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.
My dd went to 2 years of catholic pre-school and kindergarten, like another poster mentioned she had some problems learning and those problems were not addressed at catholic school. I would tell the teacher that she just wasn't getting it and that she cried when I made her do her homework and that she wasn't retaining the information and the teacher kept telling me "oh she's fine, she doesn't do that in class" and " you are unfairly comparing her to your son"(who is extrememly gifted), she could not read her sight words (ie. her name is ANDrea and she couldn't read the word AND) when over the summer I got the results of her standardized test (she scored in the 30th percentile across the board) I decided that there was NOTHING "fine" about her progress. I transfered her to public school, she is now in second grade and is scoring in the 70-80th percentiles on standardized tests and is reading well above her grade level.
Another thing that I was disappointed with in the private school was the class size, I belived that by sending my kids to private school they would have more individualized attention, but in reality the class sizes are the same.
Not to say that private school is always a bad thing, my son did very well, with the same teachers, but he would most likely do well whereever you put him.
I am very happy with my decision to transfer them to public school they have many more opportunities, larger libraries, more after school activities, better PE equipment, different teachers who specialize in their subjects, and GATE programs, and tutoring programs..........
...I went to Catholic schools for 10 years. My kids went to Christian school, public school and home school.
...my advice, go with the non-denominational private school. Your child would learn a lot of Catholic dogma in a Catholic school, whereas a non-denominational school will stick to fundamentals of the faith. ie, catholic school teaches fundamentals plus catholic tradition and dogma, lutheran school teaches fundamentals plus lutheran tradition, Baptist teaches fundamentals plus Baptist tradition, etc.
...having said that, no matter where your child attends, it is imperative for parents to take an active, pro-active role. Go there unannounced once in awhile to see what is going on. LISTEN to your child!! And if the notes from the teachers are misspelled or grammatically incorrect, politely talk to the teacher about this if it is a constant thing. Offer to help with an activity, field trip, lunch or science fair. Send in cookies or appropriate treats.
...if it is financially possible, check with the teacher your child has and ask if he/she would like some supplies. We've donated directly to the teacher stickers, pencils, construction paper, stars, pastels (art chalk), borders for the bulletin boards, a large clock for the classroom, Highlights and Ranger Rick magazines. One year when the kids had to clean their desks every Fri. I got some sponges and cut them down for little hands, some soap and a pail for the teacher. The kids liked the small size and the teacher appreciated it.
...in a private school the teachers sometimes have virtually no break from the classroom. I would volunteer each Fri. to read a Pooh Bear story to the Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. I would bring one of my Poohs or Eyerores from my large collection. It would take me 20-30 minutes each classroom, but it was something the kids could look forward to as well as the teacher, to leave the room.
...do as much as you can, even if it is once a month. It will make a difference to your child and to the teacher. And to you :)
I would like to add a couple of comments in response to concerns raised above.
In our diocese (Diocese of Savannah) it is mandated that the teachers receive a salary that is at least 85% of what is paid a public school teacher. There are many fine teachers that are willing to accept a lower salary for what they feel is a better, more supportive teaching environment. Our K3-8 school has 275 students. The classrooms for the lower grades are new (within the past 4 years), and the materials are in good condition. The only thing I feel that is a shame is that the teachers do not get a tuition break for their kids, so some of the teachers' kids go to public school.
My son is in 1st grade and he has 11 kids in his class. Last year in Kindy, there were 24, and enough parents raised a fuss about the class size that they split it for 1st grade.
My son could probably benefit from properly designed special services. He is very bright, but daydreams, dawdles, loses his focus, etc.... and subsequently, gets more "s" grades (equivalent to a C) than he should due to unfinished class work, homework forgotten at school, skipped test questions because he got distracted and missed them....I decided with a class size of 11, we would see if his teacher could help him work on improving his habits. We will be moving and for at least the first year in our new city, he will attend PS, and we will see what they can offer him. Private schools do lack that, as the state will not fund them for any special services. We went through the IEP process and at the end, I was told my child could not receive services of any kind unless he enrolled in public school - which, honestly, if I felt strongly enough about getting him services and keeping him in private school, I would have contested.
Anyway, way TMI for the original post, but I wanted to respond to the other comments posted along the way.
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
I don't have any kids, but two of my in-laws have their kids in private schools. Neither are religion associated. They are, however, highly rated. Did you know there is a book, just like the college guides that rates these schools? I believe it is called Peterson's. They have an online website where you can look up schools in your area. They track performance of the kids on state and national tests and their statitics on college success.
The latest kid to get into private school in my family waited until he was in the first grade and they had to wait for a seat to open up in the school they wanted. The classes are small and he is getting a lot of individual attention and tutoring from the teachers there. He was already behind after being in the first grade at a public school for half a year! Several of the teachers at the private school just swarmed on him to bring him up to the level of the other kids. He loves his new school. The school was chosen specifically to develop his social skills.
You need to check out the philosophies of the different schools. Some focus on educational excellence, others on a more broad based educational experience. But, check them out. The Peterson's guide will help you. I think you are going to find that many private schools engage in a lot more educational and social experiences that far exceed what the public schools and some religious schools have to offer.
If your child has special teaching needs you need to look for a school that provides that. They are out there, but they are costly.
Our daughter is in a private christian school. We live in a large city and the school district we live in is a shambles. We could have paid big money to have her go to one of the ourlying township public schools, but they are all huge and have large classes. My husband and I were both in agreement when we were engaged that if we had children they would go to a private christian school (I was raised catholic, he was raised baptist. We compromised and found an excellent non denominational christian school and church we attend as a family). We felt it was important to have high quality education that fell in line with our values. The school we chose is expensive, but the sacrifice in budget is worth it for her. As far as volunteering goes, we are not required, but they do recruit volunteers for a lot of things. I go when I can and hubby does too, but its rough with schedules. I know alot of the SAHM's go in pretty regularly and I think thats great too.
karmyk
282 Posts
I want all of my female nieces to go to the same Catholic all girls high school I went to... unless they decide to go here:
http://schools.scusd.edu/healthprofessions/index.html
Dang... I wish a school like this existed back when I was still in high school.