New to Weston (Hollywood, Davie, Cooper City: sale, rentals, lofts)

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by Eyes_green

Since I am now researching schools in that area this comment made me think - currently, Falcone Cove ranks 14th amongst middle schools in Florida, and has "9" rating on grateschools and an "A" rating on some other government website I came across. I spoke to one of the staff in the school and was told that both Falcone and Tequesta are considered to be really good middle schools, and magnet high schools usually recruit students from there. Is there something that I am not considering and you might know?

The schools in FL are not good. Falcon Cove is better than the rest of the bad schools but that just makes it the best of a bad lot.

Broward County high school grades: Broward high school grades greeted with cheers - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

If you read this article it talks about all the high schools with good school grades. But if you look at the bottom of the article you will see the following:

"Florida was one of 11 states participating in a 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress report released recently. It scored third from the bottom of the 11 states, beating only West Virginia and Arkansas.

Just 32 percent of 12th graders were proficient in reading, compared to 36 percent nationwide, and 19 percent were proficient in math, compared to a national average of 25 percent."

So what is the difference if a school here is "the best" of the group? Most of the schools are terrible and being the best of a bad lot does not make it good.

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

The schools in FL are not good. Falcon Cove is better than the rest of the bad schools but that just makes it the best of a bad lot.

Broward County high school grades: Broward high school grades greeted with cheers - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

If you read this article it talks about all the high schools with good school grades. But if you look at the bottom of the article you will see the following:

"Florida was one of 11 states participating in a 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress report released recently. It scored third from the bottom of the 11 states, beating only West Virginia and Arkansas.

Just 32 percent of 12th graders were proficient in reading, compared to 36 percent nationwide, and 19 percent were proficient in math, compared to a national average of 25 percent."

So what is the difference if a school here is "the best" of the group? Most of the schools are terrible and being the best of a bad lot does not make it good.

Well, I have another great article to share:
Your Child Left Behind - Magazine - The Atlantic

In summary, on average US high schools do not do well compared to the world. Does this mean we need to move out of country? No, you just have to find the best out of what you have....

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by Eyes_green

Well, I have another great article to share:
Your Child Left Behind - Magazine - The Atlantic

In summary, on average US high schools do not do well compared to the world. Does this mean we need to move out of country? No, you just have to find the best out of what you have....

My original comment was meant to convey that since the public schools in Broward County are not that good the difference between Tequesta Trace and Falcon Cove is also not that great. The schools in Weston are better than the schools in the rest of Broward county but they are not that great so choosing between one and the other is not that big a deal. Find the house you like and don't worry about the difference between Tequesta and Falcon.

[Swimmom32]

There are people that disagree with you..We live in Palm Beach County in Boca and I will tell you MY son in regular classes is doing the SAME work as our friends in top schools in NJ both ..With that being said, Our School also has a high number of kids that were accepted into some of the best ivy league schools as well as UF and a few others...and the fact that we know kids in some of the "top private" schools it isnt all that and that is coming from some of the parents as well as the kids..funny thing is we also have alot of freshmans that came in from Pine Crest into our school and after speaking with their parents they felt why should they pay for an education when their child can attend our HS and take the same AP or Honor Classes even the Regular Classes...so I think it depends on the School and I dont think EVERY school in florida is awful and as our son went to school in NJ up until 7th grade...yes I know we are discussing Broward but Im just putting my 2 cents in...lol It was quiet interesting when we were at a swim meet at Pine Crest in Ft Lauderdale listening to the Team they were swimming against was Heriatage in Plantation and omg after hearing what some of us heard my child wouldnt be attending it for HS...but that is my opinion..I just dont think in all and all that any of us should tell people this is awful that is awful because at the end of the day My child isnt yours and yours isnt mine and not always what works or what makes someone happy will or will not make the next person happy...I have high standards for my children and we are very happy...

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

My original comment was meant to convey that since the public schools in Broward County are not that good the difference between Tequesta Trace and Falcon Cove is also not that great. The schools in Weston are better than the schools in the rest of Broward county but they are not that great so choosing between one and the other is not that big a deal. Find the house you like and don't worry about the difference between Tequesta and Falcon.

Sorry, I misunderstood your original comment. The thing is - we are moving from NYC because of hubby's new business venture in Hollywood, FL. I am not so thrilled with the idea of moving, but at this point it is what it is.. For us the main priority is our son's education and we are not tied into the particular place. After weeks of searching, it appears that withing an hour of commmute to Hollywood, the best public schools are in Weston. I might be wrong, since I am searching online. Our other possible choice is Aventura City of Excellence school, but I don't know how to compare this school to Falcone Cove, I only see that it is one amongst few "A" rated schools in Miami-Dade county.

[Eyes_green]

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

There are people that disagree with you.....

I tend to agree with you on the the above - sometimes the best student from the worst school can get into a very good university, and vice versa. I all depends on your particular child. Do you mind sharing which school your child is attending? I am not familiar with counties and areas in So. Fl much, I understand from your post that Pal Beach county has better schools than Weston?

[Swimmom32]

I cant say they are better than Weston as I dont have any children in Weston...I do know when most people look they are looking at either Weston or Boca Raton if the schools seem to be a priority..My son Attends Spanish River HS we live in Boca Raton is alot less crowded than Cypress Bay and there are quiet a few other differences separating the 2 schools...You can DM if you like We looked at weston as my dh commutes to Miami from here and it just wasnt what we were looking for...We fit in very well here and so do the kids which has been difficult for our son in the last place we lived in NC, as he fits in very well in this school and the kids were very Welcoming which was also surprising to us as well, so the fact that he is so happy, doing well in school and has some great friends its a very nice change..Our Daughter too is thriving but she has some learning issues and im amazed at what they have done here for her and also couldn't be happier....Anyway I hope this helps I did ramble a bit sorry
good luck

PS we are born and raised in brooklyn but our kids grew up in Central NJ

[Eyes_green]

Have you heard anything about Aventura City of Excellence school? One friend recommended this school to us, but it is a so called "charter" school - I am not very clear on what charter means. Are they accreddited by board of ed?

[BackHomeMIA]

We lived right across from Aventura City of Excellence School; it is a charter school, meaning you have to go through a lottery to get in, and there are many kids applying, and they give priority to those with siblings in the school, then to Aventura residents. They have about 100 students per grade, so it's a relatively small school; you have higher chances of getting into the KG level, than later on in subsequent grades. The school and campus are very nice, on the water, surrounded by nice condo buildings (and the plus if you get in is you can live in an upscale condo right by the school, so no driving and carpooling).
My son didn't get in though, because we applied too late, so we had to go to the Aventura Waterways public school, and that was a bad experience, so after 2 months we moved to Weston, we've been here for over a month now and are extremely happy with his new school, Country Isles Elem.

[BackHomeMIA]

People make such a big deal over public schools in FL being bad, some of them are indeed worse than others, but if you have the freedom of moving into a "good" area, you have a chance of finding a school that will fit your needs and wants just like you would in every other state (my experience is only at elementary level). The school my son is in in Weston is not even a 10 on greatschools.org, but I have never seen a more pleasant learning atmosphere, more caring and dedicated teachers and staff, the fact that my son is happy going to school in the morning is the best proof for me. He is only in KG,but we sit down and do homework every day, which is what I think every parent should do with their kids at any level, instead of complaining that the teachers don't teach the students anything.
Also, nowadays the class size is much smaller, in my son's class there are only 17 students, so the argument about overcrowdedness doesn't hold anymore (hopefully that won't change).
And if the lack of all those activities and programs that got cut because of budget issues is a concern, I can always provide my children these additional things at home (music, piano lessons, art etc).

Again, I'm speaking only from the elementary school perspective.