catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

My Dh and i both went to catholic school in Queens for grades 1-12./. We are looking in LI at houses and I want to do public grammar school he wants to do catholic. I find it to be such a waste, why buy in LI then if not to send your kids to a good school. We are looking at oceanside, lynbrook, east rockaway and malverne. Malverne we would do catholic for sure but the other areas especially oceasnside are supposed to have great school.s He feels that they have a better sense of community and although he is not overly religious he likes the aspects of making communion and celebrating Christmas etc in school and not going to religion classes after school. We can afford it but I feel like why shoudl we? Opinions

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I agree with you ........
Can you compromise and agree on them going to Catholic HS ? Or Catholic grammar school and public HS??

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

i agree on catholic hs just not grammar school

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Don't flame me, but I went to Catholic grammar school in Queens for 8 years and Catholic HS in Manhattan.
DS went to Catholic grammar school in Queens for 7 years. He's now in 9th grade in a Public HS in Suffolk. We live in a good school district, and I feel he is getting a MUCH better education in public and they have amazing resources, libraries, etc. If you are moving to a good district, definitely do public.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

We are disagreeing on this as well, to a point.
I also went to Catholic school from preschool -12 grade, DH only 9-12. He wants DD to go to public grammar school...I'm on the fence. AS a teacher I see what goes on in the classrooms, hallways, etc and Im not happy about having my DD in that type of environment. We have time before we have to make that decision.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

we are in brooklyn so the situation is different, however if we stay here DS is going to catholic grammar and h.s. if we move to NJ, he is going to public school.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

If the public school is in a good district then I'd definitely do public.

Unfortunately I'm in a different state (MA) and the area we live in we're just about forced to send our kids to Catholic schools (horrible public schools). Once we're able to move then we'll consider moving just so we don't need to pay for a Catholic school and we can put our children into a public school.

This is the BIGGEST issue DH and I are dealing with and we still have 3 yrs to decide

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I can speak for ER schools. The grammar schools are great. The HS not so much. My parents wanted to put us in catholic schools when we started but it was too expensive. We both went to Centre Ave school and then onto the HS. I hear Lynbrook has a pretty good school district too..Oceanside has a great school district according to my friends who have kids there...

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

You mentioned sending them to just Catholic HS. Keep in mind after they have established friendships in the public school system from Kindergarten-9th grade, they may not want to switch and go to Catholic HS and give up all their friends. I dont know that would be fair to ask of them.

if you are moving into a school district on LI, I think Catholic school is a waste of money IMO.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I went to public schools growing up in brooklyn. I went to the public junior high for 6th grade and had to transfer to catholic school for the rest of the 7-8th years b/c by that time my neighborhood went to sh** and so did the JH.

I will say though, i had a great education in public elementary and went to a fabulous public high school. I was so far ahead of my classmates when I started 7th grade there that by the time I started public HS i felt kind of shell shocked. I did not get the same type of education like I did in public school. but times are different now, so I dont know.

if you have great public schools and are paying tons of taxes for it anyway, then I would do the public school and see how it goes.

In the particular area I am in in PA, If I am still living here when DS starts school, he will most likely go to catholic school just b/c the district here isnt as great as some of the other PA districts.

You can send your kids to CCD classes while in public school so they still have the sense of community, making their sacraments etc.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

DH & I used to have this battle. I'm a HUGE fan of public schools and DH went to Catholic schools. Personally, I would only choose Catholic if my district was sub-par. Having numerous cousins & my husband get schooled through the non-city Catholic schools (well know grammar & HS's on LI) I don't think it gives you an edge in life nor do I think it makes you a better person. So, we will be sending our kids to public and DH is finally ok with that. (sorry might sound bitter, but for personal reasons I'm VERY against Catholic Schools and I am a Catholic)

Message edited 11/29/2010 2:59:03 PM.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Ideally a compromise would be great but are you going to pull your child out of a school with all of his friends at a later date?

I'm not keen on one Catholic school on LI because of how they are run. I had experience with a meglomaniac principal (hello Mrs. Morcone, you psycho crazy lady). In fact, my experience was so bad, we go to a church in another town rather than go to the church associated with the school.

I will say that in terms of education, I felt that a Catholic school elementary was superior to a LI elementary school. But again, our school had very little tolerance for children who needed extra attention. One boy was struggling with reading in my son's grade. His mother told me how he was coming home feeling like a failure because of how the teacher dealt with the situation.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I went to Catholic schools my whole life. DH went to public. We had the debate for years, and finally decided to send our children to the Catholic school. I for one do not buy into the fact that the public schools have more resources (such a blanket statement, I believe it's better to look at district by district). I am more than happy with his education he is getting. And so is DH who was not on board totally at first. We LOVE his school and love that each grade is small. There are only 14 kids in DS class, and he is getting tons of attention and working on things that you won't expect in a 1st grade class (DS is doing times tables, double digit additions, division, etc).

Message edited 11/29/2010 2:09:24 PM.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I went to Catholic grammar school and public HS. If I could afford it I would send my children to Catholic School k-12. IMO they not only foster great relationships but teach great morals. In addition, when I went to HS I was able to read/write better than my public school friends b/c in many Catholic Schools they teach the basics, something that IMO is lacking in public schools despite all the bells/whistles of technology. HOWEVER, I think it depends on the Catholic School you send them too because they, like public schools, are not all equal. Good luck with your decision

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

There are pluses and minuses to both

our child will go to public school but i think ther are more oppurtunities in public school especially if the child is very bright or a little behind or has a learning disability

i think catholoc is great for the average kid -


it is hard to make a decision before you know how bright your child is

i will say in terms of community my little brother went to all catholic school and his best friends are the ones he met in elementary school and he is in his late 20's

i only went to catholic high school - my dh went to catholic k-12

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Personally, I can't see spending $10k+ on property taxes here on LI, and then sending my kids to Catholic school. Unless you have a strong desire for them to have a faith-based education, I would go for a good public school.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Do Cath. HS.

That's what matters and where it will help you with college and contacts and stuff.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Posted by nrthshgrl

Ideally a compromise would be great but are you going to pull your child out of a school with all of his friends at a later date?

I'm not keen on one Catholic school on LI because of how they are run. I had experience with a meglomaniac principal (hello Mrs. Morcone, you psycho crazy lady). In fact, my experience was so bad, we go to a church in another town rather than go to the church associated with the school.

I will say that in terms of education, I felt that a Catholic school elementary was superior to a LI elementary school. But again, our school had very little tolerance for children who needed extra attention. One boy was struggling with reading in my son's grade. His mother told me how he was coming home feeling like a failure because of how the teacher dealt with the situation.

Posted by kerrycec03

DH & I used to have this battle. I'm a HUGE fan of public schools and DH went to Catholic schools. Personally, I would only choose Catholic if my district was sub-par. Having numerous cousins & my husband get schooled through the non-city Catholic schools (well know grammar & HS's on LI) I don't think it gives you an edge in life nor do I think it makes you a better person. So, we will not be sending our kids to public and DH is finally ok with that. (sorry might sound bitter, but for personal reasons I'm VERY against Catholic Schools and I am a Catholic)

I'm confused by your post.

It sounds like you're for public school, you're against catholic schools but you will not be sending your kids to public?

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Message edited 11/29/2010 3:01:32 PM.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I would love to send my DS to Catholic school from K-12. I am a product of Catholic schools and had a great experience. I would be sending him there for more than just academics and I don't think it's a waste of money, given that it's the right school for him.

However, I think you have to look at the individual schools you are considering, both elementary and HS and decide based on what each offers. For example, lots of people are making broad statements about how Catholic HS is better than public. I loved my Catholic HS, but at the time I went there, you could take french or spanish as a foreign language and that was it. Some Catholic schools may not have as big of a music or art program as the public schools or may not offer as many AP or honors classes as a public school. And if your child has any kind of a learning disability or delay, getting services for them in a Catholic school is much more difficult.

IMO, It's a decision that depends on the needs and interests of your child and what the schools in question offer.

Re: catholic school Vs Public school.. we cant agree

I think you need to check out each school you are considering individually - not just "public" vs "Catholic". We looked at our public elementary school and three Catholic schools. I wanted to like the public because I already pay for it in my taxes and we're in a good district but I just didn't like it. The curricula at all the schools were comparable but the atmosphere is what was different. One of the Catholic schools I wouldn't consider. The other two were both very good and we ended up choosing the one that was closer. My DS is in kindergarten and already meeting with the reading teacher twice per week. The Catholic school certainly has as much, if not more, in the way of resources as the public school does, including smart boards in every classroom. The principal is great and I have never seen children who love their school as much as the students there. They actually like going to school. They show adults respect, make eye contact and say "good morning", "good afternoon", etc. The children in the public school seemed indifferent and barely took their eyes off the floor, and didn't even acknowledge my presence. The children in the Catholic schools seemed very happy to be there and in the public schools, not so much. Same with the teachers - the ones in the public school seemed like they couldn't be bothered with the children except for what was required and the ones in the Catholic schools seemed to go above and beyond.

I chose what I felt was the best fit for my child. Even though I'd prefer the education I'm already paying for in my taxes, I also want to give my child the best that I can and I did not feel that public school fit that description. I felt that the Catholic school I chose was overall the best I could give him.