Hyde Park

I’ve been amazed at the academic growth my child had achieved since being at Alta vista. Love his teachers love the support staff. We couldn’t be happier.

This is a really darling school physically. It depicts a stately Florida heritage with its older architecture and natural oak landscaping. I suppose if they were to repurpose this, then, it would be to sell the property, demolish the school building and cut these oaks down, therefore desecrating the concept of heritage and greening our schools.Despite enrollment, it begs the question: what is the real meaning of repurposing? Is it a Selby Garden scenario of self gain and this on behalf of community loss? I would think enrollment is only half the cost when it comes to repurposing. The other is the community, something SCSB should consider in depth The concept of repurposing should be understood in terms of both education and the environment, as well as in terms of community input.

Ashton is a terrible school, in my opinion. I felt like there was a lot of favoritism and, unfortunately, some very mean teachers. They use the “behavior loophole” to justify certain teacher behaviors and unfair treatment of students. Teachers may smile to your face, but their attitude can immediately change in the classrooms.A science teacher, whom I will not name, would say that she was “being sarcastic,” when, in reality, the teacher seemed to be targeting certain students and ridiculing them. Why would a teacher be sarcastic?If you are an average family and do not want your child to feel like just a number, I would not recommend Ashton. We had the worst experience there, and I would not recommend it to anyone.The teachers at Ashton seemed to have very few classroom management skills beyond marking a child down for behavior simply for talking. Other than that, they would send the child back to sit there for the entire year, ignore them, and not give them opportunities to participate, even when they were raising their hands. Basically isolating the student. They would also give behavior marks a week before school trips and then use those marks as a reason to prevent students from attending trips, such as the Orlando parks or other activities. Things seemed too calculated and this was year after year which made me think that this is a general culture at this school.In my opinion, if the principal is professional and genuinely involved, they are less likely to allow these kinds of things to happen and not support this behavior, or at least teachers are less likely to feel free to treat students however they want. The environment is very cliquey. If you are not part of their clique, you are basically just a number and invisible or targeted and your life will be miserable. My child wanted to stay even when I begged her to leave because she had friends there. But we definitely did not fit their socioeconomic standards. I work full-time, and I’m not involved in the PTO or a donor. My child was a straight A student, but she was targeted so much that she started doubting herself. So even if your child is not being targeted, I personally would not want my child around people who have the potential to do the things they did. They also gossip a lot about students.

Great experience overall. Really nice small school. Very nice teachers. Lots of fresh air.