School, Private or Public

In my experience of teaching in Private schools is that they tend not to have the expertise, specialist teachers, experience or funds (and in many cases, the inclination) to help kids like your daughter. That is why I moved to public funded schools. I know other private school teachers who insist that children with learning difficulties have better opportunities for help in the public school system - they have reading specialists and are more able to aply for and receive extra help. Kids in private schools usually have to pay for speech therapy etc (unless it is stipulated in an IEP) but those in public schools may have it paid for by the school district.

Also, bear in mind that teachers in private schools do not have to be licensed. Many are, but it is worth asking about teacher qualifications, experience and training if you are looking at private education.

Good Luck

R.

K.,
My 2 kids go to private school, we live in Crestwood, and our public school here is not up to the standards I think they should be. We pay about $430.00 per month for schooling. Mydaughter has speech problems herself, she does however have speech thru the public school system where her private school is located. They do help a lot. I have a friend who lives in oak Lawn & her kids go to St. Linus,that is a really good private school. However the limit per class rooms in Il. is 35 or 36. But there should be a teachers aide, (I was for 2 yrs. in a private school) The way you said your daughter has problems with Th's sh's & wh's you may want to look into speech for her that was/is my daughters problem almost like her toungue is to big for her mouth when she says some words. But we are working on it, she is almost 12, it just takes time and practice I'm told. I even looked into private speech lessons for her with Sertoma in Palos Hills, they are very costly 195 for 1 hour 95 for a half.
I pefer the private schools for my situation. Is she learning? getting good grades? YOu can also look up a schools report card on line or ask for a copy of it from the schools office. That will help to see how the kids learn at what level in the school.
Good Luck

My background is this:
I went to private schools my whole life (and enjoyed it), but personally I would not send a possible "special needs" child to one.

If it were my own daughter and she was exhibiting some reading problems, I would MOST certainly send her to a good public school. Most private schools don't have the experience, nor the funds, to help educate kids with special needs. They may have a "resource" room, but in my experience it completely lacks the materials compared to ones available at good public school. You are paying taxes for this--so I say utilize it!

If your child does indeed have a real reading issue (reading disability--which actually needs to be diagnosed) a good public education is what she needs. The schools (by LAW) have to provide the child with reading services. Now if she just needs extra "help" but actually doesn't require special services, then maybe a tutor is all you really need.

Just an FYI, second/third grade is a really common time when reading/learning disabilities are diagnosed. Children with reading deficits are of average to above average intelligence.

Dear K.:

My children attended public schools also and we have some wonderful programs. When my son was younger he had reading probelms also. They would take him out of the class in either a small group or one on one if needed and tutor him right there in the school. We also had classes around 25-27 but if they did they would lso have a teacher helper.
He also had some other learning problems that they truly bent over backwards to help with. My nephew on the other hand went to as catholic school and when he needing help reading it was up to my sister to enroll him in a program after school for extra help. So I do believe the public schools offer more. You need to talk to the teacher and let her know your concerns.

As far as the after school care for a hour a day costing you $190.00 a week. That's just crazy. I would either look for a stay at home mom that could help, YWCA program, or an at home daycare provider. I watched kids after school all the time and charged $6.00 an hour becausethey were part-time. For 5 hours a week it would of cost you $30.00.
Keep looking and good-luck.

Class size is not the only factor you need to take into consideration when considering between private and public schools. In fact, some private schools have larger class sizes because they are not subject to the same regulations that public schools are. Also, if the teacher is not trained or able to help with your daughter's specific problem, it does not matter how large the class size is. You need to talk to the teacher and see what she and the school can do to help your child. Do not assume that the teacher automatically knows there is an issue, especially if your daughter does not have an IEP.

Many, but certainly not all, private schools are not set up to deal with special needs situations, even if it is "just" speech therapy. They will send your child back to the public school system for such things. You need to talk to the school to see how they would deal with her needs.

My husband and I are both former teachers. We saw plenty of schools with problems, both public and private. Being a private school does NOT automatically make it better than your local public school. You need to research the specific school, and how they will deal with your daughter, and compare that to your local school. Only when you've asked questions of both schools can you really make a decision on what is best for your child.

Where do you live? And if your public school charges so much per month for aftercare, would you consider private school with smaller classes for about the same or less in cost?

I ask b/c my son goes to a small Catholic school in the city, which has the only deaf & hearing impared program in the Archdiocse. It also offers a reading assistance program, computers, a new science lab and small classes (my son's 2nd grade class has about 15 kids). Including aftercare, I pay $540 per month.