Please help with schools - mom is near tears.... (Orlando: appointed, house) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

happytobeback · 02-06-2009, 09:45 AM

Help.. I am a mom of 2 kids (6 & 4) that has returned with my family to seminole county that is in desperated need of information regarding schools. We had a house in Lake May that we sold 6 years ago.. we knew that the schools were good and that it is a great place to raise a family. My 6 year old son was in a top ranking STEM Magnet school in MN before arriving here on Tuesday. We did our homework before we moved and thought that we had an idea of schools. We talked to the Seminole County Choices Dept SEVERAL times. They are very difficult to get information from until you are actually here. We REALLY wanted to enroll him at Goldsboro Elementary - He loves NASA and Science. The choices office would only tell us before we arrived that we would have to see when we arrived. We knew and understood that their is a waiting list for this year and next. The problem is that we really wanted to live in Sweetwater / Longowood. However, it was our understading that their was NO busing even for next year. Now, I am finding out not only is there but, that the schools that our in our cluster and outside our cluster our not as good as we thought. I am so confused. The school rankings and info on greatschools.net is all over the place. SO where do I send him???? We are in an apt for 6 monthes and are in the NW Cluster - We use to drive our son 30 min - one way.. driving is not the problem. The rankings are all over the place, Sabal Point (35th), Wekivea Elem (44th) Heathrow (140th), Lake Mary (334th) NW Cluster - Wilson (249th), Crystal Lake (not rated and mix reviews), Bentley (560th), Wicklow (835th). Choices in Learning (reviews are all over the place) Oviedo schools seem to be rated higher. Can anyone tell me any info or help send us in the right direction? We are in such a loss and have no idea where to send him. We thouht we really did our homework and now we have no idea what to do. Please Help!!!

Jonotastic · 02-06-2009, 10:15 AM

Sorry I'm a bit confused...can you afford private school? Lake Highland Prep is a great school.

happytobeback · 02-06-2009, 11:00 AM

I am sorry that this was confusing. Our intentions was to enroll him into public school in Seminole County. However thank you for the information regarding Lake Highland Prep. This may be something that we need to look into. I guess what I am looking for is any information that will help us choose which school is best for our son. He was previously in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) magnet school and we are trying to find something that will keep him engaged in kindergarten. The rankings and info on schools in and out of our cluster our all over the place. Thank you so much for your help.

beckycat · 02-06-2009, 02:46 PM

I think the NW cluster is fine. My kids went to Wilson Elementary and it is an awesome school. The others there are fine too. I don't think I'd send my kid to Goldsboro b/c the area it is in, IMHO.

ngrome · 02-06-2009, 05:40 PM

At least in Orange County, I believe if the school is designated as a magnate school, you can opt to have your child attend there, as long as you provide your own transportation (no busing), regardless of where you live (within the county). You make want to check, I'm sure Seminole County as a corresponding Pupil Assignments office as OC does.

beckycat · 02-06-2009, 06:09 PM

When we moved to a different area that was zoned for a different school in Seminole county, they provided a bus for my son to stay at the same school.

Parrotrosie · 02-06-2009, 08:25 PM

I know what you mean....I am looking from PA to move to Seminole county and I have been very disappointed with both the Magnate schools and some of the Lake Mary school rankings that I have seen (also with some of the Winter springs schools as well)

We subscribed to Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed so as to compare schools we were familiar with and see their gradings, and then compare to schools in areas we were looking at down there.

I cannot speak to the accuracy, because we have not moved yet, so I am only using it as one number in the equation , but, we are finding the Oviedo schools to be coming in at higher rankings as well.

If you call the Economic Development Commission in Orlando, they can sent you a booklet that has all the FCAT scores for all the schools including Seminole county, and lots of other good info including expenses, and other data on each individual school as well as listings of all public and private schools in the areas. The are on Lake Eola, sorry I don't have an address or phone for you...but the book is very helpful.

I hope some of this is helpful for you

haulinmover · 02-07-2009, 09:57 AM

I don't buy into this rankings, etc....from these schools. We moved here two months ago, and school has been nothing but a problem. Both my kids hate the system here. My son last week ripped up his math FCAT book. (whole different story).

I have a 10 and 13; both in honors. I did the ranking checks and everything. Got confused like you did. In the end, I chose an A and B school due to location; close to me. We moved here during christmas. I am probably more satisfied with the "B" school than the "A" one. But, I can say, that no matter where you put your kids....you are not gng to be happy. SO, just dive in and pick.

I wish you tons of luck.

Cigarboo · 02-07-2009, 11:58 AM

I'm sorry I won't be able to help you much, but we're moving down also and are somewhat concerned about the schools. I can't understand what exactly is so bad about the schools in Seminole county. I mean, they are supposed to be "A" rated, so I would expect that it isn't as bad as it seems, is it? I didn't think the reviews on Greatschools.net were so bad. Parents in general seemed happy.

My friend moved from California and has her kids at Sabal Point and she and her boys seems quite happy there. I think if you want to live in the Sweetwater/Longwood you should go for it. You get to go to what appears to be the highest rated elementary school in Seminole county. Maybe you can send your son to Sabal Point or Wekiva for the remainder of the year, presuming you will look for a house in the Sweetwater area. You might be pleasantly surprised and decide to keep him there. Or if it just doesn't work out, you can find another area to buy a home that is close to maybe a private school that you would be happy with.

I would also like to hear opinions from people who have their kids in Seminole county schools. Especially from folks who have had experience with schools in the north. What exactly is the problem? Is it too many students? bad students? mean teachers? not enough supplies? I know where I'm at, it's generally pretty good, but every so often, you end up with a bad teacher. There's always a bad apple here and there. I just find it so hard to believe it can be so bad. The website looks nice and the curriculum looks OK. I guess I'll find out when I get there, but I'd rather be prepared.

Good luck OP.

markhunt · 02-07-2009, 01:32 PM

For me, there is more to a school than a school letter grade here in Florida.

I would recommend any parents moving from "Up North", to look into other criteria as well.

For instance:

Percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch.

Average class size.

Age of school.

Will your children be learning in "Trailers", or a building.

Percentage of teachers with advanced degrees.

Percentage of classes taught by out of field teachers.

Teachers average amount of years teaching.

Percentage of gifted students.

Percentage of students where english is a second language.

Racial breakdown of students.

Average FCAT Scores.

Average SAT Scores.

Average ACT scores.

Graduation rates.

http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0708/SGGuide2008.pdf <- The current or old letter grading system

New Florida school grading system goes beyond FCAT -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-flbgrades0122sbjan22,0,6452681.story - broken link) <- The new letter grading system

Oh, another thing parents from "Up North", may want to consider is in smaller more rural towns there may be more of a "Southern flare", if you will, with the teachers, administration, and some of the students.

I'm not saying that it is good or bad, but there can be huge cultural differences between not only the students, but the teachers and parents as well.