Private school recommendations in/near Orlando area... (Celebration, Windermere: 2014, home search)

[BlossomingUniverse]

We are planning a move from Raleigh, NC to the Orlando area by July 2014. Our daughter is 4.5 and attends a private certified Montessori PK3-6 school. We would like recommendations and personal experience for the following schools, based on the following criteria. If you have recommendations for other schools that I may not have mentioned, please let me know.

CRITERIA:
1. Private
2. Secular (no-religious affiliations)
3. Art/Music/Dance/Foreign Language enrichment programs
4. Not sports driven
5. Preparatory (not a must)
6. PK - 12 (not a must, but request advice for additional schools, if we need to break up schools for Elementary, Middle and High School)
7. Tuition cost - unlimited
8. Location - within 35 minutes of Windermere
9. Note: Both of us work from home, so job location is a non-issue, and we have already narrowed down our home search to Windermere, because of the variety of new construction, and the location to the things we enjoy.

Here are the schools that I have found, but have not toured. We will be touring them in March 2014:

1. Central Florida Preparatory School, Gotha, FL
2. The Crenshaw School, Gotha, FL
3. Montessori World School, Orlando, FL (may end this program at age 9)
4. Foreign Language Immersion School, Celebration, FL (not sure we want language to be the main focus over an Arts program).

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[bmw335xi]

The best private school in Orlando is Lake Highland Preparatory

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

The best private school in Orlando is Lake Highland Preparatory

It's also Christian based

[brinkofsunshine]

Montessori is a wonderful little school. I love that style and would send my kids there if I had any.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

It's also Christian based

As far as I know there is no required bible class. It has one of the highest acceptance rates to top tier universities and it's also one of the larger private schools. They have very deep pockets, which is good.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

As far as I know there is no required bible class. It has one of the highest acceptance rates to top tier universities and it's also one of the larger private schools. They have very deep pockets, which is good.

Maybe, maybe not.... still not a "secular" school as requested by the OP. Just look at their mission statement:

Within an atmosphere of love, concern and mutual respect,
Lake Highland Preparatory School is committed to instilling Christian values,
to inspiring patriotism, to developing future leaders,
and to preparing students for college and lifetime learning
through academically challenging programs and affirming competitive experiences.

Lake Highland Preparatory School > HOME

I think Windermere Prep might be better fit. It's also a few grand cheaper per year. Personally, I'd just take that money and save it up for college. IMO, the parent and the kid matter a lot more than school.

Windermere Preparatory School ~The Windermere Prep School Difference

[BlossomingUniverse]

Thank you all!

Lake Highland is not an option, because it is not secular and very athletic driven.

Windermere Prep is also not an option, because we have read on message boards and heard from locals that it is money driven and ran by investment bankers, and the school lacks diversity and caring toward all students.

We are also looking for a low student to teacher ratio, and a Montessori type philosophy (self independence, freedom within limits, ability to excel to the next level at any age, and respect for the child's physical, social and learning development). I say "Montessori type philosophy," because we only plan on having our daughter attend a certified Montessori school until she is seven or eight.

That is why we have narrowed our search down to the list of schools in our original post. However, we do not see many reviews from others about these schools.

[bmw335xi]

The list you narrowed down aren't the most reputable. Windermere Prep and Lake Highland have the best quality and reputation. Are investment bankers or Christian values, even though they aren't forced on students that big of a deal to you that you would choose an average private school over a great one?

[BlossomingUniverse]

What kind of reputation do you know/hear that the schools I have narrowed down to have? That's the thing, nobody is giving me any reason not to consider these schools. Just saying that they are "not reputable" could mean many things to different people.

Why do you say that the schools we have on our list are "average." We seek more info and data more than just a simple statement. For example - why are they average, what is their reputation in FL and nationally, what are the comparative scores compared to other local private non-charter and magnet schools, etc.? Any information, more than a statement, is appreciated.

Lake Highland concerns us because of the focus on sports. When we see that, we see focus on the wrong areas of education for our daughter. It also reminds us of some Ivy League schools sports program problems (e.g. Penn State's mentality and corruption). Again, not for us. Don't get me wrong, sports are great, but not the main focus, and that is why we go and will go the extra mile for the private enrichment programs (sports, music, dance, art, languages, etc.).

We simply want a secular school, so that there is no religious affiliations to get in the way or to be in the forefront, even if it's not forced on the children, it is still the schools philosophy. And that is fine, but not for us.

As far as Windermere Prep, we do not want money to be the main focus behind any school. Our daughter's education comes first and foremost.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by BlossomingUniverse

What kind of reputation do you know/hear that the schools I have narrowed down to have? That's the thing, nobody is giving me any reason not to consider these schools. Just saying that they are "not reputable" could mean many things to different people.

Why do you say that the schools we have on our list are "average." We seek more info and data more than just a simple statement. For example - why are they average, what is their reputation in FL and nationally, what are the comparative scores compared to other local private non-charter and magnet schools, etc.? Any information, more than a statement, is appreciated.

Lake Highland concerns us because of the focus on sports. When we see that, we see focus on the wrong areas of education for our daughter. It also reminds us of some Ivy League schools sports program problems (e.g. Penn State's mentality and corruption). Again, not for us. Don't get me wrong, sports are great, but not the main focus, and that is why we go and will go the extra mile for the private enrichment programs (sports, music, dance, art, languages, etc.).

We simply want a secular school, so that there is no religious affiliations to get in the way or to be in the forefront, even if it's not forced on the children, it is still the schools philosophy. And that is fine, but not for us.

As far as Windermere Prep, we do not want money to be the main focus behind any school. Our daughter's education comes first and foremost.

Ever thought about a good public school? Winter park hs has a well reputed IB program