Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I am xposting this on to teachers but it is parenting related as well.

My dd goes to catholic school in queens now near my sitter. By the time she is in 1st grade we willbe in LI and we are torn between catholic school and public school. if we did public school i would be making sure i wa sin either east rock, lynbrook or oceanside district. Finacially we could do catholic school and taxes but it would be tight. My ideal would be to send her to catholic school but I am not againt the public school. MY dh seems to think that you get a better edication in cathlic school. I showed him all this work she did in nursery school( projects and stuff) and he said i doubt she woudl do that in public school. i said in the city I dont know but in LI I am sure they are doing a lot of stuuff. What is your general feeling about the two types of schools.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

It definitely depends on the district. My kids will be going to private school, but I think it is just a personal choice. Its more of the education philosophy that I like in a private school (again depending on the school).

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I think you should try to ask people in your area (where you are moving).

Where I am, the public schools are great and the catholic schools are struggling so my decision was made for me. Even though I would LOVE for my children to be able to learn about their faith during the regular school day.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I've been going back and forth with this for a while.

Finally decided for elementary she will go to public (it's also a block away whereas for Catholic she would be bussed). In HS we may change. In the meantime, the $$ we save on tuition I plan to put to use for an exciting and educational trip each year.

ER, Lynbrook and Oceanside have good school districts. Part of Lynbrook is Malverne school district, just to have that in mind. I grew up in Malverne but when to private school all 12 years.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I grew up in East Rockaway. I went to Saint Raymond's. Then onto Catholic HS as well. ER is a very small district. Lynbrook is much bigger and IMO, far exceeds ER in terms of being a better district.

However, my parents believed in the Catholic education and sent all 6 of us to the Catholic school and then onto Catholic HS. Not sure it had anything to do with the district, but knowing my parents and looking back, I am positive it did (if I can express thier opinion).

I send my kids to Catholic school now, even though where we live now our district is good. It's just a personal preference.

Good Luck!

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

definately depends on the district- and which catholic school.

I think catholic school is most important for high school, and middle school.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I teach in a private school and if I can afford it, I'd love my future dcs to go there, but the Catholic schools near us are way overcrowded due to budget, class size is ridiculous. And classroom teachers are forced to teach art and music. I went to Catholic high school and I loved the traditions that went along with it. But where I live now, it doesn't necessarily seem worth the money.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I live in Lynbrook and will send my children to the public schools.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

As a teacher that has worked in both Catholic and public schools, unless I lived in a really bad district I would not send my kids to Catholic elementary school. IMO, the Catholic elem. schools do not have the resources that public schools have. In general, I think the teachers aren't as good and it is a waste of money, most of the time, for elementary school. However, I think it is worth the money for grades 7-12.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I lived in queens until I was 13 in a fairly bad district. We moved out to LI when I started HS for various reasons. For elementary school I went to Catholic school. when we moved to LI I went to public HS. I feel that I missed out on a lot during my yers in Catholic school. They just didn't have the programs or resources that the public schools did.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I am a product of Catholic schools and a former Catholic school teacher. IMO, you can't generalize the decision of Catholic vs. public school. I think it not only varies on the district, but also on the Catholic school you are considering. Like public schools, the quality of Catholic or private schools can vary a great deal as well.

I was leaning towards Catholic school all the way through for my DS because I like that he would be learning about his faith and traditions at school, as well as at home. I am rethinking this now, however as he is getting services through EI. If he continues to need special ed services once he is school aged, I will probably send him to public school, since I think it will be a lot easier for me to get him whatever help he needs.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

We're in the same situation right now (see my post on Teachers). My kids will be in K and 2nd next year and DH and I are deciding what is best for them.

There really are benefits to each, IMO, and since the money isn't a factor for us we can cross that off the "con" list.

I do love the "family" atmosphere that Catholic schools provide... but I like the diversity that public schools provide. Obviously, what's most important is where can they get the best education? And therein lies the quandary.

Decisions. Decisions.

Good luck!

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

I went to Catholic elementary school then public highschool. I was behind when I transferred. I will be sending my child to public school.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

Message edited 3/3/2010 1:24:39 PM.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

It all depends on the school district of course. I have two great public schools in my area and one Catholic school. My son will be going to a public school from K-8 grade. With highschool it'll be a different story.

ETA: I went to both public and Catholic elementary schools and the only difference in the two is the religious education and class sizes. Everything else was pretty similar if not superior in the public school. I went to Catholic prep school which I think was a GREAT investment on my mother's part. BUT if I was super smart and took tests to get into Stuyvesant,Townsend Harris, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech then I'm sure I would have done so.

Message edited 3/3/2010 1:28:21 PM.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion

If you were staying in Queens I would say continue w/ catholic depending on the school district bc the taxes are not high. since you will be on LI paying high tax, I would do public school, save what you can so College $ is there for your DD. my mom paid for us to go th catholic school k-12 ( in SD 25 which is good!) adn then there was no money for St. Johns, I had to go to Queens college

we are in queens now, but if we are in bayside/ little neck when DS starts school, he will go to public school so we can save $ for later.

Re: Public school vs catholic school. please gove myour opinion