Oh boy, what have we done?!?!

[Trinityagain]

Good luck to her! I have a friend in another part of PA that switched her daughter...I think 3 years ago, from public school to private school and the difference was amazing! She is still doing incredibly well, has joined in a bunch of activites and loves every minute of it! It is a Christian school, but she isn;t and has no problems what so ever with the curriculum, the students, the faculty...nothing.

[ramanth]

Good luck to her!

My family did just the opposite. I attended Catholic School for 3 years and when we moved, they enrolled us in the local public school. I enjoyed all those years of public school far more than private.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Cameron has been in private school from the start. I honestly don't think he would have coped with public school - he needs the extra attention (and "spoonfeeding") which the high fees provide for

Amber & Amy are both in a private (Catholic) school. None of us are catholic - however is IS the best private school in their area. The girls HAVE been confirmed etc, but that was their personal choice through getting involved in school and church activities. They attend youth groups, and Amber sings in the church/school choir. They both have excellent morals, and get the encourangement to excell in their particular areas of talent - which often gets overlooked in the public school system, simply through lack of resources / time etc, plus high teacher/pupil ratios.

My step-daughter in the UK is in her local school. (We have offered for YEARS to cover the tuition for private school - she refuses to leave her "friends"). She is FAR too "old" for her years, has a mouth like a toilet, and unfortunately wants nothing more than to be old enough to leave school and go work on a till in Tescos (supermarket). I'm not knocking supermarket workers, but for a child with SO much potential to be throwing away her opportunities for further education just breaks my heart. She gets NO guidance from her mom and step-dad. I can already see that we are going to have HUGE problems with her as she gets older.

Kim, I can imagine the financial sacrifice this represents. I really think you are doing the best thing for your daughter.. I am sure she will flourish in an environment where she can concentrate on her studies, and not all the other nonsense which seems to dominate public schools these days.

BTW she looks great in the uniform.

[Freedom]

First, thank you Kim for announcing where the kitty is in the photo; I couldn't find him!

I went to public school grades 1 through 8. Pestered my parents mercilessly, I hated public school, I needed to get into the local Catholic all girls high school. I loved it AND wearing a uniform took so much pressure off me re what to wear, what would this one think, what was that one going to say etc.

I was Catholic, not practicing. So I learned my religioun for the first ime pretty much.

In my grade alone, we had 4 Protestants and 3 Jewish girls. Some attended our religious ed classes with us, others were exempt and got a study hall. To be exempt, they had to be attending regular religious instruction in their own faith. Had to be documented, could not go on the parents' say so.

My class was the smallest graduating class in the history of the school (normally the first year such a school opens, that is the smallest; but we were it, the school had been opened 16 years). We were 43 to graduate, and it was the BEST! Of that, 41 of us went directly on to college. The other 2 weren't interested in college and went directly to work; within 4 years, both of them were at college full time too.

Our record will stand, as the school had added lots of new buildings and facilities and incoming classes are now in the 150+ range, ha ha.

Best wishes to your daughter; you are doing a wonderful thing for her!

[jackie]

I wish her good luck, and think she looks cute in her uniform (love the Michael Jackson pose)!

[DrKym]

I can't find Allen either LOl found the food, Love the school Idea! My oldest daughters were home schooled for 3 years, then into private schools for them also. Adrian will be going next year, for 6th grade until graduation, and Alex is in private school already.

Financially it is a nightmare, however with a scholarship that should help, also look into sponsorships from the church it is affiliated with. Sts Peter and Paul here in Alton have families that will sponsor a certain percentage of tuiton based on your childs grades. They go by the end of year grades and then pledge a certain amount for the upcoming year. It's a thought.

Good luck to her and happy studying!!

[Lobodeb]

Where to start?

First of all, congrats again on the job and being able to put her into a private school! That's fantastic! There no better spent money than on an education.

And on the money front, are there really people here who would question how you spend YOUR money? Please don't ever feel you have to justify your finances to us.

Again, kudos on doing the right thing. You're an amazing person!

[Lady's Human]

What have you done?


Very simply put, you did the right thing!

I know if my child was having difficulty in public schools or I had issues with the local schools, I'd do the same thing.

[lizbud]

but the prinicpal REALLY laid a guilt trip on thick about none of us attending church reguarly. He told her she HAD to go and be baptised, confirmed, etc in order to really get the full experience. She was like, "Uh, I'll get right on that " I agree we should start going to church as a family, but she doesn't need to push 12 years of sacriments into one year just because she's attending a Catholic high school.

I went to private(Catholic) grade school, high school and a Catholic
College and never heard of anything like that. Is this principal a lay person
or a member of the clergy? Either way, I've never heard of such a thing as
guilting someone into going to a certain church or taking the sacraments.
There is nothing in church teachings about coercing someone into practicing
a Catholic way of life. Very unusual. Anywho, I hope your daughter enjoys
the experience & does very well there.

[K9soul]

Where to start?

First of all, congrats again on the job and being able to put her into a private school! That's fantastic! There no better spent money than on an education.

And on the money front, are there really people here who would question how you spend YOUR money? Please don't ever feel you have to justify your finances to us.

Well said! And if kids and our future aren't worth sacrifice and investment, what in the world is? I hope she enjoys it and is able to thrive much better there than in the public school. You'll have to let us know how she's doing!

[carole]

I admire your decision to do what you have done, and yes even if it means a big financial struggle it is worth it in the end, i did something a little similar with Melissa when she was at pre-school, a montessori one opened just around the corner from us, i had transport problems and this was perfect,it cost us a bomb, and I often wonder how we did it back then, as we were way poorer than now, but we did and i think it has been worth it,so great stuff and good luck with it all.

[joycenalex]

you did the right thing. the only thing more important then her education is... her health. i went to both public school and catholic school. the education was better in the catholic school system (1970's in detroit). and the only lasting ill effect of the catholic school system is a life time aversion to brown, blue and green plaid

[whomeee]

I sent my daughter to private school for 2 years and it did a world of good, she begged me to send her back to pub because "she was born to go to public school " and the sixth grade teacher in pub is the best teacher I have ever met and I wanted my daughter to be in her class. But I dont regret sending her to private school it helped to get her on track. I think Ambers biggest problem with private school was the uniform, she loves to dress for school.