Duval Schools/Areas - which are the best? Giving up on SJC?

[hlauburn]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

Monday!!!! Wow! I know you are busy!!!

Our movers come the 28th and 29th. The stuff gets delivered to the new house on July 2nd! Much faster than we expected! I'm so excited!!!!

Oh, that's right...I remember you saying you were about a week behind us. I bet you guys are excited - I know I'm ready to get this show on the road! Fortunately for us, our movers do all the packing, so I'm just waiting for Monday for them to show up and take it all away! I'm really anxious to get to Jax, check on our new house, and start our new life there.

Good luck with your move!

[mississippimagnolia]

Oh, that's right...I remember you saying you were about a week behind us. I bet you guys are excited - I know I'm ready to get this show on the road! Fortunately for us, our movers do all the packing, so I'm just waiting for Monday for them to show up and take it all away! I'm really anxious to get to Jax, check on our new house, and start our new life there.

Good luck with your move!

Yep. Our movers and packers do everything as well. I can't imagine doing it any other way. This is something like our 5th move in 8 years. And we moved every three years before that. This will be at least a five year assignment (maybe longer) for us, so we are excited about staying in one place for a while.

I'm really excited about getting to Jacksonville as well. My husband has about a month off before he reports, so we are going to spend some time at Disney, then the beach! After the last couple of years in crazy D.C., we're ready for a slower pace!

Good Luck on Monday!

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by Dappleganger

Honors and AP classes are located within the same building as regular high school course, so even if your student is in those classes they still mix with other regular students in-between bells, during homeroom, in PE and other electives. If what you said is really true then why did Duval county create magnet schools to corral all the smart kids in one or two places? BTW, we have two teens (one just graduated) who were in honors and AP courses since the 8th grade so we do have some experience with this.

From what I have been told, the magnet schools were created as a reaction to court-ordered desegregation.
Trust me, the students at Stanton and Paxon are not all of the smart kids. In fact, there are many students at those schools who are level 1 and level 2 on the FCAT.
I personally know that the majority of the advanced students at Mandarin Middle School attend Mandarin High School.

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by fsquid

I'm sure there are pockets of the city that line up great with the schools. I simply could not afford the home prices at this time. I can't put two kids and a wife in a 1,400 square foot home.

Home prices near the city are generally more affordable than St. Johns County, actually. With 2000+ sq ft homes.

[fsu813]

Originally Posted by JagFan27

From what I have been told, the magnet schools were created as a reaction to court-ordered desegregation.
Trust me, the students at Stanton and Paxon are not all of the smart kids. In fact, there are many students at those schools who are level 1 and level 2 on the FCAT.
I personally know that the majority of the advanced students at Mandarin Middle School attend Mandarin High School.

You point out another widely held inaccurate belief - that most advanced students go to 1 of 2 academic magnet highschools. That's not the case. Each highschool has advanced classes as well.

DA is the arts magnet that does very well academicaly, Darnell-Cookman is turning into a medical magnet that does very well academically. Others do well as well. Academics is highly individualized. It's all about the student and thier support at home. A bad student won't do well in a "great" school just b/c he orshe is there. A good student will do well in a "bad" school even though they are there. There are countless examples of this.

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by fsu813

You point out another widely held inaccurate belief - that most advanced students go to 1 of 2 academic magnet highschools. That's not the case. Each highschool has advanced classes as well.

DA is the arts magnet that does very well academicaly, Darnell-Cookman is turning into a medical magnet that does very well academically. Others do well as well. Academics is highly individualized. It's all about the student and thier support at home. A bad student won't do well in a "great" school just b/c he orshe is there. A good student will do well in a "bad" school even though they are there. There are countless examples of this.

I hope you are listened to because I've been trying the say this for a while.
The schools are not "bad" in Duval County. The teachers are not any better in another county. The main difference between the schools in different counties is the "clientele".

[justjill70]

Well, I have been looking at the statistics...school grades and FCAT scores...and there is a big difference between school districts. I suppose it could be debated if these are true indicators of quality...but what else is there to go on?

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by justjill70

Well, I have been looking at the statistics...school grades and FCAT scores...and there is a big difference between school districts. I suppose it could be debated if these are true indicators of quality...but what else is there to go on?

What do you think the school grade and FCAT are based on?

[fsquid]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Home prices near the city are generally more affordable than St. Johns County, actually. With 2000+ sq ft homes.

I guess I missed them then last summer. Maybe next go around.