So it’s a regular Thursday morning and then

[tink1970]

Not ALL Florida schools are bad, as I'm sure not all NJ schools are outstanding. Also, every child is different and moving might affect one differently than another (my DH moved when I was a senior since I wouldn't move in my final semester, whereas my DB was excited to move for junior/senior year).

My DD attends an inner city, title I school in Florida which happens to also have an IB program. Her scores (IB/AP/PSAT/SAT) are stellar and four of her classmates (out of 90) are attending Ivies. The Bright Futures Scholarships (and supporting programs like Take Stock in Children-mentoring first generation students) and the Benaquisto Scholarship (providing complete Cost of Attendance to any National Merit Finalist at 8 Florida state universities) demonstrates this state's motivation to ongoing education. Are there poor schools, yes, definitely. There are also some very good ones. Caveat Emptor, as always.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Public schools don't ALL suck in Florida, but it varies A LOT from county to county as well as within counties. There is a ton of parental involvement in my area--to the point that there are sometimes lotteries to determine which parents get to chaperone a field trip or help supervise class parties. And the PTA has such high membership rates and involvement with fundraisers that we're able to pay for extra staff and provide other "extras" that really shouldn't be "extras" but should be funded by the district. But to be zoned for these schools generally means buying a home in a pricey neighborhood. The wealthier parents are lucky enough to have the time and resources to devote to the schools. Also, middle schools do not fare as well and high schools are even worse because those resources get spread a lot thinner as the schools get larger with a lot more students from less privileged households being bussed in. The feeling of the "neighborhood school" diminishes in middle school and is gone by high school. A lot of parents move their kids to private school for high school. There are also some very good magnet and charter options (but there are even more truly horrendous ones so you have to be very careful) for middle and high.

That said, I don't know anything about the schools in Orlando so I'm no help at all, lol. I just needed to stand up for Florida schools a little, because not all of them deserve the bad reputation. And since your kids are high-school age, there's probably a near-zero chance that you're going to find them a "good" public school in Orlando. Even the worst of them seem to be fine for motivated students, though, I've noticed. Many of my neighbors sent their kids to our poorly rated public high school and they kept strictly to the honors and AP classes and did well, and went on to good colleges. These kids were self-starters with very good self-discipline and work ethics, though. The good thing about private schools is that they tend to require more of even the less motivated students; no one is allowed to go under the radar and just drift through school without doing much. But I think that kids who really want to be successful can do so even in some of the "worst" schools.

I want to second this. The St Johns schools are among the best in the nation, supposedly. Our Clay County schools are pretty good too.

https://fl02211874.schoolwires.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=4628

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department supports over 120 CTE Teachers, 7th through 12th grade, to prepare Clay County students for college and careers.

http://careeracademies.net/
Career Academies are unique ‘schools-within-schools’ offering personalized learning through career-related classes with focus on skill-sets for a chosen industry. Exciting opportunities for students offer them a chance to succeed academically while gaining valuable knowledge towards a lifetime career. Career Academies benefit students and employers alike, providing graduates advanced skills and their potential employers a capable, specialized workforce from which to hire.