Moving to Osprey/Nokomis area Schools? Best communities for kids? (Sarasota: rental, mobile home)

[T KL]

Hi,

We are moving to Osprey/Nokomis area from NorthEast. Primary concern - schools. Kids are in elementary for now, close enough to the middle to consider them.

Safest, best schools in the area in your opinion? (I know all Niche and Great Schools info, want to hear from parents).

Best (gated or not - not used to gates) communities where kids can play with neighbour kids?

Thank you so much for taking time to answer!

[MattMN]

Both questions have been asked and answered extensively on this forum. Including answers in the past year - so please don't say the information is out of date. I highly encourage you to simply browse through a few pages of this forum. And/or take a few moments to learn the Search feature.

[T KL]

MattMN,

I spent a day with various searches on this website, and just read through the recent threads. Yet I can not say that my questions had been answered. There is a great discussion on housing in south Nokomis/Venice area. Not on Osprey. Extensive discussion of Pine View. But nothing on Laurel Nokomis school. If you can point to the links that can fill out the gaps, it would be great.

Laurel Nokomis school is a big puzzle to me. Stats are good, location is not so - situated among the manufactured/mobile homes, in seemingly "wrong part of the town". I'd love to hear from parents...

[MattMN]

There you go - that's a little better. Really your initial questions were so large and vague, it's tough to provide answers. Much easier if you can get down to specifics. But many may question why you are limiting it to Nokomis/Osprey vs Sarasota or Venice or North Port. Again, the more info you can provide, and more specific your questions, the better information we can provide. Best of luck on your transition!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Laurel Nokomis is a good school - highly rated. BUT - if your child has any special needs or behavior problems forget Laurel Nokomis. LN goes from Kindergarten all the way through Middle School which is unusual. There is a new principal - not sure how he is - the old administration was terrible.

The facilities are top notch with great science labs, the teachers are mostly good with advanced degrees.

Laurel Nokomis is not in the bad part of town - there are some mobile homes but across the street in Sorrento Woods and Mission Valley there are some million dollar homes - very upscale - LN is in a safe area - no concerns there.

[southerngirl17]

We're moving to Sarasota this summer and my 6-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with ADHD and has an IEP from her current school. We're looking into the different school possibilities, and I'm wondering why Laurel Nokomis isn't good for kids with behaviorial issues?

I'm most interested in both Southside Elementary (if we can find an affordable rental in that neighborhood) and Island Village Montessori - do you know how either of these schools are with ADHD kids?

Thanks so much for the help, I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now! My daughter was in a French immersion school last year and it wasn't a very good fit for her.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

My son has an IEP and I do not think many of the Sarasota Public schools are good for students with special needs. These kids gets lumped in with "behavior problems" - Sarasota County is pretty much clueless compared to other parts of the country - LN had a good EIS teacher for elementary school but after 5th grade they no longer have contained classrooms and they had the laziest and most ineffective EIS staff - it was so sad - now this was about 3 years ago - things could have changed but I doubt it

Florida has something called the "McKay Scholarship" which will pay for a private school for students with special needs - that is what we utilized to get my son in a great private school but these schools are few and far between - my son's school has 45 children on a waiting list to go there.

[loves2read]

My grandson starts K in Laurel Nokomis in August
We had friend whose son went there from G1-4 maybe--
They moved back to TX about two yrs ago
She has teaching degree and worked at Primirose school in TX in their K program and at one in Lakewood Ranch
She was happy w/LN---my daughter teaches at Pine View
She said the tests scores for LN are very strong

One factor which might make difference to LN itself
There are portables there and some of the classrooms are at capacity from what I have read on NextDoor posts about a proposed new Taylor MOrrison development going in between Sorrento East and 681==
The area currently is zoned/approved for 100 homes on larger lots
TM wants to get zoning approval to increase density to almost 400---
That would be very much what is a zero-lot development--like the one across 681 from that vacant land--south of Honore running along 681 to the 41 access exit--
People in Sorrento East are not happy about the increase in density needless to say
And other parents in other neighborhoods feeding into LN are not that happy either

I think there will be pushback via some community organized protests
Not sure exactly what
And likely not all 400 would be homes w/children--
But some very well could be

The developers' fees in Sarasota county are not close to what the max could be for education/schools---I think they need to go up--
People with kids are finally starting to come to this area of FL--and the schools are hurting

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by Nancy in Nokomis

My son has an IEP and I do not think many of the Sarasota Public schools are good for students with special needs. These kids gets lumped in with "behavior problems" - Sarasota County is pretty much clueless compared to other parts of the country - LN had a good EIS teacher for elementary school but after 5th grade they no longer have contained classrooms and they had the laziest and most ineffective EIS staff - it was so sad - now this was about 3 years ago - things could have changed but I doubt it

Florida has something called the "McKay Scholarship" which will pay for a private school for students with special needs - that is what we utilized to get my son in a great private school but these schools are few and far between - my son's school has 45 children on a waiting list to go there.

I will just say this--
I have experience as a secondary teacher in TX/DFW area and have friends who teach in elementary and work in counseling Dept in local districts
My former ISD is going into lawsuit because of its resistance to properly assessing and structuring programs for students with learning/behavioral disabilities
It is a money thing more than anything
Teachers are really cautioned NOT to push kids to be tested and found to require an IEP or special needs programs
We all could see it but it was the elephant in the room
Standardized testing which TX has absorbed wholeheartedly has not helped the situatuion because our legislature have basically made it impossible to have IEP/special needs students exempted from state tests ON grade level---their only assistance basically is time...
It is a farce---
But that is what you get when the legislature decides it doesn't want to spend tax money or allow educators to run the state education system...

FL legislature seems to have a similar agenda... FL teachers are not very well paid--it seems some counties like Sarasota allow developers to get away with paying a very low "development" tax for educational funding
Even though their developments usually involve increasing density with additional children...--it's not all senior housing anymore...

Texas is really backward because of the "Robin Hood" plan for state funding which allows the state to basically confiscate what it deems excess local tax money from districts and take it away to reenforce the budgets of more-poor/tax-disadvantaged districts...
Like making you (if you have a higher income) pay part of your neighbor's tax bill if your neighbor can't afford the assessment...
The state does not want to increase ITS share of educational funding per child---so it forces districts where taxpayers have voted to increase their school taxes to fund a district's general budgets to share those "excess" funds...

[karenkellywriter]

Originally Posted by Nancy in Nokomis

Laurel Nokomis is a good school - highly rated. BUT - if your child has any special needs or behavior problems forget Laurel Nokomis. LN goes from Kindergarten all the way through Middle School which is unusual. There is a new principal - not sure how he is - the old administration was terrible.

The facilities are top notch with great science labs, the teachers are mostly good with advanced degrees.

Laurel Nokomis is not in the bad part of town - there are some mobile homes but across the street in Sorrento Woods and Mission Valley there are some million dollar homes - very upscale - LN is in a safe area - no concerns there.

So, Nancy, are you saying that any child with any kind of IEP is placed in a classroom with children who have social problems? Can I quote you when I go to the school?