Schools in the USA

[Ron]

Hi

Mandybean mentioned a very important topic about schools and thought it would be a good idea to share our experiences

Can anyone answer


What do you have to do to get a child into a US school? eg show INS proof of status?


Do the children have to take a test?


Do they have to have a medical before the school will give them a place?


Are there catchment areas where your child must attend?

What are the church schools like?

Private education, are the fees more expensive than the UK?

[lorraine]

Hi Ron when we first came over we put our son in to private education (ha ha) the fees are much less than the UK ie we were paying nine thousand dollars a year... but the education is much less than the uk also.. Your child has to have a medical and all shots have to be up to date on a Blue medical form which the school takes from you.. We have since put our son into main stream school, the same applies medical, and shots form. He did do a test for both schools. When you go to resgister the child you have to show you live in the area of the school ie mortgage on house or other documents. People can find this out on the web site of the school and all forms can be downloaded and there are loads of forms. Kind regards Lorraine

[lorraine]

Oh and by the way we didnt have to show any proof of status ie visa or I94 good job really as we havnt either now!!!!!!!!! he started his new school few weeks ago..

[chris]

Ron,
Just spoken to the wife as she's much au fait about this than me.
All schools in Florida have to follow the Sunshine Stae standards which set out the curriculum. The beloved FCAT is the means of monitoring the adherence and performance of schools to that standard.
In Florida you have the choice of Public, Charter, Private and Home School. All have to follow the Sunshine standards and all, including home school have to undertake the FCAT. Charter Schools come under the overall governence of public education but are 50/50 public/private. Private schools also include faith based schools.
To find out about schools in Florida go the Department of Education website for Florida State and that gives a district by district 101. It shows how say Orange county is performing and allows you to compare how Orange is doing against say Osceola County. It gives FCAT markings and cultural breakdowns. You can then link onto each individual School district and dig away at the individual schools, viz performance and cultural breakdown, etc.
The cultural breakdown is quite important becasue it can impact on your child. Where we live, it is predomiantly Hispanic with a high transient population (not travellers per se, but the Yanks are always chasing the American dream). Because they may have just arrived in the US, their english may be quite poor and thus puts additional strain on teachers to bring them up to speed and to FCAT standard. Also the hispanic culture is I'm reliably told geared to education is the responsibility of the school not the parent!
For the older kid looking to High School, give very serious consideration to the International Baccalaureate Program which essentially provides the high schooler with a transportable qualification that is recognised outside the US (V important if returning to the UK). Not all HS do them and they are usually oversubscribed, so competition for places in fierce and from my knowledge of them in my county, the teachers make the kids work really hard and if you don't cut it, you are out and back into normal HS.
That's my 5 cents worth. I'm sure there are others who can add to this in big globs too.
Just one of the many pleasures of moving here!!

[charliesmum]

Ok I can give you comments about middle and high schools, having had our kids at both.

I actually think that the education here is very good. Our kids came into 6th and 7th Grades when we arrived - my son (the 6th) was put in a year above his age group and the only reason my daughter wasn't was because we wanted her to apply for the International Baccaleureate school and we felt she needed more time to get accustomed to the american system. So she went in with her own age group.

Middle school was very good educationally, although the discipline sometimes could have been better. Our kids enjoyed it and did very well there. They didn't need to take tests to go there, just the shots and medical proof. We weren't asked for proof we were here legally.

They are now both at the International Baccaleureate School in Bartow and that is the second best High School in Florida. The work is hard and there is a lot of homework, but the school encourages a lot of sport and community work. They are not so overwhelmed that they don't have time for anything else. They had to take a test to get into this school but not all IB programs need that.

Someone told me recently that the public schools pay better salaries and give the teachers better benefits than the private ones do - something to think about when considering the public schools!!

I don't believe the private schools have to take the FCAT either, the main difference is usually the class sizes.

Zoe

[JulieC]

No tests needed but older kids need to take record of achievement in order that the school can give them credit for subjects taken in the UK, that way you dont have to repeat stuff you have already done. Medicals, jabs etc are needed, UK medical records need to be transferred to the Florida Blue Form. Only other thing they ask for is proof you are in zone, ie in the catchment area either via a warranty deed or mortgage or lease. You usually have to be in zone, you can apply for admission as an out of zone pupil if you are outside a schools catchment area but have to do so in plenty of time and will only get a place is there is spare space.