Anonymous wrote:We are at private school that has excellent instructors; however the kids are not motivated and it is highly unlikely that the class make up will change so this is the hand we are dealt. My kid could sleep through a test and still yield better scores than his classmates - I am not bragging on my kid - I am actually surprised that this is the case - but for my kid and one or two other kids, most of the class literally doesn’t try or care. We are zoned for an excellent middle school where we can get both - strong academics, academic peer group and a culture where learning/being smart is not considered uncool. We know the info about the public middle is accurate because we have lots of friends there since kid was formerly in public elementary school. Trying another private is not an option because we like our local public high school and plan to go there so don’t want to hop to another private middle only to end up back at the public high school. Would you stay for the excellent instruction alone or move to the public middle?
Public middle - though I would say that this may also depend on your financial situation. If you can pay the tuition without batting an eye, perhaps pick where you think that your child will be most comfortable. I would not want to move my child around to 3 different schools, however, because stability is important.
We also looked into private for MS for DC. Paid deposit and were faced with the hefty price tag for the year. After meeting with other families, students, and going through the course selection process with advisors, I eventually pulled kid. I just didn't think the academics, environment, and student body were worth the nearly $50K cost per year. And I'd have been PISSED if we had paid that money to get a less than stellar experience. So we opted to stay the course in public and go for an honors track. I am so glad that we did. DC really enjoys their MS, clubs, music, and courses. It worked for us so far and I like the stability that DC has had with peers in public - many of those kids that will have known each other from K-12.
If your kid is happy and tuition costs don't bother you, leave him. If you're bitter about spending all that money and plan to switch anyway, go ahead and do it now