Are schools in FL terrible? Would you send your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

but they are getting more intense. That's the scary part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

True. Last 20 years have been quite nice. Let's hope!

was Hurricane Ian nice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

but they are getting more intense. That's the scary part.

False.

They are becoming more expensive, because there's much more development, But they are much less frequent or scary than what I remember from 20-30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

True. Last 20 years have been quite nice. Let's hope!

was Hurricane Ian nice?

Absolutely irrelevant in most of Florida. You knew that right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

but they are getting more intense. That's the scary part.

No they are not. Do some research and stop quoting talking points.

[Anonymous]

DeSantis wants the schools to be ideological arms of the GOP (and is actively making them that way—see this week’s news that there will be no AP African American History in FL because De Santis thinks white people will be harmed by thinking about reality for that long) so if you’re good with that, I guess go. I would not be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have friends who moved to Niceville, which has a highly rated school district (Okaloosa County). We have other friends in Walton County, which is next door.

I can only speak to High School, but Niceville High and South Walton are pretty on par with any DC public as far as academic rigor, AP offerings etc. The quality of teachers is hit or miss. Salaries are low and the COL has increased significantly in those area over the past few years due to COVID. Lots of teachers leaving mid-year etc

The HUGE benefit of sending your kids to school in FL is the Bright Futures scholarship, which has a variety of tiers to subsidize college. With a minimum 3.5 GPA and a certain amount of volunteer hours, you can get a full ride to a state university. Even with a 3.0, you can get 75% tuition paid for.

The people I know who have kids in HS take a very practical approach to the education process. One is pre-law, the other pre-med, so they are checking the boxes to get into a University and then continue their education. They aren't worried too much about the day-to-day goings on at school. HS is a means to an end.

Lots of engineering/STEM majors working the AP classes to get into UF, much as any DMV kids would do.

That said, the Northwest part of Florida is also essentially the south, so they do fun things like big homecoming weekends and Friday Night football games etc if that is your thing.

Op here! Thanks for this reply! Very appreciative! Had absolutely no idea about bright futures! Sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

but they are getting more intense. That's the scary part.

No they are not. Do some research and stop quoting talking points.

? like this scientist's talking point:

https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/2022-10-19/florida-climate-scientist-hurricanes-intensifying-becoming-more-frequent

Hurricane Ian was among the strongest storms to ever make landfall in Florida and scientists say climate change contributed to that....

Yes, we have experienced intense hurricanes in the past, but these hurricanes are getting worse. And we're getting more of them, higher volume of Category Four, Category Five storms, which increases the likelihood that you're going to face dangerous conditions during your lifetime if you live in the state of Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a second home in northwest Florida on the ocean. I have 3 kids, 15, 12, and 6. A huge part of me wants to have a simple and quiet lifestyle without all the hassles of everyday living in this area. When we got the house it was supposed to be for trips in the summer and retirement one day. However, I am contemplating on moving there permanently more and more in the next few years.

My main concern is the schools and the politics of course. With all that crazy Desantis is doing there it seems like a no brainer that I wouldn’t want my kids attending school there. Put me in my place DCUM, am I insane for even thinking this? Am I only going to raise mini - Desantis’?

Is “northwest” Florida what people are calling the panhandle these days? I grew up in Alabama and have never heard “northwest florida”. We didn’t even call it the “panhandle”- we called it a more derogatory term. The panhandle is pretty much the same as Alabama with more beaches. I would say it’s worse now because of desantis. I would never move there with kids. Even though the beaches are (in my opinion) among the best beaches in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

True. Last 20 years have been quite nice. Let's hope!

was Hurricane Ian nice?

Absolutely irrelevant in most of Florida. You knew that right?

Well, IMO central FL would be like hell in the summer, so the only way I could tolerate FL weather is if I lived along the coast.. where it gets hit by hurricanes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Historically there has not been that many hurricanes in FL.

but they are getting more intense. That's the scary part.

No they are not. Do some research and stop quoting talking points.

? like this scientist's talking point:

https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/2022-10-19/florida-climate-scientist-hurricanes-intensifying-becoming-more-frequent

Hurricane Ian was among the strongest storms to ever make landfall in Florida and scientists say climate change contributed to that....

Yes, we have experienced intense hurricanes in the past, but these hurricanes are getting worse. And we're getting more of them, higher volume of Category Four, Category Five storms, which increases the likelihood that you're going to face dangerous conditions during your lifetime if you live in the state of Florida.

There is zero evidence to back up this “scientist” statement. Andrew was the most intense storm to hit Florida ever! Go look at the list of storms to hit Florida and you can see the FACTS not this theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a second home in northwest Florida on the ocean. I have 3 kids, 15, 12, and 6. A huge part of me wants to have a simple and quiet lifestyle without all the hassles of everyday living in this area. When we got the house it was supposed to be for trips in the summer and retirement one day. However, I am contemplating on moving there permanently more and more in the next few years.

My main concern is the schools and the politics of course. With all that crazy Desantis is doing there it seems like a no brainer that I wouldn’t want my kids attending school there. Put me in my place DCUM, am I insane for even thinking this? Am I only going to raise mini - Desantis’?

Is “northwest” Florida what people are calling the panhandle these days? I grew up in Alabama and have never heard “northwest florida”. We didn’t even call it the “panhandle”- we called it a more derogatory term. The panhandle is pretty much the same as Alabama with more beaches. I would say it’s worse now because of desantis. I would never move there with kids. Even though the beaches are (in my opinion) among the best beaches in the world.

I also grew up in Alabama, and actually lived in Niceville for a couple of years recently (due to the military, not by choice). I agree 100% with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a second home in northwest Florida on the ocean. I have 3 kids, 15, 12, and 6. A huge part of me wants to have a simple and quiet lifestyle without all the hassles of everyday living in this area. When we got the house it was supposed to be for trips in the summer and retirement one day. However, I am contemplating on moving there permanently more and more in the next few years.

My main concern is the schools and the politics of course. With all that crazy Desantis is doing there it seems like a no brainer that I wouldn’t want my kids attending school there. Put me in my place DCUM, am I insane for even thinking this? Am I only going to raise mini - Desantis’?

Is “northwest” Florida what people are calling the panhandle these days? I grew up in Alabama and have never heard “northwest florida”. We didn’t even call it the “panhandle”- we called it a more derogatory term. The panhandle is pretty much the same as Alabama with more beaches. I would say it’s worse now because of desantis. I would never move there with kids. Even though the beaches are (in my opinion) among the best beaches in the world.

I also grew up in Alabama, and actually lived in Niceville for a couple of years recently (due to the military, not by choice). I agree 100% with this.

Yes, the panhandle. It is geographically in northwest florida

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have family with kids in FL public schools. One family lived in Jacksonville and there are very few strong public school options/neighborhoods but they chose to live within a strong district. So far fine at elementary and middle schools but not sure where kids will go for high school.

Another family lives in Gainesville which also has some good districts. Easier to select schools/have options and kids have all attended good schools for elementary, middle, and high. Gainesville also benefits from more liberal population and proximity to UF if you are interested in that environment.

I am no fan of DeSantis and think all of his moves on education are flat out wrong and generally think public education in FL is not very strong BUT I will give FL credit for its Florida Scholars program. My oldest niece will attend college in the fall and through this program, with her grades/scores, she earns free tuition at many Florida state universities.

My niece went to Stanton College Prep HS (public) in Jacksonville, then to University of Florida in Gainesville, then was offered a full scholarship to UVA law school and went on to be a highly successful lawyer. I'm not arguing with you PP, just pointing out some more facts for OP to consider.

There are many highly rated public schools in Florida. Anyone who says "the schools in FL are terrible" is very narrow minded and intellectually limited.

If you avoid Florida because of DeSantis, who I very much can't stand, then what in the world are you going to do if and when he becomes president? Perhaps you could move to somewhere in Europe, I've heard they have good schools there.

[Anonymous]

Fact: Florida has higher NAEP scores than ‘all-mighty’ Maryland even though Maryland spends 2x more. Cue someone from MoCo who blames Baltimore for these abysmal scores when MCPS is the largest school district in Maryland. Lol.