Would you force your happy kid to switch to private from FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a very happy social sixth grade son. He is a solid student, is part of student council, plays multiple sports, has lots of friends and all around good kid. We have not been happy with FCPS since Covid. There is little learning happening in the class, especially in language arts. I don’t think DS has progressed much since before Covid.

He is adamant that he does not want to switch schools and leave his friends.

Would you force him to switch?

I know he will make new friends immediately. We would like him to switch and can always return back to public.

Would you switch to private if you could easily afford it?

We have a seven figure income and can afford tuition.

Is he currently in 6th or going into 6th? If he is currently finishing 6th and going into middle school anyway I would send to private.

[Anonymous]

No way.

I also have a 6th grader and while I think it's a little bit too easy right now, I'm ok with it because my kid, like yours, is happy, social, has gained major confidence, and developed her leadership skills.

I don't find her education lacking and I think the above are also important long-term life skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A hard No.

And , Fwiw, the grass isn't always greener.

+1 - one of my great regrets is not pulling my older kid out of private after it became clear my younger kid wasn't going to be able to stay in private.

[Anonymous]

I've generally seen on these boards that FCPS has a weak/underdeveloped curriculum in elementary, but gets stronger in middle and high school. My 7th grader had a LOT more explicit grammar instruction this year than he ever had in his well-regarded ES (although he still isn't expected to write much...I'm hoping that'll change next year).

Agree with prior posters who suggest supplementing rather than switching to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a very happy social sixth grade son. He is a solid student, is part of student council, plays multiple sports, has lots of friends and all around good kid. We have not been happy with FCPS since Covid. There is little learning happening in the class, especially in language arts. I don’t think DS has progressed much since before Covid.

He is adamant that he does not want to switch schools and leave his friends.

Would you force him to switch?

I know he will make new friends immediately. We would like him to switch and can always return back to public.

Would you switch to private if you could easily afford it?

We have a seven figure income and can afford tuition.

Is he currently in 6th or going into 6th? If he is currently finishing 6th and going into middle school anyway I would send to private.

OP here. This was exactly our thinking, that this is a transition year. If he goes to a new middle school, why not go to private? He knows a few people at the privates we are considering, although not close. He doesn’t want to leave his best friends. I have tried to talk to him about how friendships shift in middle school but he is adamant he does not want to switch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a very happy social sixth grade son. He is a solid student, is part of student council, plays multiple sports, has lots of friends and all around good kid. We have not been happy with FCPS since Covid. There is little learning happening in the class, especially in language arts. I don’t think DS has progressed much since before Covid.

He is adamant that he does not want to switch schools and leave his friends.

Would you force him to switch?

I know he will make new friends immediately. We would like him to switch and can always return back to public.

Would you switch to private if you could easily afford it?

We have a seven figure income and can afford tuition.

Is he currently in 6th or going into 6th? If he is currently finishing 6th and going into middle school anyway I would send to private.

OP here. This was exactly our thinking, that this is a transition year. If he goes to a new middle school, why not go to private? He knows a few people at the privates we are considering, although not close. He doesn’t want to leave his best friends. I have tried to talk to him about how friendships shift in middle school but he is adamant he does not want to switch.

I would switch. Middle school start times are so early anyway and he will most likely not have his friends in his classes or lunch. He will see them after school and on weekends.

[Anonymous]

PP. I will add onto my comment above. You are the parent. He is 12. You obviously have a good reason to think fcps may not be the best option for your kid. No one likes change but sometimes change is necessary so we can reach our full potential. In the end, you will have to go with your gut and do what you think is in the best interest of your kid and your family. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've generally seen on these boards that FCPS has a weak/underdeveloped curriculum in elementary, but gets stronger in middle and high school. My 7th grader had a LOT more explicit grammar instruction this year than he ever had in his well-regarded ES (although he still isn't expected to write much...I'm hoping that'll change next year).

Agree with prior posters who suggest supplementing rather than switching to private.

Every year is watered down in writing compared to privates. Even high school. Once you get to AP classes it gets better.

[Anonymous]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1138234.page

[Anonymous]

Someone suggested I post on public school forum since the private school forum would be biased towards private. We are really torn. DH and I both want to switch DS but don’t want to force DS if he will be miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone suggested I post on public school forum since the private school forum would be biased towards private. We are really torn. DH and I both want to switch DS but don’t want to force DS if he will be miserable.

I have a child finishing seventh and this year would have been an even harder transition without their friendships. In addition, the class work demands really stepped up which one would expect after elementary school. Which math will they take next year at the public option? Also, how will you get your child into private school at this point? If you are making the switch to a private that has openings, it is probably not worth it if you are truly looking for more rigor.

[Anonymous]

No.
And what makes you so sure that he will be better academically in private?

[Anonymous]

OP. Privates have better rules for behavior and better academics. If the child is so popular maybe you can find a friend to attend another school with by high school.

[Anonymous]

What MS are you zoned for Op?

We can give you a better perspective on classes, subjects, clubs, etc

Have you taken a good look at the curriculum? There are Honors courses too.

And what private school are you seriously considering? Catholic or independent?
Catholic schools are K-8 so your kid woukd be entering in the "middle "....not saying he can't make friends, but it's mot like FCPS where everyone starts new in MS with all the different feeder schools.


Did I miss it - what ticked you off about fcps post covid that wasn't an issue for you pre-covid?

[Anonymous]

For probably the same reasons you are considering it, I moved a kid for fifth grade who was very unhappy about being moved. He still is unhappy about having to switch, but after two years there did pick to stay in that private for middle school.

What brought on the crisis now? It's going to be late in the season to apply, which means unfortunately he's not going to be able to shadow students during the day, and your selection is going to be more limited. Some schools have limited numbers of slots, and those may be filled.

Ideally you will want to find a school where there's at least one kid he already knows. I think this helps a lot.