UPDATE Thinking about taking ds out of public school...

[Sugar Magnolia]

Our meeting with the principal went wonderfully. We were speechless after the tour. Ds will start as soon as all the paperwork is done! He is excited as well. Thank you for all your advice and comments.



and putting him in Catholic School. Has anyone done this or have any advice for me? We are increasingly unhappy with his public school and need to get him out ASAP. He is in first grade and not being challenged, among other problems. The local Catholic school ahs one opening in first grade left for this year and we have an interview on Wednesday. I am assuming if all goes well, they will want to know if we are going to enroll ds at that time.

I am afraid ds is going to hate us. He likes his school (but is bored) and has lots of friends. We will still see his friends because we are friends with all their parents. And he knows some kids at the Catholic school through summer camp. Dh doesn't care if ds is upset because "we are his parents and he will thank us later". I know this would be best for ds, but how do I explain that to a six year old?

Any advice or BTDT would be great.

And prayers/good thoughts that the interview goes well.

Oh..and what do I wear to this. I am so nervous....

[gatorsmom]

Wear nice slacks, pumps and a blouse or sweater. And some makeup. At the minimum.

As for your son, he will adjust so easily in first grade. Now, if you were considering this for junior high, I'd say there might be some issues. But your son will make new friends so quickly in first grade. I wouldn't worry about that so much.

As for the Catholic aspect, my kids will be going to Catholic schools (we are devout Catholic) and I went to Catholic schools. But interestingly enough, my mom took my brother out of my school and put him in public. This was 30 years ago, so things have changed. But it was too structured for him. He had problems paying attention and sitting still and so got into trouble all the time. When he went to public school, they were much more able to work with his rambunctiousness. He ended up going to public High School, too, whereas I went onto the Catholic High School. I always felt as if I was being prepped for college. I don't think his education was leading that way and he ended up NOT going to college. But of course, every school is different, times are different, and I'm not saying that every Catholic school is a college-prep school. I loved my schooling, am still friends with some of my grade and high school classmates and hope to pass that experience along to my children.

Sorry for the long-windedness, just wanted to ease your mind a bit. He won't hate you for the change. In fact, if he is better challenged, he'll be thankful for it- like your DH says.

Good luck!
Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thank you so much for the reply Lisa.

I grew up devout Catholic and married a Southern Baptist. We attend a Community Bible Church, but I (and my parents) would really love to attend Mass and raise the kids Catholic. I hope this will be the push dh needs to agree.

Thank you again. We are not telling anyone IRL, in case things don't go well (we are talking with the church about helping us with tuition, as dh is getting his PhD and we do not have any extra money). It's so great to have ladies on the BBB to talk with!

Amy

[gatorsmom]

Wow, that's funny. I grew up devout Catholic and married a Southern Baptist too! Although I made it clear before we were married that one of my conditions to marriage was that our children be raised Catholic, I never pushed him to convert or gave him guilt trips or anything like that. Neither did my family. So it came as a big surprise when all on his own he contacted the church and started the RCIA process! I like to think he saw how content I am with my faith and that maybe I was a "gentle witness" to the beauty of a devout life. Or maybe he was just feeling left out cuz he couldn't have some wine on Sundays too :).

Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!

[nfowife]

I taught first grade (public) and I agree, it really will not be a difficult transition at that age, especially if your child is generally not terribly shy. He'll be fine after a few days.

However, I do want to comment on the idea of your son not being challenged- you didn't detail your other concerns. I just want to say that putting him in a parochial school does not mean that these concerns will all be gone. Make sure you talk about issues like class size, how much religious instruction, opportunities for your son to be challenged, and whatever your other concerns are. How do you think his needs will be better met at this school? Just make sure you ask lots of questions at the interview/tour and be sure you feel confident in your decision to switch. Alternatively, what types of things have you done to better the situation he is currently in? Have you met with the teacher and guidance counselor? Thought about switching him to another classroom? Thought about having him tested for the gifted program? Just some thoughts!

[MelissaTC]

No advice but I wish you well!

My DS is attending a Catholic school and we are very pleased so far with how things are going. I am also loving the resources and "extras" the school has that our local public school does not.

[hardysmom]

Your son will be fine after a couple of weeks. These changes are much harder on the parents and tend to be non-issues with the kids pretty quickly.

Half of my DS private school pre-k left last year to attend public kindergarten. All the moms were super-stressed b/c our kids have been together for years. We all promised to keep the kids close and stay in touch. Once school started, the kids made new friends. We've been to a few birthday parties where they invited both the "old friends" and the friends from the new school. To be honest, the kids gravitated towards their "new" friends, though the moms still hang out with the "old" moms.

Most Catholic Schools seem to offer BIG discounts to Catholics... around here, a lot of kids start Catholic School as Baptists and are going to Mass by Christmas. At first, there is usually a financial motivation, but as they stay in school and learn more about Catholicism, it sticks and becomes genuine... In fact, though we were raised Episcopalian, my sister feels more coomfortable in the Catholic Church after attending Catholic High School.

My mom is Catholic, my father isn't. At the time my sister started catholic school, my mother hadn't attended mass in a long time, but really missed it. She re-joined a local church and my sister DID get the tuition discount, btw.

Stephanie

[gatorsmom]

LOL. As much money as we've donated to our parish to keep it going, I'd be PO'd if we didn't get some sort of discount on tuition.

Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!

[Sugar Magnolia]

We have tried to like the public school. Dh and I have meet with the principal and right now there is no gifted program at ds's school. It is an ESL school and most of the funding goes towards that and not gifted programs. We love the diversity but ds is just not thriving.

I am pretty sure that we will join the church and attend Mass regularly now.

Thanks so much for all the replies!

[nfowife]

Just an FYI, if your son gets tested and qualifies for the gifted program, even if there is not one at your current school, they are still required to meet his needs. So they would either have to offer you an option to switch to a different school that has the program or provide other ways to meet his needs within the regular classroom. And even if you switch to the parochial school, you can still have him tested through the public school system.

[pinkmomagain]

I know nothing about Catholic schools. My oldest dd has been in public school since 1st grade. She was in a Montessori till then because we felt she was gifted and was getting more "stimulation" in Montessori than we felt the public school could offer at the kindergarten level. The gifted program in our district starts in 3rd grade and she did in fact qualify. She is currently in 6th and still in the program. First, I'm not so crazy about our district's gifted program. I won't go into details, but I don't think she's gotten alot out of it. But, more importantly, secondly, I've noticed that as the grades go up, things have become more challenging for her and I don't think she needs that "stimulation" because school overall is a challenge in various respects.

Your post reminded me of how I was really into the whole "gifted" thing when she was 5-7 yo but how now it doesn't matter so much to me or her.

Just wanted to share our experiences.

Gina

[Sugar Magnolia]

Our gifted program starts at third grade as well. We have meet with the principal of ds's current school and he basically told us there is nothing they can do for ds as of right now. They won't move him into the other first grade class and I really don't want him to move within the district (his current school is one of the best in the district). The school we are looking at has gifted programs and is teaching Spanish among things (super high test scores, high parental involvement).

I appreciate everyone's advice. It is giving me and dh a lot to think about!