raisingcains

Have checked numerous web sites, but looking for advice on the best public school systems in Florida. (Prefer west coast or central FL).

Patrick

If you're impressed by one of the largest administrative staff to student ratio, but one of the poorest teacher to student ratios, and one of the highest numbers of students in portable classrooms while the administration has a "taj mahal" new building, then check out Collier County Schools (Naples area).
Can you tell I'm being cynical?

buckeyemom

Try this website: http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php or the NEA website (national education association) or do a google search on florida school rankings. I do know that Coral Springs near Ft. Lauderdale is supposed to be very good.

nytraveler

My understanding is that almost all of the public school systems in Florida are in abysmal condition (vs other areas of the country based on comparative SAT scores and other standard measurements) and that it is necesary to do private schools for a quality education.

Some friends of mine moved here from Fort Lauderdale 3 years ago and both their children (who had been getting excellent grades) had to be left back a year in order to catch up with the local students (granted in an upscale school district).

Tandoori_Girl

Are you looking for elementary, middle, or high schools? Either way, I'd look at major metropolitan areas.

I'm surprised about what you're saying, NYTraveler. Everything I'm finding says Florida scores are actually higher than NYs. But neither is as high as places in the midwest. Lots of time for studying out there.

nytraveler

I'm not talking about New York City schools - which unfrotunately are in a complete meltdown - but schools in the better suburbs - which have some of the highest rankings in the country - students achieve double 800 SATs every year and there are a very large number of Ivy and equivalent admissions.

nytraveler

That's one of the reasons so many middle class families leave the city for the suburbs as soon as their children are old enough for school - New York real estate prices are bad enough - but when combined with mulitple private school tuitions they becomes prohibitive.

schmerl

You can't really judge how good a school system is by test scores. Florida schools are grouped by county. Some parts of a particular county may have great schools (like the "better suburbs" NYtraveler refers to). Unfortunately, the scores are all lumped together. There are a lot of "English as second language" students in the Florida schools and the tests are not giving a fair picture of the schools.

jaye

Hi Raising,
You probably aren't getting replies to this as those who are in the better school districts don't want more people in them. That being said, my child has been in the Sarasota County school system his entire school career. He is now a freshman in high school.

Sarasota County is believed to be one of the top two or three in the state. Yes, others comments about the state are true. The best in FL would certainly not compare to some of the best districts in the Country. Sarasota County has an extrememly well known public school for the gifted. Pine View School. My child does not attend there. Do some searches on the school district and that school to obtain more info.

Curious as to where you are relocating from. Good luck.

coldwar27

Sometimes it is not the school district but the area within the district. In Florida, districts equal counties and can be quite large. Hillsborough County (Tampa) is the 11th largest district in the US. There are some excellent schools within the district especially in the South Tampa area. There are other areas in the district as well that are nice. You can access information at: www.sdhc.k12.fl.us

Pinellas County encompases Clearwater and St. Petersburg and Pasco Co is just to the north of Hills. Co. Information is available at www.pinellas.k12.fl.us and www.pasco.k12.fl.us.

I work at a private school in the area so of course I like my school but have taught in the public schools in the area as well and think you can find some good ones. Good luck.

samschack

Having grown up in Florida (Sarasota) and being educated in the state system, I can only say that while our schools are adequate, they still need a lot of improvement. I agree with the other poster that Sarasota is among the better counties as far as education is concerned but it is unfortunate that we are under a state legislature and governor who only give lip service to quality education.
Does anyone remember when we were sold the idea of a lottery because it would do so much to enhance our schools?
What a joke!!!

weenie57

You can use test scores if you want, but oddly enough, without fail they will correlate perfectly like this: The more affluent the neighborhood, the higher the test scores. Pathetic but true. In my book it says be wary of the test scores, as I don't love a homogenous education for my kids, but others obviously feel differently.

The other correlation that national studies prove is that people usually perceive their own school districts to be better than they actually rank.

I'd say, judge a community by a lot of things and then VISIT the schools. Be wary of recommendations by realtors as they are generally going to steer you to the most expensive communities (see first point above).

raisingcains

Appreciate everyone's replies to this message. One thing I've seen on the web sites is the 'grades' they give the schools are greatly influenced by bringing up students classified as problem learners (my description). We are in N.E. Ohio in a suburban school where my kids would graduate with 180 students and is ranked fairly high in the state, but not amazingly so.
I think the only way I will learn is by spending alot of time investigating.
I imagine we will end up in the Tampa area, as there are more families there (as far as I can tell). From the ltd. research I've done, seems just like in Ohio, if you live in an area with newer subdivisions and larger homes, the schools tend to be better (more resources, parental involvement and higher tax base)...not to classify across the board, but seems true.
Bummed to hear Patrick's response, as I really love Naples, but also think it might not be the community to raise chidren...
Thanks for the help.

buckeyemom

raisingcains-Don't overlook older, established suburbs either. Here in Columbus, Upper Arlington and the Worthington Schools still rate higher than some of the "newer" suburban school districts. As I am sure some of the older Cleveland suburbs do.

Cassandra

Two qualifying comments: "good" schools means different things to different people; some want schools to create scholars and kids who can get into competitive colleges and do well; some want schools to create good, well-behaved, productive citizens who can perform their jobs competently. And be careful of people who tout their local schools saying they're known to be the best -- it's a lot like people who say their hometown has the widest Main Street in the country. They sometimes aren't confused by the facts, or maybe they just don't have a good sense of what's outside their county and state.

With due respect, therefore, you may still want to use test scores, "raisingcains," as your first way of narrowing things down. There are plenty of criticisms of test scores, but a community with high scores probably has a lot going for it -- maybe money, maybe good teachers, maybe engaged parents, maybe all three. I have some experience working with college admissions people, and they are likely to consider recruiting in the inevitable wealthy suburban areas of Florida, but also Gainesville because of the university population and the Titusville area because of the scientific community related to NASA.

(Sarasota has a good gifted school (am I right in thinking they're trying to close it), but the rest of the school system doesn't stand up as well compared to many communities in other states. Part of the problem is the aging of the population there.)