bob26

I got a job at Jackson Memoria Hospital and will be moving to Miami for a couple of years. My family is moving with me, so I am in a process of looking for a place to rent. Can anyone point me to a good community within 20 miles of the hospital (with good schools, etc.)

Thanks.

Bob.

keysmom

The school districts in Florida are run on a county-wide basis. The Miami School District is the 4th largest in the country. So it's not like northeast where each town has its own district. Many people who would use public schools if they lived in other parts of the country choose private or parochial schools in Miami in order to get a better quality education. That being said, there are some bright spots in the Miami public school system. Sunset Elementary (in South Miami) and Pinecrest (Kendall) are examples. In the middle/high school range, there are magnet schools with excellent programs.
"20 miles" isn't a good measure for Miami. You could end up with a 20 min or 2 hour commute for the same distance. What's your time tolerance for commuting? How old are the kids? What kind of place do you like to live?

Anonymous

When my niece moved to FL a couple of years ago, she put a lot of energy into selecting a neighborhood that had excellent public schools (in West Palm Beach county). But to her dismay she found that all the areas in FL are building new housing so fast, the schools are overcrowded before they finish building them, and school district lines are continually being redrawn. So even within a county, you can't pick a certain public school that you like and then move into that school zone. The zone lines could be different next year. And you certainly can't count on getting into a specific magnet school if it's really popular, which of course the good ones are.

bob26

You are right about "20 miles". I guess my threshhold would be 1/2 an hour of driving.

BTW, is Kendall area considered "good"? What about Doral Park?

Bob.

bob26

One more bit of info. I will be driving very early in the morning - around 6:00 - 6:30.

Thanks.

Bob.

anniemac

Pinecrest Elementary is actually located in the Village of Pinecrest, not Kendall. It is the only (elementary?) school in the Miami-Dade district that has received an "A" rating for each of the five years the state rating system has been in place - and housing prices in this neighborhood reflect a premium for zoning to this school, regarded as the "best" in Dade county. There are a few apartment complexes and rental condominiums in the district, but not many. Jackson Hospital is not close, but if you are driving that early you should make it in 30 minutes or less. The neighborhoods around Jackson are not somewhere I'd want to live. Pinecrest Elementary students go on to Palmetto Middle and High Schools. Sunset Elementary also has a very good reputation, it draws from South Miami (slightly north of Pinecrest).

TallyLass

I work for a school district in Florida (not Miami-Dade). I suggest you ask around (like your new co-workers & other Fodorites) and get opinions. Then you should set up a visit to each school and decide for yourself. I have found that what's good for one kid might not be good for another. Once you have decided on a school then shop around for a home in that school zone. My district has a "school choice grant" which allows parents to apply for schools outside their zone. However, it's based on current enrollment (the school might be capped) and the parent has to provide transportation. If you're interested in that you might call the M-D Sch Bd and ask about it.
I hope I made my point ... that YOU need to decide what school is best for your children.

emckeeve

Can we expand this to include southern Ft. Lauderdale? How are the schools in Plantation, Weston, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Miromar?

mclaurie

Bob, I happened to meet a Dr. on the staff of Jackson Memorial tonight and remembered your question. I asked, and while he doesn't have children, he mentioned the closest nicest areas to the hospital would be Coral Gables and Coconut Grove.

schmerl

My nephew lives in Weston and won't send his children to the public school. The schools are HUGE. They recently passed a referrendun lowering class size which is great. However, in order to afford all the new teachers, they have cut things like art, music, etc. The area is growing so quickly that it's difficult for the schools to keep up with the growth.

miguelgcuadra

if you are able to afford housing in key biscayne, go for it....public school there is excellent...it is run like a private school , only resident kids from that high end island are able to attend such school. there is only elementary available now, high school is not available and only choices are coral gables high (not good) or private schools.
pinecrest has the best public schools in miami and they forgot to mention that you can always ride metro rail from pinecrest to jackson memorial. drive from pinecrest to metro station is less than 10 minutes, metro ride will be about 25 minutes. station at jackson memorial is on campus

emckeeve

Are there any other public school districts in the north Dade, south Broward area? Getting nervous about relocating there.

Anonymous

FL school districts are county-wide. All of Dade County is one school district, Broward is another. Within those districts, school boundaries are constantly changing in response to construction and popularoin pressures. Each school and district is graded, based on standardized measures, so you can look up the school grades wherever you want, as a basis for comparison.

http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/0304/summaries.cfm

anniemac

Another thing to consider are the gifted programs, should your children qualify (known as "Challenge" in Miami-Dade). I believe all schools have them, but they may work slightly differently in individual schools (ie, at Pinecrest they are pulled out for challenge math, science and social studies only, Coral Gables Elementary has challenge classes where they spend all day with only challenge students). It is wonderful, and there are only 10 students in my son's challenge classes, better than private school ratio. If you think your children qualify, have an intellectual evaluation (IQ) done asap by a private psychologist, then apply for the program immediately. It can take up to 6 months for them to be admitted even with private test scores, and a year or more if you want free testing by the school district. When you are interviewing schools, ask about these programs.