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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I too got a solid public education but [b]I am very sad to say that things have changed and not for the better[/b].  I could go on and on but if you can afford private, go ahead and do it.  We are in a 10 out of 10 school according to great schools and the education is very weak.  We are going private next year.  We don't know where yet because applications are in but we haven't heard. [/quote]

I got a solid public education, and my children are too. My children are not at a GS 10 school -- maybe that's the problem with your child's school?[/quote]

I wrote what you quoted and I wonder the same.  I do think the school scores well on standardized tests but the work they do in school and the homework is terrible.  Although it is anecdotal, parents with older kids in the same school who also have younger kids have noticed a significant change in the school in the last 5 years or so.  Roughly coincides with the arrival of the current principal.  And the classes are 30 plus for most grades above kindergarten.  So, for OP, I just offer the "great schools" comment because the fact that kids can pass the SOLs doesn't really mean a lot.  The SOLs are really the most basic things.  For me, I want more for my kids and at my current public, for whatever reason, they are happy to do the bare minimum.  And now, after two years at the school, we are done and moving to private next year.

OP, if you are on the fence, spend a day at public and then tour privates.  One thing that I am struck by over and over is the difference that the class size makes in the entire experience.  We have visited many privates and none have classes bigger than 18 and most are closer to 15.  That is half the size of what my kids are in.  Curriculums work better, transitions are better, classes seem much more spacious, etc. when there are only 15. And kids are kids so from time to time, they have disruptive or bad days.  In large classes with several chronically disruptive kids, the chaos is non-stop.  So when I toured and interviewed, I found the language arts curriculums were described the same at private as at public. But as I watched, it is just completely different.  The My Daily Five works well with 15 kids.  It falls apart with 30.  As for math, there is simply no contest.  In our public, first graders are only doing single digit addition with a sum less than 10.  In private they are way beyond that.  Doesn't even compare.[/quote]

You must be the Wolftrap poster. Have you talked to the principal about your concerns before moving?[/quote]

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