School help please

[captlemons]

Hi Everyone

We are a english family looking to move to Florida (Vero Beach area) from France later in the year, we have two children age 10 and 8, currently in an international/french school.

My query if anyone would be kind enough to help is how does the american school system work? what school do i need to be looking for ie middle school, high school etc, and what is the criteria for being accepted into a school, do you have to live in a catchment of the school, or can you choose which school you would prefer them to go regardles of where you may live, do they have to pass an entrance exam etc etc i am a total novice sorry, i have tried to do a search and have found good information on the local Vero schools both public and private but i could do with a little local knowledge as to how we go about applying etc

Plus if anyone has any recomendadtions of schools in vero that would be great to

Many thanks in advance

kx

[Bevdeforges]

American schools start at age 6 with 1st grade and run up to 12th grade. Kindergarten is for those aged 5 and may or may not be compulsory, depending on the school system. Anything before that is usually called "pre-school" or "nursery school" - or may just be day care.

Grades 1-5, or sometimes 1-6 are considered elementary school. Depending on when their birthdays fall, your 10 year old would normally be in 5th grade and your 8 year old in 3rd grade.

Middle school or junior high can be grades 6-8 or 7-9 or some combination. A few school systems seem to have reverted back to the "old system" where elementary school runs through grade 8 and then the kids go directly to high school.

High school is normally the last three or four years, grades 9-12 or grades 10-12.

In elementary school, where you live usually determines the school you send your kids to. Junior and senior high schools may be part of a separate school district that encompasses multiple towns or areas - or there may be "magnet schools" or other special programs that involve an entrance procedure (an exam, or an application, or sometimes even a lottery).

Not sure how Florida organizes its school districts, so someone on site will have to step in here with the details. But that's a brief overview.
Cheers,
Bev

[Fatbrit]

For state schools...

You merely have to prove you're resident in the area. A rental agreement or a utility bill with a local address should be fine. It is illegal for them to ask for immigration status or a social security number.

You'll find they insist on multiple jabs for every disease known to mankind. Make sure you've got documentation to show they've already had them, or they'll be sticking needles in them and filling them with chemicals again -- at your expense.

They'll probably ask for their school reports and then, not understanding them in any way, dream up a GPA. This can cause your child serious problems when they get it wrong. FYI, the closer to 4.0 it is, the better.

Florida schools are, if you believe the standardized tests, some of the worst in America.

[twostep]

FLDOE Home
Public schools - the school your child attends depends on your actual street address. Google for Indian River FL schools and you should have hits. Otherwise - post for help. Everything in FL seems to go by county.

Occulation for certain infectious diseases such as chicken pox is mandatory. The school web sites will have details. Personally - the choice between measles and shots is no choice for parents who have seen the disease take its course.

[captlemons]

Great, Thanks thats a big help i was a bit confused as to age/grade, luckily they have all relavant jabs aswell so shouldnt be a problem

[Jane]

Hi Captlemons,

We did a similar thing. British family, moved here two weeks ago from Austria, where we have lived for the past seven years. I cannot say what the system is where you are - we have a 14 year old (15 on September 1st) who would naturally be in 9th grade in Austria but 10th grade here. We are starting him in 9th grade which is the first year of High School (4 years in total) as it is a different curriculum and we do not want him to miss a year. In Colorado, either you live in the catchment area or you have the opportunity to open-enrol with another school in the district: the criterion being that they have not reached their class limit . My husband visited most of the schools in the district before we relocated and eventually plumped not for the most academic, (although this school runs both IB and AP courses, and in addition has an excellent engineering school) but for the one that was most interested in the welfare and wellbeing of Luke. We did not want him to "slip under the radar". Fingers crossed that we have made the right choice - one never knows - but another alternative (if it is possible) is to open enrol in one school and live in the catchment area of another - that way you are hedging your bets.

Overall, I think our children gain with having another language and a wider experience of the world, but they will probably lose some ground as regards the imperial measurement system, American history and certainly spelling. From what I have seen of students so far (Luke has been playing football - sorry, soccer with his new schoolmates the past week and a half) they are well behaved, friendly and welcoming. Long may it continue. I hope you and your family settle down and I would be very interested in keeping in touch so that we can compare notes. All the very best.

[synthia]

Florida school districts are county districts, rather than city districts. When we had busing for desegregation purposes, a student could be assigned to a school that was an hour's ride away, even if there was a school across the street. That's not in effect now, so your children will be assigned by neighborhood. Most counties also have a few magnet schools, designed to attract children from different areas with similar interests and talents. For instance, there might be a high school for students interested in science. My county also has an international baccalaureate program.

One of the first things you should do is enroll your children in school, even if you arrive in early June. I know people who waited until a week before, and weren't able to get their children into the special schools they wanted.

It's really important to know where your child will attend school before choosing a place to live. Florida has the third worst school system in the US, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some great schools, just that there are some really bad ones.

One of the problems with a county-based system is that the districts can be redrawn and your child can end up in a different, and worse, school than you expected. When the school districts are within in town, there is a limit to what they can do, since they can't send you outside the town limits.