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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I understand both sides of the situation.  On the one hand op... you ARE making a judgment about the quality of the public school.  You have to own that.  On the other hand, everyone gets to decide what they want for their own kids... some are willing to pay extra for education and some are not.  Both are o.k. choices.

I understand your situation b/c we are making plans to sell our house and move to a different public school zone.  Obviously, when we announce the move/plans, people will realize that we think the local school isn't good enough ... while they are still planning to send their kids there (some wish they weren't and some think it's just fine).  Sometimes people ask about your decision b/c they wonder what you know that they don't (about the local public ... I've asked people that before when I heard they were moving to private).  Sometimes, like you experienced, they just think you are crazy and trying to waste your money.

All I can say is that when you are convinced what you are doing is the right thing -- i.e. the path that will allow you to sleep well at night -- then you just stay strong to that.  As to what you say to other people... "we really love the curriculum/vibe/energy/etc. at ____ and we wanted to give it a try."  Focus on what you like about the new plan rather than what's wrong with the public school.  (For us, we are going to focus on saying we want to shorten the commute and try not to dwell on the school deficiencies where we are.)[/quote]

[b]You are only making a judgement about the quality of the local publics if you buy into the idea that any school is capable of meeting the needs of all potential students.[/b] Once you break out of that mindset, you are free to match child to school without guilt. I had one in public and now have one in private. Two of my siblings were in public only, myself and the others did a combo of public and private as needed.[/quote]

Disagree.  Even if you are focussing on matching one child with X public school... if you choose not to send your child there, even one child... you are making a judgement about the quality of that school.  It is not meeting your standards.  It's not surprising that other people would wonder what is wrong with that school that it doesn't meet your standards (even if your standards are child specific).  OP IS saying that this school isn't good enough.  I'm saying that my local zoned school isn't good enough for my kids.  There is no "guilt" involved... but there is an assessment being made and one school is on the losing end of that assessment.  Doesn't mean people should shun or judge you for making that assessment.  You have to own your choice.[/quote]

You can choose between two different five star restaurants in DC based on a desire for specific menu items one offers and everyone understands you aren't saying the other has a lower quality. It's just different. Different is awesome. Who wants cookie cutter schools (private or public)? My cousin attended Baltimore School for the Arts instead of my all-girls Catholic college prep school. I think we each got what we needed and that made each school "the best".[/quote]

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