Orlando Area Moms

[kcimato]

My niece is moving to Orlando and is on a tight budget. Can anyone advise as to which area has a good school system ? She has a 3rd grader.

Also any areas to avoid.
Thanks

[jerseygirl07067]

My niece is moving to Orlando and is on a tight budget. Can anyone advise as to which area has a good school system ? She has a 3rd grader.

Also any areas to avoid.
Thanks

As with most places, the nicer areas have the better schools, due to better parental involvement. I live in the east Orlando area and I'd say the elementary schools in Waterford Lakes, Eastwood, Stoneybrook and Avalon Park are very good and the area is affordable. There are lower priced homes all the way up to very pricey homes in those areas. In fact, Avalon Elementary is supposed to be really good, and if I recall correctly, is one of the top elementary schools in the state.

My friend's son goes to Aloma Elementary which is in east Orlando also, just a bit north and slightly further west from where I live. They are zoned for Winter Park High school which is a good high school from what I've heard. Winter Park is more affluent, though there are parts that are very affordable too.

I don't know much about the other areas, since I didn't have kids when I lived in other parts of Orlando. The Orange County School District, which is huge, one of the largest school districts in the nation. All of Orlando is part of this district.

Seminole County which is just north of Orlando has very good schools. The Oviedo area is nice and affordable.

There are other good areas too, I just don't want to say specifics since I don't know them well. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

Here some resources:
www.ocps.net
www.fldoe.gov (think that's it, if not google Florida Dept of Education)d
you can also google the website for Seminole County Schools

if you have further questions, you can pm me.

[MichelleRC]

Oviedo and some of the Winter Springs schools are very good (Seminole County), and the Winter Park (Orange County) schools are all good as well. Winter Park is a more affluent area as pp mentioned. Audubon Elementary in Baldwin Park is also excellent. I live in this area, (although my kids go to the private school where I work), so feel free to pm me for more specifics.

[randomkid]

Orlando is a very broad term and very large area. There are many outlying areas surrounding downtown Orlando and the general area is Central Florida. Many of the areas mentioned in PPs are not actually Orlando per se - for example, Oviedo is northeast of Orlando, but many people use the general term "Orlando" to refer to these areas. If I had a choice and needed public school. I would choose Seminole County over Orange County. Orange is one of the largest districts in the state (4th or 5th, I think) and is always having financial issues. I believe it is also one of the largest in the country. There are some good individual schools, but in general the district has its issues. Seminole County is smaller and seems a bit better managed. Seminole County is north of Orlando and areas in this region are Lake Mary, Longwood, Altamonte Springs. One desirable school in Orange County that is more central and closer to downtown is Blanker School - it's a K-8 public school. The area is older and homes tend to be smaller and can be a bit more costly, but you can find some decent homes in better areas that are more affordable.

I would avoid West Orlando unless it's much further West as in Winter Garden and Windermere, but these are more expensive areas. The Apopka area is more affordable, but I would not choose a school there. My stepdaughters attended elementary and a year or two of middle school in Apopka and it would not be my top choice.

I would think a good real estate agent could guide your niece in choosing an area that fits her needs and budget. All realtors should know the areas to avoid. As in all cities, there are some areas that have higher crime rates that are well known and any reputable realtor would let her know which those are.

[hellbennt]

BIL's friends are moving into new development, new construction, Randal Park/Park Homes zipcode 32832 as I type...

their children will be going to the schools there (I googled some & found the HS to be Lake Nona High School - I think the elementary school is brand spankin' new & opening this fall?)
ETA: http://randalparkorlando.com/schools/randal-park-to-be-site-of-new-elementary-school/
they seem happy...they both have backgrounds in public education (HS teachers)...

[jerseygirl07067]

Oviedo and some of the Winter Springs schools are very good (Seminole County), and the Winter Park (Orange County) schools are all good as well. Winter Park is a more affluent area as pp mentioned. Audubon Elementary in Baldwin Park is also excellent. I live in this area, (although my kids go to the private school where I work), so feel free to pm me for more specifics..

Ahh, I forgot about Baldwin Park and Audubon Elementary. Great school too. And they're zoned for Glen Ridge Middle and Winter Park High, is that correct?

[jerseygirl07067]

Yes, the Lake Nona area is thriving too. The only thing to be concerned with is with new construction there are more potential issues for overcrowded schools due to rapid growth. In FL, there is a class size restriction so the classes in elementary school remain fairly small, but if the school gets overcrowded, they have to add portables.

The area where I live was developed 20-25 years ago, so for a while the school was very overcrowded, but now the enrollment has stabilized.

[kbud]

My niece is moving to Orlando and is on a tight budget. Can anyone advise as to which area has a good school system ? She has a 3rd grader.

Also any areas to avoid.
Thanks

The others all gave great advice. Lake Nona is thriving now as there is a new huge medical complex/school in the area. Highly educated people tend to demand good schools. We moved to the area over 7 years ago during the housing boom. My DH works in east Orlando but we ended up settling about 35 miles to the east in Brevard County. Home prices were very, very much cheaper and overall the schools are much better as a whole than in the Orlando area. Brevard is home to Kennedy Space center and many rocket scientist, again who demanded good schools. That being said things are declining over here after the shuttle program shut down but as a whole Brevard schools as still at the top. We are also closer to the beach;)

[randomkid]

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Ahh, I forgot about Baldwin Park and Audubon Elementary. Great school too. And they're zoned for Glen Ridge Middle and Winter Park High, is that correct?

Yes, that is correct and Glen Ridge is an excellent school! However, would you consider Baldwin Park "affordable"?

[randomkid]

OP - it would be helpful to know why your niece is moving here and what area she needs to be in. Is this job related and there will be a commute to consider? Orlando/Central Florida is very spread out and there are some traffic issues. I would definitely consider a commute and roads traveled in deciding where to live. Some of the areas mentioned, Lake Nona, Oviedo and Avalon Park for example, are further out and could easily become a 45 minute commute depending on where a job is located, if that is the reason for the move.

[jerseygirl07067]

Yes, that is correct and Glen Ridge is an excellent school! However, would you consider Baldwin Park "affordable"?

I was commenting more on the school, forgot about the affordability factor. Though after the housing bust, I think it became a bit more affordable than it was. Everything was very overpriced there exponentially compared to other areas during the boom. I know there are a lot of townhouse/condo options there too, but again it's probably more pricey than other areas.

[MichelleRC]

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Ahh, I forgot about Baldwin Park and Audubon Elementary. Great school too. And they're zoned for Glen Ridge Middle and Winter Park High, is that correct?

Correct! They are both highly sought after public schools.

[MichelleRC]

Another option would be College Park. I know several people who are happy with Princeton Elementary.

[kcimato]

Thnaks everyone for the information. This will give her someplace to start. I'm not sure where her DH will be working.