Learning Curve

Dara Edmondson knew she was in for a challenge when she went shopping for a bigger house in the narrow slice of Orlando that was zoned both for her daughter's elementary school and her middle school of choice.

"I work for a real estate office and I know the school situation definitely limits where people will buy," she says.

Not finding a suitable home that also met her school criteria, Edmondson entered her daughter's name in a lottery that determines who gets to enroll in the well-regarded Lake Eola Charter School, which is run independently but still supported by tax dollars.

"We just kind of did it on a whim," Edmondson notes. "But when my daughter was chosen, it allowed us to move, frankly. We could live anywhere in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County."

As Edmondson discovered, this is not your father's one-size-fits-all neighborhood public school system anymore.

Charter schools, which are public but operate with relative autonomy; magnet schools, which specialize in various disciplines ranging from medicine and law to languages and performing arts; and voucher programs, which help students from repeatedly failing public schools pay for private education, are giving parents more options than ever.

While many charter schools target low-performing students and children with special needs, Lake Eola is a K-8 general education program, which Edmondson says many parents have chosen to escape what they consider to be inferior neighborhood schools.

Among Lake Eola's unique requirements: Parents must donate 25 hours of time every year. The program has been so successful that the school has been designated a mentor for startup charter schools throughout the state.

"It's just a whole different kettle of fish," Edmondson says. "And we've been very, very pleased. My daughter is basically getting a private education at a public school."

Another local charter school success story is Passport, a K-8 "inclusive" school where children with learning disabilities learn side-by-side with children who are gifted. With small, multi-age classrooms, each child receives individual instruction and works at his or her own pace-and those who are good at a given subject help teach those who are not.

"It's a great concept," says Sally McArthur, who has two children at Passport, neither of whom has a disability. "Kids aren't separated or categorized or labeled. But at the same time, gifted kids aren't stifled and learning disabled kids aren't stigmatized."

Charter schools, however, are only one indicator that the public school system is changing and growing more adaptable. As a result, Central Florida's 319,000 public school students are all benefiting from a renewed interest in bolstering public education.

Even in tax-phobic Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, where attempts to raise revenue for school improvements had been consistently rejected, voters last September overwhelmingly approved a half-cent sales tax increase, with funds earmarked for refurbishing or replacing aging facilities.

Central Florida public schoolers may participate in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs in addition to magnet, charter and voucher programs.

Of the four public school systems in Central Florida, Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County's is by far the largest-almost as big as the other three county school systems combined. In fact, with 155,000 students and 151 schools, the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Public School System is the fifth-largest school system in Florida and 14th-largest in the nation. As such, it faces the twin challenges of keeping pace with rapid growth and meeting the needs of a racially and economically diverse student body.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County students come from 162 nations and speak 105 languages and dialects. The racial/ethnic distribution is 44 percent white, 29 percent African-American, 23 percent Hispanic and 4 percent Asian. Some live in homeless shelters and some live in mansions; some live in rural areas and some live in inner cities.

Still, for Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County School Board member Joie Cadel, high on the list of plusses for public education is the diversity of the student population.

"I really think that one of the benefits that our children graduate with is an understanding of other cultures," Cadel says. "With Central Florida changing as much as it is into an international community, our graduates need to know how to work with people who don't look like them."

While these differences between students provide built-in lessons in tolerance and understanding, they tend to wreak havoc when it comes to high-stakes standardized testing. Test scores grab headlines-and are often used to make snap judgments about the public school system.

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), developed by the Florida Department of Education and administered to all public school students in grades 3 through 10, measures student performance versus statewide standards in reading and math. In addition, a writing test is administered in grades 4, 8 and 10 and a science test is administered in grades 5, 8 and 10. FCAT results determine whether elementary school children are promoted and whether high schoolers graduate.

In perhaps the easiest measure for parents to understand, the state also assigns each school a letter grade. The grade is based upon an analysis of FCAT scores, and takes into account not only raw scores but also how much improvement is demonstrated by students who performed poorly the previous year.

The letter grade has emerged as the most contentious aspect of the state's effort to measure school performance and increase accountability. If a school scores an F grade twice in four years, then students at that school are eligible to receive vouchers for private schools.

In Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, the only school to register two failing grades was Jones High, a predominantly black school founded in the Jim Crow era. The stigma has caused an exodus of students and considerable consternation among Orlando's black leaders, many of whom graduated from Jones and hold the school to be symbolically and historically important. Perhaps not surprisingly, the county's only A high school was Winter Park High, located in one of the region's most affluent communities.

So in Central Florida, as is the case virtually everywhere else, youngsters from well-to-do neighborhoods tend to perform well on standardized tests while those from poor neighborhoods often struggle.

Still, while test scores and school grades do provide some information for parents to use in evaluating public schools, critics say the tests present a misleading picture of school performance and drain precious resources that could be used more productively.

The danger in judging public schools by these test scores alone can be seen at Hillcrest Elementary School's Foreign Language Academy in downtown Orlando, a magnet school where English is taught to foreign students and foreign languages are taught to those who speak English.

Even while Hillcrest was posting D's and C's in the state ratings in 1999-2002, parents were clamoring to get their children enrolled in what is the only school in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County-public or private-which graduates fifth-graders fluent in two languages.

Parents who looked beyond raw test scores realized that the low grades reflected the very same language and cultural challenges that make Hillcrest the perfect school for preparing students to live and work in the Global Village. Hillcrest, by the way, earned an A in 2003.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County offers a number of other magnet programs as well, including science at Princeton Elementary, which works in partnership with the Orlando Science Center and Sea World; engineering, science, technology and medical careers at Apopka High; and hotel management at Oak Ridge High.

Finally, Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County students are looking ahead to college. According to the 2002 Senior Exit Survey, more than 80 percent of respondents say they plan to continue their educations.

Seminole County, with 60,000-plus students and 55 schools, is generally considered to be among the top school districts in the state. Tests scores are above average, facilities have generally kept pace with growth and programs are innovative.

Five magnets are offered, including the Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a wireless school in which all students are issued a laptop and can graduate with skills qualifying them for $35,000-a-year jobs.

Seminole is a suburban county that's considerably more homogenous than its neighbor to the south. The racial/ethnic distribution of the student population is 68 percent white, 14 percent African-American, 13 percent Hispanic and 6 percent Asian. At least in part because of the county's relative affluence, the majority of schools at every level are rated as A schools.

Osceola County, with 35,000 students and 44 schools, has the second fastest growing school system in the state-and one of the most multicultural student populations. The racial/ethnic distribution is 52 percent white, 34 percent Hispanic, 9 percent African-American and 3 percent Asian.

This diversity-especially the large number of students for whom English is a second language-has undoubtedly impacted test scores. But the district points to steady improvement and innovative programs that combine academic instruction and workforce training.

Like Orange and Seminole, Osceola's school system offers a number of magnet programs, including specializations in finance, travel, tourism, sports medicine, the arts and teaching, among others.

Also, the not-for-profit Foundation for Osceola Education Inc. is raising money for a general scholarship fund that would guarantee all graduating seniors tuition for their first year in a state university or vocational school.

Lake County, a once-rural outpost, is evolving into a thriving bedroom community dotted with sprawling new subdivisions and a number of quaint small towns. There are now 41 schools serving 33,000 students. The racial/ethnic distribution is 71 percent white, 16 percent African-American, 10 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.

Tech-prep programs begin in the eighth grade in subjects such as electronics, computer technology, welding and mechanical trades, while high schools offer advanced placement programs and honors courses. One high school, South Lake, features a Health Career Academy in conjunction with South Lake Hospital. Basic grounding is offered in such subjects as pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

Which public school is best for your child?

Unlike a generation ago, when the neighborhood school was the only option and accountability was minimal, today's parents have choices.

You just have to do your homework.