Public vs Private School

I am currently reviewing my options for school for my son who will be turning 5 in March and I am heavily considering a Catholic School setting. Can anyone provide feedback as to their opinions? As well as major points I should be looking at when comparing the schools?

TIA!!!!

Re: Public vs Private School

I know someone who has a special needs child in our local Catholic school and they are probably going to switch to public since they think the resources available thorough the public system is better.

They are really happy with the school for their older child who is not special needs.

Good luck with your decision!

Re: Public vs Private School

I sent my oldest dd to catholic school because my district didn't have full day kindergarten. I loved it. I loved the uniform, I loved the "family" feeling the school brought. I loved the values of the school as well.

However, in the end, we opted to pull her in first grade to go to public. The reason being, there was only going to be one first grade class. I felt that this wasn't reality - being with the same children from now until 8th grade felt so "sheltered" to us.

We opted for public school and at first my dd felt like a fish out of water. it was soooo different than what she was used to. (This is coming from a beautiful, funny, friendly and kind child). She wanted to go back to her "other school" for weeks. Eventually, it wore off and she now loves it.

Part of us regret pulling her because we don't have that 'family" feeling as we did in the catholic school but there are other things the public school offers that private didn't.

Not sure if this helped you or not but whatever decision you make will be fine.

Re: Public vs Private School

It really depends on the public and private schools that are available in your area.

DD goes to public pre-k because they have better funding and have a better academic curriculum. In addition, the technology is better, they have art, gym & music, and it is more of a "classroom" setting than a "day care" setting which is what the catholic pre-k is.

I know of other Catholic schools that have great budgets- a great focus on the arts, etc... it just really depends on what is available to you.

With that said, you can ask your public school for a tour- I went on one of DD's school while it was in session- saw all of the teachers in action- this was a big reason why I went w/ them vs. Catholic

Re: Public vs Private School

Re: Public vs Private School

Both my kids go to a Catholic school. We couldn't be happier with our decision and our children absolutely love it! I was amazed at what my Kindergartener last year could do by years end.

In direct contrast to a previous poster, I LOVE the fact that the classes are small - his class is 14 students. On the other hand, my DD's class is 26 students (so there are 2 classes in her grade). Some grades have just 1 class, some have 2. Enrollment is up and the school is doing well.

In such a small class, there are so many more opportunities for them to go further. The school has a ton of after school activities that my DS participates in, like Chess Nuts, Mad Science and others like Glee Club, Art Guild, Student Council, Band. They start Spanish and Computer in Pre-K. They have full day Kindergarten and an after-care program.

Not all the schools are the same. Some are parish schools, some are regional schools, etc. It's best to go to each one and take a look at the school and get a feel for it.

I love the family feeling, and how everyone has such pride in the school. The uniforms are a huge plus for me, and through online shopping at places like Cookieskids.com, the cost is so cheap!

Catholic Schools Week starts this Sunday, so all of them will be open for Open Houses and such. Definitely take a look. Good Luck! FM with any questions you may have!

Message edited 1/28/2011 2:22:02 PM.