I don't know if I'm exactly answering the "what would you sacrafice?" question, but I can tell you the story of how we ended up making the choices we've made:
When our oldest was ready to start school, we lived in one county, I taught high school in the next county, and my husband worked two counties away. We were very concerned about how we were going to get the oldest to school, the youngest to day care, and each of us to work each day. We also weren't happy that the school was quite far from our workplaces. Private school was our answer. We were able to put the oldest into kindergarten and the youngest into day care in a large Christian school. It was near the high school where I taught. It cost about the same amount that we were already paying in day care, so it wasn't really a difficult decision.
We were VERY HAPPY with the teachers and what our children learned there in that school, though we hated the administration (they just made life difficult, changing rules, refusing to share the school calendar, etc.). We agreed that we would make a decision each year when it was time to "re-up" for the following school year: Is the money worth what we're getting from this school?" For a number of years, the answer was, "YES!" At that point, we weren't giving up anything specific, but we were living on a VERY tight budget (we've never seen consumer debt as an option). We never sacraficed retirement savings or college savings for private school; we didn't see that as an acceptable option.
Then came the year that the administration had really grown too big for its britches. Lots of demands for more money here and there. Lots of unreasonable changes mid-year. And it was always an irritation that one of my reasons for becoming a teacher was that I wanted my schedule to match my children's schedule; their school seemed to go out of the way to make sure that public school calendars NEVER matched theirs. At this point our children were middle-elementary school, and we became concerned that although they'd received superb phonics training in the lower grades, and they were doing very well in reading and math . . . as they grew older, they weren't getting "enough". We though they should be pushed harder academically. If it'd been any one thing, we would've stayed. If it'd been JUST the money, we would've found a way to make it work. If it'd been JUST that we thought they needed a little more enrichment, we'd have provided it ourselves. If it'd been JUST the uncooperative adminstration, we'd have bit our tounges . . . but it was all those things together, coupled with the fact though in K and 1st grade we'd been 100% thrilled with the teachers and the curriculum, the slightly-older grades had been good. Just good. And we were still living like newlyweds -- hand-me-down furniture, never buying new clothes, never going out to eat -- we were watching every penny, every day in every category, and we were doing it so we could get "good" from the school. We'd reached the point that it was no longer worth it.
After much discussion and prayer, we plunged into public school. I should note that at this point we'd also moved into the county where I teach, so one of our major problems -- the concern about being far from the children during the day -- had disappeared. The gifted pull-out program provided the "extra" we'd wanted for our children. Having a school calendar that matched mine was a godsend. I can't say everything's been wonderful every moment, but I'm very pleased with what our children have done in public school (though I'm less pleased with middle school than with elementary and high school).
Now that our oldest is almost done with high school, I'm very glad that we started with private school. The school we chose had a back-to-basics approach, heavy on phonics and traditional methods, and I simply cannot imagine a better K experience than my girls had. At the same time, I'm glad that we moved them when we did. I think the particular school we were in isn't so strong in the upper grades, and their friends who are still there seem to be overly-protected and not so able to relate to anyone who isn't like them (middle class and white come to mind first, but there are other more subtle things to which some of the "small world" kids don't relate well) I think my girls have had the best of all things educational.
I'm a strong proponent of public high schools (and not just because I teach in one). They offer so many more options than private high schools, which tend to be smaller. More languages, more AP classes, more vocational classes (don't knock 'em, even for college bound students -- my daughter's very involved in a vocational class for students bound towards a health-care career, and it's really giving her a leg-up) more sports, more clubs, more travel opportunities. Just more. Our oldest is performing better than I ever would've believed in public high school, and I am quite sure she's headed towards a good scholarship for college.
We did spend a great deal of money on education in those first years, and it was well worth it. But when we pulled out of private school, which was also just about the same time we paid off our house, we were able to do things that we hadn't been able to afford before: We travel more, send our kids to classes and summer camps, and are able to afford a more comfortable lifestyle than we could IF we'd stuck it out in private school.
When our oldest was ready to start school, we lived in one county, I taught high school in the next county, and my husband worked two counties away. We were very concerned about how we were going to get the oldest to school, the youngest to day care, and each of us to work each day. We also weren't happy that the school was quite far from our workplaces. Private school was our answer. We were able to put the oldest into kindergarten and the youngest into day care in a large Christian school. It was near the high school where I taught. It cost about the same amount that we were already paying in day care, so it wasn't really a difficult decision.
We were VERY HAPPY with the teachers and what our children learned there in that school, though we hated the administration (they just made life difficult, changing rules, refusing to share the school calendar, etc.). We agreed that we would make a decision each year when it was time to "re-up" for the following school year: Is the money worth what we're getting from this school?" For a number of years, the answer was, "YES!" At that point, we weren't giving up anything specific, but we were living on a VERY tight budget (we've never seen consumer debt as an option). We never sacraficed retirement savings or college savings for private school; we didn't see that as an acceptable option.
Then came the year that the administration had really grown too big for its britches. Lots of demands for more money here and there. Lots of unreasonable changes mid-year. And it was always an irritation that one of my reasons for becoming a teacher was that I wanted my schedule to match my children's schedule; their school seemed to go out of the way to make sure that public school calendars NEVER matched theirs. At this point our children were middle-elementary school, and we became concerned that although they'd received superb phonics training in the lower grades, and they were doing very well in reading and math . . . as they grew older, they weren't getting "enough". We though they should be pushed harder academically. If it'd been any one thing, we would've stayed. If it'd been JUST the money, we would've found a way to make it work. If it'd been JUST that we thought they needed a little more enrichment, we'd have provided it ourselves. If it'd been JUST the uncooperative adminstration, we'd have bit our tounges . . . but it was all those things together, coupled with the fact though in K and 1st grade we'd been 100% thrilled with the teachers and the curriculum, the slightly-older grades had been good. Just good. And we were still living like newlyweds -- hand-me-down furniture, never buying new clothes, never going out to eat -- we were watching every penny, every day in every category, and we were doing it so we could get "good" from the school. We'd reached the point that it was no longer worth it.
After much discussion and prayer, we plunged into public school. I should note that at this point we'd also moved into the county where I teach, so one of our major problems -- the concern about being far from the children during the day -- had disappeared. The gifted pull-out program provided the "extra" we'd wanted for our children. Having a school calendar that matched mine was a godsend. I can't say everything's been wonderful every moment, but I'm very pleased with what our children have done in public school (though I'm less pleased with middle school than with elementary and high school).
Now that our oldest is almost done with high school, I'm very glad that we started with private school. The school we chose had a back-to-basics approach, heavy on phonics and traditional methods, and I simply cannot imagine a better K experience than my girls had. At the same time, I'm glad that we moved them when we did. I think the particular school we were in isn't so strong in the upper grades, and their friends who are still there seem to be overly-protected and not so able to relate to anyone who isn't like them (middle class and white come to mind first, but there are other more subtle things to which some of the "small world" kids don't relate well) I think my girls have had the best of all things educational.
I'm a strong proponent of public high schools (and not just because I teach in one). They offer so many more options than private high schools, which tend to be smaller. More languages, more AP classes, more vocational classes (don't knock 'em, even for college bound students -- my daughter's very involved in a vocational class for students bound towards a health-care career, and it's really giving her a leg-up) more sports, more clubs, more travel opportunities. Just more. Our oldest is performing better than I ever would've believed in public high school, and I am quite sure she's headed towards a good scholarship for college.
We did spend a great deal of money on education in those first years, and it was well worth it. But when we pulled out of private school, which was also just about the same time we paid off our house, we were able to do things that we hadn't been able to afford before: We travel more, send our kids to classes and summer camps, and are able to afford a more comfortable lifestyle than we could IF we'd stuck it out in private school.
, or how much we will spend by the time they graduate high school 
That was really, REALLY tough, until i got old enough to drive. i did carpool with friends for awhile, that helped too.
rolleyes: who am i kidding, i'm on a Disney message board, clearly the dorky thing still exists, as does the awkward...
