HURRAY! Schools are officially Out for Summer in Central FL!!!
Be safe everyone on Summer Break! Refresh, Regroup, Relax, Recharge, and be ready for Back to School 2014!
I know most of you don’t really want to think about it right now but there are some potential “FL Plungers” out there who may find this info helpful sooner than later! (Like we did the week school started!).
When we relocated from Orchard Park NY, in August of 2000 our kids (18, 15 & 11), my husband and I were excited, anxious, and ready to start the new “chapters” of our lives. Our move was because of family business relocation and also our oldest Daughters desire to go to College here and work for Disney. (That is a story for another Blog post!).
Even though we were all excited and happy to be moving we were of course sad to leave our family, friends and the towns we grew up in. We tried the proverbial, “Hey, why don’t you move with us?” but none joined us. Our favorite Chinese Restaurant owner said that “he could not at the time, maybe later” and let us know that “You don’t have to shovel snow in FL, only Sunshine!” Our last Buffalo winter was one that only helped to solidify our decision as far as weather was concerned! We have had several Family members and friends move down since become “Snow Birds” and visit often and it is nice. I found out we had cousins we didn’t even know we had or at least I think they are cousins?
When We “Plunged” in 2000 we had far less resources for school info than is available now. We spent time researching communities and visiting schools in the area and determined we would move to Orlando/Dr. Phillips area. Our kids went to Dr. Phillips HS, Chain of Lake MS and Valencia Community College and then to University of Central FL (UCF) .
The summer was short, rushed and exhausting to say the least with the house sale, my husband being here for work, packing and moving and we thought we could get all this school stuff done when we got here.
Some of things that we weren’t expecting included the lengthy registration process, the permanent address (we had temporary housing initially in a different district than the home we were buying), the BLUE Card/form 960 for Immunizations, the Physical and the testing. We just didn’t know how long this would take to get done so that they could start school on time. When we went to the school we found out that (at that time, I’m not sure about now) all students were required to have the physical done by a FL Physician and the immunizations on the official BLUE Card- also done by a FL Physician. The testing was at the school to determine Math and English course levels for each of them.
We got here the week before School Started and there were no Registration “appointments” until the following week-after school started. As we did not have our Doctors set up yet this became an “appointment” as well, with a local health clinic for the week after and the School testing was after they started in classes only to have them moved up levels to the appropriate classes. It turned out good as they met a lot of new friends along the way.
We managed to get it all completed and they started a few days late but so did most of the students who also just got here and were in the same situation. We were told this is normal! The kids took the Plunge, never looked back, and were fine and went on to Graduate with honors, complete college here, find good jobs in the area. Also, our son met & married the girl of his dreams here and we have a precious little Grandson!
For me, As a result of the time I spent in the Middle School office, I got a job there helping the registrar that year, and shortly thereafter became a Realtor. I love helping families from all over relocate to Central FL to the places we love and call our homes. It’s funny that some of the students who I knew from my daughter’s school are now buying homes from me in the area!
I am sure that many of these life events may have turned out very differently if we had not relocated and taken the Plunge to Central FL when we did. My motto, is “Bloom where you are Planted!”
Having shared our story, I hope to be able to point you in the right direction for school info and provide the actual sources, so you can determine which area you want to live in in Central FL if you have children in school or are thinking ahead to resale value even if you don’t have students.
As a quick and easy resource here are the links and some basic info about each of the 5 Central FL County Public School districts:
Orange County Public Schools www.ocps.net
First Day of classes for Orange County is 08-18-2014
Job Fair Teachers June 17 Bus Driver June 12 & 26
The site has great info and here are a few specific topics that you will find helpful
Under Quick Links
Seminole County Public Schools www.scps.k12.fl.us
First Day of Classes for Seminole County is 08-11-2014
No Job Fair posted at this moment
Website has links to Employment inc. Vacancies and how to apply, School Choices, School Grades, Calendar and Which School- Zoning
Polk County Public Schools http://www.polk-fl.net/
First day of Classes 08-18-2014
Job Fair for Support Services Bus Drivers June 6th see site for details
Site has tabs for Employment, Schools and Schools Zones
Osceola County Public Schools www.osceola.k12.fl.us
First day of classes 08-18-2014
***The BLUE FORM, I know may be a touchy subject for some but it is a part of the transfer into FL schools process. *** Contact school directly for additional info.
School Districts Disclosure:
Please also keep in mind that Central FL is a quickly growing area. Because of this, school district Zoning & Boundaries are subject to change. Information provided by a seller or Realtor may not be current or accurate.
As a prospective buyer you should contact the school board directly to verify the current school boundaries for the upcoming year prior to entering a sales contract. (see links provided above for contact info).
Please feel free to leave a comment on your experiences, positive please, ask me questions and let me know if you need any Home Buying or Selling Info?
Happy Summer!
Suzanne Swyers, Realtor
Prudential Results Realty
407 222 2926
I work with a Business Partner, Tammy Blanchard so you would have 2 agents available to help you at no cost to you if you are a Home Buyer!
