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We are interested in getting opinions and views from folks who live in areas with really good public elementary/middle/high schools in the north central/northwest areas of San Antonio (i.e., schools that feed into Churchill, Clark, Johnson, Reagan, etc.) who seriously considered private schools when selecting a place for their children's education.
What did you end up choosing for your child(ren) and why? For example, did you go the private route (though costly) due to academic considerations (i.e., too much teaching to the test?), value/environment (i.e., smaller class size, religious values), athletic program access (i.e., more playing time in less competitive private schools or availability of less popular sports like lacrosse), or other factors?
Have you been happy with your choice (private or public) and why? Any regrets?
If one lived in an area with really poor public schools, then the choice (assuming the money equation works) is more clear. What we're wrestling with "what would you have to believe" or how large a gap in experience would need to be such that a private school would be picked when the next best option looks pretty good...
We chose private over public for elementary because of the perceived time spent teaching the TAKS test. I used "perceived" because I really didn't know how much time was spent teaching the test and how much was spent on actual knowledge. I was satisfied with the private school education through 5th grade.
For middle school, we kept our kids in private because I didn't like the environment of the middle school they would have gone to. When school choice was available to us in NEISD, we took advantage of it and sent our youngest to public middle school. Since he was only there for one year, and that being 8th grade, I had no problem with it. It was a much, much better educational choice than the private school he was in. Had I been able to send him to this public MS for 6th and 7th grades, I would have done so.
Both my kiddos were in private school for MS and while my son had good math teachers, the school couldn't keep a math teacher or find a good math teacher for my daughter's grade. Thus, her math skills were very lacking. She didn't find this out until she left private school. I have spent $$$$ in tutoring to try and give her the skills she needs to succeed in college and her chosen career field. It was a huge disappointment to me, but even more so for her. Nothing can be worse for a driven, conscientious student than to find out you are way behind your peers. My opinion is that the math as well as science and other subjects were dumbed down to keep the grades high so parents would be happy. Well, this one ain't happy!
For high school, I feel my oldest is getting a very good public school education. She is challenged daily in her homework and projects. I have had no problems with what I have seen this year. She was in 9th grade private, and it was pretty much a joke, except for a couple of classes where it was the TEACHER that made the difference. For 10th grade, she was in a magnet program that was not as good as it purported to be. Again, dumbing down of a subject to keep the grades up so the magnet school can continue. However, there were a couple of TEACHERS that made the difference. My opinion again, is that had I kept her there, she would have hit college lacking what she needed, but not as badly as had she stayed in private school.
As for her current high school, I can't say enough about how well organized and prepared the administrative staff has been in preparing my oldest for college. As for the classes, the GT, and AP classes are hard and challenging, but she likes the challenge, despite the sometimes frustration she has at the work load. She is in classes with kids at her level, which is good. The pre-AP and regular classes are different. I haven't heard much griping from her about them, mainly because they are 'easier' and she has so much work to concentrate on with her other classes.
As for my youngest, he is having a wonderful time this year as well. His pre-AP classes are much better than the classes he had in private school. There are a few discipline issues, but not as bad as the ones in private school! [Why? Again, in their private school, little Johnny would run home and tell Mommy that he got in trouble for doing nothin' (a.k.a. acting like a little hellion) and Mommy would run up to school and gripe and then everything was swept under the rug. IMO, the school sacrificed discipline for enrollment numbers.] His pre-AP classes offer more challenges than the regular ones, but his regular classes i.e. foreign language, no es bueno (not good). The discipline issue again rears its head. Other than this particular class, I haven't had any issues.
If your child/children are into fine arts, the public school programs are very good. Can't say the same for the private school one my youngest was in. While he learned HOW to play an instrument, he didn't learn the correct way to READ MUSIC!!!!!!!! Didn't know all of his scales!!!! I found out that he was never taught anything beyond five or six scales. Reasoning behind that as far as I could see was that the music teacher did not play his instrument very well and thus didn't concentrate on it. In public school, the music teachers hold weekly sectionals and DO work with the kids to improve their skills. They even have private tutors come in once a week to give them lessons during band class. I guess if I had known/asked questions years ago, I would have realized that he was lacking music skills, but how was I to know? Similar situation with choir. Taught how to sing, but not how to read music very well at all. It's all on the performance, not on building the skills necessary. IMO, of course.
The private route was costly, and only academic value that was worth it was elementary school. The classroom numbered maybe 20 -24 at the most, but mainly hovered around 18. Religious values were good influences, but eventually, when they are not upheld by the administration, the kids notice and start to try and get away with things if not kept in line. Or they develop a strong sense of irritation at the hypocrisy. There also was a degree of nepotism that was not good, constant fund raisers, off the wall projects, misbehaviors that were covered up or unpunished and lack of support from the administration to the teachers and lack of communication from the administration to the parents.
The private school athletic programs did offer more playing time for kids who probably wouldn't get to play on the #1 team unless they really had good skills. Even then, when my son's MS basketball team played New Braunfels MS, they found out exactly how they measured up against a team that was much better than they were. Quite a sobering moment, but one they probably needed to see for themselves. My husband said that you learn a lot about yourself and your abilities when you play a better team. These kids learned something that day!
If I had to do it all over again, I would have kept them in private probably through 5th grade, then using school choice, moved them to my middle school of choice, and let them finish in the public school system. Each school is different, has different situations, teachers, admins, etc. When you get right down to it, it is the individual teacher that makes the most difference. My kids have had good teachers in both sectors.
Sorry this is so long, but I think it covers just about everything. This was such a hot topic for us and the decisions were not easy. Sometimes you feel you made the right decision, only to see in the long run, you probably should have chosen a different path. I'll send you a DM with the schools my kids attended so you can fit them into the narrative.
We are interested in getting opinions and views from folks who live in areas with really good public elementary/middle/high schools in the north central/northwest areas of San Antonio (i.e., schools that feed into Churchill, Clark, Johnson, Reagan, etc.) who seriously considered private schools when selecting a place for their children's education.
What did you end up choosing for your child(ren) and why? For example, did you go the private route (though costly) due to academic considerations (i.e., too much teaching to the test?), value/environment (i.e., smaller class size, religious values), athletic program access (i.e., more playing time in less competitive private schools or availability of less popular sports like lacrosse), or other factors?
Have you been happy with your choice (private or public) and why? Any regrets?
If one lived in an area with really poor public schools, then the choice (assuming the money equation works) is more clear. What we're wrestling with "what would you have to believe" or how large a gap in experience would need to be such that a private school would be picked when the next best option looks pretty good...
Yeah im going to talk kids and family values with a handle like Dungeon Master...
Catriona - thanks for the thoughtful response. In my own experience, I attended private schools through the middle of junior high school and then switched to public school. That arrangement worked out nicely since I got to experience the positive benefits of each category in the right sequence for me. By going the private route early, I received the advantages of smaller classrooms in an informal environment combined with the opportunity to learn values alongside academics. When I was in elementary school, I don’t recall an issue with teaching to the test but I can see how it can standardize teaching to the lowest common denominator (i.e., getting everyone to pass the test) which can hurt the potential high achiever.
As I got older, in switching to the public system, the larger public schools offered a wider range of academic choices (particularly AP/IB classes) and extracurricular activities. Something that was particularly helpful entering public junior high/middle school before the start of high school was getting on the right class trajectory with everyone else. I would think a child switching from private to public in ninth grade may be disadvantaged a bit - particularly for honors classes. Being in public schools also meant I wasn’t sheltered till my college years/twenties in terms of competition, the social experience, and exposure to the broader society. Finally, in public schools there is a greater intersection between the school community and the neighborhood community; that is, more kids are from the same basic area vs. being carpooled/transported into private school far away. Thus, everyone was from the same “hood,” and that encouraged certain friendships and made logistics easier for extracurricular stuff.
Being older now, we have been mulling this issue with regards to our own children. Our kids are young – still in the early part of elementary school – and in a private school (not in San Antonio). We are considering moving to San Antonio and that is why we wanted to get opinions and views on how the world looks to the locals. Would love to hear other opinions as well.
I think your point about switching to public school after elementary school (or at the latest seventh/eighth grade) is a great one and consistent with what we’ve been thinking.
As an illustration of a realistic decision, a pretty close comparison might be Antonian College Prep vs. Churchill High School. These two schools are both really good, and it could just come down to how important religion is to the parents. So the question in this example would be whether the religion factor is worth the incremental money spent vs. Sunday school... Our initial feel is that we'd probably choose Churchill in this case.
We were thinking an exception might be, if one were trying to optimize exclusively for academics, a school like Keystone which is top-notch academically and “worth the money” given their success placing kids in top colleges. Else it’s likely up to your parenting and your child’s specific aptitude, motivation, self-confidence, and maturity regardless of school.
On your personal front, don't beat yourself too much on the "would have, could have" aspect. We all make decisions based on what we know at the time and so it's never perfect!
1751texan - I guess you didn't play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons growing up; the handle would be more understandable!
Last edited by TXDungeonMaster; 03-24-2010 at 04:07 PM..
This is the last year for TAKS, it is being replaced...
Quote:
AUSTIN - Jan. 26, 2010 – Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced today that the next generation of student tests will be called the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or STAAR.
STAAR will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), which is the criterion-reference assessment program that has been in place since 2003.
The STAAR name, pronounced the same as star, will be used for the 12 end-of-course assessments mandated by SB 1031 in 2007 and the new grade 3-8 assessments mandated by HB 3 in the 2009 legislative session.
The new tests will be used beginning in the 2011-2012 school year (full story).
We feel the NISD public schools are exceptional.
Cheers! M2
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STAAR to replace TAKS
