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Curriculum questions: "Academic" kgarten vs. "Social" kgarten?

CD+ALCD+AL member
in Pre-School and Daycare

DS is at a private school that we absolutely love for PS this year and next, but then we have to decide if we want him to continue there for Kindergarten or not.  They have a K-8 program that usually transitions to the public HS.

Ideally, of course, we don't really want to play trial and error.  We'd really like to start him in the school that he will continue with long-term, but I do recognize that worst-case scenario there is always the option to switch if needed.  (Although if we start at the public school and switch to the private school mid-year, we'd probably lose most if not all of our financial aid package b/c they will award our funds to someone else if he doesn't actually enroll.)

We were really leaning toward the private school because the class sizes are so small.  This year there are 8 (I think...somewhere between 5-10 for sure) kindergarteners, and we also love both the PS and Kgarten teachers.  I'm not totally sold on the 1-8 grades, but to be honest, I haven't even gotten that far yet to really hash it out.

Then I was talking to someone who has a family member who does some sort of work with kids in the public school when they need some help catching up, and she said that this family member said that when kids switch from the private to the public school a lot of them need help b/c the private school kgarten curriculum is too "socially" focused and the public program is "more academic."

I don't really know how to explore this b/c I don't even know what questions to ask about curriculum and who to ask (teachers?) to get the information that I need to make the decision.  My gut tells me that part of the issue above is probably just that many kids that switch schools, especially mid-year, may need a little help to get up to speed, especially if they are used to having lots of 1 on 1 attention, which isn't going to happen with 25 kindergarteners in a room.  On the other hand, I don't want to set my DS up to struggle later on down the road either.

Thoughts?

 
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Re: Curriculum questions: "Academic" kgarten vs. "Social" kgarten?

  • Mrs.MinaMrs.Mina

    I'd rec that you go to your state's website, then link to the dept of education and download the PDF for the kdgn expectations.  That will tell you the academic goals that you child is expected to meet by the end of kdgn.  There is *usually* a parent-friendly version that doesn't contain too much educator jargon.  Also, most states (about 45) have recently adopted the federal Common Core Standards and schools nationwide will be switching over their curriculum to teach the topics contained in the CCS.

    Reading that will allow you to ask the right questions at kdgn roundup, or whatever orientation they have.  Our school has the kdgn expectations printed up in a brochure that they give parents at roundup.  Talking to the teacher(s) about his/her philosophy of teaching will give you even more insight as to what the day-to-day learning is like.  That said, don't be afraid to go with your instinct.  IMO PK-3 grades are the most important for future success.  Kudos to you for looking into the topic. 

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  • bim38106bim38106 member

    PP makes some great points.

    I also wanted to add... this person who said that about catching up, was it students switching from "your" private school to public, or other schools? I went to both private and public schools growing up. We moved a lot and I mostly went to private, but after moving I'd go to public until my parents found the private school they wanted to send us to. Every single time (3 times), my switch from private to public made me feel like I was repeating a year. Seriously. It was like public was a full year behind and I'd be relearning all the stuff I'd learned at the private school the previous year. Obviously it depends on the school (both public and private), so don't write it off based on what this person said.

    Also, especially in the earlier grades, small class size is very important. This is actually my #1 reason for not sending my girls to private school here, other then our public school are awesome anyway...but at the private school we would have chosen, K class sizes are 30-35, which is insane at that age.

    Anyway, I agree w/ pp about looking up state standards and seeing how they compare and what they teach based on that. I used to be a teacher, and I really do not like standardized testing, but I do think that it would be good to look up the schools' scores and see how they rate compared to public.

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  • iteachkiteachk member

    It really depends on your state & district.

    I went to a private K-8 school, as did DH.  My mom teaches kindergarten there now.  Our kids will be going there.  I love it, and they are absolutely as up to speed academically as our (awesome) public school.

    I also taught kindergarten for 5 years in a public school.  There are a lot of positives to public schools too, and I would be fine with my kids going to either school. 

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  • jlw2505jlw2505 member
    In addition to what others have already said., I would ask if you can observe a class at both schools.  I am very much in favor of public schools unless you live in an area with really bad public schools for a lot of reasons that lean more toward the social side (I love the diversity you see in most public schools) but I feel that school should be more academic but also social should be part of that.  I think kids need to get a very well rounded education that includes all the academics, arts and social times like recess and of course gross motor like gym.  I think you need to look carefully at both schools and at both programs.  Ask for references of current and past parents from the private school.  I would guess that the public school is your neighborhood school and if so, go knock on your neighbors doors and ask about their experience in the school (assuming they have kids that have recently gone to the school).  We open enroll our kids into the district next to ours for a few reasons and we did a ton of talking to neighbors and friends and other families at the daycare center we are at to hear about the pros and cons of both school districts.  You also need to look at the school past kindergarten - while it is most parents dream to keep their kids in the same school/district from K-12, kids move, things happen and kids change schools - most kids adapt to this with not too many issues.
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  • CD+ALCD+AL member

    This conversation was specifically about the private school that DS currently attends and the public school that he would attend if we went that route.  I was planning on looking into both programs anyway, but this conversation kind of spurred me into starting a little earlier than I had planned. 

    Thank you for all the suggestions.  It gives me a little more direction.  I think the biggest attraction to the private school is the class size, which is amazingly small with lots of one on one attention, and the amazing community they have there, but I want to make sure that DS is getting off on the right foot academically too.

     
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  • shouldbworkinshouldbworkin

    ITA with the others, depends on district and school.  Check out the schools and ask specific questions.

    I can tell you that in our district, the 1st half of KG is very socially driven and it was frustrating to me that it wasn't more academic at the time.  But, once the ground work was laid, they really accelerated the learning and DS left KG far beyond where I thought he would be. 

    We also looked at private school and while the smaller class sizes and additional teachers were nice, I could see it becoming an issue later on.  First, they only had 2 teachers/class in KG, so that benefit wore off quickly.  And, as kids progressed through the school the classes got smaller and smaller ... which could be an issue if your DC doesn't like or get along with all of the kids s/he is in school with or vice versa.  Kids are kids and no matter where they are there will be social hierarchy, I like that public school has a bigger pool to swim in, so to speak. 

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  • franciscazfranciscaz member

    I was in private school till 7th grade and than a charter high school.  Honestly I was very socially awkward.  So was my brother closest to my age (he was in private till 6th).  With that said my oldest siblings who attended private school longest (8th &10th) respectively went into public school socially and were HUGE leaders.  Sister was homecoming queen and prom queen.  Brother was a top athlete.  All 4 of us were strong academically (especially my two brothers who were not dyslexic).

    NM is 48 in the nation for education.  If we are still here and not in Rio Rancho in Albuquerque I very strongly will be leading to private school and charter education.  Yes, the classes are smaller and the academics can be more rigorous.  I don't think that is a bad thing in either respect.   The key is socialization.  My kids are already involved in gym, soccer, music, etc.  We are very active in our religion and they do lots of activities with peers.  If you are getting your kids out there experiencing different cultures and people they will learn to socialize.  

    If you have fabulous public schools, I would save the money.  I guess what matters is where you are at.  Some kids are going to struggle more than others b/c of their personality, but if you are getting them out there that can be overcome.

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  • flyingsaucerflyingsaucer member

    I agree with Fran that if you have great public schools save the money! For me I would think about where my LO would be in the next few years, it would be important to me to keep him in the same place, once they start establishing friends and routines, it can be a tough move for them to go to a new school.  I would opt to do K in whatever school or district I planned to have my kid stay in long term.

    I agree that you should go visit and observe before making a choice 

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