school choice is making me insane

Anonymous
I;m nit totally happy with what I have, but I'm scared to jump from the frying pan into the fire
Basically, I'm paralyzed
Any advice from those who've recovered from this?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I;m nit totally happy with what I have, but I'm scared to jump from the frying pan into the fire
Basically, I'm paralyzed
Any advice from those who've recovered from this?


Three questions:

What about the current school are you not happy with?

What would it take to make you happy?

Do you foresee being completely happy at any school?

I am in the midst of asking myself these questions because I fear I may be infected with the DCUM attitude that, in a recent thread, led a poster to refer to WES a "reject pile." (I'm not a WES parent, BTW.) I often feel that, on DCUM, any school that is not a Cathedral school, Sidwell, GDS, or Maret is considered a "reject pile," because many DCUMs seem to consider all other schools second rate and therefore unworthy. That can create an ego problem for us parents, or a sneaking fear that something is somehow wrong with our current school.

That's just me, not you, OP. But I have to ask myself if any unhappiness with our current school is somehow related to this. Because the reality is that no school is perfect and many schools would probably fit most of our kids, but a lot of posters here are convinced that only Beavoir/STA/NCS, Sidwell, et al. are worth attending. I guess they feel so strongly about it because paying up to $30K a year for the privilege of having a child there can lead to a lot of cognitive dissonance if one feels there's something lacking, or that another, cheaper, (gasp!) less prestigious school might have made the child in question equally happy.
Anonymous
I'm actually in a public school with a good reputation
However, it's starting the expansion from prek-6 to prek-8
there is a lot of infighting by the planning board on the 'direction' of the school
So I'm facing choices
1. Unknown new teachers, and facilities more in keeping with elementary than middle school
2. A choice of staying where we are, and gaining a smaller class size as people run to something with a track record
3. The choice to run to a public middle-school program with a good record, but I don't know if the attendance boundaries will be changed by the fall...will I need to apply out of bounds now, when I assumed I was inbounds?
4. Try a charter school, eg one of the catholic converted schools....
5. Fight for a slot at a private school, since it IS an entry year....
6. Move to a closet in MOco...
4.
Anonymous
MoCo
Anonymous
yes, i went househunting
and it depressed me
Ramblers for 700k....
I might look again in the spring
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I;m nit totally happy with what I have, but I'm scared to jump from the frying pan into the fire
Basically, I'm paralyzed
Any advice from those who've recovered from this?


Are you the student? I don't understand this post and those who are responding to it - you are talking about Pre-K and K yet you are referring to the school that YOU are not happy with .......
Anonymous
I said the school is expanding the grades it serves
switching from pre-k-6 to prek-8
Anonymous
The school expanding to 8th grade could be a really good thing. For one, it can mean that if you are happy with the school and your child is doing well there, you don't have to worry about finding a separate middle school.

Curveballs happen everywhere. My son's school is terrific and we're happy. He was in class at the beginning of the year with a teacher we liked and had requested. And then, since teachers are human and real life happens to them, too, she had to leave two weeks into the new school year and was replaced with a teacher who's fresh out of college and very green. It happens. Schools change all the time.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:yes, i went househunting
and it depressed me
Ramblers for 700k....
I might look again in the spring


Oh my gosh, I feel your pain. We're looking in McLean. Even in this market, 850k gets you a 1950's rambler that has never been updated and is basically dilapidated. Frightening.....
Anonymous
I think there are a lot of advantages to program that goes to 8th grade. Middle school seems to be the time when students are the hardest to reach, being in a familiar setting with familiar classmate could ease a lot of growing pains. It's hard to imagine that your children could be inbounds and attending the school in grade 6 and then sent elsewhere in grade 8, but if you're really worried about it a call to the Principal should answer that for you. Moving in middle school could potentially be more disruptive than moving in high school, when students are little older and more secure.

Here's some advice from Jay Mathews:

8. There are no good middle schools.

I am exaggerating for effect, but there is some truth in this outrageous statement. It is an itchy age, pre-adolescence. You will discover that no one will have many nice things to say about whatever middle school you pick, even the one full of millionaires' kids. Children that age are just too difficult to teach. So look beyond the weariness of the teachers and parents who have to deal with those raging hormones and look at how hard the school tries to get every student through Algebra I by the end of eighth grade. If at least half the students reach that goal, it is a very good school. If fewer than 25 percent of a school's students meet this benchmark, you might want to look elsewhere.

from his Ten Tips for Picking a Good School

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html
Anonymous
A few points:
- There are GREAT private schools out there that don't cost a fortune and that don't draw in the "elite" group who feel the need to pay $30K for a year's worth of schooling. My daughter attends a school that's $6,000/year. It's K-8, and although the classes are fairly large, the teachers are great, there's continuity in lesson planning b/c of articulation between grades, and there are no ridiculous state tests to take.
- There are also great public schools out there. The problem is this: Teachers are restricted b/c of MSAs and HSAs. A child who does well on those state tests is not necessarily a genius. I've seen quite a few pass through who are not resourceful b/c they've been spoon-fed. I don't blame the teachers. (Obviously you can tell I am one in the public system.). I blame the system. And my main reason for sending my kids to private school is to remove them from these tests. Having said that, I would urge you to spend a day at a local school to get a feel for what's going on. Some of the "terrible" schools you read about on this forum are filled with wonderfully devoted and hard working teachers.
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