We are blessed in that I feel like we have three really good options to consider for next year. I thought I'd jot some of my thoughts down here before I forget them. (And yes, we've pretty much decided that he is ready for K next year.)
Option #1: Local public elementary
Our public elementary school is about 0.5 miles away. It has an exemplary rating, and the neighborhood folks who know there have all had a good experience. I have fond memories of walking/riding my bike to my elementary school, and I've often pictured throwing AJC in his wagon to go pick Bubba up from school. Oh, and it's FREE.
On the other hand, is this the very very best we can offer our kids? Logistically, where does AJC go next year for daycare if JTC is at the public elementary? (Our daycare is a 15-20 minute drive.)
Option #2: Current daycare
Our current daycare center (that we love) is considering offering a private kindergarten next year. The daycare brand already had a kindergarten curriculum, so although it would be new at our school, it wouldn't be "from scratch." We wouldn't have to worry about arranging after school care, and the boys would be at the same location. There's a lot to be said for same old, same old.
I assume the cost of K would be similar to what we're paying now, but he would go 5 days. There would be uniforms for the private kindergarten. (FWIW, I'm a fan of uniforms - there's just the cost to consider).
Option #3: My alma mater, a private Christian school
Hmm... I'm going to have to come up with a good code name for this school.
Bryan and I went to an open house at this school yesterday. I didn't go there for elementary, and the building is only 8 years old, so it was all new to me, too. It was amazing. The classrooms are enormous (~1300 sq. ft.), and there are two degreed teachers in every room (up to 19 students). It looked fun and stimulating. The "extras" are impressive. (Although they have Macs in the computer labs - what's up with that? My kid will come home and not know how to right click!) Most importantly, this school integrates a college-prep curriculum within a Christian environment and supported with a Christian education.
The downsides of this school are that it's about 30-40 minutes away and 125% of our current daycare cost. And the logistics of having the boys at two places comes up again. While the drive would get old (at least 2x/day for 13 years?), I will have to just view it as an act of service to my kiddos. And I believe the money will work itself out if this is the right decision. It's hard to put a price on the Christian education, regardless of the amazing amenities that are also available.
Can you believe I forgot to ask about redshirting??? It's only my favorite topic! It's more common at private schools around here. While JTC is ready for K, if all of the other boys are going to be an extra year older, we need to consider that. When I was there, the school had a Pre-First option after K. They didn't mention it yesterday, so we'll ask at the next event - that one is for prospective K parents only.
So many questions to mull over and bat around in my crazy head:
- Which one to choose?
- If we don't go with #2, what to do with AJC? Could I pull off my work schedule if I only had MDO-type daycare for him close to home? Switch him to a center close to #3?
- Should we wait to apply to #3 until AJC could go there, too? Would it be harder to get in then? Is it hard to get in now?
9 comments:
We were going through all of this too.
Until we bought the new house, which is PERFECT. Public elementary school is #1 in NC. Bus pick up/drop off is 3 houses down. 8:30/4 are times and I can change my schedule to fit this, so no aftercare. Still would have Fridays off to help in PTA. Also got the year-round schedule, which we wanted. And they will be separated, which we also want.
Such a hard decision to make! They all sound good! We have kept our kids in public school, only because the schools were amazing!
Good luck with your decision!
Is it bad that I'm still pretending that our boys aren't really old enough that we need to start thinking about this stuff?
Our private options around here are really limited. I would love to be able to send Michael to one of the Friends schools (Quaker) but once I saw the price tag I just about died. It made my college education at a private institution look cheap.
I just can't believe this time is upon us. I am struggling too with this decision already and need to schedule some tours soon. We'll either be doing a magnet school in our local district, the school where I teach, another school in my district, or his current preschool (which goes to K, costs $$, and is far away but amazing). Ugh.
In Michigan the cutoff for starting kindergarten is 5 by December 1st so it's extremely rare to red shirt a May kid.
Sounds like you have a lot to think about. We are going to send Michael to the public elementary school. One of the reasons we moved to this area was for the schools and the one he will be attending is only a few years old.
Briefly considered sending him to Catholic school but it is $$ and not close to our house at all.
Such a hard choice! But don't let the fact that AJC will be in a different school sway you too much. It will only be for a few short years, and however your morning routine works out, it will become your new normal. Seth and William were in different schools for a little while, and it wasn't nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be!
I agree with Beth...that the drive/different schools/harder morning routine not be the issue. However, you might consider a different daycare for AJC that is closer to #3. You also might eventually find a carpool to #3. I remember the day your sweet dog died, I made three roundtrips to #3 from our home further away than you are. It's doable. And the lasting educational and "life" benefits of #3 are so important!
However, you and your sister had great public elementary experiences, and JTC would make friends in your neighborhood.
Finally, Macs are king in education. PCs are king in business. Accept it.
I know those are tough choices...As I am sure you already aware, I am a BIG supporter of public education. I think many public schools begin to fail when so many of the upper white class leave. That is what happened to my high school. It was an excellent school when I was there and my mom taught there for years. It was about 50% white/50% minority, but a great school. Now it is failing due to "white flight" as many call it. I think that is so sad.
The schools here in Williamson county are excellent. We will definitely be doing public.
As far as redshirting, that is a hard choice. We struggled with that with Caden for awhile. I know he would have been ready academically, but so many people around here hold back with summer birthdays especially boys. He would have been a whole year younger than many in his class (and Caden is pretty little for his age). I am thankful we have waited, but I guess that depends on what other boys his age are doing there. I pray that God would make it clear on where and when to begin school. I hope to see you in Dallas over Christmas!!
We are in the midst of this decision as well. Today Sam visited one school. Tomorrow we go to events at THREE different schools, including our Alma Matter. Maybe I will see you there. I am just praying that the Lord leads us to the right place.
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