Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't force a kid to switch - that's a recipe for the kid to hate it. If you have disposable income, spend it on good summer programs, supplementing curriculum etc. Why would you even want to switch?
As a family that had one in public and one in private, I can tell you there are good things about each the most important factor for us in picking a school was the kids' happiness and success. Unless your kid is struggling I would not move.
+1
The better non-public schools have all finished their admissions cycle by now so unless you went through that process and just found out that he got off the waiting list somewhere great, I wouldn't trade a solid FCPS middle school for a mediocre private or parochial school. From his perspective, the adjustment to middle school is hard enough when friends will be there; switching to a new school for 7th grade would be pretty scary, especially if it's a last minute move.
If you want to switch him for high school, that would be a different matter and it's something you could start getting him on board with now and give him time to acclimate to the idea. Friendships adjust and shift in middle school so he might be ready for a change in another year or two.