School district question in SW FL (Estero, Lee: 2013, neighborhood, school districts)

[JazzmanLI]

Hello, I have a quick question. My family is looking to relocate in the next couple of years to Southwest Florida. We have noticed that the school districts work on a lottery program. How exactly does this work? Is the entire state of Florida like this?

It seems like if you live in Estero, your children may not be attending Estero High School.

Thank You for your feedback

[TamRE]

Each school district is different. Since you posted in Lee County, here is the Lee County Schools web site - Lee County Public School District - Welcome

For student assignment which explains the lottery go to: Lee County Public Schools - Department

Welcome to Student Assignment
Selecting a school for your child is an important decision. The professional staff at the Student Assignment Office is available to assist you through the application process and to help you better understand how students are assigned to schools here in Lee County. You will find that there are many excellent schools in your area (zone).

In Lee County, the system of one neighborhood, one school, has given way to a concept of a larger community with several schools. What had become an annual ritual of redrawing school boundaries, moving children from one school to another, involuntarily to accommodate growth, has been replaced with an open-enrollment system where parents select from among a variety of schools close to where they live. Once a child is enrolled in a school, parents have the assurance that the student will remain in that school through the highest grade unless the parent chooses for the child to attend another school.

Parents of children who will be age five on or before September 1st, 2012 should apply for kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. Parents need to register their child even if they have an older child already in school- there are NO automatic assignments. Seats are assigned based on a lottery, not a first come first serve basis.

[DennisDaMenace]

The lottery system works like this: you have a better shot at winning the lottery, than having your kids getting a good education in a lee county public school.

I would take a serious look at private schools in the area.