Top 5 Best school zones to buy a homes for sale in Miami
Searching homes for sale in Miami when you have a family or plan on having children someday requires much more than looking through floorplans and commute routes. Families with children want to know what type of school district the home is in as they’re investing in not just a house, but in their children’s future. Finding the right homes for sale in the best school district for your kids adds another level to the real estate process. After all, a beautiful home with everything you’re looking for is missing a key element if the school zone it’s in doesn’t meet your children’s needs.
Best School Zones in Miami
Every child has unique educational needs, but choosing from homes for sale in one of the top rated schools in Miami gives you a great start in meeting those needs. School ratings take into consideration test scores, teacher to student ratio, graduation rates, subject proficiency, parent input and student input to help create a complete picture. Once you know the right school zone for your children, you can confidently begin the search for your new home in Miami.
Sunset Elementary School
With a school zone that covers West Miami, South Miami, and Coral Gables homes for sale, Sunset Elementary School received the top rank for Miami schools according to Niche and receives a 10/10 ranking from Zillow. The student to teacher ratio in this K-5 public school is 11 to 1, which is better than the Florida average of 15 to 1. The school offers arts programs featuring chorus, computer, dance, orchestra, and ceramics. Their large range taught languages to include German, French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and Cantonese. For sports, they offer football, self-defense, soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, cheerleading, tennis and yoga. The school’s vision is to provide students with a “world class education” and their mission is to provide “comprehensive international education.”
Young Women’s Preparatory Academy
This public school district serves a large portion of the southeast tip of Florida homes for sale and includes grades 6-12. Located at 1150 Southwest 1st Street in Miami the school is dedicated to the education, empowerment and nurturing of young women. Parents of girls in grades 6-12 who wish to send their children here need to submit their application by January 15 of the current school year and accepted students receive an acceptance letter by March. The school features a high-achieving curriculum designed to challenge young women and prepare them for the future. They encourage all students to explore the right approach to learning for them, to pursue independent interests and to take intellectual risks. The school offers several arts programs including dance, chorus, drawing, painting, photography, video film production, and computer arts. There are also several sports opportunities in gymnastics, volleyball, crew, golf, yoga and more. With limited enrollment available and a student to teach ratio of 12:1, The Young Women’s Preparatory Academy can offer the highest quality education to the women leaders to tomorrow.
Frank Crawford Martin International Center
This K-8 grade school ranks high on both Zillow and Niche with a student to teacher ratio of 15:1. The school offers arts programs including chorus, band, computer, painting, drawing, theater, photography and video film production. Languages taught at the school are Spanish, French, Japanese and Mandarin. Sports offerings include football, gymnastics, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, wrestling and many others. Parental reviews from GreatSchools.com praise the school with comments such as “WOW it’s been awesome!” and “truly great school.” The school has an Award Winning PTSA and staff and prides themselves on being a “vibrant educational community designed around our students.” If this sounds like the ideal school for you, it’s time to research homes for sale in this school zone.
North Dade Center for Modern Language
Covering homes for sale the southeast tip of Florida, this public school teaches Pre-K through 5th grade and has a 13 to 1 student to teacher ratio. French and Spanish are the available languages taught at the school and while it lacks extracurricular sports programs, it does offer physical education. Art programs offered by the school include band, chorus, drawing, painting, orchestra, theater drama and computer arts. Parents on GreatSchools.com praise the school saying it offers “great communication between teachers, staff and parents” and that “the environment and welcoming aspect is great.” The school’s vision is “to develop an academically enriched environment” and their mission is to “prepare all students for the challenges ahead” by promoting reflective and analytical thinking and encouraging creativity.
Covering homes for sale the southeast tip of Florida, this public school teach Pre-K through 5th grade and has a 13 to 1 student to teacher ratio. French and Spanish are the available languages taught at the school and while it lacks extracurricular sports programs, it does offer physical education. Art programs offered by the school include band, chorus, drawing, painting, orchestra, theater drama, and computer arts. Parents on GreatSchools.com praise the school saying it offers “great communication between teachers, staff and parents” and that “the environment and welcoming aspect is great.” The school’s vision is “to develop an academically enriched environment” and their mission is to “prepare all students for the challenges ahead” by promoting reflective and analytical thinking and encouraging creativity.
iPrep Academy PK-12
This public school in Miami-Dade County School District provides education for students ranging from prekindergarten all the way through to senior year. Opened in 2009, iPrep Academy is one of the newer schools in the area and they offer a unique approach to education. Small class sizes and independent learning encourages students to learn in a safe environment at their own pace. The school offers diverse academic programs the focus on international study, extended the foreign language and digital curriculums. Parents praise the school through GreatSchools.com by saying it’s “one of the best schools in the state” and that it has “very rigorous classes.” If you want your child to learn mostly through computer teaching, research homes for sale in the iPrep school zone. The school consists of around 200 students and their vision is to prepare students to “successfully meet the unique challenges and opportunities facing them as global citizens in the 21st Century.”
Beyond the ratings and statistics
To help choose a home in the best school zones for your family, you need to investigate the local schools where you’re searching homes for sale. Following thorough online research, examine the data and then choose a school that has what your children need and feels right to you in your gut. Even a school with all the right criteria might leave you feeling uncertain and your kids will sense your doubts so it’s vital that you’re sure of your choice.
Making the right choice
Reinforce the certainty of your choice by talking to parents of students in the local school zones. Try contacting school PTA officers and visit people in the neighborhood who have children in the school. Always be polite and never visit at inappropriate times of the day. If the idea of visiting parents seems too intrusive, stick to talking to PTA members and then the principal of the school. Visit the school and take in everything about it from classroom layouts to hallway decorations to school offices. When you meet with the principal, ask about the school’s approach to teaching and the principal’s philosophy on learning. Talk about your children and what their needs and interests are and see how receptive and open the principal seems. If the principal won’t meet with you, this can indicate a problem and you may want to consider homes for sale in a different school zone.
Most importantly, when choosing among homes for sale in a certain school zone talk to and listen to your kids. Find out what they want in a school, what they might have heard about the school and their specific course and extracurricular interests. Although younger children might not have much input, middle school, and high school age children usually have very specific opinions. As your children will be the ones attending the school, it’s important that they’re happy there and that they receive the best possible education.