Help me choose: weak public with tutor, or catholic, or $40K private...

[Anonymous]

Or move for middle school.

Back story: we live in an area zoned for an improving but weak middle school.

Child #2 hits MS next year. She is an okay student who seems to be behind in part because she had an inexperienced and not talented sub for 6 months last year.

Our options are :

1) an ok catholic school where she will get a solid education in the basics. We aent religious, but are not opposed.

2) send to the barely passable public MS knowing a tutor will be needed to be prepared for HS

3) have her join oldest at expensive private. She doesn't really want to go there, and we cant really afford it.

4) move, probably to attend westland.

For option 2) we dont know how to structure a full scale supplementation plan for math, language arts, but i think it will be much less than $40k.

Advice welcome and needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or move for middle school.

Back story: we live in an area zoned for an improving but weak middle school.

Child #2 hits MS next year. She is an okay student who seems to be behind in part because she had an inexperienced and not talented sub for 6 months last year.

Our options are :

1) an ok catholic school where she will get a solid education in the basics. We aent religious, but are not opposed.

2) send to the barely passable public MS knowing a tutor will be needed to be prepared for HS

3) have her join oldest at expensive private. She doesn't really want to go there, and we cant really afford it.

4) move, probably to attend westland.

For option 2) we dont know how to structure a full scale supplementation plan for math, language arts, but i think it will be much less than $40k.

Advice welcome and needed.

For option 2- there are many math textbooks available online. Purchase the textbooks for the math she needs to be prepared for HS - and have the tutor cover each unit. For DC - the full curriculum including unit quizzes is available online. You can use that (or a home schooling textbook) as a tool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or move for middle school.

Back story: we live in an area zoned for an improving but weak middle school.

Child #2 hits MS next year. She is an okay student who seems to be behind in part because she had an inexperienced and not talented sub for 6 months last year.

Our options are :

1) an ok catholic school where she will get a solid education in the basics. We aent religious, but are not opposed.

2) send to the barely passable public MS knowing a tutor will be needed to be prepared for HS

3) have her join oldest at expensive private. She doesn't really want to go there, and we cant really afford it.

4) move, probably to attend westland.

For option 2) we dont know how to structure a full scale supplementation plan for math, language arts, but i think it will be much less than $40k.

Advice welcome and needed.

Is the high school you're zoned for going to be an issue also, or is it just the middle school? If it's just MS, I'd vote to do either option 1 or 3 for 2-3 years, depending on your budget. Could you look for not just an OK Catholic school, but a fairly good one? Some are better than others. If it's run by a diocese, it will still be less expensive than an independent school.

If the public high school is a problem too, I'd probably look at moving or going Catholic the whole way.

[Anonymous]

I'd move so both kids can go to public. Would probably be the cheapest option and better investment.

[Anonymous]

The OP sounds disingenuous to me.

[Anonymous]

We moved for a better school district.

1. We wanted to make a sound real estate investment where prices would never go down. Bought in a desirable neighborhood.

2. We have two children to put through school and can't afford a really good private for both. There's no point in a cheaper private that has comfortable facilities but no science to speak of.

[Anonymous]

There are non-Catholic private schools that are less than 40K.

[Anonymous]

We moved for better publics, but ended up sending DC to private for middle school. The "best" public MS turned out to be pretty mediocre. My DC is a very bright kid, but indifferent to school. The private school is killing us financially (we can't afford it at all, paying tuition out of our retirement savings), but it's been great for DC, who is a changed kid. We're doing public for high school, but the private middle school has been worth every penny, so far.

[Anonymous]

Usually, I would recommend Catholic school under similar scenarios. However, if you aren't religious at all, it may not be a fit. I think it is generally a good option for Christians of other denominations though.

In your situation I would move. Being in a bad school that wasn't properly preparing my child would not be acceptable to me.

[Anonymous]

We are in a similar situation and are going to try the local ms. Nobody ever got irrevocably damaged from a mediocre 6th grade, and if we're wrong he can apply to private next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or move for middle school.

Back story: we live in an area zoned for an improving but weak middle school.

Child #2 hits MS next year. She is an okay student who seems to be behind in part because she had an inexperienced and not talented sub for 6 months last year.

Our options are :

1) an ok catholic school where she will get a solid education in the basics. We aent religious, but are not opposed.

2) send to the barely passable public MS knowing a tutor will be needed to be prepared for HS

3) have her join oldest at expensive private. She doesn't really want to go there, and we cant really afford it.

4) move, probably to attend westland.

For option 2) we dont know how to structure a full scale supplementation plan for math, language arts, but i think it will be much less than $40k.

Advice welcome and needed.

First - there is no way I would send my mediocre, doesn't want to go there child to a $40k school I could not afford.

I think if the Catholic school would prepare her for high school and she wouldn't be ostracized due to not being Catholic and/or religious, that would be my choice. I would see how much religion is involved in the curriculum. Often, it isn't as much as you may think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or move for middle school.

Back story: we live in an area zoned for an improving but weak middle school.

Child #2 hits MS next year. She is an okay student who seems to be behind in part because she had an inexperienced and not talented sub for 6 months last year.

Our options are :

1) an ok catholic school where she will get a solid education in the basics. We aent religious, but are not opposed.

2) send to the barely passable public MS knowing a tutor will be needed to be prepared for HS

3) have her join oldest at expensive private. She doesn't really want to go there, and we cant really afford it.

4) move, probably to attend westland.

For option 2) we dont know how to structure a full scale supplementation plan for math, language arts, but i think it will be much less than $40k.

Advice welcome and needed.

First - there is no way I would send my mediocre, doesn't want to go there child to a $40k school I could not afford.

I think if the Catholic school would prepare her for high school and she wouldn't be ostracized due to not being Catholic and/or religious, that would be my choice. I would see how much religion is involved in the curriculum. Often, it isn't as much as you may think.

That's true of Lutheran schools, but not Catholic schools. Religion is a daily occurrence and many subjects are taught with religion in mind - History for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved for better publics, but ended up sending DC to private for middle school. The "best" public MS turned out to be pretty mediocre. My DC is a very bright kid, but indifferent to school. The private school is killing us financially (we can't afford it at all, paying tuition out of our retirement savings), but it's been great for DC, who is a changed kid. We're doing public for high school, but the private middle school has been worth every penny, so far.

+1 similar situation. Vote for #2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in a similar situation and are going to try the local ms. Nobody ever got irrevocably damaged from a mediocre 6th grade, and if we're wrong he can apply to private next year.

Don't. We did same and our "top" student was so far behind in private school in 7th grade. Try to get kid caught up in 6th in private - much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in a similar situation and are going to try the local ms. Nobody ever got irrevocably damaged from a mediocre 6th grade, and if we're wrong he can apply to private next year.

Don't. We did same and our "top" student was so far behind in private school in 7th grade. Try to get kid caught up in 6th in private - much better.

I don't think our situations are the same unless our public school and local private options are the same. And same with OP. The devil is in the details.