MOVING TO MIAMI AREA - Family of 4, BEST PUBLIC SCHOOLS? (Kendall: appointed, for sale)

[SlyFlo]

thanks everyone for the input. it seems that many of the so called good schools are in and around coral gables. any schools in the brickell, miami beach, and key biscyne areas that are considered to be excellent schools? thanks in advance...

[Robyn55]

Key Biscayne didn't have a high school when I lived there - and I don't think it does now (if MAST is still there on Virginia Key - well that's a pretty specialized school). I think the high school for Key Biscayne is Coral Gables High School. Don't think it's an especially convenient place to live for people with kids in high school. Robyn

[doggiebus]

^^^I think it still is Coral Gables HS. MAST is probably the best school, but its a magnet school, kids have to apply and get excepted.

[bbyao06]

I think another great school is Coral Reef HS. It is a magnet school as well. Kids have to apply and get accepted. They have academy programs there where the incoming students choose the program that they want to be in, i.e. Business, Legal, IB, Engineering, Medical, Visual & Performing Arts, etc. They take their normal high school classes plus classes in their academy.

[Marlin331]

Originally Posted by flyers29

Good clarification. Though fwiw, Palmetto (I'm a grad myself) also draws from not-so-nice West Perrine, though that's not a huge percentage of the population.

That's news to me. I had always assumed that Perrine west of US1 was zoned for Southridge.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by crisp444

That's news to me. I had always assumed that Perrine west of US1 was zoned for Southridge.

Most of West Perrine is zoned for Southridge but there are parts West of US1 that are zoned to Palmetto. US1 is not the boundary. The African American population is almost 20%, it has been like that at least the since the 90's

School districts are very tricky, South Dade for example, it's not a bad school but many Naranja residents are zoned to that school.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥

Most of West Perrine is zoned for Southridge but there are parts West of US1 that are zoned to Palmetto. US1 is not the boundary. The African American population is almost 20%, it has been like that at least the since the 90's

School districts are very tricky, South Dade for example, it's not a bad school but many Naranja residents are zoned to that school.

Try "been like that" for 50-75+ years. The area you're pretty much talking about includes an area called Richmond Heights. And the reason that specific area is African-American is that - until the late 60's or 70's (and that's 1960's and 1970's - not 1860's and 1870's) - African Americans in Dade County could only live in areas that were zoned for African Americans (and usually not elsewhere). Richmond Heights was zoned for African Americans. At least when I lived in Miami - Richmond Heights was a lower middle to middle class neighborhood - certainly not a slum.

People in Dade County tend to act holier than thou vis-a-vis other parts of Florida when it comes to racism. But the simple fact of the matter is that all of Forida was and is a southern state - no better when it comes to racial matters than other states in the deep south. Robyn

[Marlin331]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Try "been like that" for 50-75+ years. The area you're pretty much talking about includes an area called Richmond Heights. And the reason that specific area is African-American is that - until the late 60's or 70's (and that's 1960's and 1970's - not 1860's and 1870's) - African Americans in Dade County could only live in areas that were zoned for African Americans (and usually not elsewhere). Richmond Heights was zoned for African Americans. At least when I lived in Miami - Richmond Heights was a lower middle to middle class neighborhood - certainly not a slum.

People in Dade County tend to act holier than thou vis-a-vis other parts of Florida when it comes to racism. But the simple fact of the matter is that all of Forida was and is a southern state - no better when it comes to racial matters than other states in the deep south. Robyn

Robyn:

Richmond Heights is zoned for Killian HS, I believe. That's the reason why Killian HS is 25% black; if it weren't for the Richmond Heights kids going there, it would be 2% black. You're probably familiar with the canal that divides the affluent Falls neighborhood to the north from Richmond Heights to the south. The change in demographics is just as distinct today as it ever was in the area. You are right, however, that Richmond Heights is not the ghetto; it's a lower middle class neighborhood. I would say that Palmetto Estates, directly to the south of Richmond Heights, is probably the nicest black area in the whole county - solidly middle class and most of the homes are very well-maintained. The difference between Palmetto Estates, and Richmond Heights, however, is that Palmetto Estates used to be a white neighborhood before the 1980's, and in that decade I believe it was a mixed area.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by crisp444

Robyn:

Richmond Heights is zoned for Killian HS, I believe. That's the reason why Killian HS is 25% black; if it weren't for the Richmond Heights kids going there, it would be 2% black. You're probably familiar with the canal that divides the affluent Falls neighborhood to the north from Richmond Heights to the south. The change in demographics is just as distinct today as it ever was in the area. You are right, however, that Richmond Heights is not the ghetto; it's a lower middle class neighborhood. I would say that Palmetto Estates, directly to the south of Richmond Heights, is probably the nicest black area in the whole county - solidly middle class and most of the homes are very well-maintained. The difference between Palmetto Estates, and Richmond Heights, however, is that Palmetto Estates used to be a white neighborhood before the 1980's, and in that decade I believe it was a mixed area.

Yep, Killian. Actually, we had a choice between Southridge and Killian. I was one of a handfull of white kids being bussed in to Killian from the Heights.

[Rosie34]

Hi. We moved to miami about 8 months ago and decided to rent for a year, while we researched the various neighborhoods and and schools. What i found from the web and emailing parents at various schools is the following...
We rented in Miami Shores and while it is a great neighborhood, the schools are okay. In general, you will find that south miami, offers more options in terms of private schools.
We applied to 2 magnet, 1 charter, two private schools program for our 4 and 6 year olds. They did not get into any of the magnet or charter programs, were wait listed at a private school and accepted into another private.
In researching public schools, found that the most consistent ones in terms of academics and extracurriculars were Pinecrest Elementary and Palmetto Elementary. The boundaries for these schools are within Pinecrest. When looking into Sunset Elementary non-magnet program (did not get into magnet program), I was told by some parents whose kids were not in the magnet program, that their kids did not receive as much attention and resources as the magnet kids.
I know that everyone has different experiences and results, but i do think that because Pinecrest and Palmetto elementary are in more affluent neighborhoods, the PTA can raise more money to put back into the school.
I don't know much about public middle and high school, as we are planning on switching over to private schools, at that point.