WHY are schools so much better in SJC?? (Jacksonville, Sarasota: neighborhoods, school rankings)

[mdnd19]

First let me preface this by saying, my question is purely sincere & I'm not looking to offend anyone. I just really want to better understand. With that being said...

What is it about schools in SJC that make them so much better than the rest of the state? vs *ARE* they truly that much better? I've been doing a LOT of research (we are looking to move from NJ to Florida with 2 young kids). According to the Dept of Ed grades/statistics, SJC does VERY well with solid grades in most of their schools. Yet, when I look at other districts throughout the state, I find spotty areas with only *some* good schools in their district.

Why is there such a disparity when comparing STJ to other counties?? Are they held to a higher standard? Do they have more funding? Do they just care more? Is the data from the DOE website skewed in some way?? (These are all rhetorical except for the last question). It concerns me because our original plan was to move to either Sarasota County, or Palm Beach County, to be closer to family. Based on my research, however, I'm wondering would I be doing my family a disservice by NOT moving to SJC? Is it really as stellar as the DOE portrays it? Or is there something I'm missing? This disparity baffles me....it makes me want to question it at a State level.

[logybogy]

It's not rocket science. It's a county with a lot of wealth. The schools are a product of that wealth. It doesn't have the disadvantages of a poor urban school district with a diverse population.

[Gromicide]

agree with logybogy.

Don't move here expecting a bunch of Johnnys and Janes walking in single file down the hall studying their flash cards either. They still vape, smoke weed, make out, have sex, egg cars, doorbell ditch, make fun of other kids etc...

All the same stuff other kids do right?

SJC also has a lot fewer schools than bigger cities in the state so in a way, yes the grades are skewed. Duval county for example (Jacksonville) has plenty of top notch schools but also an equal amount of poor grading schools.

[shokwaverider]

To answer the OPs question. Even though SJC is very conservative, it is more centrist conservative and actually invests in infrastructure and services, such as it's school system. It also has very good healthcare availability.

Not like places like AL, MS and LA who are far right and tend not to invest as much in services etc. SJC is the best of both worlds. We have, for the most part, "proper" conservatives here as opposed to the right wing cult members that dominate the poorer red states. So as long as it stays that way, we will be just fine.

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by mdnd19

First let me preface this by saying, my question is purely sincere & I'm not looking to offend anyone. I just really want to better understand. With that being said...

What is it about schools in SJC that make them so much better than the rest of the state? vs *ARE* they truly that much better? I've been doing a LOT of research (we are looking to move from NJ to Florida with 2 young kids). According to the Dept of Ed grades/statistics, SJC does VERY well with solid grades in most of their schools. Yet, when I look at other districts throughout the state, I find spotty areas with only *some* good schools in their district.

Why is there such a disparity when comparing STJ to other counties?? Are they held to a higher standard? Do they have more funding? Do they just care more? Is the data from the DOE website skewed in some way?? (These are all rhetorical except for the last question). It concerns me because our original plan was to move to either Sarasota County, or Palm Beach County, to be closer to family. Based on my research, however, I'm wondering would I be doing my family a disservice by NOT moving to SJC? Is it really as stellar as the DOE portrays it? Or is there something I'm missing? This disparity baffles me....it makes me want to question it at a State level.

They aren't. Do a search for Elementary, Middle or High School rankings, and Duval country schools appear way further up the list in all 3 categories than St. Johns Schools. And as that area continues to grow, they too will have poorer performing schools, which is already starting to happen.

The simple answer is that Duval has more poor performing schools because they have way more schools, a higher population and much poorer areas, but the premise that St. Johns has better schools is factually false.

https://www.schooldigger.com/

SS

[logybogy]

Florida issues letter grades for each school in every district, but it's kind of a shell game. A school can have a "D" grade one year and move to "A" the next simply on improvement from year to year even even though most of its students still perform poorly.

https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2019/...ublic-schools/

Kaththea Johnson started a new principal’s job last school year facing a daunting task: Boost achievement at Palm View Elementary School and get rid of the abysmal label – a D grade – that has plagued the struggling school.

In a stunning turnaround, the Manatee County school did all that and more, jumping from a D to an A in the state’s system for rating public schools.

How the school improved so dramatically is a testament to the hard work of administrators, teachers, and kids – what Johnson describes as exciting and “overall, a collaborative effort – literally all hands on deck.”

But such a turnaround also stems from a complex point system that allows schools to get A grades even when students can’t pass state exams — much less be considered proficient in key subjects such as math and reading, state data show.

That creates a quandary for families trying to understand if the quality of their child’s school is good, bad or somewhere in-between.

[Northside904]

One word: PARENTS. St. John's County parents are more involved in their children's education, and they demand a lot from their child's school, and from their kids. Schools in Jacksonville's ghetto neighborhoods don't have the level of involved parents as SJC because let's be real, most parents in the ghetto don't value education, so you think those inner-city parents are going to be involved in their children's education? Don't get me wrong, there are very intelligent school kids in the ghetto, but that's because of involved parents. I was one of the few kids in the ghetto who made mostly A's with one B from elementary to high school, and on through undergrad and grad school. I went to Norwood Elementary, Northwestern Middle and Raines High.

[Florida2014]

I think it has to do with several factors but I agree with the poster above in that the biggest reason is parental involvement. There are certain other criteria that come into play as well but imho that is the biggest.

I think you'd also do fine in Duval or any nearby county, you just have to choose wisely to be zoned for one of their higher performing schools.

I chose SJC for many reasons but one of the biggest was the A-rated schools. Now that I've been here a while, I think my child would have done just fine outside of SJC. Personally, I grew up in a very poor performing school district. Our schools were generally bad at everything - academics, sports, crime.....you name it. However, the kids who had the most parental involvement generally did much better and now after 20+ years most are doing quite well professionally.

[Peter the Brit]

So please explain to me why so many teachers are leaving SJC who are poor payers use assistants rather than permanent teachers and give no security to their emloyees

[roadtrip75]

SJC schools aren't better. The services which claim to be rating the schools are lying. They're actually just rating the students.


SJC students score higher because they're more intelligent, have more parental involvement, and have better educated peers.