Just curious...St. John's school district question (Jacksonville, Miami: apartment, house)

[spinergirl]

Hi there. We are getting closer and closer to our move. Super excited. What drew us to St. John's County is the schools - and then many other things once visiting a few times. We are coming from Long Island where I am a teacher in a public school. Anyway my question is this, and I'm hoping the answer is YES. Do the majority of ppl in St. John's County send their children to the public schools?

I understand everyone's reasoning for private schools is different - however from time to time I get freaked out b/c some "chatty" ppl up here on LI are like - "Oh, all my friends that live in FL send their kids to private schools." Since I come from an area where ppl utilize the public school system for the most part, I want my kids to grow up in an area where they hop on the bus with other kids, etc.

Anyway, I know there are multiple chats about schools and SJC, so I figured I'd start one more

TIA for your input. Please keep it positive...this is a HUGE decision for us and we are ALL IN so don't tell us not to come lol

[snuffybear]

YES that would be correct in St. Johns County.

And I got that too, in the Northeast, that people say "you HAVE to do private school in FL". Our experiences in the schools here is that they are just as good, though run differently (county vs town, so more bureaucratic, but also more objective).

[Robyn55]

I think people in certain parts of Florida and certain neighborhoods within those parts have greater or lesser tendencies to send their kids to private schools. For example - when we lived in Miami - just about no one in our neighborhood sent their kids to public schools. The area had more money and worse public schools.

Judging from the buses/bus stops in my neighborhood here and the numbers of kids on them - it seems like more people send their kids to public schools - especially at the elementary/middle school level. OTOH - it's hard to tell exactly what the % is - since the only private school bus I see here is the Bolles bus (a neighbor's kid used to go to Bishop Kenny - and I don't think it operated a bus route here). When it comes to my neighbors - the house across the street has had 3 families who all sent/send their kids to private schools. The house on one side of me has had 2 families which both sent their kids to public schools (the kids in the family in the house on the other side of me were adults by the time their parents sold the house). Note that there were pretty big demographic differences when it came to the 5 families with kids (long stories ) - which pretty much explained their educational choices (or lack of options) to me.

I suspect that outside of PVB - just about everyone in SJC sends their kids to public schools. Otherwise - why would people want to move to many of the newer neighborhoods in SJC (they're not particularly close to a lot of things and a fair number are in areas that are pretty congested these days)?

FWIW - if you've been on Long Island a long time - you may be going back to the future IMO. Western SJC reminds me a little of Long Island when I was a kid there in the 50's. Tons of new people moving in. Lots of new schools being built. Kids being moved around from this school to that school to the other as the population mushrooms. Schools that are overcrowded. Double sessions (don't think that will happen here - we use portable classrooms instead). Wasn't the most desirable school environment IMO. But I didn't get any permanent scars as a result . Robyn

[spinergirl]

Thanks to both of you - ahhhhhh I feel better lol. No seriously, I have confidence my kids will love SJC - as will we. The grass is green where you water it, right? We are ready for the next chapter

[JMMH]

Almost everybody here sends their kids to public school. Seems kinda silly to move to SJC and not utilize the public schools!

[ilfaith]

My husband and I moved to northeast Florida from the New York area, and initially bought a home in Jacksonville. When we started our family we knew we would be sending them to private school, and we did. When our third child was born, and we started to feel as though we had outgrown our home (seemed huge when we bought it, just the two of us, coming from a tiny Manhattan apartment), we only looked at homes in St. Johns county, because we knew the public schools were highly regarded. We found our home in Palencia, and have been nothing but pleased with the local schools. I have two sons in the elementary and one in the middle school. I love that we have a true neighborhood school. In our old community nearly all the children went to various private schools, so my kids really had a hard time making friends in the neighborhood.

I do have a few friends and neighbors who send their kids to private schools, but it is because they prefer to give their kids a faith-based education, or because their children have special needs.

[spinergirl]

You guys are super helpful. Thank you. Now - let me throw this at you. What is the "talk of the town" as far as getting an elementary teaching position in SJC? Given "someone" has experience (tenured on LI in a great district), Masters in Elem. Ed, great references, interviewing skills, etc. Just curious...

If you don't know I get it, but I know on LI it's a constant discussion.

=)

PS - Not looking to take jobs away from locals...want to keep the peace!

[snuffybear]

Teaching jobs are hard to get and only the very best applicants get them. Hundreds of applicants for each spot (but many may not have the resume that you do; I think also many Duval teachers look to move to St. Johns each year). I think there's some luck involved too...ie, I've seen teachers hired last minute because of mroe than expected registration #s in August and they need another Algebra teacher, etc.

You can also look at getting hired through FLVS if you want to teach virtual.

[jwolfer]

Originally Posted by spinergirl

You guys are super helpful. Thank you. Now - let me throw this at you. What is the "talk of the town" as far as getting an elementary teaching position in SJC? Given "someone" has experience (tenured on LI in a great district), Masters in Elem. Ed, great references, interviewing skills, etc. Just curious...

If you don't know I get it, but I know on LI it's a constant discussion.

=)

PS - Not looking to take jobs away from locals...want to keep the peace!

It would probably be easier to find a position in Duval County. But it may be a long commute. I know a few people who teach in Duval but live in Clay or St. Johns to send kids to schools there.

With a masters you may be able to teach at community/state college as at the very least an adjunct

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by jwolfer

It would probably be easier to find a position in Duval County. But it may be a long commute. I know a few people who teach in Duval but live in Clay or St. Johns to send kids to schools there.

With a masters you may be able to teach at community/state college as at the very least an adjunct

Agree about Duval being easier. Better money too I think. The one friend we have who's a teacher (she's a little older than us) lives here but works in Duval County (no kids in school - but her husband's job was here before he retired).

Do adjuncts even get parking spaces these day ? My understanding is most aren't paid very well - and the benefits are non-existent/nothing to write home about. Robyn