Reservations about sending DCs to PS

[Anonymous]

My DS went to a half-day PreK in public school and then public school for K-4 and is now in private. I don't feel like he was pushed too much at the expense of creativity and play, if anything, he complained that the work was too easy, and was bored (starting in 2nd grade, he would get a 3 page packet for homework for the week). He had lots of time to play, made lots of friends, had time for extracurricular activities, and was not stressed about workload or difficulty. (And he is not an overachiever.) He's in private now because we moved.

From what I remember, in K, there was a mix of backgrounds and abilities, some kids could read and others couldn't. By the end of the year they were all pretty much in the same place academically. It was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5yo's aren't expected to fully read and write when they walk into K.

+1

The number of minutes of recess might be getting you down, but our K-er's class last year had a bunch of toys and they had "free choice" time every day in the classroom. Plus weekly art, music, and PE. He loved school. It was a nice gradual introduction into academics.

If diversity is important to you, move to an area with a diverse population. We're in MoCo and my son's class is very diverse.

[Anonymous]

Kindergarteners are not expected to be able to read and write on entrance to kindergarten. Where are you getting this information?

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know in what way you've been supporting public school since you've never sent a child to one? Do you teach at one? It seems not. So ... how?

[Anonymous]

Like a PP, I understand that you are overwhelmed, but you are also basing your stress on a lot of things that are just patently untrue:

1) Kindergartners are not required to read and write, nor is that even common. I would say about half of the kids in my child's kindy class could handle the "easy readers" and some didn't read at all. A handful of outliers were reading easy chapter books. It's a spectrum, and the schools are used to seeing it all.

2) There are no book reports in kindergarten, or first grade. Not sure about second, but will report back!

3) Yes, the 30 minute recess is a bummer, but my child does okay by having outdoor play before school plus after school. It's fine.

4) The PARCC tests don't start until 3rd grade. Any testing up until that point is either for group placement, or to track progress.

5) My child's class of 16 contains the following:

White - 5
Asian - 1
Latinx- 3
Black - 7

Just because you are living somewhere with no diversity doesn't mean the rest of us are.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue is talking about PUBLIC SCHOOLS as though these things are all the same. If you have certain priorities, live in an area where the school reflects them.

Also, you can opt out of testing. My husband is a public school teacher and we plan on doing this; he has colleagues who also send their children to public schools and they do the same.

[Anonymous]

Sorry I was ranting and did not clearly articulate my views.

Yes, I am referring to public school.

I know that K and 1st are not taking exams. I also know generally that reading and writing are not REQUIRED going into K. It just feels like thats the expectation where we are. My neighbor is a K teacher in MoCo and the things she told me really shook me. She has LOs in 2nd and 4th and shes about to outright quit and homeschool b/c she is sickened with the system. Her best friend already did this, and she was ES teacher for 10 years (in NOVA though). That kind of freaks me out.

I understand private school, in many cases, can (most likely) be worse in terms of academics and diversity.

We rented in the west part of MoCo b/c it was closer to our jobs, not completely understanding the demographics. We cannot move right now too far right now or anytime soon, due to the time demands of DHs job.

My DCs daycare/preschool is 95% white and Asian (I hate using such a broad term. Sorry.) Nearly all of the kids in will go to our school go to our local school. Our zone school demo is more diverse. But not by much.

I'm not racist against my own people. Its just odd having such a disparity. Neither me, nor DH grew up in schools like this. No one had to explain race or racism to us. We saw it in action. We learned to appreciate and support the similarities and differences of those from different backgrounds and religions. We learned to empathize with those less fortunate and to standup for the injustices against them based on class or color. School is where we learned these lessons. Its not the only place where my kids can learn this by any means. But its one of the best places.

[Anonymous]

School decisions can be so hard! We ended up sending our kids to a private school for religious reasons, but I think it's important to just to what fits your family. Have you looked into any Montessori schools in your area? They are typically focused on hands on learning through play. It seems like that could be a good fit. I hear your frustrations about segregation too! I hate that in this day and age we're still talking about classifying schools or kids based on skin color.

[Anonymous]

Your entire position confuses me, OP. Your kids aren't even at the age where this is a concern yet, first and foremost. Second of all, you're complaining about the lack of diversity in public schools when you send your kids to a daycare that is 95% white. Way to lead the desegregation charge there. Third of all, your issues are not real. There are reading benchmarks in place for the END of kindergarten, not the beginning. Some kids come in reading, some don't, nobody is expected to be reading the first day of K. Same with writing. It's literally not even considered age appropriate to assess writing before kindergarten so nobody is expecting kids to be writing in full sentences with perfect penmanship.

[Anonymous]

Here's my situation:

I teach PS. One of my kids did fine in MCPS. The other has never attended PS. They are very different kids with different needs in terms of pedagogy and setting. I used to be weighed down with guilt about sending my kid to private. However, in the past year, more and more of my colleagues have come out of the closet that they send one or more of their kids to private school or they homeschool. No one ever says it's because the district is terrible or they want to avoid "bad kids" at the neighborhood private. Mostly, it's been that our own kid had unique needs that the local school couldn't handle. One colleague said she could sue her own employer or put her son in private. She choose private.
For the record. My younger child knew how to read and write going into K because she attended a private preschool that had a rigorous two year K-prep program. Her classmates who attended public for K and 1st were among the tiny minority of literate kids. Most could recognize numbers or letters individually and perhaps their first name. The readers were generally bored in ELA the first two years.

[Anonymous]

we're in one of the higher ranked schools in APS and plenty of the K kids weren't reading when they came in, though all of them were reading when they went to 1st grade, from what I could tell.

That said, most of the kids in our area go to preschool and pre-K, so they're pretty prepared walking in the door. They're socialized, and they've been doing pre-reading and some math for a couple of years at that point.

You can't control segregation - it happens everywhere in the country, and the world. MCPS is a good school district, and chances are your children will get an excellent education wherever they go.

[Anonymous]

Our kids attend public in DC (segregation not an issue for us at our school, which is very diverse except for a lack of Asians) but one kid was reading in K and the other wasn't - same daycare, same school, same parents, just two very different kids! I would be more worried about class size.

[Anonymous]

OP what do your kids think? Don't share your anxiety with them. K is actually really fun as kids make new friends and learn new things.