Schools - Private or Public

frlcb · December 2011

I know we have discussed this before, and I know that everyone lives in very different areas, but what is everyone planning on doing?

This decision is literally consuming my every waking thought, which in and of itself is annoying (I need to learn not to dwell), but more so I just want to make sure we make the right decision.

Grr.

rara855 · December 2011

Well, we are OTP so you can just throw mine in the pot even though we don't compete with the stress of being ITP with this decision.

Private. Public isn't even an option. Sucks but, for now it's the only way we feel comfortable. Unless they open some amazing magnet school right around the corner this is our decision.

ebearwife · December 2011

Public for us. Spending a fortune on private school is just not on our agenda when we have good schools in our district (Gwinnett) and an opportunity to send the kids to the Science and Engineering high school which has a 100% rate of kids going to college.

BottomStar · December 2011

We're still considering our options and looking at the charter school (technically public) in our area, but we would probably move to another school district before we would go the private school route. There are a lot of changes going on in Smyrna right now and the elementary school we're slated for isn't even built yet, so I'm just trying to put off stressing about it. In the end, I think it comes down to knowing your kid and knowing what environment they will do best in, good luck with your decision!

K&P414 · December 2011

I don't live in Atl. so my situation is totally different but I just wanted to say that I have been in your shoes. Visit some schools, go with your gut and see how it goes. I don't know what waiting lists are like for the schools you have in mind but around here enrollment is down. You can always make some changes if you end up feeling like where ever he starts in the Fall isn't the best fit for him.

It would be a pretty big financial sacrifice for us if we had to put either of our girls in private school but I would rather pay for private school now and hold out hope for college scholarships over forcing them to go to public school just because it is free.

Even though we are zoned for a great elementary school Emma is a bit of a square peg in the round hole provided by the Board of Education. In hindsight I wish we would have done private for preK-1st grade. So far 2nd and 3rd have been better and my concerns that some of the 'bad habits' she learned early on will permenantly screw her up for the rest of her education are slowly buy surely being put to rest.

susangilchrist · December 2011

The public schools right around us suuuuuucck. So, probably private. Though DH is a teacher in Dekalb and has the possibility of choosing a Dekalb school for our kids, I still would only consider it for Prek and maybe Kindergarten. After that, they'll follow the school route I had - Catholic schools.

coffeekitten · December 2011

susangilchrist:
The public schools right around us suuuuuucck. So, probably private. Though DH is a teacher in Dekalb and has the possibility of choosing a Dekalb school for our kids, I still would only consider it for Prek and maybe Kindergarten. After that, they'll follow the school route I had - Catholic schools.

Ditto Susan! DeKalb sucks right now except for a few school and those are definitely not in our area. We are in a private preschool right now and will go the Catholic route (or the International School if we win the lottery...)

GTLawGirl · December 2011

You aren't the only one who is currently weighing this issue. DH & I were both public school kids, so the concept of private school is sort of foreign to us. However, since we're staying in-town the reality is that private school may just be what's in our child's best interest.

Our 'plan' is to try and get 6 good years out of public school and then go private for middle and high. That said, we fully intend to explore private schools for elementary education in case we ultimately decide that it's the best fit for Rowan. It's a huge expense, especially since we foresee more children in our future. Moving to the burbs just really isn't a great option for us though.

In the end, it will probably come down to a gut-check.

Before you get too stressed over this, don't forget that you can always change your mind. Just because you start out public/private doesn't mean that you have to stay there, especially if you aren't happy with your child's education.

yellowtulips80 · December 2011

It looks like public for us. We have some good schools in Gwinnett (and some not great ones) and the kids will be able to go where I work. Plus I don't think we could financially do private school.

Daisy22 · December 2011

I know how you feel. This is been on our minds too especially with a 3rd coming. If we stay ITP they will definitely be going to private school and even if we move they will most likely go private. We'll do christian private school like Whitefield or Hertiage or something.

Right now we pay more then most private elementary school tutition to send the boys to 3 days at their current school. If we get the little bit of debt we have paid off by 2013 we'll have the funds to send the 3rd there. Pretty much I'll be working to send the kids to school and save for retirement. Of course that's only elementary. It's middle and high school where we'll need to figure out the money. I know my dad has 529 plans for the kids nad I'm fairly certain you can use those for private school so I'm hoping he'll help us but we're not banking on that. We're be making scaifices to be able to send them to private school but I just don't feel that moving OTP is right for us and even then we have issues with the ga public schools not just city of atlanta.

frlcb · December 2011

coffeekitten:
Ditto Susan! DeKalb sucks right now except for a few school and those are definitely not in our area. We are in a private preschool right now and will go the Catholic route (or the International School if we win the lottery...)

Coffee, I think you are in our district maybe, you live in Brookhaven right? Are you looking at OLA? We were strongly considering the Int'l school (it was actually our favorite school for a while) but a few things I have heard have put me off it. We are now deciding between St Martins or Cliff Valley. We are districted for Ashford Park, and, well, it just isn't my first choice.

GTLawGirl:
Before you get too stressed over this, don't forget that you can always change your mind. Just because you start out public/private doesn't mean that you have to stay there, especially if you aren't happy with your child's education.

I keep having to remind myself of this, that whatever we decide is not permanent!

frlcb · December 2011

Daisy22:
We're be making scaifices to be able to send them to private school but I just don't feel that moving OTP is right for us and even then we have issues with the ga public schools not just city of atlanta.

This is partly my issue as well. I went to great public schools in GA, the best actually, but at the end of the day they are still public schools in GA, which ranks so low it is one of the worst in the US.

slwprincess · December 2011

So glad to know I'm not alone! We are struggling with this right now b/c we are facing the decision for GA Pre-K vs. Private Pre-K next year. There are so many factors to consider. As much as I hate that it has to be this way, our #1 factor is price. I mean, having 2 in daycare even part time has taken a huge toll on our finances. If Gavin goes to private pre-k at our current daycare center, we will be spending even MORE since he will be enrolled 5 days a week. So we are talking about a significant increase in our childcare expenses come August if we don't do GA Pre-K. Then again, I keep talking to people about GA Pre-K and not loving what I'm hearing. I know each class will be different, but it really sounds like Gavin will be taking a step backwards in learning and I'm afraid it will backfire on us in the behavior department. But at the same time, I feel like now is the time to take that chance if we think Public is the way we want to go. I think it would only be more intense the older he gets to make the transition from Private to Public. So yes, I realize that we can always change our minds later but I kind of feel like that's easier to do going from Public to Private vs. Private to Public. Does that make sense?

tracigator · December 2011

Right now, both boys are in a private preschool and will stay there through pre-k and then for Hebrew school once they leave pre-k. After that, it will be public. Thankfully we live in a great school district so my mind is a little at ease but, like you said, it's still public school in Georgia. I went to private Hebrew day school through 5th grade and I really, really wish we could give our kids that but since just one year of the elementaryday school where we would send them costs more than my college tuition (and that's just for one!), we're going to stay with the public school and see how that goes. If it turns out to suck, then we'll revisit the private school and see what we can do to get our kids there.

amyb05 · December 2011

This consumes my every thought as well. I am sorry so many of us are stressed about this. I am trying to go with the flow of it since we still have at least 1 more year and maybe 2 if I decide to keep Easton back a year but the reality is that it is REALLY hard to get into the private schools we are considering. I would love to believe that we will have our choice of private schools in which to send him but getting in is difficult on top of being expensive. All of that said, we will definitely send Easton the private school route. I am truly a public school fan as I went to public school and I taught public school for many years but I think based on Eastons personality and learning styles that are showing so far, private will be a better choice for him. EB on the other hand just might be a child that would thrive in a public school environment. I hope we all find schools we love!

amanda_holbird@hotmail.com · December 2011

I'm the product of private school and dh, public school, and we would both prefer for our boys to go to private school, preferably my alma mater, Landmark, but Landmark isn't cheap and would be difficult on us financially. I had kind of hoped to be able to quit my job in the next couple of years so I can be home with the boys during the summer and be available to them after school. If we go the private school route, that would never happen because my income would put the boys through school. Right now, it looks like we will do public school. We are fortunate because the public schools we are districted for (Coweta Co.) are good schools.

mingaling2 · December 2011

If nothing changes in the next couple of years, Mia will go to our zoned public school here in Kirkwood. The principal is extremely forward thinking, there is a fantastic Mandarin Chinese program, and they have just made leaps and bounds in the last couple of years (our hope is that this continues).

MrsL1022 · December 2011

We are torn on this as well. I am not sure what we will do but I am going to really have to research the public elementary school that we are zoned for. As of now Colin goes to a preschool that has a private K-8 program and we are guaranteed a space once he is done with pre-k/K-prep if we want it so that is under serious consideration for us. I grew up in the northeast and went to awesome public schools. I am sad that GA doesn't offer good public education.

ally-cat · December 2011

We have a couple more years to worry about this but I sometimes stress about it too. We are in Smyrna, and while I know things are changing, I'm still not so sure about public. We would of course love the option of public for financial reasons, but the school we are districted for right now, we would choose private.

Kerrin · December 2011

We are using public schools. That being said, when we were looking for houses back in 2005, the leading factor in our decision was school districts. I wanted the opportunity of being in a good district so that i wouldn't have to sent my kids to private if i didn't want to.

If we were in an area that didn't have great schools, I would probably go the private route until I could get into a better public school area.

care99 · December 2011

This is one reason why we moved OTP - to have a choice between private or public. If we stayed ITP we would definitely have done private. Right now, we're planning on trying public and see how it goes, but I expect we will do private at some point.

Elaine&Matt · December 2011

I'm in Smyrna. My oldest goes to public school. My youngest will too when he gets that age. There is no other option for us as there isn't a way we could afford private school right now. At the moment, we are zoned for some decent schools, so I'm not too worried.

soon2b3 · December 2011

DH went to private school and is adamantly against it. I went to public school (in FL). Our kids will do public school and I feel we are zoned for a fairly decent elementary and middle...our high school just got rezoned and it's being built now. Who knows what will happen though...if something doesn't sit well or fit well, we will explore other options - charter, magnet, private whatever.

Danielle did get a spot in the GA Pre-K at our local elementary. If we wouldn't have "won" a spot (20 openings only) then she would've stayed at private pre-K, that's basically how we made our decision and how I expect we will do it for Darren. Danielle had a very hard transition to the public school, which I was not expecting at all. I was very pleased with our GA Pre-K program though and they stuck with us/her. I don't have any issues with it and think it's basically the same as most schools/classes private or public. There are good ones and there are not so good, it all depends on the school/class/teacher and your childs specific needs and their ability to create a working/learning/loving relationship.

DzsGirl · December 2011

We are in the midst of this right now as Grant will be in K next year. The boys are currently in private preschool, we are looking at private school and are hoping to send him there next year, but if it doesn't work out I will permissive transfer to a public school that I feel is better than the one we are zoned for.

frlcb · December 2011

amyb05:
This consumes my every thought as well. I am sorry so many of us are stressed about this. I am trying to go with the flow of it since we still have at least 1 more year and maybe 2 if I decide to keep Easton back a year but the reality is that it is REALLY hard to get into the private schools we are considering. I would love to believe that we will have our choice of private schools in which to send him but getting in is difficult on top of being expensive. All of that said, we will definitely send Easton the private school route. I am truly a public school fan as I went to public school and I taught public school for many years but I think based on Eastons personality and learning styles that are showing so far, private will be a better choice for him. EB on the other hand just might be a child that would thrive in a public school environment. I hope we all find schools we love!

Which schools are you considering? Some of the big ones? We had been looking at Westminster, Lovett and Pace, as well as Paideia and Galloway but I ruled them all out based on how much time it would take us to drive there, since I don't think it would be fair to make Lila spend that much time in the car every day.

Seriously, I think about this ALL day long. It is not healthy. DH and my parents keep telling me to chill out about it all!

amyb05 · December 2011

Yes, Lovett, Westminster and possibly starting PreK at Trinity. These are my top choices so far and luckily are very close to us. My biggest issue is basically the inability to try public school and then transition to private if it isnt a good fit. With these schools it seems (from my research only, obviously not experience) that if you dont start at these schools you have very little chance of getting in later. There just seem to be so few spots available. The whole experience is starting to make me crazy. The thought of my childs education somewhat based on an interview at the age of 4 seriously makes my head spin! I can just imagine Easton starting to channel his inner Spiderman in the middle of the interview! I am trying to keep an open mind and believe that we will find/get into the best place for him/our family but truly, I think I need to step back, pray, hope and maybe just drink more!

AugustaBride04 · December 2011

Kerrin:

We are using public schools. That being said, when we were looking for houses back in 2005, the leading factor in our decision was school districts. I wanted the opportunity of being in a good district so that i wouldn't have to sent my kids to private if i didn't want to.

If we were in an area that didn't have great schools, I would probably go the private route until I could get into a better public school area.

This exactly. We will be going the public school route, but only bc we just moved and made the conscious effort to move into a top school district in N. Fulton. If we were not in a great district, we would definitely do private.

dleigh2020 · December 2011

amyb05:
Yes, Lovett, Westminster and possibly starting PreK at Trinity. These are my top choices so far and luckily are very close to us. My biggest issue is basically the inability to try public school and then transition to private if it isnt a good fit. With these schools it seems (from my research only, obviously not experience) that if you dont start at these schools you have very little chance of getting in later. There just seem to be so few spots available. The whole experience is starting to make me crazy. The thought of my childs education somewhat based on an interview at the age of 4 seriously makes my head spin! I can just imagine Easton starting to channel his inner Spiderman in the middle of the interview! I am trying to keep an open mind and believe that we will find/get into the best place for him/our family but truly, I think I need to step back, pray, hope and maybe just drink more!

I know the interview is scary but don't stress about it too much. I teach at a private school with very similar processes to Westminster and Lovett. The interviewers understand young kids. They might even enjoy seeing his inner spiderman;) And yes some private schools are hard to get into but not as much as you might think right now.

dleigh2020 · December 2011

amyb05:
Yes, Lovett, Westminster and possibly starting PreK at Trinity. These are my top choices so far and luckily are very close to us. My biggest issue is basically the inability to try public school and then transition to private if it isnt a good fit. With these schools it seems (from my research only, obviously not experience) that if you dont start at these schools you have very little chance of getting in later. There just seem to be so few spots available. The whole experience is starting to make me crazy. The thought of my childs education somewhat based on an interview at the age of 4 seriously makes my head spin! I can just imagine Easton starting to channel his inner Spiderman in the middle of the interview! I am trying to keep an open mind and believe that we will find/get into the best place for him/our family but truly, I think I need to step back, pray, hope and maybe just drink more!

I know the interview is scary but don't stress about it too much. I teach at a private school with very similar processes to Westminster and Lovett. The interviewers understand young kids. They might even enjoy seeing his inner spiderman;) And yes some private schools are hard to get into but not as much as you might think right now.

tracigator · December 2011

Kerrin:
We are using public schools. That being said, when we were looking for houses back in 2005, the leading factor in our decision was school districts. I wanted the opportunity of being in a good district so that i wouldn't have to sent my kids to private if i didn't want to.

If we were in an area that didn't have great schools, I would probably go the private route until I could get into a better public school area.

This will be a huge factor for us when we do end up moving in a few years. Right now, the school district we are in is great but when it is time for us to start looking, the first thing I will look at are the school districts and then we'll look for a house within the areas that have the great school districts. Barring a financial windfall or us moving back north (which is really a slim to none chance), we'll be staying in the public schools. My kids will go to the same school they are at now for preschool for Hebrew school so knowing that they'll have at least 1 day a week of "private school caliber" teaching helps a little.

JulesDiane · December 2011

We are supposedly in the district with one of the top elementary schools around. However, we pay for it in taxes... upper 5 digits. Ridiculous! Our original thought was private all the way, but I think financially and because the elementary school is good, we will do public elementary, and then switch to private after that. Supposedly, the middle and upper schools are not that great around us. Of course, we have a number of years before we actually have to worry about it Smile

KT&John · December 2011

frlcb:
Daisy22:

We're be making scaifices to be able to send them to private school but I just don't feel that moving OTP is right for us and even then we have issues with the ga public schools not just city of atlanta.

This is partly my issue as well. I went to great public schools in GA, the best actually, but at the end of the day they are still public schools in GA, which ranks so low it is one of the worst in the US.

This is what has been on my mind lately. I did my last two years of High School at Chattahoochee. It is one of the best in the state, and I was ahead a good bit coming from a Catholic school in MA.

DH are still talking about it but we are leaning toward Catholic schools. I too, would work to pay the tuition.

Luckily the daycare we use currently has GA Pre-K so Cadence will go there in the Fall..so that buys us one more year to make a decision.

auburnbride2be · December 2011

We are planning to do private Pre K since that is what they offer at her daycare. Then, she will go to Public Elementary school. We are in Cobb County/East Cobb area and I feel pretty comfortable with the schools in the area. We moved to this area b/c of the schools. Hopefully, we will be happy with it.

maykat · December 2011

Kerrin:

We are using public schools. That being said, when we were looking for houses back in 2005, the leading factor in our decision was school districts. I wanted the opportunity of being in a good district so that i wouldn't have to sent my kids to private if i didn't want to.

If we were in an area that didn't have great schools, I would probably go the private route until I could get into a better public school area.

This!! We are in a great school district - Decatur and plan to send out kids through the public school system. I'm still considering Catholic school down the road, but that is because I'm a product of Catholic schools.

Janimal · December 2011

We bought our house specifically in this school district for the excellent public schools. Not just for the kids we planned on having, but heck, resale on the house! We *might* consider buying a new house in a few years (trying to decide whether we should upgrade to something newer/nicer or use $$ for other things and just do some upgrading here) -- if we do look to move, we'll look first in this very same school district.

DD is currently at a private preschool. In a couple years we'll have to decide whether to keep her at the private school, or transition to the public elementary school. It's supposedly a really great elementary school....but if she is thriving at the private school, I might consider leaving her there. I dunno, we'll see. It seems dumb to pay for school when a really good free option is available -- but if she gets closer attention and more nurturing in the private environment, then we'll have a tougher decision.

kep · December 2011

Public

runblondie26 · December 2011

Private until DD hits middle school age. We plan to home school until then, as we'd like to incorporate a lot of traveling as well.

almostanO · December 2011

We are hoping to move and send the kids to a public charter school. DH went to private school and I went to public.

coffeekitten · December 2011

frlcb:
coffeekitten:
Ditto Susan! DeKalb sucks right now except for a few school and those are definitely not in our area. We are in a private preschool right now and will go the Catholic route (or the International School if we win the lottery...)
Coffee, I think you are in our district maybe, you live in Brookhaven right? Are you looking at OLA? We were strongly considering the Int'l school (it was actually our favorite school for a while) but a few things I have heard have put me off it. We are now deciding between St Martins or Cliff Valley. We are districted for Ashford Park, and, well, it just isn't my first choice.
GTLawGirl:
Before you get too stressed over this, don't forget that you can always change your mind. Just because you start out public/private doesn't mean that you have to stay there, especially if you aren't happy with your child's education.
I keep having to remind myself of this, that whatever we decide is not permanent!

Yes! We are considering OLA, IHM and St. Jude. Juli would be third generation OLA/St. Pius X so that most likely will be are route. I would love for them to go to the Atlanta International School but we can't swing the college level tuition cost (I think it's 18-22 a year! and we will have two!)

I am in but will probably be left out of "Brookhaven" when it becomes a city as I am off of Dresend Drive but by Dreden Park instead of Ashford Park. I'm zoned Dresden Elementary.

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