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    Seminole County Environmental Studies Center

    Seminole County Environmental Studies Center

    5.0(1 review)
    4.2 mi

    While exploring Soldiers Creek Park I discovered an amazing educational resource for the students…read moreof Seminole County. As someone who works with kids, I was interested in learning about this unique and beloved program, the Seminole Environmental Studies Center. Seminole County's first Environmental Studies Center was a 1926 cottage that once served as Oviedo High School's lunch room. In 1976, the county and school district approved an agreement to develop 242 acres at Big Tree East into Soldier's Creek County Park which is part of Spring Hammock Preserve. School district science director Bettie Palmer and long-time Seminole League member Pat Burkett won grants from the U.S. Department of Interior and the Florida Department of Education to start the Environmental Studies Center. The school district paid to move the 1926 cottage to the park. When the environmental center officially opened in 1977, the old lunch room served as an office and classroom. A small staff including Pat Burkett, taught students about native wildlife, the water cycle and the benefits of fire. The following summer, the Department of Interior hired 40 Seminole County teens to work 40 hours a week at minimum wage building trails, boardwalks and a pavilion on the property. The new Soldiers Creek Park was the perfect place for an environmental studies center because of its many different habitats. These include oak palmetto scrub, pine forest, mixed hardwood hammock with magnolias, basswood and sweet gum, hydric hammock, cypress swamp, and a lake. All throughout were small sulfur springs. The old cabin was used until 2004, when the county built a new, 6,500-square foot center named for Pat Burkett who retired that year. Today the program operates as a partnership between the School Board and Seminole County Government. It has grown to include school field trips which are designed for students K-12 to help them learn about the environment and its importance in their lives. Scientific based learning takes place through hands-on, inquiry-based exploration both inside and outside the building. Inside the Center's Natural History Museum students can hold a snake, see an alligator and meet Otus the Eastern Screech Owl. Outdoors there is a learning laboratory. During the fifth grade program, students explore a variety of dry and wet habitats over two days. The popular wet day is known as the Mud Walk and included every habitat in the park. Through the years when budget cuts threatened the program, strong community support has kept the program operating so generations of Seminole County schoolchildren could enjoy the Mud Walk.

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    Seminole County Environmental Studies Center
    Seminole County Environmental Studies Center
    Seminole County Environmental Studies Center

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    Walden Community School

    Walden Community School

    3.0(5 reviews)
    4.0 mi

    Walden is good for a specific type of kid. A kid who needs a smaller, more personalized environment…read morefor academic success without needing a lot of emotional or medical support. One of my friends had an F in math before she went to Walden that they helped her bring up to a B. I am leaving a 3 star review because I had a very mixed experience at Walden, but I recognize that it's a great environment for some students. I went to Walden just a few weeks after being discharged from a therapeutic boarding school in Utah. It was a very rough transition for me, and Walden both helped and hurt. The other students were great, and the small size was much better for an autistic kid than a traditional public school. However, the teachers and administration were not very understanding. I know that they can only do so much to help an emotionally struggling teen, but they could have practiced more of what they taught: empathy. I had issues with showing off, but instead of talking to me about it and correcting me in the moment, administration talked to my parents about expelling me. It would have been different if they'd corrected me and I hadn't changed, but they didn't even try to give me feedback. Academics were decent. Great for kids who need a personalized curriculum. But I noticed that when I transferred to virtual public school, I was learning things that I should have learned in Algebra 1 in Algebra 2. They make it very hard to go to a school with a different curriculum, and that leads to some kids falling behind. They claimed to have extracurriculars that they didn't have. When I was there, they just had a dance class with a very unempathetic and ableist teacher. I was on a med that gave me significant side effects, including heatstroke susceptibility. Towards the end of the school year, we were doing a very physical dance outside, and I noticed symptoms of heat illness. When I asked the dance teacher to take a break, she refused because it was a partner dance and I couldn't leave my partner. She then said that she was proud of me for doing things even when I got hot, despite me saying many times that what she was making me do was a health hazard. I arrived at home that day and crashed on my bed, sleeping for about 2 hours. I now know that what I was experiencing was heat exhaustion. Easily preventable if the dance teacher had allowed me a break. All in all, this school has its pros and cons. Great social environment and personalized academics, but lack of understanding of students who struggle medically and emotionally. Some kids excel at Walden, others don't. If considering this school, make sure your kid is the type to excel there.

    We wanted more for our daughter and that's why we chose Walden Community School…read more We wanted her to love learning and to be excited about going to school everyday. On top of that, we wanted her to be safe and in an environment that would give her the freedom that she needs to express herself and learn from her peers. The curriculum is extraordinary and I'm constantly blown away by the critical thinking and creative writing skills that she's been developing at Walden.

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    Walden Community School
    Walden Community School
    Walden Community School

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    Orange County Preparatory Academy - Front of the school (on a cloudy afternoon)

    Orange County Preparatory Academy

    3.9(12 reviews)
    5.7 miEast Orlando

    Orange County Preparatory Academy opened last fall in the old Page Private School facility. I…read moredecided to transfer my youngest child from the public school she was attending after a few bad years. Getting the postcard in the mail telling me that OCPA was opening was honestly one of the best things that could have happened. Before I switched my daughter I did my research about charter schools and the company that manages OCPA, Charter School Associates. I'd recommend any parents that are considering it do the same research. I found that they had several good schools, and I was hopeful that this new one would follow in those same footsteps. So, as for my review of the school... the beginning of the school year was rough, with the expected growing pains and some unexpected ones. Traffic was a nightmare, the principal left, and loads of other little things. Now, at the half way point in the year it appears that most things have been smoothed out. And I am very happy we switched. I love that this school is a K-8 school (currently to 7th, but 8th is supposed to be added next year). The school is supposed to focus on STEM, and in the fall all grades participated in a school-wide science fair. For a new school they have really hit the ground running with awesome events for the kids. At Halloween they had a trunk-or-treat, which was loads of fun. They also did a storybook day and had a school-wide fairy tale bowl with questions about the stories. The school provides after school tutoring and several clubs. The addition of clubs came later in the year than I would have liked, but we are really happy about the options. My daughter is in the after care program. One huge perk over the public school she was at is that they only charge you for days the child attends. Since my daughter only has to go to after care a few days a week I save money by not having to pay for the whole week like I used to. Since this is a charter school they wear uniforms. They had a few sales events at the school where we could purchase them and I had no problems with the uniform company. So far my daughter really likes wearing the uniform, and it makes getting ready in the morning super easy. That's all I can think of. I'm assuming if you are reading this review you may be thinking about switching to the school, so feel free to send me a note and I'll answer questions.

    My children and I have been a member of the OCPA community since its beginning. As such, we've seen…read morethe school make some great strides, especially over this last year in particular. Yes, OCPA does have its positives and negatives, like any other school might. But OCPA's very accessible administration and small classroom sizes lend a very personal touch to each child's learning experience. The principal, Mr Higgins, and fellow administrator, Mr Austin, have been consistent and dedicated contributions to OCPA's improvement this year. Under this new leadership, I have seen more new programming such as organized athletic teams with winning records, various educational/STEM nights, and fun field days, just to name a few that I've personally participated in. I believe the structure and culture that Higgins and Austin have instilled have grown the school's support staff and allowed for some great momentum this year. For that, I give OCPA 4 stars. With only more improvement in OCPA's future, I am sure that it will earn the 5th star sooner than later!

    The Master's Academy - Another graduating class of TMA!

    The Master's Academy

    2.8(5 reviews)
    2.5 miEast Orlando

    The Pre-K assessment is overkill. They make parents wait in a small library, take your student for…read morean hour-long assessment that over the phone was described by Admissions Director Megan Jones as to see how they interact with other students. Come to find out (after several emails requesting to know more about their request for a SECOND assessment), they are very critical of your child. Preschool Director Betsey Vallery states in her email to me: "[Student] was very interested in the items in our classroom and such a sweet little boy. He did have difficulty following teacher one-step instructions and redirection. For example, when the teacher called [Student] to small group to draw, he ran around the carpet area. The teacher came alongside him and told him to please use his walking feet and modeled her walking feet. This gentle redirection is usually very successful as it's 1:1 in this assessment setting, but he continued to run." [Student] had just turned four only three days prior to the assessment. He's extremely responsive with adult direction, and I find this commentary completely inappropriate. As a former teacher myself, this is not even something that should be a concern. In addition, she states that [Student] didn't know how to write name, draw a self portrait, count to 10 or identify shapes, all of which he's been able to do for more than a year. I wasn't there in the assessment, but I do wonder about the effectiveness of the teacher to inspire participation. I felt that this was not an age-appropriate Pre-K. They want students that already know what they need to know for kindergarten so they don't have to do their jobs in teaching them.

    The security guards are rude and disrespectful. there are students walking around in parking lot…read moreduring school hours . It's overcrowded and overwhelming with not enough parking. Teacher ratios are too high for a private school.

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    The Master's Academy - The new clock in the courtyard donated by the Batts family

    The new clock in the courtyard donated by the Batts family

    The Master's Academy
    The Master's Academy

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    Willow Schools - specialtyschools - Updated May 2026

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