IB Principal Darrick Buettner with students Autumn Gardner, Skylar Summers, Francis Torralba, and Chris Fernandez

Citrus County and the State of Florida, offer perhaps the most ideal education for children. We offer hard-to-imagine school choices for the population size of our county, from pre K-12 private school options, a Charter School that specializes in Marine Sciences, a public school-sponsored academy for students considering careers in Healthcare, Art, or Business, and an International Baccalaureate (“IB”) program.

• Top-Ranked Schools: Of the 67 schools districts in Florida, Citrus County Schools is one of 13 to achieve the state’s top “High Achieving” status in 2009-2010.
• The Citrus County School District has also been an “A” Rated School system since 2006.
• Low Crime Rate: Citrus County has the second-lowest crime rate of all counties in our state. We live in a community where people are still “neighborly” and “genuinely friendly.”
• At one with Nature: Citrus County – particularly Crystal River/Homosassa along the coast, is an eco-tourism Mecca; living on the “Nature Coast” promotes a cooperative relationship with nature, and our children embrace this “gift” to grow up on the water in our parks, rivers and on the Gulf of Mexico.
• The school district-sponsored Academy of Environmental Science provides a compelling curriculum for students expressing an interest in marine sciences – imagine classes on the water!
• Graduates from Citrus County High Schools have matriculated into the most prestigious universities in the county, including the Naval Academy, Duke, and Harvard.

The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), was founded by forward thinking teachers at the International School of Geneva, Switzerland for internationally mobile students as a college preparatory program and has grown considerably since its founding in 1968, to "provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multi-national organizations" and offer internationally standardized courses and assessments. This challenging program prepares students for the internationally recognized IB Diploma Program.

Hosted at Lecanto High School, the program incorporates language arts, social and natural sciences, mathematics, elective courses, and community service – IB provides graduates with advanced academic opportunities, including admission recognition to selective universities throughout the world.

Citrus County’s population doubled to 130,000 between 1989 -2009, and with certain significant growth in the next 20 years the schools are expanding – like this $30 million proposal for the new Crystal River High School campus

Seniors Allan Castropas, Matthew Tringali, and Sneha Patel, with Principal Kelly Tyler, at Lecanto High School

“When I was accepted to West Point, I was both ecstatic and relieved. All the hard work and prayers paid off. I can’t tell you how proud my mom and dad were. Our dream came true.” – Allan

The State of Florida University System, with its vast resources, may be the strongest in the country. Its “Bright Futures Scholarship” program (available to public and private school graduates) is so financially generous that top students in Citrus County have a hard time passing up virtually free tuition, room and board, and books at a Florida state university vs. the rising expenses of going to college out-of-state. Florida parents can also choose to invest in the “Florida Pre-Paid College Tuition Program,” which basically freezes today’s tuition and living expenses for when your child enters college.

Citrus County Schools Educators:

Sandra “Sam” Himmel
Superintendent
Citrus County Schools
You picked the right place!
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Mark McCoy
Principal
Crystal River High
New Campus Plans

Kelly Tyler
Principal
Lecanto High School
Meet Super Seniors

Ben Stofcheck
Principal
Environmental Science
Klasses with Kayaks!

How cool is it to get high school course credit for hanging out with pelicans, spending time on the water conducting experiments, designing and upkeep of a fish hatchery, and classrooms overlooking the Gulf of Mexico? As perhaps the most unique public charter school in the country, students with an interest in marine or environmental sciences can apply and spend ½ of their school years at the Academy of Environmental Science, and then their entire senior year, with the coolest high school students ever.

Andrew Gilman, 11th grade, Emily Geistfeld, 11th, Tiffany Davenport, 10th, Tenesha Vedder, 11th,
with Ed Stofchek, Principal, Academy of Environmental Science

“I remember my first day of school here. The class went out on kayaks on the river for a project and manatees swam by. I touched one as it came up to our kayak and I started to cry. My family had just moved from Youngstown, Ohio, with a foot of snow on the ground, where I would have never dreamed I would be playing with a manatee during class!” – Emily

Diane Holmes, RN
Director – Academy of Health Careers
Crystal River High School

Edith "Edie" Speight
Principal
Crystal River Primary School

Private Schools:

Joel Satterly
Principal
Seven Rivers Christian School

Lou E. Whitaker, PhD
Principal
Pope John Paul II Catholic School

Universities, Community Colleges, and Technical Schools:

Florida Community Colleges, including our Central Florida Community College (CFCC), virtually ensure acceptance into state 4-year universities upon graduating from their 2-year associate degree programs. State community colleges provide a cost-effective alternative as well as curriculums for non-traditional students.

The 2010 $10 million Health Sciences Building & Student Center – Nursing Program sponsored by Seven Rivers RMC!

Vernon Lawter, Provost
Central Florida Community College
CFCC & Its growth plans
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Welding class at Withlacoochee Tech & Hugh Adkins, Director, Marine Science Station

CFCC, Withlacoochee Tech, & Marine Science Station

To supplement the RN curriculum at CFCC, WTI offers the following health programs: Nursing Assistant (Long Term Care), Licensed Practical Nursing, Patient Care Assistant, and IV Therapy, which helps to support the healthcare industry in Seven Rivers RMC’s service area.

The Compelling Value of the University of Florida System:

State Universities include flagships UF and FSU, 2 of the most prominent public universities in the country, among growing state universities in every part of Florida

Not only is our state university system perhaps the best in the country, its tuition rates ranked lowest of all 50 US states in 2007! With the influx of new residents to our state and the revenue generated from our increasing population, the State of Florida has seen fit to channel resources to provide our residents compelling value in education. If your children are accepted into Florida state universities, you will save thousands vs. other states!

Tampa Tribune article, June 4, 2007

“I would never trade my childhood for anything in the world. We had it all. If we got tired of swimming, we would transfer over to the Maynard’s and jump on a wet trampoline. We didn't need cars, we had bikes and skates. We were a team, we would never fight – we would just play; that's what we did best. Even with the age difference, varying from 7 to 14. This was the time of my life, I couldn't have wished for a better neighborhood. Looking back brings tears to my eyes. I know all of us can look back to the time we were kids and think about how much that changed the lives we are still about to live.” – Cory, Crystal River High School, son of KC Nayfield, excerpted from his “King’s Bay Kids”

Supplemental:

Citrus County Public School has 3 high schools: Crystal River, Citrus, and Lecanto HS: www.citrus.k12.fl.us
Florida Pre-Paid College Tuition Program: www.florida529plans.com/
Academy of Environmental Science: www.environmental-school.org
Seven Rivers Christian School: www.sevenrivers.org
Pope John Paul II Catholic School: www.pjp2.net
Withlacoochee Tech: http://www.wtionline.cc/
Central Florida CC: http://citrus.cf.edu/