Pine View Gifted School

[msms]

SoFLgal's take on Pine View is consistent with opinions I have heard from other parents with children there whose opinions I respect. Regardless of their scores, the child's own motivation is exceedingly important. If I were in your position I would focus on that.

I have two children who qualify for PV (140 range). One is the well-rounded (artist athlete) type who sometimes does not want to do a ton homework (takes AP and Honors courses in regular school though). My other child is an intellectual/nerdy type but also very sensitive and not always well-organized (A student in regular school). It is tempting to send them to PV but they are not dying to go there. They spent several years at another area private school that was, in hindsight, absurdly stressful and overrated. If they were complaining of boredom and begging to go to PV, that would be a different story but I've been very pleasantly impressed by their teachers' efforts to keep them engaged in learning.

[HappyFamily5]

I read a Herald Tribune article about Sarasota being #1 in the US for drug overdoses. Someone had posted that her daughter attends Pine View and has eight obituaries for fellow students that overdosed. We are also considering relocating for the kids to attend Pine View but this is pretty scary. Anyone else heard of this?

[SoFLGal]

The Pine View part is not true. I have two kids that go to PV and am pretty up on what happens in the school. I have never heard of any over doses at PV in the eight or so years we've been there.

Here's a testimonial on PV from a 9th grade student:
Im currently attending Pine View School for the Gifted, Im in 9th grade and have been going their since 2nd grade. Bottom line, I love it, compared to area middle and high schools there is absolutely no fighting, no drugs, and no bullying or peer pressure. It makes life as a student a whole lot easier and it helps students to focus on learning. For those of you who think Pine View is not challenging your child is probably not doing their work the right way or at all. Possibly, the elementary program is easy but wait it will meet your expectations. Finally, this school is rated 6th in the nation it cant get much better than that!
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Here's what I could find in reference to over doses in Sarasota county:
http://www.searchasota.com/article/20100305/ARTICLE/3051040/2093/NEWS?Title=Fewer-deaths-from-drug-overdoses-reported

[tommy-105]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

The Pine View part is not true. I have two kids that go to PV and am pretty up on what happens in the school. I have never heard of any over doses at PV in the eight or so years we've been there.

Here's a testimonial on PV from a 9th grade student:
Im currently attending Pine View School for the Gifted, Im in 9th grade and have been going their since 2nd grade. Bottom line, I love it, compared to area middle and high schools there is absolutely no fighting, no drugs, and no bullying or peer pressure. It makes life as a student a whole lot easier and it helps students to focus on learning. For those of you who think Pine View is not challenging your child is probably not doing their work the right way or at all. Possibly, the elementary program is easy but wait it will meet your expectations. Finally, this school is rated 6th in the nation it cant get much better than that!
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Here's what I could find in reference to over doses in Sarasota county:
http://www.searchasota.com/article/20100305/ARTICLE/3051040/2093/NEWS?Title=Fewer-deaths-from-drug-overdoses-reported

I read the same post about Pine View overdoses a while back. I never found anything to corroborate the comment. I think it was posted in the comment section following an on line story, not a post on City-Data. I might be wrong.

I also read the "overdose article" published on March 5, 2010. It should be noted that they're only referring to illegal drugs, not pain pills, which of course is the real problem in Sarasota county.

Law enforcement says that a better gauge is the amount of drug related crime that's reported.

But that decline appears mostly to reflect fewer deaths from illegal drugs, not prescription drugs.

...Kennard said that a drop in the number of deaths in a single year does not reflect the area's drug problem. A significant amount of violence and crime in the area continues to be linked to drugs, most of them prescription narcotics such as Oxycodone......

......A police report out of North Port last summer, for example, showed drug-related offenses up 41 percent over the previous year, even though the total number of arrests declined. Officers said the vast majority of arrests involved prescription pain pills.

Fewer deaths from drug overdoses reported | Section Florida | HeraldTribune.com

[SoFLGal]

The only person that has died at Pine View, that I am aware of in the last eight years, just passed away today. Our dear friend, Alton Yung a senior at Pine View school. He was involved in a car accident a few weeks ago and has since been in a coma.

He will be deeply missed: Alton Yung, Pine View School student, dies from car accident injuries | HeraldTribune.com
Get Better Soon Alton!!! | Facebook (//www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10150116953330440#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=10150116953330440 - broken link)
Thank you to the Sarasota and Pine View community that raised money for his family.