Pp here. Not the op. Just in a similar situation.

Can everyone who doesn't have anything constructive to say get off of this thread? We are seriously annoyed by the whole situation. We would send both kids to public school but then the public middle school would be Pyle (shudder) so we would be willing to do public elem and public high school but not public junior high. The bigger question is why is there an unqualified teacher in a school where parents are paying a huge amount of money to make sure their kids have the best teachers? Every other teacher there is a dream. Experienced, educated, responsive and helpful.

Good point 22:08. And we did that the first year we switched out of private to public. Paid a lot in tutoring but it was more for SN issues than for any lack on the public school's part. Our son now is much better organized than he was in private so there is no longer any need for the tutor

If private was free, which would you have picked?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, with all due respect, you sound like a nut case...

You sound like the abusive, foul-mouthed poster who got "even" with a critical Sidwell parent by posting a whole bunch of personal details about her. Is that you?

Quit misrepresenting what happened on that other thread. I'm about half a beat from making a post that will prove how untruthful you are. The only thing stopping me now is respect for Jeff.

Anonymous wrote:Surprise surprise the same inept teachers and administrators show up in public school. In fact it's easier for them to hide in larger organizations. Good luck to those of you who think that's a panacea.

The difference is you are not paying 32K a year. That goes a long way for tutors if your kid needs one - to -one instruction to make up for a bad public school teacher.

We shot half a mil. (paid full freight) for kids to attend private schools in MD. What a waste of money and what I would do now to get that back! Yes, we had saved and had college trust funds set up but who knew that a recession would wipe us out . . . . . the VA public schools saved us and turned out to be so much more professional than the MD privates. More responsive. Posted all homework assignments. No more guesswork as to what the assignments were, when the test was, how well your kid was doing because grade stats were sent frequently by email. Teachers actually responded immediately by email! They cared! They weren't arrogant! They were better educated! They liked teaching! They had better credentials than the private teachers! Duh. I could pick up a pencil tomorrow and get a job in a private school; I'm not qualified though to teach in a VA public school. That says something. Think about it. Just because a school is private doesn't mean they are pulling in the best credentialed teachers.

And, no, I'm not a public or private school teacher so no snarking.

Anonymous wrote:Venting! We are so angry. We write a huge tuition check for a top knotch education and my DD's teacher has no idea what she's doing. No use complaining to the director he never listens to parent complaints. Should we pull DD out midyear? Another family did. Maybe right thing to do.

A big question is whether you know enough about your local public school to be satisfied with it as an alternative. Have you visited it, talked to the principal?

Anonymous wrote:OP, with all due respect, you sound like a nut case...

You sound like the abusive, foul-mouthed poster who got "even" with a critical Sidwell parent by posting a whole bunch of personal details about her. Is that you?

We have had our kids in public and private schools. My kids had some terrific teachers in private school, and also some awful teachers. During one private school parent-teacher conference, the teacher told me she didn't teach history in the history class, because "she didn't actually like history." In public school, too, my kids have had fabulous teachers and teachers who were overwhelmed.

In both public and private, what makes the difference is whether the school administration is responsive and deals with problems. In OP's case, it sounds like they are not responsive. Time to leave.

Anonymous wrote:OP, with all due respect, you sound like a nut case...

With all due respect, you sound like a defensive booster of all private schools, without exception. Don't you realize there are good and bad private schools, just as there are good and bad publics?

OP sounds fine.

OP, with all due respect, you sound like a nut case...

No, 19:15, I haven't found that to be the case. And it sounds from the comments above that I am in good company. We wasted so much money on private schools. And once you are invested - and doing all the never-ending required mommy stuff like never-ending auctions - you find yourself boxed in. YOu question your decision, "OK, I liked the school up to now, but what gives with this particular new teacher? Or what gives with this new headmaster who is clearly going to suck up to the teacher and tell the parents to go to hell? Or what about the questionable conduct about this teacher or that? Or the fact that all of the parents are complaining that teachers won't post homework and won't synchronize tests so kids as young as 5th grade are having FIVE exams on the same day? Or why is Mom X and Dad Y yanking their kid from this Catholic school and putting them in public mid-year. My kid isn't happy either, should I do it too?". I really rue the day my husband and I got swept up into the private school madness in MD when we lived in one of the best public school systems in America. And I failed as a mother the few times my kids were in trouble and no one in the privates were willing to take the time to help. I now look back and see that those troublesome teachers were fired; the problematic wishy-washy headmaster was finally given his walking papers; the weird teacher in that Catholic school was a pederast after all. IN other words, I was right on every "gut" reaction. But I was a weenie and didn't go to bat for my kids - who are good, nice kids - because I didn't want to get labeled as "difficult mom". Once you are labeled "difficult mom" or "mom of a SN kid" forget it, privates just close the doors on you. Public school has been a wonderful experience for us and we moved our kids in at just the right time - start of freshman year. I am not lying when I say their teachers at Langley were, in every way, superior to the ones they had in the privates and Catholics in MD. And to gild the rose, we found out today through a back door conversation with a neighbor -coincidentally on the board at the Univ. our daughter wants to attend - that she got in on early decision. Plus got admitted to a specialty college within that university. But we are not telling her for fear that "senioritis" will set in. All public. All Langley. All her determination. I was such a fool.

Please note that the director mentioned is male and therefore not lowell. No need to out down lowell like that for no reason.

Anonymous wrote:Gotta say, good thing you are looking for a top "knotch" eduction, as it looks like you yourself didn't benefit from one.

You people are some of the most hateful I have ever seen! I so hope that my kids and your kids are not at the same school. Horrible!