Anyone here have their kids in private school....?

lisabeth · Mar 23, 2006

I am trying to decide where to send my soon to be 5 year old. It has to be a christian school and I am between a catholic school and a non denominational christian school. The thing is we are not catholic but the school is really good, I was really impressed with it. But catholic schools also require lots of volunteer time in order to get a cheaper tuition rate. So Im kinda nervous to commit to that when I might be in nursing school soon. I cant imagine having time to do it, when Im strapped for time now in prereq classes......(dont get me wrong if I had time I'd love to volunteer)
Soooo Im torn, the other school doesnt require any volunteer time. But it costs more.
Anyone have any experience with private schools?
-FNPHopeful

I have my daughter in a private Christian school. The public schools here just dont do their jobs. So far, I am very happy with it. She is getting a challenge and she is learning alot!!!

bsugaRN2b · Mar 23, 2006

I went to private school for all of my K-12, and a piece before that, and I loved it (I'm 20)...definitely couldn't have afforded it w/o the financial aid they all offered. I can't say I have personal experience w/public schools, but I can say this - the public schools in my area are really not that great, so Mom put me in private school, and then some of my friends from public school followed me to private school later and liked it as well - I say go for it!!

~Adria :)

Nurse-To-Be-Joy · Mar 23, 2006

I went to a private school, and now my sister is in 5th grade and my brother is in 1st grade at one. I think it's a wonderful opportunity if you can afford it. I loved it and won't hesitate to send my son to one.

karmyk · Mar 23, 2006

The thing is we are not catholic but the school is really good, I was really impressed with it

A lot of people who go to Catholic school aren't Catholic.

But catholic schools also require lots of volunteer time in order to get a cheaper tuition rate.

Consider it also an investment of time into being a part of your child's educational experience... it isn't usually that much time, once you start doing it. Are you married or a single parent? Maybe your spouse might be willing to shoulder some of that extra volunteer time for you. A relative might be able to, as well. When I was in high school, I ended up doing some of my parents' hours for myself (and later on, for my sisters) by volunteering with them... it could be a family activity.

work4choc · Mar 23, 2006

There isn't a whole lot of required time at my son's school. We are Catholic so we get a reduced rate that is not tied in with volunteer hours. I have a friend who gets some aid and she does some volunteering but they have never come to her and told her to do more or how much she needed to do. She helps serve lunch (about 1 hr) twice a month up to sometimes one day each week. Parents are required to: be a yard duty person (1.5 hours) at lunch recess three times during the year, and participate in two fundraising events as a volunteer. We have a halloween carnival and road race on the same day and I stuffed goody bags a couple of days before the race and helped with decorating the day before the carnival for a total of about 4.5 hours. My kids came with me. So, in total, I did 9 hours this year that are documented and required. There are always opportunities for more hours - giving AR tests, lunch duty, field day,...

Our school may be different as there are a ton of sahms that seem to give many many hours, so the need and requirement might be lower than another school where there are fewer volunteers, but it is worth looking into because it is probably less than you fear.

jillyk*rn · Mar 23, 2006

my 3 boys are in catholic school. cost me a fortune, but public schools here are terrible (i went through them...i know).

we have lots of kids who aren't catholic. no biggie.

i know at our school each parent is required to do only 2 hours (to work the carnival). i know most schools are a lot more than that, but.

good luck with your decision!

gr8rnpjt, RN · Mar 23, 2006

Just a warning-just because a school is private, does not mean a better education. I had my older children in our parish school. One lasted a couple of months, the other lasted 2 years and they both wanted to go to public school. We dealt with:

outdated books

not enough books for the class (my daughter had to share a book with another child and they had to take turns taking the book home to do homework!)

not enough desks (one of my daughters had to go for half a year without a desk! She sat at a table to the side of the room and was not allowed to face the chalkboard! Which leads me to the next problem:

poor quality teachers. Private school teachers in some parishes are paid about a third of the rate for union jobs in the public schools in my area.

There are very few teachers who would accept teaching positions making 33% of what other teachers in our area make. We had one teacher who had been fired from a public school job for assaulting a student! She routinely threatened the children with, "Don't make me do something I might regret later!" The administrators of the parish school (parish priest and the nuns who ran the school) were so afraid to lose a teacher that they basically ignored calls to the school with problems or concerns. I had placed several calls to the parish when I was having problems with a teacher. I finally just took my daughter out of the school and never got a call back even then!

Our parish school has since closed due to poor enrollment numbers, but there is no big surprise there.

brinley_s · Mar 23, 2006

I spent all of my education in a private Catholic school, pre-k through 12. My siblings all went to public school after 6th grade. I have to disagree with the poster above me. If you have researched the school and toured the classrooms then you are no doubt sure they have up to date books and equipment.

I also have to disagree about the teachers being substandard. While it is true that they make much less than public school teachers, Most teachers that teach in private school do so because they love it and believe in providing a good enviroment for their students. I also think that students in private schools do better academically.

As far as the volunteering goes, my parents had to volunteer 5 hours per year, it wasn't that bad split btwn the two of them. Good luck making the best decision for your child.

jenn_rn_nj · Mar 23, 2006

I attended private and/or private Catholic school my entire life. There are pros and cons to both. I thrived and performed well in that setting as did my sister. Graduate school was our first venture into the public school system (a state college). I didn't dislike it (and as far as I know neither did my sister).

The schools that we went to that were affiliated with our parish gave a discount to parishoners (sp?) usually; the ones that were not affiliated with a parish didn't give discounts to anyone but often offered financial aid in some form. My mom did volunteer (though she was a stay at home mom so she always enjoyed that sort of thing).

My brother has a learning disability. He did not thrive in the same environment as my sister and I did. My parents had much more support and teachers / school psychologists willing to work with my brother and his IEP in the public school system. The private schools just didn't seem to want to put in the time/effort/energy. My parents felt very on their own and unsure of what to do until someone suggested they give one of the public schools a call. It ended up being the best thing my parents did for my brother.

Nutmeg5575 · Mar 24, 2006

I am going to be sending my daughter to Catholic school. We are Catholic. I also looked into other Christian churches in the area and one that claimed to be non-denominational, has church on wednesdays. I did some research and found out they are a pentecostal teaching school and believe in speaking in tongue. No offense to anyone that does this, I just don't believe in it and I don't want my daughter learn that. How much volunteer time do you have to commit to? Have you spoken to anyone at the school and explained your situation. I'm guessing the Catholic school is more expensive if you don't volunteer? If you don't think you will have the time to commit to volunteer time then don't commit to it. Explain your situation I'm sure they understand. Also, some schools offer financial assistance and payment arrangements.

chiynadol · Mar 24, 2006

I have to make a decision about that also. I was thinking about charter school because they are free. My newphew goes to one and he loves it. The public schools here are mixing elementary with junior high, and I don't like that. Plus the public school system stinks. So If I can't get my son into charter school I will have to pay for private school.