Progressive Private Schools in Tampa? (Shorecrest, Palm Harbor Montessori, Suncoast Waldorf, Corbett, Carrollwood?) (Clearwater: credit, house)

[floridabound99]

My family is moving this summer to the Tampa area from DC. We will be there for two years. My two kids (rising 1st grade and pre-K) currently attend a fabulous, progressive independent school with a barn, animals, acres of woods, and a gentle, collaborative, innovative approach to school. We know it might be hard to match but we are looking for a similar philosophy - as close as possible at least! (By progressive I don't mean politically progressive, I mean an educational philosophy that emphasizes the 'whole child', is inquiry-based, child-centered, plenty of time for unstructured play, movement, outdoor play, and not so focused on testing.)

Our first priority is finding the right school and then we will find a house nearby. (Please note: we are already committed to doing private school, and tuition is not an issue - we have already arranged our lives to invest in this.) We mostly work from home so no commuting issues.

Here are the schools I am considering - any thoughts? I am coming to visit and need to narrow this list down for which to visit as I will only have two days!

1) Shorecrest Preparatory - looks like an 'experiential' curriculum that mentions being progressive in their curriculum (only school in the area to do so.) Also mentions Responsive Classroom, which our current school uses and we love. But I can't find too many reviews of it? What is its reputation?

2) Suncoast Waldorf - I have mixed feelings about Waldorf. Love the non-traditional approach but not sure I am 100% all-in on the Steiner philosophy, especially for my elementary schooler. I also don't want it to be too small in the grades (we have a Waldorf here that only has a few kids in a small room for 1-4 grade!)

3) Palm Harbor Montessori - Looks interesting on the website but I saw some reviews mentioning questions about how 'authentic' it is and teacher quality. Are these isolated reviews? Does it have a good reputation?

4) Hyde Park Montessori - Campus and outdoor space are VERY important to us. So I'm drawn to this school being AMI certified but saw that the playground is small and artificial turf, so that alone may rule it out for us.

5) Corbett IDS - Seeing really mixed reviews here and from the website it is unclear to me exactly what their curriculum and philosophy entails. Is it more progressive or more traditional? Reputation?

6) Carrollwood Day School - IB program looks like it might have some progressive leaning philosophy to education in it, but depends how it is implemented. Anyone have thoughts on CDS for preK-2nd grade level?

Anything I am missing? I have looked at a lot of other schools and ruled them out as being too traditional (e.g. Berkeley Prep) in focus for us but correct me if I'm wrong. Also I ruled out Community Montessori because it does not seem to have any accreditations (Montessori or otherwise) and that worries me. We are also open to an Episcopal school but don't want anything Catholic or too religious otherwise.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

[RamenAddict]

I went to IDS a (long) time ago. The original concept was basically like a year round summer camp environment (the facilities were basic) with academic instruction thrown in. I think that concept still remains but it's now fancier. There's still a big focus on the non-academic activities like fine arts and PE. You're not going to be spending as much time on the academic classes as you would in some other schools. PE was an important daily activity and it was vigorous PE from what I remember- we really got our energy out in that class doing a lot of running and trying out new sports. The fine arts were similar with us trying different things in those classes as well. These classes were not made secondary to the academics as they are in other schools, the are equally as important.

Needless to say, this is a polarizing approach that some parents hate and some parents love. My sister and I had a great time there and both went into the IB program successfully. If you want more of a rigorous academic focus, IDS is not the school for you. If you want a really structured school (it sounds like you don't), IDS is not the school for you. If you feel like your child can benefit from being exposed to everything starting at a young age (we went from pre-K on), this might be a good fit.

While I don't teach now, I do have a master's in education and did some observations/subbing there. My understanding is that Dr. Swarzman is very demanding of the teachers in terms of the in-service hours she requires. They complained they could go elsewhere and spend a lot less time out of class working. I think the teachers are top notch.

[floridabound99]

Thank you so much for that detailed response!

[spbbound]

Shorecrest is very strong academically; one of the best in the area. That being said, you won't find a barn there, just tons of rich white kids, and that's coming from someone who is planning to send a daughter there. I went to a very diverse ethnically private school in HS (I'm also from DC/NoVa area) so I had wished for something similar for my child, as I feel it played a major role in who I am, the kinds of friends I keep, etc. Unfortunately nothing in the area really meets that criteria while also having the same academics as Shorecrest. Mom and I will just have to work hard to ensure our kid continues to get exposure to the children of our friends, our friends, and that we keep our child grounded. It's too easy for kids that go to wealthy mostly-white private schools to develop attitudes and prejudices they keep the rest of their lives if the parents are not 100% involved outside of school, and with that type of clientele, that's not necessarily uncommon.

Check out Canterbury too; that's still on our list but leaning towards Shorecrest. They have good academics, similar pricing and clearly more diverse if you do a campus visit.

[Stewabby]

Not on your list but for your Pre-K child check out the Lowry Park Zoo school (where my son attends).

Early Childhood Education at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

There is also Academy on the Farm charter school in Pasco County.

Home - Academy at the Farm

Nevermind, just re-read that you are moving this summer. These school already have their enrollment done for the fall I believe.

[floridabound99]

Thanks spbbound for the input on shorecrest.

Diversity is important to us (our current school is very strong in this regard.) However, we are only there for two years so it's not a deal-breaker if we like the school. We will check it out and I will report back on all the schools in case anyone is interested.

[tampabound2017]

Hi floridabound99,

Any chance you were with Burgundy? Both my children graduated from there.

I'm also relocating from the DC area to Tampa Bay and would appreciate hearing of your experience with the move.

Thanks.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

I went to IDS a (long) time ago. The original concept was basically like a year round summer camp environment (the facilities were basic) with academic instruction thrown in. I think that concept still remains but it's now fancier. There's still a big focus on the non-academic activities like fine arts and PE. You're not going to be spending as much time on the academic classes as you would in some other schools. PE was an important daily activity and it was vigorous PE from what I remember- we really got our energy out in that class doing a lot of running and trying out new sports. The fine arts were similar with us trying different things in those classes as well. These classes were not made secondary to the academics as they are in other schools, the are equally as important.

Needless to say, this is a polarizing approach that some parents hate and some parents love. My sister and I had a great time there and both went into the IB program successfully. If you want more of a rigorous academic focus, IDS is not the school for you. If you want a really structured school (it sounds like you don't), IDS is not the school for you. If you feel like your child can benefit from being exposed to everything starting at a young age (we went from pre-K on), this might be a good fit.

While I don't teach now, I do have a master's in education and did some observations/subbing there. My understanding is that Dr. Swarzman is very demanding of the teachers in terms of the in-service hours she requires. They complained they could go elsewhere and spend a lot less time out of class working. I think the teachers are top notch.

This is probably the best description I've ever heard of IDS.

I worked with Dr Swarzman while I was with USF in the early 2000s and was very impressed with what was done at IDS. After working with Dr. Swarzman for about two years through a USF CoEDU program I was involved with she encouraged me to apply for an opening at IDS. At the time I was certified in 9 subject areas, so my background was pretty broad.

I went so far as to observe there several times as well as speak one on one with a number of faculty members. While I was suitably impressed, I was also troubled by what faculty members told me about the time commitment required. It was far and above what would be expected compared to a public school, for example. To add to this, there nothing better than a self directed 401k program for retirement benefits that was not contributed to by the school.

Had I been a young/new teacher starting out, it would have been a tremendous professional opportunity to take and ultimately move on from. As I already had a professional relationship with Hillsborough County schools, the opening at IDS just wasn't attractive to me professionally.

That being said, one thing I did like was the level of international travel and engagement they had. Several trips a year, lots of foreign student exchanges and direct work with schools in other countries. One thing I didn't like was the way in which you had to be careful in dealing with the children of high profile parents.

RM

[skeel]

The first thing that you need to consider is that schools in Florida are well behind D.C. And the Northeast. I moved to FL during middle school from a nationally ranked top 20 NY public school district. I was 2-3 years ahead of other students at the top private schools in Tampa. The difference is more than you think u tip you experience it yourself.

The private schools are a much better fit for people that have relocated because your children are much more likely to be taught at their level. I'm surprised that people never mentioned Davis Island or Harbor Island areas of South Tampa. The parochial elementary schools such as St John's or St. Mary's graduate many (about half) of their students that differ in their religious beliefs. Religion is not thrust upon them. These schools have a strong tradition of a strong academic background. They feed into Tampa Prep, Plant, and Berkeley. Your kids will find decal friends from the north.
Corbett (IDS) also has a strong reputation in North Tampa. Cheval, Carrollwood (slightly older homes), Lutz, and Tampa Palms all have nice areas. CCC, St. Paul's, and Shorecrest are strong schools around Clearwater, New Port Richey, Palm Harbor. Brandon Academy and St. Stephens to the East. Fishawk and River Hills are in this area. Bloomingdales is massive. Beware that many other private schools have spent a ton of money to. Hold up their online presence. From what it sounds like, you will want to avoid areas with a large migrant population. Look at where students end up for college before making a choice. Live near your target school(s). Tampa traffic is notorious. Each area has safe, nice neighborhoods. It takes an hour to travel five miles in some areas. It gets worse with tourists and snowbirds in the winter. Look at places, ask questions. Ring doorbells.

[DCtoFL2019]

Do you mind sending what you decided on and how was the expereince? We have a very similar situation. Is it tough for kids to then get back to schools in areas that are high-achieving?