Public v. private school?

MikeGyver

MikeGyver

:)
I'm at the fork in the road where I need to decided whether to send my son to private or public kindergarten. My area appears to have good public schools, but I'm not sure if that really means much. My wife and I can afford private school.

I'm curious what teh BARFs think about this. Would you send your children to private school? Why? What questions are worth asking to compare the two?

If this has been discussed in the sink previously feel free to point me in the right direction.
 
Sharky

Sharky

Well-known member
If you have good public schools why both with private, unless you have religious requirements
 
Butch

Butch

poseur
Staff member
If you have good public schools is might be good to support them.
Or maybe not; maybe your vacancy enables another child from a less affluent household to go to a good public school.
 
Bowling4Bikes

Bowling4Bikes

Steee-riiike!
IMO all school before high school comes down to parental involvement. they'll succeed wherever they are, as long as you're involved. go check out the school's PTA meetings. if they're full of participants, then they're involved. if they're barren, then it'll be more up to you as the parent to make sure they're learning.
 
gixxerjeff

gixxerjeff

Dogs best friend
In my experience, it depends as much on the kid as it does on the school system.
My kids are grown (in college) and are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
My son flourished in private school while his younger sister wanted out of there as soon as she was able to convey those opinions.
We were fortunate being in a good public school system so the public/private debate was a nice problem to have.
They both turned out fine. They are educated AND ride motorcycles.
 
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kevin 714

kevin 714

Well-known member
It's kindergarten who cares lol junior high and up private would be a better potential learning environment

Tho if you can afford private school one wonders that maybe public with a stay at home parent wouldn't be the best option long term
 
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westie

westie

Its Dethklok!
My daughter (now 22) went to public schools. She was accepted into the Bill Gates supported high school, where they told us,"In 4 years you won't be asking if your child is going to college but which one!" She hated it and begged to go to the local highschool. Begrudgingly I accepted and she flourished and was the only kid in her highschool to get accepted into UCB. She graduated last year and has a job an her own place in Walnut Creek. But, other than grades alone, she was also a world class skater which also boosted her into UCB. So a little extracarricular activity is needed to.
 
Eldritch

Eldritch

is insensitive
I don't understand why you would not give your child every possible advantage you can afford. If you choose carefully, I don't see how a private school would not be a better option to suit your kid.
 
Abacinator

Abacinator

Unholy Blasphemies
We chose public for mostly financial reasons and are fortunate to live near good schools. However we did decide to put our daughter through Montessori preschool and I think it helped give her a solid head start. She's in fourth grade now and kicking ass.
 
nakedape

nakedape

Well-known member
Your decision will be easier to make once you've visited each. K-3 programs are generally well staffed with a reasonable ratio of adults to kids. If the teacher is over 50 it could be great thanks to experience, or terrible if they have one foot OTD.

Look around the community your public school serves, and as others have said, get a sense of parent involvement. Too much or too little? Over involvement can pit teachers against parents pushing for maximum engagement and drag down the program. Under involvement usually means the teacher is harried and stressed.

I pulled two months kinder duty as a sub many years ago. Absolutely exhausting. Crying puking and pants-shitting were regular occurrences. Social anxiety, failure to pick up students and abuse rounded out the mix of nope. Ideally you can observe the pre-K class your kid will join the next year. It only takes a couple fucked up kids to ruin the daily experience for your child, and those formative years are pretty crucial to later development. Good luck! Let us know what happens.
 
Mr. White

Mr. White

Well-known member
My boss just told me that his son's public HS allows them to be late for class 8 (EIGHT!) times in a single semester without consequence. I was blown away.
 
nakedape

nakedape

Well-known member
Mr. White said:
My boss just told me that his son's public HS allows them to be late for class 8 (EIGHT!) times in a single semester without consequence. I was blown away.
Click to expand...

Funding-based policy. Average daily attendance (ADA) determines $$ for the school. Anything that might turn away a student for the DAY is bad for business. Also they might bus in or attract students from outside the enrollment area, ongoing traffic problems, or what have you.

If enough teachers mark kids tardy 30 seconds after the bell admin will adjust like that. It's hardly mind blowing if you're at all familiar with the realities of public schools.
 
HappyHighwayman

HappyHighwayman

Warning: Do Not Engage
I went to 11 years of Jewish Private School and liked it. I have friends I've known since kindergarten. YMMV. It was also ridiculously expensive.
 
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