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Hi...I need some help here. Long story short is I have a 9 1/2 year old 4th grade ds who is ADD and doing great on his medicine. He was a straight A student last year. This summer we moved out of state into a state that has the lowest ranking public schools. We researched schools and supposedly moved into the best school district. It's large...24-27 kids per 4th grade class and now there are 8 classes. They hired the 8th teacher 3 weeks after school started. I was called by one of the assistant principals to inform me that my ds was hand picked out of his class to be moved into the new class...they picked 3-4 kids from each class...because they wanted to make sure it was a racially diverse class! My ds is Hispanic. He is bored out of his mind. He is doing work in the 4th grade that he did in the 3rd at his old school. Anyway...I'm feeling strongly that I really want to put him into a private Christian school for both academic and faith reasons. I researched and found one I like that isn't too expensive and we can afford. It's a 45 minute drive. My mother and sister are opposed to this because they live in a state that has great public school systems so the only ones who use private schools are those who are well off financially. In other words for a status statement. I've tried to explain that the schools here are not good and he is too bright to fall through their system. I've asked for him to be tested for the school's advance class and was told that sure but every parent thinks their child is above average. I usually have the right answer to come back with but feel I'm being backed into a corner. The first thing everyone brings up is the cost of the school instead of is it going to benefit my son or not. I guess what I'm trying to ask here is if you've encountered this and what are the pros and cons you've experienced. :grr:
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I sent my older kids to a private Christian school starting in 8th and 5th grades. It was a great decision for us. My oldest son had difficulty staying on task in a large class, so this was perfect for him. Academically it was a little more advanced than my kids were used to. The first half year, they had tutoring to catch them up. There were a few areas where they were behind, but not by much. My daughter doesn't attend that school due to her special needs that they could not accomodate. We are hoping maybe she can someday.
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I worked as a public school teacher and counselor in the state near you for 30 years. I also sent my two Hispanic daughters to a private Christian school from K thru 12. My oldest was ADD and in a public school class of 25 or so she would have been labeled or lost. In their private school (max class size 12) she got the one-on-one needed to keep up. She graduated and went to college. Down side was the race thing. She and her sister were the only two non-whites in the school most of the time. Ironically, they were always on the cover of the school's literature or in pictures on the website, so the school would appear more integrated than it was! They had no trouble making friends or getting dates so don't worry about prom!You only have one chance at your child's education. Do what feels right for him -- don't worry about what other people say!
MamaS
I worked as a public school teacher and counselor in the state near you for 30 years. I also sent my two Hispanic daughters to a private Christian school from K thru 12. My oldest was ADD and in a public school class of 25 or so she would have been labeled or lost. In their private school (max class size 12) she got the one-on-one needed to keep up. She graduated and went to college. Down side was the race thing. She and her sister were the only two non-whites in the school most of the time. Ironically, they were always on the cover of the school's literature or in pictures on the website, so the school would appear more integrated than it was! They had no trouble making friends or getting dates so don't worry about prom!
You only have one chance at your child's education. Do what feels right for him -- don't worry about what other people say!
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We just started our daughters in a private Christian school this fall. We had always hope to send them to private school, but didn't feel we could afford it last year so sent them to our neighborhood public school for kindergarten. After the older twin was assaulted by an older student in January, we took them out of school and DH homeschooled for a while, with the expectation we would continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
God opened doors for us, however, and we were presented with the opportunity to send them to Christian school at HALF tuition! Because they are very, very young - emotionally and socially - we chose to repeat kindergarten. They are THRIVING! There are only five children in their class - and they are both just progressing by leaps and bounds (school only started on September 4th). We couldn't be happier with the decision, regardless of whether we'll get the tuition reduction in the future.
There are so many things that "sell" us on Christian education, but first and foremost is that our faith is being supported in the classroom. And...the girls' teacher simply cherishes them in a way their teachers last year didn't - or couldn't.
My prayers are with you as your make the decision that best suits your family!
bajj
joelynn, how are you doing today?
I strongly advocate the seperation of School and State. Thus, the last place you will see my kids are in a government indoctrination center.I'm the product of 1st-6th PS and 7-12 Private. As a result, I am not a fan of either.If at all possible, I would recommend that you look into and consider homeschooling. :cowboy:
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joelynn
Doing great...thank you!! :cheer: Finding out some interesting things about my new neighborhood!! Those trips to the bustop in the morning sure bring to light some interesting facts and answers to a few questions I've had about certain situations!!:coffee:
bajj
I'm glad you're doing well today. It's so tough to try and decide which choice is best for our children as well as our families! :grouphug:
Update....we visited the school yesterday afternoon (spent nearly 2 hours) and all in agreement. We will send our ds to the private Christian school. Now it's just deciding on when to start him. We're thinking next semester after Christmas break. Thanks for all of your imput. (We had to reschedule original visit due to major traffic issue...one bridge closed due to major accident and the other one backed up to standstill because of other bridge.)
~L
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bajj
I'm glad you liked it. Have you asked your ds when he'd like to start going?