Inspired by December 99--- Have you ever taken your children from private school and

[MAC3]

Put them in Public School system?

I think our DD's best bet would be to go to a vocational school, but she has been in Private school her whole life.

Has anyone faced a similar situation and if so How did it turn out?


Thanks,
Lisa

 

[snoopy]

Took oldest DS out of private (Catholic) school in 1st grade and put him in public school. It was the single best thing I could have done for my kid.

I was very uneasy about it, since both my husband and I were products of Catholic schools - but I found that the public schools this day in age have so much more to offer a child as far as resources. He is so much happier at the public school, and I'm a happier parent.

 

[MAC3]

I agree snoopy.

I should have doen that when we switched towns when DD was in 1st grade. She is now in 5th. I just wonder how she will be treated as the new kid in the school? I want it to be a positive experience for her and not totally catastrophic.

 

[FOJMO]

My DH and I each went through 12 years of Catholic school. We started our DD (17) in a private, Christian school because there weren't many Catholic elementary schools in our area.

She continued in Christian schools until she reached 5th grade, when we moved to an area that didn't offer any. Then she started public schools.

It was a big change because they didn't have the discipline and structure. I remember her coming home the first couple of days saying kids talked aloud in class, they were free to roam the classroom, etc.

She continued the next year to middle school (6,7,8) and now she attends a public high school and is a Junior. We weren't crazy about the middle school, but I think it was more the age bracket she was in and not so much the school itself.

She now attends a public HS, but is in a Medical Magnet program as she will be pursuing a medical career in college.

Overall, it was not too big of an adjustment to her/us, but it there were differences. Nothing we/she couldn't adjust to, though. Good luck!

 

[Krisu]

I just did it in Feb. and my DS loves it. He is in 8th grade and for the first time in his life made the honor roll!!!

 

[December99]

I have had friends who have taken their kids out of our school and moved them to either the public school or even home schooled and it was the best thing for them and they have really excelled. Part of that reason for pulling them was our principal and other petty issues in the school. Our high school here is a public school and given that dd has played summer sports with alot of these kids and I personally know how the public school kids have treated kids from our school - including my dd, the best bet for dd is a private school where she is with kids that she can excel with at the same pace and has many similar things in common. DD is also interested in attending a high school right next to the one she is visiting that is a residential high school and has kids that excel in math and science and has interests in potential positions that reflect those subjects. She wants to be a vet and we are also thinking about this school...just aren't sure which one will work.

 

[helenabear]

When I moved I was put into a private school from a public school. We had such trouble with it that 3.5 years late I was pulled out and put in the public schooling. I must say from a kid's point of view it was the best thing my parents ever did for me. I was more challenged in math (at the time I enjoyed that ) and I was around a much more diverse group of people and had way more friends. Truly enjoyed it a lot and was always grateful to my parents for doing it

 

[tkd lisa]

I pulled my kids from Catholic schools 4 years ago when they were in 2nd and 1st grade. I did it at the semester break because the Catholic schools were ridiculous about dealing with anything out of the norm! They were tremendously understaffed (30 kids per class, with no help for the teacher), and had no resources like tutoring, computers, etc.

The kids have done very well, even though they came in the middle of the year. Best decision I ever made!

 

[Krisu]

Helenabear reminded me of the socialization aspect. DS's private school was in another town, one grade for 8th and small amount of boys. He loves being in the public school.

 

[jfulcer]

DW and I are pulling DD Brittany from public school and putting her in a private school because the public school system here is almost as bad as Florida. It was a magnet school, but is losing funding like all other public school and is going downhill. Plus, DD is getting educated in ways we really didn't expect at 5 years old.

 

[piratesmate]

We did the reverse - pulled DS from public school & sent him to private school in 4th grade. Other issues aside, it was tough for him because children tend to solidify friendships by the end of 3rd. They often have trouble "making room" for another friend at that age.

Best advice is probably to make the change when everyone else is changing, too. If both elem's only go to 5th, then both public & private middle schools will be a "melting pot" & she should have an easier time making friends than if "everyone already knows everyone else."

Deb

 

[TIdoublegaER]

We put our oldest DD in public school after kindergarden when we moved into a different school district. Had we stayed in the other district, she and her sister would both be in private school. One of the reasons we bought our house where is it was because of the public schools. It was the best decision we made for her. My niece is in the same private school my dd went to and is really stuggling. She doesn't go to school with any of the neighborhood kids and the amount of homework she has is insane. She is in 5th grade and routinely has 3-4 hours of homework each night.

 

[Keli]

My dd was homeschooled until the eighth grade. She decided at that point that she wanted to go to the public school (we had planned on sending her to the public school for the 9th grade) because she was lonely. Academically Ashli was near the top of her class and socially she adapted quite well after a few weeks. It was a good decision and we haven't ever regretted it.

 

[mrsv98]

I used to teach in an exclusive - very expensive - private school and there were times when we consuled children out of our school. We worked very hard to do the best for each child but being a college prep academy, we did not have extensive programs for children with learning issues. In those cases, it was better for the child to be in a public school and have access to the services we did not provide. We also had a couple of cases in the years when I was teaching when we had to insist the parents remove a child because of violence. We had a couple of really disturbed children, both had been in my JK class and had some problems but by the 3rd grade, they had really deteriorated. It all comes down to what environment is best for your child. I myself moved in the middle of the school year twice (we moved house a lot), and while it was an adjustment, it wasn't the end of the world.