Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area
 [Register]
Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area Manatee and Sarasota Counties
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-08-2010, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Palm Island and North Port
7,511 posts, read 22,912,465 times
Reputation: 2878

Advertisements

Well, I have a totally different view. I was born and raised in Sarasota/Manatee counties. I have personally attended many of the schools in Sarasota county and all three of my kids have gone through the local school system. We couldn't be happier with the local system.

My oldest daughter went to Maryland Institute College of Art for a precollege summer program last year and she's just returned from a precollege program at Rhode Island School of Design. After venturing out and exploring different colleges I believe she will be sticking right close to home and going to Ringling School of Art and Design, although there are many other fantastic choices right in her own back yard, Sarasota county.

FYI, Pine View was rated the top school in the state of Florida and has been in the top in the state since its inception in 1969. Many of the Sarasota county school rank very highly as well. I'm not saying St. John's doesn't have a good school system, I just wouldn't totally discount the Sarasota school system just because it didn't work out for you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-08-2010, 10:18 AM
 
Location: Palm Island and North Port
7,511 posts, read 22,912,465 times
Reputation: 2878
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter the Brit View Post
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.

Sarasota county is designated an "A" district by the FL Dept of Education, with 95% of elementary schools and 84% of all school receiving and "A" or "B" grade in 2009

Sarasota county has a dropout rate of 2%.

Sarasota county ranks among the top 10 districts statewide in FCAT reading, writing and math scores

District SAT scores were higher than 2009 state averages by 26 points (math), 23 points (reading), and 21 points (writing), and higher than the National averages by 9 points (math), 19 points (reading), and 8 points (writing)

Pine View School has one of the highest percentages of National Merit Scholarship finalists in the state of Florida and is consistently ranked one of the best schools in America. It is regularly ranked as the highest performing school in the state grading process.

Although I put more weight in facts and figures than I do in surveys:

Money Magazine named Sarasota "the best small city in the US" it also ranked Sarasota the county school district one of the top 100 school districts in the Nation

Expansion Magazine ranked SCSD the finest school system in the state of FL

Time Magazine rated Sarasota's New College the second best college bargain in the Nation (Money magazine agreed)

Seems awful that you'd live in an area for 12 years and raise your kids here if you were so miserable. I think it's long past time to go if you feel that poorly about where you live.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2010, 10:29 AM
 
Location: Punta Gorda and Maryland
6,103 posts, read 15,081,815 times
Reputation: 1257
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter the Brit View Post
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.

So, . . . you're moving!?!? I'm surprised. Are you going to continue selling real estate where you're moving?

Good Luck! And, Keep in touch! How far is St. John's County from Sarasota / Osprey area where you live now? Are you still near the Gulf? I am not familiar at all with where you're heading.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2010, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Nokomis Fl
1,008 posts, read 2,634,078 times
Reputation: 475
I have never berated the Sarasota School system Both of my kids left and graduated College with over 3.5 GPA both went to Venice High and turned down PV as they were keen on sports
My point which seems to be misunderstood is this is a retirement area and it is a good school are but there are better
I meet so many people who move here just so there kids can go to PV and am concerned that when the County are looking for cuts one of the first place they may look is PV.
Big House in St Augustine I am doing the same as I am doing here.
St Augustine is the oldest city in the US founded in 1565 with 32 buildings over 300 years old, located on the NE coast south of Jacksonville and about 35 miles from the Georgia Border

Last edited by Peter the Brit; 08-08-2010 at 12:46 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2010, 11:31 AM
 
20 posts, read 37,919 times
Reputation: 11
good luck !!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2010, 12:16 PM
 
17,533 posts, read 39,105,017 times
Reputation: 24287
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter the Brit View Post
I have never berated the Sarasota School system Both of my kids left and graduated College with over 3.5 GPA both went to Venice High and turned down PV as they were keen on sports
My point which seems to be misunderstood is this is a retirement area and it is a good school are but there are better
I meet so many people who move here just so there kids can go to PV and am concerned that when the County are looking for cuts one of the first place they may look is PV.
Big House in St Augustine I am doing the same as I am doing here.
Good luck to you - nothing wrong in making a change. While I really love visiting St. Augustine, I don't think it's better than Sarasota in any way, just different. I felt like you did years ago about Sarasota, we lived here for 17 years then moved away for 12 - we decided to come back and for US it's the best place in Florida to live. Sarasota has made many, many changes for the positive, IMO.

And welcome to our new British friends! There are a lot of Europeans from many countries living here and loving it!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2010, 12:48 PM
 
Location: Palm Island and North Port
7,511 posts, read 22,912,465 times
Reputation: 2878
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter the Brit View Post
I have never berated the Sarasota School system Both of my kids left and graduated College with over 3.5 GPA both went to Venice High and turned down PV as they were keen on sports
My point which seems to be misunderstood is this is a retirement area and it is a good school are but there are better
I meet so many people who move here just so there kids can go to PV and am concerned that when the County are looking for cuts one of the first place they may look is PV.
Big House in St Augustine I am doing the same as I am doing here.
I had two cousins who opted for Venice High over Pine View as well, both did excellent at Venice High and went on to do well in college.

Excellent point about PV and sports. Many kids drop out of PV in high school because the work load is to much or because they want to be more involved in sports. PV has no football team, although the kids can play on another schools team-Venice, Riverview, Sarasota High, etc. PV does have sports, just not football. It's mainly an academic school.

It worked out fine for my oldest daughter since she's majoring in art and not into sports at all.

PV has a huge backing in the community and since it began in 1969 there have been talks of cutting back here and there at PV. There have been some adjustments over the years but nothing to significant. There aren't any better schools than PV in the state, at least not right now. When they're looking to make cuts I don't think they'll look too hard at PV. PV continues to be one of the most cost efficient schools in Sarasota county based on per pupil expenditures: http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/pvs/PDF/Top%20Rated/PPE_Schl_0809.pdf

Busing is one of the biggest expenses for PV since students come from all over the county. They have recently done away with many of the bus stops and in many cases pick the kids up at their districted schools, which saved greatly on salaries, gas, wear and tear on the buses, etc.

No schools in St. John's County made the list, although they have a decent school system. Nearby Jacksonville (Duval county) has Stanton College Prep and Paxton School, which regularly ranks fairly high, although not as well as Pine View ranks.

Here's more info on how PV ranks:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/13/a...ass.print.html

Best High Schools Search - US News and World Report

Florida School Indicators Report

PV Ranks #1 in the state for SAT testing: http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/pvs/PD..._Schl_0809.pdf

PV ranks #1 in the state for ACT Testing: http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/pvs/PD..._Schl_0809.pdf

I would disagree on the point that Sarasota county is mostly a retirement community. Venice, however, does have a many retirees.

There are many places for the younger to socialize. The Young professionals Group is one: Sarasota Florida - Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce - Young Professionals Group (http://www.sarasotachamber.com/ypg/Young-Professionals-Group.cfm - broken link)

The Beach Club and The Hub on Siesta usually have great bands and a younger crowd.

I'm 37 and don't feel out of place one bit here. I guess it's just all how you look at things.

I would however suggest several vacations or possibly renting (if you're not too familiar with the area) before purchasing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top