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Old 07-25-2020, 03:19 PM
 
11 posts, read 10,310 times
Reputation: 21

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MortonR View Post
I would caution people relying on the possibility of school choice to get their children into a specific school. While I'm not familiar with Pinellas County's methods, in Hillsborough County, choice is heavily controlled and difficult to use for the most desirable schools. This is because they are often at or near capacity due to the demand, and once a school reaches 90%-95% enrollment, choice is cut off.

Better to carefully research the area and identify the attendance zones to be sure your children will be able to attend the school you want.

RM
I agree that nobody should rely on school choice alone. But it is a viable option for many. If a particular school is that important, you should move to that zoned school. Pinellas school choice is not as difficult as Hillsborough though. Pinellas County is one of the best school districts in Florida. The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., named Pinellas the top district in Florida and among the top 10 in the country for school choice. It has over 70 school choice options.
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Old 07-25-2020, 03:58 PM
 
11 posts, read 10,310 times
Reputation: 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by lake825 View Post
can you give some examples of what you do there? what is family life like there? strip malls? street fairs? concerts? what are people like? thanks!
It has a very small town feel, very low crime, sidewalks, good schools, large homeschool community with tons of classes and the cutest Main Street. There is a farmers market every Sunday morning. Their recreation program is huge! Hundreds of classes and sports are offered. I have never seen such a small town have such a huge recreation program. The downtown Main Street is something I have only seen in Hallmark movies, (which apparently Hallmark agrees because they a shot a movie here called Love In The Sun). It’s a very artsy, green, small business friendly town and has a ton of beautiful parks. We also love the walkability of the town and the sidewalks. I feel very safe allowing my kids to play outside.

There are always events going on (Pre-Covid). For example, they do family movie night on the harbor. The town does 3rd Friday events, where they shut down the Main Street to cars and they do a kid friendly and dog friendly festival with music, small business vendors and more. The businesses stay open later and people walk between the shops, restaurants, and the vendors while listening to music and getting to know your neighbors. The town also does a bunch of different festivals throughout the year.

The town does a holiday event in December. They have trolleys running and they have 8 different trolley stops with different holiday activities (pictures with Santa, Victorian Christmas, story time, ice land area with slides and bouncy houses, a campground with a campfire and s’mores, a petting zoo with reindeer, arts and crafts, a train ride and so much more). It is a free event. On another day, Santa comes to visit all the kids on a fire truck, they go up and down each street.

We also love the location. It is centrally located to Tampa and Saint Petersburg and right next to Clearwater so in 20 minutes we can be almost anywhere and go to other events. Tampa, Saint Petersburg and Clearwater are large cities that have pretty much anything you can imagine, you can check Trip Advisor for a list of hundreds of things to do and see. The town is on the Bay and only about 5-10 minutes to the Gulf and 20 minutes to Clearwater Beach. It is also about 20 minutes from Tampa airport. There is Countryside Mall in Clearwater about 5 minutes away.
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Old 07-25-2020, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Florida & Arizona
5,932 posts, read 7,268,588 times
Reputation: 7524
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nov03baby View Post
I agree that nobody should rely on school choice alone. But it is a viable option for many. If a particular school is that important, you should move to that zoned school. Pinellas school choice is not as difficult as Hillsborough though. Pinellas County is one of the best school districts in Florida. The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., named Pinellas the top district in Florida and among the top 10 in the country for school choice. It has over 70 school choice options.
I would clarify a few things about that study:
  1. The study was conducted in 2015 and updated in 2017
  2. Pinellas County was tied for tenth place
  3. Pinellas' grade was a "B"
  4. No recognition of the failure of long odds for low income families face in participating in the choice programs

I would also point out that Hillsborough County's school district is nearly twice the size of Pinellas, making it more difficult to manage and conduct a choice program of the same type. Based on the data collected by the state over the past 5-7 years, Pinellas and Hillsborough are both rated as "B" districts. To say that Pinellas is one of the "best school districts in Florida" is a bit of an overstatement. There are better districts than Pinellas and Hillsborough as the data clearly shows.

RM
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Old 07-31-2020, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Here and there
346 posts, read 304,070 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by butterbean134 View Post
I lived in Tampa 25 years then moved over to Pinellas County--St. Pete (Carillon area), the Largo, Seminole, now back to Largo. Pinellas County is expensive to rent an apt and also to buy a home. It's very crowded, lots of crappy drivers, car insurance is high because of that reason. But, there is no perfect place, there's something crappy about every city and town. I've been in Florida since 1986. I loved it for many years but as I've gotten older, it's not so great. I yearn for less of the things I mentioned above and pray your AC doesn't go out on a weekend if you're a renter, they're extremely busy and it's not fun being without for even three days. If you're going to move here, make sure you're not in an evac zone because when there's a hurricane warning, it's mandatory evac in some areas. Pray you have a place to stay and that there are avaialble hotels if you need one, with working electricity! Good luck.

you also happen to be in the worst town in Pinellas also, in a bad county as well as Sarasota Co too. Manatee and Hillsborough are the best to me. But what I find true in a lot of FL, unless theres a few spots if so, might be in these counties, but for the most part, I find that u have to be rich to live in FL and brings lots of savings, get an inheritance and live off it. Get a home with it too because u wont afford a lot of it. Unless u want to pick a place to be homeless and expect that u can go homeless fast. Then I'd take FL over the Pacific NW to be homeless in.
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Old 07-31-2020, 07:46 PM
 
Location: Here and there
346 posts, read 304,070 times
Reputation: 220
Quote:
Originally Posted by MortonR View Post
I would caution people relying on the possibility of school choice to get their children into a specific school. While I'm not familiar with Pinellas County's methods, in Hillsborough County, choice is heavily controlled and difficult to use for the most desirable schools. This is because they are often at or near capacity due to the demand, and once a school reaches 90%-95% enrollment, choice is cut off.

Better to carefully research the area and identify the attendance zones to be sure your children will be able to attend the school you want.

RM



All is good.. theres a message behind that then.



I would not pick the "best" schools if I had kids. I'll give u the reason. Snobbishness of the students, the more haves, the more jerks. Like the opposite to the most lowlife towns just on the high end. Its better to move to or send them to a moderate district in reach but not the most high or the most low. Plus u want ur children to make friends with normal people, not with the snobs and the high peer pressure or whitebread effect.
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Old 08-01-2020, 08:24 AM
 
Location: Florida & Arizona
5,932 posts, read 7,268,588 times
Reputation: 7524
Quote:
Originally Posted by LongLeggedOne View Post
All is good.. theres a message behind that then.

I would not pick the "best" schools if I had kids. I'll give u the reason. Snobbishness of the students, the more haves, the more jerks. Like the opposite to the most lowlife towns just on the high end. Its better to move to or send them to a moderate district in reach but not the most high or the most low. Plus u want ur children to make friends with normal people, not with the snobs and the high peer pressure or whitebread effect.
There is definitely some truth to this....

When I worked for Hillsborough County, Newsome HS (Fishhawk) was one of the schools I was responsible for. I was in the media center one time and overheard some students talking about some of their peers who lived "in the ghetto." This was confusing to me, as I knew that there were no transfer (bussed) students at Newsome.

I asked one of the staff what these kids were talking about, and they sort of chuckled when they told me they were referring to students that lived in the older (late 90s/early 2000s) sections of Fishhawk. These are homes that typically sell in the $300k and up range.

Yes, there are issues with class even in places like this.

RM
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Old 08-01-2020, 09:37 PM
 
Location: Here and there
346 posts, read 304,070 times
Reputation: 220
Quote:
Originally Posted by MortonR View Post
There is definitely some truth to this....

When I worked for Hillsborough County, Newsome HS (Fishhawk) was one of the schools I was responsible for. I was in the media center one time and overheard some students talking about some of their peers who lived "in the ghetto." This was confusing to me, as I knew that there were no transfer (bussed) students at Newsome.

I asked one of the staff what these kids were talking about, and they sort of chuckled when they told me they were referring to students that lived in the older (late 90s/early 2000s) sections of Fishhawk. These are homes that typically sell in the $300k and up range.

Yes, there are issues with class even in places like this.

RM

Ah. I am basing it off what I see in Portland also, but in the TB area, if one place struck me as snobbish to extremes, it would be not even some place with all old people so much, but Venice also could as I know the got students in school. New Parrish might have become that also. It just too awhile to develop. Safety Harbor I think was like this. I consider new money a lot though, not just old like St Armands Circle. Palm Harbor I think is a little older also. Dunedin now, might be a lot like this as it is younger. Oh and im guessing Citrus Park as well, Bruce B Downs. Apollo Beach seems too old for school age kids but it could also. Valrico seems like its an upper middle place with good schools I mean like high high. Safety Harbor seems like its quite a boring place but with kid activities a lot of places at the same time so not good for singles and lots of punk kids id imagine as its a "high" district I believe. Above even some of Hillsborough I could picture as well. I was recommended Safety Harbor from someone who wanted to live around just white people but he wasnt old also. He was like of little kid parent age. I guess he liked it there before places like Seminole or even Palm Harbor.



Seminole seems normal, not too over the top. Some of Pinellas Park also, SE Bradenton I think as well is good in a more regular fashion.



What town is Newsome in?
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Old 08-02-2020, 10:06 AM
 
285 posts, read 226,565 times
Reputation: 336
I'd rather have my kids around "snobs" than ghetto-ish lifestyles, attitudes, speech, parents, discipline, respect, politics, and VALUES.


Find the better schools not necessarily the "best" - the argument about/for economic or social diversity is overrated and not automatically rewarding to all kids and their families.
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Old 08-02-2020, 10:13 AM
 
285 posts, read 226,565 times
Reputation: 336
Quote:
Originally Posted by LongLeggedOne View Post


Seminole seems normal, not too over the top. Some of Pinellas Park also, SE Bradenton I think as well is good in a more regular fashion.




Southeast Bradenton?? what? The southeastern section of The City of Bradenton is mostly a dump lower class section with awful schools !


Inaccurate advice
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Old 08-03-2020, 12:22 AM
 
Location: Tarpon Springs
14 posts, read 37,652 times
Reputation: 11
We live in Tarpon Springs and we have a 10 minute bike ride to the beach!
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