Public school teacher/private school parent

[cynsmimor]

In the past it has never really bothered me because my daughter was younger but now she is getting into the middle of elementary and I wonder about this.

I teach public high school in another county, my daughter attend Catholic School (which is not the best Catholic School IMHO but it's the only one). the district we live in is really good and we are zoned to good schools within the district. I believe in public education (after all that is my profession) and I really believe that public schools have better qualified teachers, more resources, and more opportunities for students.

We have had issues with the Catholic School - inconsistent teacher, rude emails from the teacher, curriculum gaps that we have pointed out but with all that my daughter is caught up in the stuff - Irish dance, girl scouts, friends she has been with since 4k. Oh, I forgot the principal is a jerk - it's not just me NUMEROUS parents are counting the days until she leaves but I don't see her going anywhere (she couldn't get a job in public school).

It is that re-enrollment time and I am wondering if now is the time to move on.

[AngB]

I think now would be the easiest time to switch her, for her, if you are going to.

If you were happy there I don't think it would be a big deal, but you aren't,


My high school graduating class was mostly the same kids from 1st grade through 12th, with a handful of new formerly Catholic school kids starting in public freshmen year.(The Catholic school from our parish only went to 8th grade so then kids either had to go to public school or switch to a different Catholic school.) I don't really think the new kids had any issues, and I personally had more friends from a different nearby school than I had that went to my own school, by sophomore year.

[smilequeen]

If you think your public schools are good and you're unhappy with the Catholic school I don't see the point of staying. It sounds like you believe she'd be better off in public and if so...switch now.

[KpbS]

I think in general, the younger you switch the better. Kids are very adaptable. My mom really regrets leaving me in a class with a known bad teacher. Bad teachers plus bad administration is terrible.

[ha98ed14]

I teach public high school in another county, my daughter attend Catholic School (which is not the best Catholic School IMHO but it's the only one). the district we live in is really good and we are zoned to good schools within the district. I believe in public education (after all that is my profession) and I really believe that public schools have better qualified teachers, more resources, and more opportunities for students.


So do we. DH teaches public school too, and we have wrestled with the question wrt our own child.

I'm a flaming liberal. I see pubic education as the last best hope we have of ever beginning to level the playing field for the have-nots. It HAS to be good, IMO. It's a moral imperative. And if I believe in it so strongly, I think that implies that I have to think if as "good enough" for my child, too; not just all those poor kids who couldn't afford private. Although we can't afford private either, so it's good that I see it this way. :ROTFLMAO:

That said, if DD had special needs that the public school could not accommodate, I would not hesitate to move her to another school that could (public or private). We are fortunate that we live in a district with great schools and DD is a typically developing child with an outgoing personality and a year of preschool behind her. She shows all the signs of being a kid who will fare well in early elementary, so we are going for it.

I don't think you can say that a public or private will always be better, have more qualified teachers and better resources. It ALWAYS depends on so may other factors. My mom has taught at an independent day school in a large east coast city for 30+ years, and she is very qualified even by public school standards. She keeps her certificate/credential current and goes above and beyond the required CECs by the state and her school. Her school has some amazingly wealthy people on the board and even more as donors. They are not lacking in any way, and when you compare that school to the public district in the city, hands down there is no comparison.

Nevertheless, I know a couple people who went to a very small Christian private school in a small town and they graduated knowing a heck of a lot of bible verses, but not a lot of math, chemistry or physics. They also thought the theory of evolution was the work of the devil. I'm not saying that someone has to believe it, but they should at least understand it outside of the charged religious rhetoric. In that case, the county public schools absolutely had more to offer including a chemistry lab!

I think what we have to do is not make black and white statements or over generalize. Every kid is different, and two kids attending the same school, even in the same class, can have very different experiences depending on the kid. Likewise there is a WIDE variation across public schools, depending on the state funding mechanism, the region, city or county or district.

I think you should do what you think is best for DD in this moment with the options you have and not worry about the rest.

[Karenn]

I really believe that public schools have better qualified teachers, more resources, and more opportunities for students.

If I thought public school offered the best educational option for my child, I'd be out of private school in an instant. I have many more things I'd rather spend that tuition money on. If that's where you ultimately plan for her to end up, I think the sooner your DD can start building friendships in public school, the better.

[belovedgandp]

If you think she'd be better served I do think earlier is better. My good friend just moved her two girls this past year. She was able to get both of them on spring/summer sports teams with the "new" public school classmates. It meant the girls knew kids before school started in August and got to know a few more in the neighborhood.

As a kid who did Catholic school K-12. I did love it. But my parents and I both figured out about 7th grade that I would have been better served by the public school system. By then I was too socially set to want to move. Academic and co-curricular type activities were just not as good at my Catholic high school as they would have been at the public school.

I chose to send my kids to public school. Even my mom says if she'd known what she was signing up for when I was I was 5 she would have thought a little harder about that decision at the time.

[niccig]

If I thought public school offered the best educational option for my child, I'd be out of private school in an instant. I have many more things I'd rather spend that tuition money on.

:yeahthat:

It depends on where you are and on individual schools.

OP, you're not happy with her current school, I would move her.

[wimama]

I have my DS in a Catholic school, and we love it. But, from what you are describing I would move her to a public school.

We were live both the public school and the neighborhood school are great schools. My DS went to the same Catholic school my DS is enrolled at now. He has several schoolmates whose parents are alumni. It is still a strong school that is turning out kids that perform well at the high school and college levels. Many of DH's old classmates from our Catholic school have gone on to be very successful in their careers and in life.

That said, there are many Catholic schools that seem to be struggling right now. And, I very carefully weighed my options to make sure I was comfortable with the level of academic education at my DS school. If I was concerned his academic needs were not being met, I would move him to the public school.

[essnce629]

I'd say follow your heart and make the switch.

We just made the switch this year and haven't looked back. DS1 was in a public elementary school for 1st and 2nd grade and we just weren't happy with anything, even though it is supposedly a very good school. We applied to a new public charter school that one of Conner's friends switched to and his mom was raving about, but he didn't get a spot through the lottery for 3rd grade. Two weeks into his 3rd grade year (at the school we didn't like) a spot opened up at the charter school and we were next in line on the waitlist! We had 24 hours to make the decision and decided to go for it. It's been amazing and there's been zero regrets. DS1 made new friends right away and his teacher is amazing and the principal is great and always accessible.

My best friend is going through a similar situation to yours and I just talked to her today and she's probably going to switch her daughter to public school next year. Both she and her DH are teacher's at a private Catholic K-8 school and their DD is currently in kindergarten there. My friend doesn't like the K teacher at all and thinks her DD is falling behind and she's also not a big fan of the principal. Even though it will be a hassle to have to drive her DD in the opposite direction to take her to the public school every day when she and her DH are going to the private school and they'll have to put her in the public school aftercare program, she still thinks the public school will be better for her DD in the long run and there will be more services to help her with her reading which she feels she's falling behind in in her current private school.

Good luck in your decision.