Changing from Catholic elementary school to public

[Anonymous]

Our family's income likely to go down this year because of the sour economy. We are debating whether we should make drastic changes to keep our child in Catholic school or move him to public school to provide some financial cushion. We adore our current school, we're just scared to commit to another year's tuition, knowing it likely would be a struggle.

Has anyone else faced this choice? What did you decide and how do you feel about the decision? Does anyone have experience moving a child from a Catholic/religious-based elementary to public school?

I appreciate any advice or things to consider. We are in Montgomery County, if that matters.

[Anonymous]

We're in the same boat. I don't think we'll be alone, either.

I hope the public schools are prepared for this influx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I hope the public schools are prepared for this influx.

They're not. Their models estimating enrollment account for a typical amount of moving in and out of private school, but obviously can't predict higher than usual influxes. Plus many schools are already operating above capacity (or slated to be next year).

If you're interested in current capacity and enrollment projections for any given school, go to http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/ and check out its "School at a Glance" PDF.

[Anonymous]

OP, here. Thanks for that link. Very interesting. Looks like our public school already is operating at 60 students over capacity.

[Anonymous]

9:24 here. For people who do decide to switch to public (or are enrolling a child in kindergarten for the first time), I'd recommend enrolling your child in your public school as early as possible. That will give the principal more chance to get any necessary extra teachers. The closer it gets to the new school year, the harder it is for them to make arrangements to accommodate larger class sizes than they had expected.

[Anonymous]

OP have you discussed your financial situation with your school's business office or financial aid department? I was on a private school tour recently and the AD mentioned that there wouldn't much aid for new families as they wanted to help as many current families experiencing financial difficulties as they can. Most schools are committed to keeping current families. It's worth a shot!!!

Good luck and know that you are NOT alone.

[Anonymous]

May I ask how much tuition is at your Catholic school? Our local Catholic school costs close to $6,000/year, and they give breaks for siblings.

FWIW, I think the transition is harder the older they are. Furthermore, a friend switched from public to private is still trying to catch up. So if you can swing the tuition, do try.

[Anonymous]

Our tuition is just a bit more than that. I have not talked to the school about assistance. I would rather aid go to really needy families. We still make a good income -- we just have less money and more expenses than when we enrolled in the school.

[Anonymous]

And THANK YOU for all the support. I'm glad to know we are not the only ones struggling with this.

[Anonymous]

We're facing the same thing but are going to tighten our belts even more to stick it out. Our public school is so huge that I'm just not ready to forfeit our spot at our current school where we really are a small community.