Private schools in area? (Boca Raton, Jupiter: bank owned, for sale, foreclosure)

[mcharas]

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread... Was looking through but didn't see any related (maybe didn't look far enough?)

Husband has offer in Austin Tx and south FL... I *know* the difference in climate, culture, etc... something like schools- with two kids (8 & 5) will be large factor in choosing which place to go. FL has always been a dream, but we need to do what is best for all, and Austin public chools (mostly 'burbs) seem to outweigh what we have found in FL, at least so far...

So... Any good private schools around? (Prefer Catholic, but will take Christian if it has ties to established denomination- i.e., something like Methodist-- just not the new wave style- for lack of better way to put it: rock bands on Sundays, "pastors" wearing Abercrombie & Fitch to 'relate' to youth, and what not)...

For right now, just looking in general area & schools quality will help determine which community we land in (looking schools first, then neighborhoods).

Thanks in advance!

[Fl1150]

Well there plenty of good public schools in South Florida as well have you looked at the Jupiter or Wellington areas. I'm not sure where your going to be working and also what do qualify as a good school ?

[Mattie]

it has been several years, but when we moved to South Florida, all the Catholic elementary schools had long waiting lists. We needed to go private because we were in corporate housing for a few months, and couldn't register for public school because nothing was in our name to establish residency.

If you are coming from a Catholic school, it helps to have your current principal, or pastor, reach out to the head of the school you are considering to see if you can be accommodated. We were moving to the Ft Lauderdale area, so the schools we are familiar with wouldn't work for you.

[ladyalicemore]

Boca Raton has extra good public schools, but my neighbors tell me that St Joan of Arc and Pope John HS are dying on the vine.

If you think about FL, give the public schools a look. Austin may be better for what you need, though.

[gailmarcarelli]

The Benjamin School is a fantastic school if you can afford it. The Benjamin School

[nmfn1994]

We just moved to Jupiter and are sending our kids to The Pine School this Fall. We'll consider Benjamin for high school, but The Pine School seemed more like the school they are coming from so we thought it would be a smooth transition. (The school came highly recommended from an administrator who was with our former school.)

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by ladyalicemore

Boca Raton has extra good public schools, but my neighbors tell me that St Joan of Arc and Pope John HS are dying on the vine.

If you think about FL, give the public schools a look. Austin may be better for what you need, though.

Correct on both accounts......St Joan's is staying alive on Broward county kids who live in bad school districts! Pope had its highest enrollment in the late 80's when it opened and has declined annually. It also survives on K-8 students continuing up to HS and kids in Delray/Boynton and the ocean communities of Ocean Ridge/Gulfstream that live in bad districts.

I wouldn't send my kids to either school and I graduated from one of them!

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by nmfn1994

We just moved to Jupiter and are sending our kids to The Pine School this Fall. We'll consider Benjamin for high school, but The Pine School seemed more like the school they are coming from so we thought it would be a smooth transition. (The school came highly recommended from an administrator who was with our former school.)

What was the outcome of Pine School's foreclosure? The new Hobe Sound campus was for sale as "bank owned" last year but due to its limited uses I figured it was going to be a tough sell.

[aridon]

Private schools down here are very expensive and well worth the money since many of the public school areas are horrendous. They know they can charge pretty much whatever they want and still have a waiting list. The cheaper options, catholic schools, all have very long lists.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by aridon

Private schools down here are very expensive and well worth the money since many of the public school areas are horrendous. They know they can charge pretty much whatever they want and still have a waiting list. The cheaper options, catholic schools, all have very long lists.

A. Just because a school is expensive certainly doesn't equate to value
B. Public Schools are not horrendous everywhere. My neighbors kid went 12 years to public school then got a scholarship to MIT.
C. I don't think any private schools have a wait list these days. They are happy to take your money, they will squeeze Jr. in! Certainly no local Catholic school would have a wait list. In some schools mentioned earlier in this exact thread the schools are smaller today than even 10 years back.