One of the common questions I am asked by people relocating to SW Florida is about our school system. As a mom, I completely understand! Schools can be one of the more important factors when choosing a new home. While my kids are now in college, they grew up in the Collier County public school system and it was a fantastic experience! I feel like I can speak well to our schools.
Collier County and Lee County are 2 separate school districts. Collier County consists of Naples, Marco Island, Immokalee & Ave Maria while Lee County encompasses Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beack, North Fort Myers & Babcock Ranch. In Collier County, children attend the school for which their home is zoned. In Lee County, however, there is school choice based on which zone the home is in. The County is divided into 3 zone, with each zone having 3 sub-zones. Families then rank their choices within those zones. There are also options within each district to open enroll depending on availability. More information on boundaries and zoning can be found on the school districts' websites.
Here in Collier County we have about 48,000 students attending 31 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and 8 high schools! There are also 13 alternate school programs and a virtual school. We are super excited about our new high school currently under construction - Aubrey Rogers High School!
If you are looking for a smaller school or one that aligns with your personal values, you may want to consider one of our private schools. Below are a few of our more well-known schools:
- First Baptist Academy
- The Village School
- Community School
- Seacrest Country Day School
We have quite a few charter schools, a public (free) school which receives government funding but operates outside of the school district:
- Mason Classical Academy
- Collier Charter Academy
- Naples Classical Academy
There are also a great number of homeschooling families here. Connections can be found online or chatting with other homeschooling families.
The Lee County School District is the 9th largest district in Florida and the 34th largest in the US! They education over 90,000 children with a staff of over 12,000 full-time and part-time employees. They have 96 traditional schools and 119 schools with charters.
School spirit is very strong here. Most schools have a wide range of opportunities for sports and personal interests in both middle school & high school. Sports compete not only with other local schools, but many of our sports teams make it all the way to state.
So if you wonder if we have kids here in SW Florida, I believe you found your answer! I'll address more on schools in future blogs. I'd love to tell you about our new high school.