Got in to charter school, what to do?

[5terre]

Edited to this short version as I realize that I went on and on and on...

DD currently goes to a private Montessori school which we are pleased with, other than the hefty price tag. She was accepted into the public Montessori school, which I don't get the best vibe from, and it has terrible test scores. The public school is full day K, and we would prefer her to do half day. If we send her to K next year, she will be young (late summer birthday). We hope to move to a better school system in the next year or two, but there won't be a public Montessori. Long-term private is really just not an option for us. If we give up this spot, it's for good, unless we decide to try for K there again next year, but the odds are slim. What to do?? Ideally we would keep her where she is for half day K next year, but I am concerned about what we will do in the future.

[Aufilia]

To be honest, if you really love her current school and can afford to send her to half-day K next year, I'd probably do that. It sounds like your other choices are suspect, so why not keep her in the beloved school and hope better choices appear before the 2010-11 school year.

Otherwise, I think I'd be inclined to enroll her in the Montessori; you can always pull her out later and homeschool if it's not working out, but if you decline you can't get back in again, you know?

I just wanted to add to this:

it seems that as a tax payer and 'homeschooler' (if I chose to go that route), I should be able to send her for whatever part of the curriculum I want.

...I think that's a poor attitude to take. I mean, we all pay for the highways but we still aren't allowed to drive 85 whenever we want. All the other parents are also taxpayers and it's reasonable and appropriate for the school to balance the needs of all enrolled kids and to have a say in determining when space is available for a extra kid to participate. Especially if the school is already "full".

[5terre]

Thanks for your response. Maybe I need to look at it one year at a time, making the best decision for now rather than for 3 years from now, when who knows what will change. I don't see a child who participates part-time as an 'extra' kid but rather as a benefit to the teacher/student ratio when they are not there. If we were to do the public school, I would only see us doing the half day for K, and then full day after that. DD is very concerned about going all day, and I don't want to rush her into it, as she'll be in school all day soon enough. Of course this is the only free full day K in town, and some parents chose it for that, and not because it's Montessori.