wise. He said he preferred teaching there than in another school in a more affluent area, because the students in the more affluent area tended to be spoiled and had more psychological problem and tended to dip into their parents' medicine cabinet for recreational substances. He said his students were more willing to learn and worked harder to overcome their environment. Many had part time jobs. This was years ago back in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

Interestingly, he home-schooled his own children, as part of a group of similar-minded parents.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by kmarc

Public schools can be difficult to sort out. When we lived in South Florida, we ran into a math teacher from a high school in an area that was working class, income-wise. He said he preferred teaching there than in another school in a more affluent area, because the students in the more affluent area tended to be spoiled and had more psychological problem and tended to dip into their parents' medicine cabinet for recreational substances. He said his students were more willing to learn and worked harder to overcome their environment. Many had part time jobs. This was years ago back in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

Interestingly, he home-schooled his own children, as part of a group of similar-minded parents.

I started in education at the top rated most awarded "A+" school in this district. It had some of the most pretentious, ill mannered children and parents I have ever met. The thing that made it great was an administration that would back you up no matter what you did, as long as it wasn't inappropriate or wrong, of course.

At the time we had "Accelerated Reader" (AR) tests available for taking in the Media Center computers. Kids could come in and take their tests there after reading a book, or they could take the tests in their classrooms when time and resources permitted.

One of the rules for testing in the Media Center was that no one could assist you or sit with you while testing. There were signs to this effect posted at the computers that were used for these tests. Makes sense, right?

A parent came in with their student/child after school one day so they could take a test. The parent was sitting with the child, visibly assisting them while they were testing.

I approached the parent and very politely pointed out the sign and reiterated that no one was allowed to sit with or assist a student while they were testing.

They became upset and started telling me that I couldn't tell them what to do, they paid my salary, they were going to have me fired, etc., etc. I repeated what I said previously and told them that if they continued I would invalidate the student's test.

"I'm going to go get the principal and have you fired!"

I got my radio and called the principal.

"Mrs. XXXXX, there is a parent coming up to see you about a concern over AR testing in the Media Center."

"Sure, send them up right away."

Parent yanks the kid out of the chair and storms off.

Later that afternoon as I was leaving I stuck my head in the principal's office and asked if everything was OK.

"It is now. Mrs. XXXX withdrew her child this afternoon and is enrolling them in a private school."

Flash forward 4-5 years and I moved to a Title 1 school with a number of my peers from the A+ school to follow a principal. It became our little secret.

The school served a population that was primarily low income and transient. Some of the best and most committed parents I ever had the pleasure to know. When a student acted up or was falling behind, a phone call home would usually yield immediate improvement. These folks knew the value of an education, as many of them didn't have one, and as a result they placed a significant value on such. When the student wasn't doing well and they found out, stuff happened. They were truly grateful for the work we did, and very respectful of us as professionals.

At the A+ school we were often treated as hired help by the parents.

RM

[cjairo191]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I would definitely not consider public schools in the Tampa Heights/Seminole Heights area. Pretty rough and tumble in that part of town.

RM

Look them up again. Some of the Riverview schools are at C level which some of the Seminole Heights are as well. Hillsborough high looks better than any of the schools in the suburbs if you are talking about "appealing to the eye".

[MortonR]

I've been in those trenches, so I know what they're like from the other side of the veil, so to speak. I stand by my statement.

Again, school grades are not always the factor by which one should judge. Look closely at the performance data with the demographics. A small percentage of poorly performing students in a given ethnic or racial group can skew the numbers.

Without doing a deep dive into the statistics, even an "A" rated school will eventually fall out of the A range due to the requirement that the lowest performing students achieve specific gains in a given year. The smaller the percentage of lowest performing students, the more difficult it is to achieve the gains required.

It can and does happen. Yet the quality of the educational experience hasn't changed under those circumstances..

RM

[slscott93]

I’ve searched for homes all over Hillsborough and Pinellas County because my husband works from home so commute isn’t an issue. For the best schools, we are leaning towards a few areas: Palm Harbor, North of Northdale (Steinbrenner high zone), Bloomingdale and Valrico (zoned for Bloomingdale and Newsome high schools). I like the Carrollwood area but couldn’t find a home there zoned for good schools (elementary, middle and high). So am I missing something? What schools is everyone saying are good in Carrollwood?

[UTCLWR]

Originally Posted by hunter7566

Everything on here seems to be pretty negative about Riverview, does anybody have positive experiences with it?? Seems like a lot of the negative reviews are from a couple years ago. I'm just trying to see if anything has gotten better.

They have 2 Amazon Lockers located there, so there's that at least.

[Charlie Allnut]

Be careful with selecting a home purchase based on which schools serve that neighborhood. The school attendance boundaries have and will continue to shift.

As someone who has inside experience with the school District, I am grateful that my grandchildren are home schooled.
Not a knock on teachers, but ever since "no child left behind" started, that bar has been getting lower and lower coupled with the lax in school discipline.

For the original question: I would also look at the Lutz area to the North & Westchase to West. Personally, I would not want to drive from TIA to Riverview in rush hour everyday.

Good Luck and Welcome.

[MortonR]

I have a coworker who lives in Riverview. He's dealing with a 1-1/2 hour (or more) commute to downtown these days, pretty much no matter when he leaves. He says its so congested in the Riverview area even during off peak hours traffic is bad.

RM

[mrviking]

Builders need large tracts of land to build these new housing developments. They can only find them farther and farther from the city centers. These areas will be less developed and roads insufficient to handle the growing population. The houses will be less expensive but it comes with a trade off for sure. My friend found that out when he moved from Brandon to Big Bend area. He puts a lot more miles on his car now that's for sure.

[TBMorgan]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I have a coworker who lives in Riverview. He's dealing with a 1-1/2 hour (or more) commute to downtown these days, pretty much no matter when he leaves. He says its so congested in the Riverview area even during off peak hours traffic is bad.

RM

I see the Big Bend on-ramp to N. I-75 every morning as I head to the new Spurlino YMCA early a.m. and it's crazy (fortunately, I don't deal w/ it as I'm going in the opposite direction). The traffic goes back to US 301 and beyond. If I made the commute, I'd go in at 4-5 a.m. everyday and use the downtown or Bayshore (S. Tampa) YMCA for a good workout/run/swim before work.

Hillsborough County hasn't kept up w/ the growth by adding roads, widening roads or even addressing a possible mass transit solution (buses, street car system). Some sort of P+R system that parallels I-75 or US 301/41 into Tampa.