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Our Guide to Schools in Sarasota

YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SARASOTA EDUCATION

Article by City Lifestyle

Photography by Stock Images

Sarasota has some of the most famous beaches in Florida with shallow waters that make them swim friendly.

While the city may be expensive to live in, most families are quite satisfied that they can feel safe wherever they go in the city. The city may have been the home of a circus for many years, but when it comes to education, it's no laughing matter.

The city has a new education system from preschool to high school, private, charter, and special education. This beautiful city south of Tampa wants not only the aesthetics to be attractive, but the minds of its future leaders.

The city is family-oriented, has a lot of amenities, from fabulous beaches to great dining and modern art.

If you are looking to move into that area and learn more about the school district and its offerings, continue reading this guide to schools.

Public Schools: Creating a Community Atmosphere

The school system is serving more than 40,000 students.

The students are from Kindergarten to 12th grade and include elementary, middle, k-8, special, charter, and high schools. Sarasota County Schools have an overall A-grade, as they rank high in resources, sports, diversity, health, and safety, and have well-trained teachers.

For every teacher in the school system, there are about 15 students, a great balance when compared to many high schools across the country.

For proficiency in state tests, the county average over seventy percent in math and a little less reading. Based on the average test scores in addition to reviews from parents and their children, the county is ranked in the state's top five annually.

The city has one of the largest factions of top-rated schools in the Florida Public school system and has a total of sixty-two schools.

The Sarasota County School District

The schools fall under the Sarasota County School District.

These include over 60 public institutions and 11 charter schools, and 40 private schools.

The school district serves nearly 43,000 students. In the entire Florida, Sarasota County is noted for being one of the communities with the highest number of highly recognized educational institutions.

The public schools continue to average over seventy-percent in mathematics on the state test scores. This is way above the state average of less than sixty percent annually.

For reading proficiency, the district averages at least ten percent above the state close at close to 70 percent. The largest minority representation is Hispanic. Meanwhile, each teacher at the school has about fourteen students to deal with on average. 

Florida's average of teachers to students is 16-1.

For private institutions, the district caters to more than forty, from the preschool to grade twelve levels.

Sarasota High Schools

Close to twenty public high schools serve students each year, as they prepare their minds for the military, workforce, or a higher level of study at the associate or bachelor's level. 

An average of seventeen-thousand students benefit from these high schools, which rank higher than most public high schools in Florida as a whole.

Proficiency scores across the high schools far exceed that of the state on a year to year basis. 

Mathematics scores average seventy-percent, which is twenty percent higher than the state's math scores. Reading is always in the region of seventy percent, while the state stays near fifty percent each year. 

The high proficiency scores place local schools in the top five percent of public schools in the sunshine state.

When it comes to graduation for students in schools, every year, the high schools have about ninety percent of their students tossing their hats.

Pine View School stands out from the pack with a close to one hundred percent graduation rate. 

Riverview High, which registers more than 2,500 students on average, and even though each teacher serves about 21 students, they manage to score above 70 percent on state tests.

Booker High School, on the other hand, does not do as well with state tests, with less than fifty percent of students being proficient in math and just above that number in a reading.

The school manages to rank high overall in academics and all other areas.

Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School continues to have a high graduation rate of more than ninety percent with 12 students to a teacher.

Middle Schools: Sports, New Classes and More

24 middle schools at the public level serve more than 15,000 students.

The middle schools are on par with the other level institutions when it comes to proficiency scores, averaging higher than 70% in mathematics.  

For the area of reading, it's usually a little bit lower but still way above the state average. 

The middle schools remain in the state's highest percentile.

Elementary Schools: Getting Ready

Close to 50 elementary public schools in Sarasota County, FL, continue to educate more than thirty thousand students yearly. 

Sarasota County, FL public elementary schools, average seventy percent in math and reading on state test scores.

The proficiency levels keep them in the top 5% of elementary schools in Florida.

A top-ranked public elementary school is Lakeview Elementary, which has a proficiency level above ninety percent. 

Southside Elementary School is also a top institution, which averages higher than eighty percent on state test scores with more than seven hundred students from pre-K to grade five.

Optional Private Schools

The forty-one private schools have been turning out students with a high proficiency level in math, reading and science.

While not all schools are very diverse, they all have a mixture of white, Hispanics, blacks and other ethnicities averaging 10 percent of enrollment.

The private schools serve close to six thousand students. serving 5,964 students.

Most classes have less than ten students to each teacher.  

Christian Schools for Catholic and Protestant Students

Schools are also made up of many Christian institutions. These institutions are usually highly rated and teach religious education in addition to the regular curriculum.

Students are usually very knowledgeable in various areas, including sports, academics, clubs, and activities.

Among the Christian Schools are also a high number of Catholic institutions. These Catholic schools require students to participate in Mass and a regular prayer meeting.

The school excels in every aspect and has a majority white enrollment of eighty percent. There are slightly more males than females at the school. The school combines elementary and high.

Agape enrolls students from kindergarten to grade eleven with a student-teacher ratio of 6:1 and less than fifty students enrolled each year.

Finding the Right Charter School

Eleven public charter schools provide education for more than six thousand students who average close to seventy percent in state exams.   

The charter schools are always in the higher half of school rankings in the state of Florida.

Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences ranks very high, as well as Sarasota Suncoast, and Student Leadership Academies. 

Summer Schools to Continue Education

Florida has more than its fair share of summer programs each year, and the city is neck and neck with the state in terms of variety.

Students can choose from weekly summer programs to boot camps, daily classes, or even camping.

Some programs are offered by schools and others by community centers, colleges and private institutions.

Some summer school programs in schools are for students who are moving on to the high school level. 

Some involve science, mathematics and technology for students who want to pursue a career in technology, engineering, orsota educational institutions to ensure the students have something to keep their minds stimulated during the summer and keep them out of trouble.

Finally, if you're considering a school in this district, it will be an easy election because everywhere has above average schools at all levels, from early learning to college prep.