Is anyone Looking into High Schools for their Junior Higher?

Yes, my son is in the seventh grade at the local public school. It's taken him quite awhile to adjust to the added responsibilities (and I'm still doing quite a bit to help him keep up with things) but on the whole he's doing well. I am concerned, however, because our district's high school is not the best, and if he isn't in GATE or AP classes (which he won't be), I get the feeling that all they'll worry about is whether he'll graduate. And I want him prepared for college - if he then chooses not to go, at least he'll have that choice! I just went to an open house at an amazing private school, *I* wouldn't mind going back to high school there! I don't know if his grades will be good enough to get in, or how we'd afford it if he does, but it's something to strive for. My son wants to go to the public school, because his priority is being with his friends. While he liked the look of the private school, he was put off by the uniform, and would be scared of the academic demands. The choice will ultimately be his (whether he realizes it or not!) because his interview could decide them, for or against. What I am looking for is a school where he'll be safe (no gangs or criminal activity); challenged to learn to the best of his ability; college prep, but not so academically advanced that he won't fit in; athletics or other extracurricular activities to give him an acceptable peer group; easy distance from home; somehow affordable, if there's tuition - and I *like* uniforms! What he's looking for (also very important) is someplace where he'll fit in and make friends easily - so he'd prefer going to the same local school as his middle school buddies. I have some time to look and decide; will probably look at 2 or 3 others, and then a lot will depend on how well he does for the remainder of this year and the start of next.

My son is in 10th grade this year, so I went through this just a year ago. I was very unhappy with the public school system where we live, so we began looking into private schools. I felt the public school didn't push him to be his best. His teachers would tell him that Cs and Ds were good enough for "a student like him". While he isn't an A student, or even a B student, I expect the best he can be. I felt he was just pushed through the system. The classes in his public school were huge (32 students in his English class). And they wondered why he couldn't focus. The problem we ran into was that the private schools in our area didn't take kids with IEPs. We found a rather small school and convinced them to interview him. He also had to take an entrance test. He was marginal on both, but they accepted him on a trial basis. At first, he hated the uniforms (I loved them), but now its standard wear. The academic standards are more strict and he now makes Cs and Ds, but he works harder for those grades, and I'm prouder of them than the Bs or Cs in public schools. His attitude has improved. He fits in and I like his friends now. Since it is a very small school ( his grade has only 20 students) they are all very close and he is comfortable there. It was a good choice for us.