School Question - Long

kelly321 · January 2012

To balance out some of the PP's great private school experiences, I just want to throw in that I had a great public school experience. Our district, although it was rural, was known for being one of the better public schools in the area, though. Two of my good friends went to two different Catholic private schools, and I'd say that the education they got was in no way better than mine - or maybe it's just that they didn't get much out of it! ;-) They seemed to be behind me on most of the curriculum.

However, in your situation I think I would choose private and try to invest my savings conservatively to help pay for college. If the kids do well, hopefully they can get merit scholarships and then you can pay for all of their tuition anyway!

frlcb · January 2012

newporter:
I would go w/ the one you like best - private school #2? You will feel at ease and as for the college $$$, you never know what will happen - there may be scholarships and other ways to finance it. If down the road the burden of not saving the $ for college is too much, you can put him in the public. Maybe by then it will have a better score or fit DS's needs better (more outdoor time, etc).

Does the school offer any financial aid?

We wouldn't qualify for financial aid, unfortunately. Well, fortunately, but you know what I mean! I also have to remind myself that where we are financially now will be different than in 15 years, and hopefully then it will be even better and paying for college will be something we can do. I know it will all work out, I just like to talk about it - a lot.

Now, dilemma 2, I prefer one school and dh prefers the other! Oh well, something we need to work out

hamilton.ja · January 2012

ukyankee:
Studies have been done to show that if you are going to put a kid in private school a few years and public school a few years, it's the lower school years/primary that are most important. You get much more one-on-one time, you are more likely to be with kids of a similar bent/background, the private schools are more able to adjust to your level and if there are learning issues, it will be found out more quickly.

I do think that parental involvement is important regardless, but there are a lot of positives for younger kids in private schools. Once you hit middle school or high school, you should have the learning background so you could go to public school then and really continue to perform.

Im so happy to hear you say it his. Everyone keeps saying to us "why spend your. Money on elementary school, high school is so much more important" and I just felt the opposite for all the reasons you listed but no one ever believed me. I Feel better in our decision to start him in a Private K program this fall now.

Emily523 · January 2012

Go for private school #2.

We're lucky that the public schools where we live are amazing. Hopefully they stay that way when W is older.

MrsBini10 · January 2012

I haven't read the other responses, but I think the 2nd private school you described fits your philosophy best. If you send him there can you also afford to send your DD there too when she's old enough? If so, I'd go for that. If not, I'd go for public and see how it goes.

anna7602 · January 2012

This is the big question looming over our heads when we return to the US and I have been trying not to think about it. For now, our game plan is to piece together the second half of the pre-K year however we can (we'll be back from France halfway through the school year and that limits both our private and public options). Then we'll apply to a bunch of specialized public schools, mainly the bilingual options in the neighborhoods within commuting distance and a local charter school, and see what happens.

The lack of outdoor time is a big problem in most NY public schools, even the charter and specialized ones, and I know a lot of parents who are supplementing with afterschool soccer, dance, etc. Their kids are exhausted at the end of the day and so are the parents and it all sounds so very, very unpleasant. However, paying for private school means cutting back elsewhere- either in college savings or retirement savings or even in making a trade-off like me having to work a heck of a lot more (I work for myself and decide my own work load) and spend a lot less time with DD and any future children (or forego future children due to education costs). It seriously gets my stomach in a knot to think about it for too long and I want to stamp my feet and say "I don't feel like working my butt off just to turn my paycheck directly over to a private school, darn it!"

School Question - Long

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