Bayshore
Tampa, FL 33611

Our sons were transferred to Ballast Point for 3rd Grade. We started towards the end of October and did not receive a warm welcome. Day 1 they did not have desks or materials, the secretary failed to inform the teachers that they were starting class. The teachers communication was extremely limited. The principal would quote school policy word for word but would not actually solve problems that took place during school hours. Our sons were constantly denied bathroom rights and were negatively marked for needing the occasional bathroom break. We requested special education testing and were denied several times even though the teachers told us our son would fail regardless of what we did to help. Ballast Point truly cares about test scores and not individual students. The front office staff is extremely rude and demeaning. The principal lacks the intelligence to make decisions on an individual basis for what’s in the best interest of each student.

Our son learnt a lot in this school : the teachers are in general very involved and offer a lot to learn to the students. But many parents do not feel responsible for their children and don’t encourage them to work or to respect the teachers: here is the biggest matter.That is a pity because the team does its best to build rules and an environment which are adapted to students who chose to work. In a word : if you want to learn, it’s absolutely possible to to it at Madison.

I am extremely grateful for Robinson High School. We are a military family that moved to Tampa at the start of my child's 9th grade year. It was an extremely difficult transition for my child (not knowing anyone). However, everyone at Robinson - the counselors, the front office staff, the teachers, the administration- went above and beyond to help us. While Robinson is the smallest high school in Hillsborough County, I would venture to guess that it is one of the most diverse. There are extremely wealthy and lower-income neighborhoods feeding this school. There are plenty of other military transplant families, including quite a few international military families with children attending Robinson. There is the IB magnet program drawing students from all over. There are AP classes and dual enrollment options. Band, Culinary, NJROTC, Vet Tech are all have outstanding programs. Personally, we have been thrilled with the Cambridge AICE program that Robinson implemented. While a lot of miltary families start at Robinson too late to do IB, Cambridge AICE is another academically rigorous program students can complete to earn the FL Bright Futures Scholarship.