Relocation Help (Sarasota, North Port, Venice: sales, rentals, house)

[captlemons]

Hi all, we are an english family looking at relocating to Sarasota area later in the year, jobs aren't an issue but good schools are, we have a 11 and 13 year old, can any one help with good schools for these ages (would love private but budget wont allow ). Also good family friendly areas that have good rental options, things for kids to do etc

All help would be much appreciated, as at the moment dont really know where to start. many thanks

[Big House]

Originally Posted by captlemons

Hi all, we are an english family looking at relocating to Sarasota area later in the year, jobs aren't an issue but good schools are, we have a 11 and 13 year old, can any one help with good schools for these ages (would love private but budget wont allow ). Also good family friendly areas that have good rental options, things for kids to do etc

All help would be much appreciated, as at the moment dont really know where to start. many thanks

Hi! Welcome to the board. Your on the right track - stick to Sarasota County for access to some of the best schools in SWFL. Other counties are having some issues, and aren't supported financially as well. My kids are in college now, but it seems the schools are fairly well managed.

Others will come along and offer helpful input.
Mr&MrsSunshine (regular posters here) are from England, and can probably offer you some very helpful advice if you are looking to locate to the area.

Rentals are pretty available and affordable in SWFL. How long are you planning on staying?
What are your interests?
I hope you're laid back, like to talk fishing, and occastionally like to drink the best beer in the World - Yuengling! One of these day's these people my realize I'm thier best sales person, and will offer me an honorary title. LOL But, if you like to talk about gardening, kayaking, bike riding, sun tanning, art, music, theatre, barbeques, swimming, house hunting, or shoe shopping (haa haa!) there are some cool people here that will love to help.

[SoFLGal]

Sarasota county has one of the best school systems in the state of Florida. It also has Pine View School for the Gifted, which was ranked the top school in Florida and one of the top schools in the Nation. It is a public school and the requirements are that you live in Sarasota county, have an IQ of 130 or more, pass the achievement tests required and have teacher recommendations. I have two children that attend PV and we are more than pleased with the school. It services grades 2nd-12th. Here's some more info on that subject:
Welcome to Pine View School
Pine View School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Public Elites - Newsweek.com
Pine View wraps up perfect Olympics | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader
America's Best High Schools: Gold Medal List - US News and World Report

There are many other fantastic school in Sarasota county. Here's a website where you can see how the schools are rated:
School Accountability Report...
or www.GreatSchools.com

Here are the school districts by zone: http://www.sarasotacountyschools.net...lrp/zones.aspx

Alright, if I were checking out schools other than Pine View these are the schools that I would look into, in order. This is also the order they fall in if you look at the stats on the state of FL.

Southside services most of the downtown area south of Main St. North of Main would be mostly Booker school district. The Palmer Ranch area is mostly Ashton school district. There are other schools in the area but these are ones that I have either had personal experience with or I have friends that have kids in the schools.

Sarasota ranks as one of the top districts in the state by a number of measures, including test scores, graduation rates and teacher compensation.

It offers distinctive programs tailored to different student needs, including Florida's only school for the gifted, the state's largest special needs school and one of a handful of career-focused high schools.

For Elementary
Southside Elementary
Venice Elementary
Ashton Elementary
Cranberry Elementary (North Port)
Taylor Ranch (southern Sarasota county)
Lakeview Elementary
Gulf Gate Elementary
Laurel Nokomis Elementary (mid Sarasota county)
Tatum Ridge Elementary
Garden Elementary
Phillipi Shores
Fruitville Elementary
Englewood Elementary (southern Sarasota county)

For Middle
Sarasota Middle

High School
Riverview

Downtown Sarasota (southside village area) or Palmer Ranch are good places to start looking.

[Peter the Brit]

Firstly where will you be working secondly do you have your visa allocated and thirdly have you visited sarasota
In 1998 we relocated here from the Uk with kids your age. Neither of them have stayed nor really thanked us for chosing here.
In fact we are off end of month to St Augustine somewhere where there are plenty of part time visitors but not part time residents, three seasons and history and real culture.... St Augustine

[LWR Gal]

Consider Lakewood Ranch. Great schools, parks, nature trails, centrally located to everything. 11 & 13 are tough ages - not kids anymore but can't get out on their own too much quite yet...There are a lot of opportunities in the area for them though - sports and the arts to name two. It is a welcoming area, a safe area & a lot of fun.

[mr&mrssunshine]

as peter the brit says- have you sorted your visas ? you say jobs wont be an issue so maybe you are multi millionairres :-) if not I hope you have done your homework.

in any event good luck

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

It also has Pine View School for the Gifted, which was ranked the top school in Florida and one of the top schools in the Nation. It is a public school and the requirements are that you live in Sarasota county, have an IQ of 130 or more, .....

Not to hijack this thread, but an IQ test? Wow. I did not know that was still being used. In the past the test was very culture specific. Maybe it has changed.

[captlemons]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, we have been to many places in America, but always gravitate back to Sarasota area.

In answer to some of your questions, although I think it is rather stating what seems to be obvious but YES we have sorted visa's, no we are not millionaires (unfortunately), YES we are fully aware of the pros and cons of living in a "holiday place", we currently live in one of the biggest holiday areas in Europe "St Tropez, Southern France" !

My Husband is a super yacht captain at present, but now has the opportunity to move, so now seems like a good time to make the leap, it will be good timing for our children, we want them to finish their education in English, and all the benefits and opportunities that America can hold for them and their future, we know it will be challenging for them to start as they have been educated fully in French up till now which is why it is MOST important to get them into as good a school as we can.

SoFLGal thank you so much for all your information, its a great help, I will look into all those suggestions, I had heard of the PV school, so my research so far hasn't been in vain, could you or anyone else just advise what year my two would be in (11 & 13 years old) i.e. middle or high school? bit different from the French system

Bighouse thank you for such a lovely thread, very welcoming all your suggestions sound great, not sure on the beer thing, must be an American brand but hey as long as its cold we'll give it a go, we would accept all forms of help, moving and settling into a new life is very scary, so a friendly word/face is always nice

[SoFLGal]

Davery-Yes, PV still uses an IQ test as one of the criteria for entrance into PV. You also need achievement testing, teacher recommendations, and certain grades. All of this info is calculated and then it is determined if gifted services are needed.

Captlemons-I have a girl who is 12, birthday in Sept (she will be turning 13) and she is entering 7th grade (middle school) this year. Much of it depends on when you child's birthday falls. To enter kindergarten you must be 5 years old on or before Sept 1st. Elementary is K-5th, roughly-5-11 yrs old and middle school is 6th-8th grades, roughly-12 yrs old to 14 years old and high school is 9th-12th grades, roughly 15 years old to 18 yrs old.

I also have a senior at PV and she will be 18 yrs old in Dec. and I have a 1st grader who just turned 6.

So, if your children were starting school this year they would probably be entering 5th grade and 7th grade.

Hope this helps

[Peter the Brit]

All the hype about Sarasota schools look at the stats St Johns County is rated the top county in Florida for education.
Please carefully consider your move and do not come with the tourist spectacles we wore and after a few years soon appreciate this is a retirement place supported by a chepa woprk force who provide the kids who after their education see life in college outside the Sarasota area and never come back. We were with some English and american firends last night both of whom have kids who have been through PV etc and gone out of state to College and would never come back here.
I say it after 12 years living in and not single regret leaving next week.