Private or Publc School

I have a second grader in public school and am thinking about switching to private, but haven't done any research yet.

Fortunetly I live in an area where I feel the public schools are good, so I believe that my son will attend public schools. I have family that live in areas where the public schools are not so good, AND they are devoted Catholics, so their children go to Catholic Schools. I can't see much difference in the children that go to private schools in my family as compared to the public schooled children, as far as the schooling... the parenting is completely different story. I think to raise healthy independent children you have to have a good strong family/home life first and foremost, and having that you'll be involved in their schooling anyway so you'll be able to see any situations you may be leary of.

Hi E.
You did not say where you live , which may make a big difference in your choice. I live in KCMO school district, one with not the best rep, mind you, but there are some good schools there none the less. First of all , tour the schools, see how you feel about them. I looked at both private and public, and the school that looked right for us was a public montessori school. After doing a little research on this teaching style I felt like it was the way to go for my child. Sit in on a few classes, take a look at how much parents are involved in the school. How much homework do the kids have, all are important factors. For me I also wanted the room to be diverse, after all that is the world we live in and how will our children learn to respect and get to know other cultures if we don't give them the chance. However, don't feel any guilt if you choose private, you half to find the best fit for your child. One other thing, look at down the road and where you child will attend middle and high school, it can be harder to switch after a certain age when they made their friends and are comfortable.
Good luck,
C.

Oh, me too (to coin a ToonTown Phrase).
I always believed in public schools until this year when I started sending my son, an only child, to school (half-day K).

It is like they took the authority over my son right out of my hands and forced me to cater to their way of doing things. I am way too old and too courageous to do that kind of thing, to let them have that kind of control over this family and our values.

There ought to be a Parent's Bill Of Rights.

Sorry, I can't help you. I am searching for a way myself. I just keep hoping the next year will be better.

This is such a difficult decision. I am trying to figure out the same for my own daughter. There are positives and negatives of both. I went to a public school from k-5th then a private school from 5-8 then to a public highschool. In my public gradeschool I was in the top 1% (out of 200 kids) of my class. When I switched to a private school I was in the middle half (of only 50 kids!)! So I must say that the quality of education was higher in the private school. That may have just been the district though because I went to a better public school for highschool and the education was good.
The thing I liked about the private school is they offered more athletics at a younger age. In fifth grade I got to participate in basketball, volleyball, track and cross country. The public school did not offer that till highschool.
I also value the Christian morals that are implied in a private school.
The one thing I did not like about the private school is the lack of diversity and acceptance. The children were VERY cruel to new kids. You would think they would be taught better coming from a Christian homes but some of their parents taught them to be very narrow minded. Alot of the kids came from wealthy homes and their parents were somewhat snooty.
overall I do like the private schools better. But ultimately it is what works for YOU and YOUR child. Some kids do better in different environments. You know your child the best so do what works for both of you!
Good luck!

I sent my oldest daughter to a private school for K-8 due to us not living in a decent school district. I loved the school. We moved between 8th grade and freshman year and she then went on to a public high school. She was ahead of most of the students academically when she started there. She also went through a bit of shell shock when she first attended the public school. She was surpised at the way the students misbehaved so much in class. She is in her junior year at the public high school now. The public school is acceptable for her but I don't like how big it is and that there are a good many disruptive students. I feel like the parents at the particular private school she went to were more active in their children's educations. There was also a great deal of respect instilled in the children at that school.

I also have a 2 year old at home and am mixed on what route I will take for her education. I currently live in a good school district but the housing here is really to high for me. I am forced to stay here for the time being so that my oldest won't have to switch schools. I like the freedom of living anywhere a private school gives. Much of my indecision lies in the fact that if I choose a public school for the 2 year old I will be stuck in the same area for 13 years. That doesn't give me much choice on housing expenses or living closer to work.

I guess the main reason I responed to you was to stand up for private schools a bit since it seemed most people were pro public schools. I personally attended private schools from pre-k through 12th grade and was extremely frightened of public schools until my daughter started attending one. At least now I am considering both for my other daughter.

My oldest 2 girls spent a couple years in a private school before we started homeschooling. 8 years after we started homeschooling we let them finish highschool in a public school. Our youngest girl at the time wanted to go to school too, so she started public school in the 5th grade.

Since I do have experience with all 3 environments, I say either choose homeschooling or public. But I didn't think there was enough difference between the public and the private. Why pay for something that our taxes pay for already?

I will say though, homeschooling for us was the most expensive option. We spent a lot on our curriculum and extra curricular activities.

Obviously, you may not care for your teachers in certain schools. So maybe you should go and meet with the teachers in your local school before you decide?

Suzi

hi E., well i would start checking the schools around your area both private and public. see what is best. a relative of mine went to a private school catholic i might ad and moraly didnt turn out better or worse than if she would of went to a public school. figure out your reasons for sending your child to a private school rather than public, is it religion, better education. i have another relative that went to private school from k thru 8th, when she went to public in her freshman year of high school she was behind what they were learning and was having trouble with her classes and grades. i send my kids to public school i feel like im in a good school district. my husband went to the same school that my 15year old has and now my 6 year old is in kindergarten and going to the same elementary. i guess i can only say do your homework and research, go for interviews meet with the principal, ask about the teachers, things like that. W. mom of 4

Elise, I work in the private sector while my husband teaches in the public schools. I think there are a few differences between the two.

In the private schools, you have parents who are paying money on top of their tax dollars for a specific education. These parents tend to be more involved in the school as well as the lives of their children. And a good accredited school will have enough people on waiting lists that they can afford to suspend students with bad behavior. And, if it is stated in the contract, the school can expect full annual tuition payment even after a child has been asked not to return to school.

In the public schools, as in life, you can expect to run into people from all walks of life. You could have the rich trial lawyers and tv station owners children along with the children of parents who allow pot smoking in the house. There will be parents who care deeply for the future of their children and parents who are grateful to have their children out of the house for 6 to 7 hours. And of course, every now and then you'll find the parent who arrives late to an IEP meeting dressed in NOTHING other than a sheer baby doll gown.

I suppose that you'll find pluses and minuses on both sides of this issue. Just for the record, all three of my children attended public schools.

I'm in the same boat as you.

I have found this website to be a great resource: http://www.greatschools.net there are other parents reviews and experiences. Also look at their average test scores against the national averages.

Best of Luck!

We have experienced both. We started in the public schools, moved to private when our youngest 2 were in 3rd and 5th grade and stayed there for 7 years then it got to expensive because we had one going to college and the other 3 behind him every 2 years. I will say the ones that were there through 8th grade were VERY ready for high school honors classes (we moved them in 9th grade back to the public school) Then our 3rd son that went through 6th grade was in advance classes 7th and 8th (currently in 8th)and has had straight A's all year. Our youngest moved to public school in 5th grade and will be going into 7th grade next year. He definately is not educated as well as the other 3 and will not be taking advance classes. I realize all kids are different but I firmly believe the private school has a much better education, higher standards and spends less time teaching meaningless things such as health and sex education which I believe should be tought in the home. If we could afford it my kids would be in private schools!

Personally, I would have to say that private schools are a lot better to send your child too. The teachers are there to actually teach and seem to care more for the students than just for being there for a paycheck, no matter how small it may be.
I went to both types of school but I was mainly in a private one and the contrast between the two is incomparable. My teachers were wonderful, my classes were a lot smaller and it was a lot easier for each child to be helped if need be due to this.
When I went to a public school, we never once had less than 30 or 35 kids in our class, compared to maybe 20 at the most in my private school and that was pushing it, plus in the public school it was a lot more difficult to get any one on one help if needed.
In my opinion, if you can afford to do so, putting your child in a private school is the best route to go. She will have the best opportunity and the best teachers possible. I'm also not saying that the teachers in a public school are rotten, it's just the fact that they DO have so many kids in their class and so much to go through and try to cram into one day to so many kids, I just don't think they have the time or the gumption to actually help the kids.
My children are in public school and I am so disappointed. The quality of teaching has gone down considerably in public schools and once we get moved for our final time, we're looking for private schools.

We were in a bad school district and chose to send our daughter to a private school. I had always thought that private schools gave the kids an "edge"
When we moved, our public school district changed. Our daughter was behind in several areas.
I agree with the other person, you need to do your homework about were you send your child. All have good and bad.
B.

I also didn't want to send my daughter to private school, but the school district I live in is in such disarray I decided that I needed to send my daughter to private school. I suggest starting early, finding a school you like and sending your daughter there for preschool. I didn't think about it until a year before my daughter was to start kindergarten and I've had trouble getting her into my first choice school, I didn't realize the competition for spots in good schools. Good luck!

I have worked in both public and private schools. All I can say is, it depends on who the teacher is. There are bad teachers in both sectors. Just because a teacher is working in a private school, it doesn't mean that she/he is a good teacher. For the sake of stability, I doubt you are going to want to change schools if you send your daughter to a private school, but end up with an unenthusiastic teacher who doesn't know what she is doing/how to manage the classroom, etc. But then you are stuck paying for a service that you aren't satisfied with. The other problem is, if your student ends up having some sort of learning disability/speech impairment, most private schools don't have the resources to help your student the way that public schools do. Hope that helps!!

It really depends on the school district and the number of students to teachers. I recieved a great education in the school district I live in but I'm not really sure that they still have the same values. I've discovered that the teachers in my area's elementary "teach to the test" which I don't approve of. So they only go over the stuff that they know will be on the test instead of the steps it takes to have the skills to take the tests on their own.

There are some private schools that are the same way. You just have to discover what your priorities and your child's needs are and how they will be met.

My children have always went to public school and my oldest is a Junior this year. We have a few private schools in this area but I have heard from others that they are not much different than public schools when it comes to keeping your children away from bad stuff. I have several friends that home school and they all seem to do ok with it. Most of them home schooled when their kids were younger and let them finish out in Public school or Private. If it is not much different I agree with the other lady why pay for something that our tax dollars are already paying for. I have been fortunate because I was able to find a small rural school that I transfered my kids to, it goes from Pre-k thru 8th and they have the most amazing teachers there. Unfortunately in some school the teachers are there for a paycheck only not because they love teaching. But at my kids school it has been the opposite and therefore we have had a good experience. I wish you lots of luck in deciding what to do. T. in Tecumseh