Post by hopecounts on Jan 20, 2013 18:26:11 GMT -5
For elementary school yes, the school we're zoned for is excellent and we'd be comfortable with the level of education DD would receive there. Unfortunately the middle and high schools are overcrowded and understaffed and just aren't up to the level we're comfortable with. Unless that changes DD will be attending private school after she finishes elementary school. DH's aunt and uncle did this with their oldest (their 2nd will attend next fall) and it's worked very well for them especially since a number of their classmates did/are doing the same thing so it's less upheaval in terms of the social aspect.
Post by thelongroad on Jan 20, 2013 18:36:09 GMT -5
There are 5 elementary schools in my district, 2 in which I would never send my children to, 2 that I would, and 1 that I'm on the fence about.
One of my children goes to one of the good ones. Luckily that is the school we are zoned for. There are a few bad apples at the school, but I think the good teachers far outweigh the bad ones, the administration is amazing, and the parental support is great as well.
My other child attends one of the bad ones, only because they are the district school where they are housing a program he is in this year. Administration is not good, the parents are not at all invovled, and there are far more subpar teachers than there should be. Luckily he will be with my other child next year. It has been interesting to have children at both ends of the spectrum the same year.
I believe there are ineffective teachers at every school, and while teachers are a huge component, it goes beyond that. The district makes a huge difference, and the site administration and the parental support are important also.
We'll probably go with a Catholic school, and then switch him to a Jesuit single sex school for high school. H and I actually met at our Jesuit university, and we both loved the education we got. Plus, the all boys Jesuit school here is really, really good.
DH and I both got our Bachelor's degrees from Jesuit schools, and we really believe in their stance with education. I am not Catholic (or religious at all) and DH is only slightly Catholic (LOL), but regardless, we hope to be able to send them to a Jesuit prep school.
how much is a typical private school in the US? in canada, they are pretty much all very expensive BUT fantastic. great reputations and way different from our public schools (and we have an excellent public school system in this city, for the most part).
i ask b/ci wonder if my frame of reference for private schooling is the same as yours (the americans). a typical private school in toronto will cost between $10K-$30K per year.
I anticipate at least $10k a year. I have no idea if that is right or not though.
how much is a typical private school in the US? in canada, they are pretty much all very expensive BUT fantastic. great reputations and way different from our public schools (and we have an excellent public school system in this city, for the most part).
i ask b/ci wonder if my frame of reference for private schooling is the same as yours (the americans). a typical private school in toronto will cost between $10K-$30K per year.
how much is a typical private school in the US? in canada, they are pretty much all very expensive BUT fantastic. great reputations and way different from our public schools (and we have an excellent public school system in this city, for the most part).
i ask b/ci wonder if my frame of reference for private schooling is the same as yours (the americans). a typical private school in toronto will cost between $10K-$30K per year.
I think that's fairly on par with US private schools - based on what I know friends pay. I believe Catholic grade schools in my city are less that that but the high schools can range from $5K-$20K/year.
SO and I specifically purchased a home in an area with public schools that we are comfortable with sending our future phantom children to. Although there are a couple very good private K-8 schools that I would like to look into further when the time comes.
You can go to a Catholic lower school for like $5-6K. I think Catholic high school runs in the $8-12K range give or take. There are other private schools that run in the $25-35K range and around $45-50K for boarding schools
The public schools here are good. Apparently fourth in the state (I checked because of this thread - but I can't vouch for the accuracy of the site I used). We bought for the school district.
Nonetheless, I know which local private schools we'd do but I don't know they'll be in our budget. Among the top in the country.
Post by BieberMyBalls on Jan 20, 2013 19:34:17 GMT -5
I'm happy with the public school DS goes to. Most of the schools in this area are pretty good. We can't afford private school, so that isn't really an option. If the schools had been shitty in this area, we probably wouldn't have moved here.
Both my H and I went through Catholic elementary schools, and same-sex high schools. Our kid(s) will go to the same Catholic/Jesuit elementary school and HS where my H went. We both had great experiences with our schooling and want that for our kids. In our area, Catholic elementary schools run about $4K per year and high schools about $10K. Thank God we have very generous (and religious) parents who have insisted on helping with tuition.
FWIW, I teach in a public school about 20 minutes from our house. I wouldn't send my kids there, and I think we have many amazing teachers. But the community as a whole puts such a low value on education that I want to keep the boy out of that environment if I can. I'm not sure if that makes me a hypocrite or not.
Yes, it's one of the reasons we picked our area and good to know that our property taxes are worth it.
As a public school teacher, I work in an area where the property taxes are what I consider high. As a graduate, and now teacher in the district I'm 95% happy with the quality of the schools.
Post by 2boys2danes on Jan 20, 2013 20:21:00 GMT -5
Our school district is very good...one of the top in the state and we just started in it this year for 6th grade. We've been very happy so far. Before that the boys went to private school K-5. My H is very very laid back -- like literally, I could say "honey, lets move to Zimbabwe tomorrow and he'd be like OK" and private school was one thing that he really had a strong opinion on so I went with him on private school.
One of our boys has a language deficiency and an IEP so we needed to have him in public school for their services because the private school had none. So far, so good!
We're lucky enough to live in one of the best public school districts in the country, and made sure we bought our house near the some of the better schools in the district. You bet your ass our kids are going to public school.
And to some degree, I think parent involvement in a kid's education is as important to their success as the schools they go to are. I really don't like that the burden always seems to fall totally on underpaid teachers. Of course, short of homeschooling, no amount of parent involvement is going to compensate for a truly bad school.
We just moved here from a smaller district that was blue ribbon so although this school has high ratings we are still adjusting to the size and lack of individual attention. I am considering private school but I am going to give it a year to make sure this isn't just an adjustment period.
I'm torn. The school system has great schools, great programs and great teachers. But the school board is really struggling with the growing pains of this area and there's a lot of instability with the assignment plans. (Dude, things got so out of control, we were the butt of a joke on the Colbert Report)
I'm not sure if I have the stomach to put my kids through that, but there's a few more years to iron it out.
That said, We're thinking about trying to get Hart into the local charter school here.
Post by DotAndBuzz on Jan 20, 2013 22:34:30 GMT -5
Yes. The public schools where we live are exceptional. I have no qualms at all sending them. Of course, once we're in the system we'll have a better feel for it, but most of the people we've talked to (other parents at Natalie's school, H's partners, etc) send their kids to public school, so I feel that says a lot about the quality as well.
However where we used to live, they would definitely go to private school.
They have a good reputation. I worry about modern educational approaches in general though. If we were wealthy I'd probably find a catholic school with a more traditional approach, though.
As it stands now we are sending them to the public school around the corner and are ready to put them in private school if we encounter a lot of serious issues.
Post by darthnbjenni on Jan 20, 2013 23:44:32 GMT -5
I'm a public school teacher, and many of our schools in our district (I think the 49th largest in the country?) are wonderful, wonderful schools. There are some that are in not so great parts of town, and there are some very country schools as well. However, I wouldn't send my kids to 90% of the private schools here because they are all very religious, in the evangelical, don't believe in science, type of way.
how much is a typical private school in the US? in canada, they are pretty much all very expensive BUT fantastic. great reputations and way different from our public schools (and we have an excellent public school system in this city, for the most part).
i ask b/ci wonder if my frame of reference for private schooling is the same as yours (the americans). a typical private school in toronto will cost between $10K-$30K per year.
We picked our home because it is in one of the top districts in the state. So far our experience has been limited to the preschool program, but I adore his teachers and therapists.
S's elementary school is good. It's not great, but it's good, as are all of the school in our area. If I felt the schools weren't okay, I'd sent him to private school, without hesitation. Homeschooling is not for me and we can afford to send him to private school if we had to (only because we have one kid).
My father was very against private schools, and he had a lot of good points, but it still beats out a horrible public school, IMO.