Thank you for that clarification. I recently moved from a city in NC that had a graduation rate of about 78% with more kids dropping out than finishing. I saw the gangsters hanging around the school when it was time for the kids to get out to either sell drugs or try and convince the girls they would take care of them. Pathetic. I imagine other folks have seen the same before they moved here so to hear a school in The Villages is doing so well is no wonder we jump on the band wagon. And I am sorry, but Florida is one of the states that a lot of people think have a sub par education system. We moved frequently with my husband's career and I can certainly say without hesitation the schools in the north my kids attended were far superior to those in Virginia and Florida. Just one mom's opinion. Hope you can understand where I'm coming from.

I have not posted on this site in a very long time, however occasionally other members send me links to conversations they think I might be interested in. This is the first I felt the need to log on and say something.
My child attends TVCS. when we first moved here in Aug 2008, we had to go to the public school in Leesburg. This school was an A rated school in the state, but it was the worst experience we had ever been through.
I made a decision to leave my comfy, well paying, work from home job, to find anything I could within the charter school approved employers.
I ended up working for minimum wage, having to be at work at 5:30am and having to find a friend to leave my child with early in the AM and then be driven to school. I lost my health insurance for the two of us. I had to move into a less expensive apartment and made major lifestyle changes in regards to canceling gym membership, cable and Internet extras and eating out, etc....

Was it worth it?

Every minute of every hour and every penny and dollar lost.

I have since worked my way into one of The Villages owned companies and while I am now on the top tier of employment for TVCS eligibility, I still have two more years to go, which to me means, doing whatever it takes to keep my job. Everyone is replaceable. I believe almost every parent that LOVES the school system always keeps this in mind. We do our best but with the ever changing world of The Villages, no one is ever guaranteed their job.

With all of that said, I would not change a thing. The school has its issues but what school doesn't. The teachers are incredible, passionate and care about the kids. The teachers respond to my emails almost immediately (within the day) when I have concerns or questions. They reach out to me with their concerns or their praise.

The administration is fierce about protecting our children, not letting strangers on the campus with our being signed in at the office and approved. Even if a parent goes on campus during the school day without signing in...they will call the cops...they do not tolerate the rules being broken.

I work full time and while only required 20 hours of parental involvement time, I average 40-60 each year, because I feel I should give back to what gives to me.

My child is a B student on average...but B's in AP courses, B's in honors classes...occasionally an A or a C. When my child graduates it will be with an Associates degree or very close to it! Tests scores are not modified. They are what they are.

I love this town, I love my job, I love our school. None of it is perfect, it is full of reality...it is so worth it.

Any posts after the above ...................have no meaning. Thank you for your insight!

I agree!!! Thank you Cassie325.


:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:
:mademyday:

Once you quit the country club your children can no longer use the pool.

Thank you. We do understand..

One of my golfing friends has a grandson that attended the Charter School, and there were issues with the school and the teachers that caused them to pull the kid out and transfer him to the Leesburg school. She is so glad they did that. Her grandson's self esteem is much better now, and his grades have really improved. Not knocking the school, but just to say there is something for everyone, and nothing is utopia like some on TOTV would have you believe.

Great post Cassie. The sacrifices that you have made to give your daughter a good opportunity in Education are to be commended.

Do not think,many of you get it. Private charter school. Taxpayers money going to a private school built by the developer using taxpayers money. School only can be used by select few ,who are not allowed to live here.Can only attend based on keeping job with villages. Its about the parents ,not the kids. What if they pull the charter,what lies ahead with the buildings. Remember taxpayers built the structure,not the developers money.Charter school were started for quality education for all, you could live anywhere in the county, but here a child living at 301 and 466 who could walk to school is not allowed to attend.Empoyees of the village with kids there are like employees of west virginia coal mine towns. Sold your soul to the company store.They should open the school up to everyone in the county. Why would they build it there. Should have been built off-campus.

Charter school - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The people who come here to work are not forced by poverty to come here and work. They have choices. They can work in Orlando or Leesburg or Ocala or Wildwood or Bellview or Deland or in Alaska.

Some reactions to the presence of the charter schools are very emotional. I think it has to be partially because public money is used in part to fund them.

I guess then that is when it becomes political.

I SENSE that there must be some discrimination for and privileges given to children whose parents have more important jobs in the Villages systems but us ordinary folks back when, we had some of that happen in public or parochial school if someone's dad was the Mayor or a doctor or lawyer or whose uncle was the bishop or who owned a big company locally.

Human nature. Not always pretty and not always fair either. Sometime, somewhere it must be explained to the children who are in our charge that they must live in a world where rank has it's privileges and that things aren't always fair and how to handle those situations...hopefully for themselves and with our support.How to negotiate an unfair world and how to handle realities are very important and often taught to us by our parents and grandparents if we are lucky.

" The Villages Charter School (VCS) is identified as "a Charter School in the Workplace" and operated as a Florida not-for-profit corporation. Established through Florida law, charter schools in the workplace are public charter schools with the ability to target a specific student population. Charter schools are public schools of choice. VCS exists as a part of the “Choice” program defined by the Florida Department of Education (see 1002.33)."

Tell that "choice Part" to the kids that were asked to leave.

Isn't it like that for most charter schools? My grandkids attend a charter school....with boundary limits. They have recently moved and had to make sure they stayed within the school's geographical boundaries for school enrollment.

Why wouldn't they have any meaning???? Because she's happy, everybodies happy??? You honestly think everyone has the same experience????
That is a typical response......

Or in this case receive a education.Not sure of the country club, never belonged or entered.Wonder if the emplouees that do manuel labor jobs for the villages have children in the charter schools? Sorry, "employees"

I commend you for your committment to your childs education. Awesome parental involvement. But we had a very different experience, as individuals will. I will add that we thought that the AP classes would be sufficient in preparation for further education, but sadly this was not the case. My child's experience was that the classes at TVCS did not provide the rigor necessary to prepare him for college. That's a kid that graduated with a 4.3 and got a 2180 on the SAT! But as I said, that is our experience. If you are happy there and your child is happy, who cares!