Advice, Please . . . - Page 2

[Heavenly]

Originally Posted by AllisonR

OP, all of your choices are mind-boggling, so I won't even vote. So depends on your DC. But I want to address GuildJenn's post. ITA. I am an artist, and christian school was a HUGE disservice to me. The whole memorization track, the lack of certain creative thoughts and ideas, it was really crippling. I'd pick anything else over it.

Wow! Talk about a HUGE, massive overgeneralization! My children go to an amazing Christian school. There is no lack of artistry or creative thought at their school. Just as most on here wouldn't want people to make an overgeneralized comment about Montessori or Waldorf you shouldn't make one about Christian school. It is, dare I say, bordering on bigotry. JMHO.

[Momily]

When my son was in 3rd grade we needed to move, and part of the decision was whether or not to change schools. I decided to stay in the same city, because the middle school attached to his charter school seemed like a great fit for him -- small, consistent with my family values, lots of hand holding for the kids, gentle . . .

This summer we moved again, solely because of schools. He's now in a big public middle school with a reputation for lots of pressure, changing classes every 45 minutes, and high demands for independence. It's probably most like the first school on your list and it's perfect for him.

I was really unprepared for how much he changed between 3rd and 5th grade, and how his needs changed too. In 3rd grade having my family values reflected by the school seemed huge -- by 5th it was clear that he had absorbed them and was ready for the wider world. In 3rd grade, having one teacher he was close too was crucial, by the end of 5th he wanted to be learning from experts in their fields which meant a teacher for every subject. In 3rd not having too much homework was a big concern of mine -- by the time we moved it was clear that he's got good planning and organizational skills. He's at a school with a reputation for 3 hours of homework a night, but routinely comes home and tells me that he got X done during the study hall they have during homeroom, he read Y chapter on the bus, and that he finished Z last weekend while I was sleeping in because he knew he'd want free time during the week.

So, while I can't tell you which school to pick, I can tell you to expect your daughter to change in wonderful ways between now and then, and that by 5th grade you'll have a lot more clarity about who she is as a person and her own priorities. She'll know a lot more about where her life is headed, and which skills she'll want to develop too.

[AllisonR]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

Wow! Talk about a HUGE, massive overgeneralization! My children go to an amazing Christian school. There is no lack of artistry or creative thought at their school. Just as most on here wouldn't want people to make an overgeneralized comment about Montessori or Waldorf you shouldn't make one about Christian school. It is, dare I say, bordering on bigotry. JMHO.

Take it how you like. I wrote specifically about MY experiences. It was a huge disservice to me. And I would not chose it for my children. I didn't write about you or your experiences, or even christian schools in general. I wrote about my experience with christian school. It's presumptuous of you to read into a post what has not been written.

[MJB]

For my oldest son, I would choose D or C. For my second, I'd choose A or C. It really just depends on the kid, however, the big school with AP classes has something for everyone. I'm not against big high schools (elementary is a different story).
If you do decide to go with D I think the sooner the better since it's K-12.

[MsBirdie]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.

It is hard when I am sure she will change over the years.

I know that every school will have its drugs, kids doing bad things, however at our local public school it is VERY prevalent. There are also a lot of great kids that go there to that are merit finalists and go to fantastic colleges. It is just so big. I went to that same school when I went too school, so I speak from experience.

I think the Christian School will probably not be the way to go just because of tuition and having heard bullying and bigotry is big at the school.

And, I really do no want them getting 3 hrs a night.

Where is the perfect school when you need it

[Tigerle]

I've been following this thread with interest because I am will be in a similar position next xear, having to pick an elementary school out of five possible choices. One of the things that have been bugging me is that some of our choices are one-off opportunities and there is no way to correct a mistake.
I imagine that like in our case, the one school that is always an option is the local public school, so if the charters or the private schools don't work out she could always switch for high school. It may not work the other way round - for instance in our case, the private Catholic school his name is down for is holding a place for DS to start there, but once classes are full they're full, it's highly unlikely we could get him in say for second grade if we felt the public school wasn't working.
There may also be problems with making the switch to a school with a very special educational philosophy or intense academic atmosphere at a later date because another choice isn't working. In our case, there is probably not much point wanting to start Montessori or language immersion after 1st.... I imagine that choice A for instance isn't a good place to switch to after 6th grade or so, and D might also be a place you'd want your child in sooner rather than later if she is to enjoy it and thrive.

So I'd go for one of the smaller, more familiar, non-public alternatives first, knowing that the switch to public high school is always an option if at some point she feels limited by the smaller classes, fewer extracurriculars etc., and she might handle the size of the school better when older.
"Boot camp" school does not sound right for your sensitive artistic DD.