[AllisonR]

<p>I couldn't have asked for anything more. DS started school and loves it. He enjoys the new friends he has made. His "adjustment" was so smooth it was non-existent. He is curious and excited about learning. He has a good teacher. OK, a great teacher, imo. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If your happy with public school, and your kids are happy there, post. Let us know why!</p>

 

[Alana]

<p>My kids are attending public school for the very first time, I have a 4th, 3rd and 1st grader.  Until this year we have homeschooled.  Im pleasantly surprised by how wonderful school is!!  The teachers are so supportive, as is the administration.  My kids have had a super easy transition into school.</p>
<p>What I like about it:</p>
<p>Not driving a few hundred miles a week to get in art, gym, music classes and getting together with friends for my 3 extroverts.,,they get it all at school. ;-)</p>
<p>HAving someone else be responsible for the nuts and bolts of education, while together the kids and I can just do the science, history and literature activities we enjoy.</p>
<p>That I can increase my course load at college and graduate before Im 50.</p>
<p>The conversations that we have been having and how they are learning to deal with difficult personalities daily</p>
<p>That my 10yr old had an issue with his art teacher but was able to resolve it wholly on his own.</p>
<p>How hard my kids work for a teacher! They really push themselves and love the challenge.</p>
<p> </p>

 

[meetoo]

<p>I have a love/hate relationship with school. :lol </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I like my kids school and teachers. It's well run, they have plenty of supplies, they really seem to try and care about the students.  I love like the above poster said that I'm not driving them 900 miles a week to different activities  play dates. I love that I'm not stressing about academics. I like that they have a lot of people involved in their education and are getting more then one opinion about things.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I don't like school. :lol . I hate how long their day is. I LOATH homework and reading logs. I hate how much school interferes with our home life (rehomework) when we already have hardly any time together. I hate the little tudes they come home with from the other kids........</p>

 

[whatsnextmom]

<p>Our kids have always been happy. We have a great little district in our community that has always offered tremendous opportunity, lots of arts education, solid teachers, foriegn language studies, ect. Anytime something started to go wrong, we just talked to the schools and they turned it around.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This year, my eldest is in a different district (high school) and it's different. Still, while we aren't happy with everything, for the most part, DD is content.</p>

 

[waiflywaif]

<p>We love our public school too. It's very warm and nurturing and the administration and teachers are great.</p>

 

[Citymomx3]

<p>We're happy with the high schools here.  The kids get to choose from over 400 of them, based on where their interests lie.  I have one dd in a high school for journalism and another dd in a high school for performing arts (the Fame school).  Ds is only 9 and currently homeschooled, but is planning on attending public high school.  He's into art & structure design and there are plenty of different high schools here for that.</p>

 

[Mbella]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Citymomx3</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1279159/loving-public-school#post_16046371"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>We're happy with the high schools here.  The kids get to choose from over 400 of them, based on where their interests lie.  I have one dd in a high school for journalism and another dd in a high school for performing arts (the Fame school).  Ds is only 9 and currently homeschooled, but is planning on attending public high school.  He's into art & structure design and there are plenty of different high schools here for that.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><br><br>
I live close to New York City and always hear wonderful things about the public high schools!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dd is only 4 and still in preschool.  We are hoping she gets into the public magnet school (lottery) next year.  If she doesn't make it then she will go to the local Catholic school.  Unfortunately our neighborhood public elementary school is a failing school.  We want to move in the next few years back to the town that dh and I grew up in that has wonderful public schools.  I am a former public school teacher and dh and I both went to public schools.  Our children getting a good public school education is very important to us.   </p>

 

[ollyoxenfree]

<p> </p>
<p>My DS is finishing high school this year and DD just started. They both attend a performing arts high school in the public system and they love it. Before you walk through the doors, you know that this is a creative, spirited environment, thanks to the student art murals on the outside of the school. Every classroom door displays another mural. Music spills out into the hallways. Every week there seems to be something happening: a play or musical production, art show or student film festival.  In addition to daily music classes, DS receives private instruction from a visiting instructor and professional musician who specializes in his instrument.  DD just auditioned and got a part in an upcoming production. All of this is happening while they are studying English literature, geography, physics, foreign languages, math, phys. ed. and all the other courses for a regular high school diploma. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There is simply no other environment that could replicate this experience for them. Every day, they are immersed in an arts education of the highest quality and they participate with other enthusiastic, motivated, incredibly talented students. For years, they've taken private music lessons, played in ensembles, signed up for drama groups and art classes and all sorts of extra-curricular activities that happen on a once or twice a week basis.  While those activities were valuable, they just can't compare to a consistent, daily exposure to an arts experience with a wide variety of students who have different interests and specializations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Previously, they've attended public school gifted programs and regular programs and I could go on at length about the benefits they received. One of the greatest was the diversity they encountered in the public school system.  They gained a wonderfully wide perspective from attending school with students from a variety of backgrounds.   </p>
<p> </p>

 

[marieangela]

<p>Both of my boys love their public school (kindergarten and 2nd grade) and I do, too.  The school board is trying to close down the two elementary schools in our district and build a new combined school.  We love being able to walk to school and knowing all of the teachers and the students and really don't want this to happen.  We shall see.</p>

 

[oceanbaby]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>meetoo</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1279159/loving-public-school#post_16043925"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>I have a love/hate relationship with school. :lol </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I like my kids school and teachers. It's well run, they have plenty of supplies, they really seem to try and care about the students.  I love like the above poster said that I'm not driving them 900 miles a week to different activities  play dates. I love that I'm not stressing about academics. I like that they have a lot of people involved in their education and are getting more then one opinion about things.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I don't like school. :lol . I hate how long their day is. I LOATH homework and reading logs. I hate how much school interferes with our home life (rehomework) when we already have hardly any time together. I hate the little tudes they come home with from the other kids........</p>
</div>
</div>
<p><br><br>
I could have written this exact post.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I love love love our first grade teacher.  I don't love our fourth grade teacher, but she's alright.  The administration has been very responsive whenever I've brought up an issue.  Overall I'm impressed with the school, but don't like the typical school issues - homework, uptight lunch ladies/yard duty, dumb rules, sick kids, etc.   </p>

 

[OliveJewel]

<p>My oldest started kindergarten this year and I was extremely nervous about it since he had never been to pre-school and had an extremely negative daycare experience from age 2-3.  He loves school and loves his teacher.  He tells me that all the kids in his class are friends with each other.  Occasionally he'll tell me about little things that someone said to him that were disappointing, but nothing groundbreaking.  What I love about him going to public school is the fact that he sees his peers regularly and has consistent opportunities for interaction and the fact that he gets exposed to a slice of the population living near us from all class and ethnic backgrounds.  But not just exposed, he becomes friends with them without knowing that they are from a different class or ethnicity.  They are all just his friends.  Then later when he learns more about Social Studies and History he will understand his peers from a different point of view, but they were his friends first before they were "other."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This morning when I dropped him off I saw two little girls and one showed the other a little yellow gauze bag (I recognized it as the one from Trader Joe's that holds the Hannukah gelt) with a bead in it.  Then she asked the girl, "Do you want to play scavenger hunt?"  And with joy they ran off.  Then when my son arrived on the playground, a gang of kindergarteners ran up to him, saying his name and chest-bumping him.  Then before he went inside I saw another boy giving him a hug.  When the bell rang they all ran as fast as they could to get in line.  Seeing all those things made me think that that was what childhood was all about. </p>

 

[[email protected]40]

<p>My K son is also having a wonderful experience. I am so glad that we didn't enroll him in private school, as I had longed to do throughout his toddler and preschool years. I assumed public school would be dreadful without really having a clue. My childhood experience is not representative of his at all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Things I love: K-8, his school wants to be our area's "science" school, great PTSA led extracurricular activities (chess club, math club, immersion languages, drama w/ the local theater, sculpture class w/ local artist, jewelry making, dance, sports, etc...), huge playground & several athletic fields, great auditorium/little theater/music room/art rooms/pottery wheel/gyms/etc..., fascinating parent population (many highly educated, huge immigrant population from numerous countries, several other languages spoken), teachers who chose to work at that school & love it & are enthusiastic, cool field trips and assemblies for kids, an anti-bully/pro-learning environment, a greenhouse & nature garden (where they do nature "observations"), mostly fun and well researched curriculum...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I love that my child started to read a month after school started, and that he now reads on a daily basis (ie. I had never emphasized academics w/ him, believing that childhood should be about play, so it's really amazing to watch this academic transformation take place without any push on my part!). He loves his homework b/c it's fun (not rote drudgery). I am able to volunteer in the class at any time, for as long as I wish. His drawings have increased in complexity and are just amazing. He likes his friends, enjoys seeing the kids every day & considers school fun. I don't have to worry about his level of happiness or anxiety when I drop him off, unlike all those years in daycare...</p>

 

[[email protected]]

<p><br>
 </p>
<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>ollyoxenfree</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1279159/loving-public-school#post_16046854"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p> </p>
<p>My DS is finishing high school this year and DD just started. They both attend a performing arts high school in the public system and they love it. Before you walk through the doors, you know that this is a creative, spirited environment, thanks to the student art murals on the outside of the school. Every classroom door displays another mural. Music spills out into the hallways. Every week there seems to be something happening: a play or musical production, art show or student film festival.  In addition to daily music classes, DS receives private instruction from a visiting instructor and professional musician who specializes in his instrument.  DD just auditioned and got a part in an upcoming production. All of this is happening while they are studying English literature, geography, physics, foreign languages, math, phys. ed. and all the other courses for a regular high school diploma. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There is simply no other environment that could replicate this experience for them. Every day, they are immersed in an arts education of the highest quality and they participate with other enthusiastic, motivated, incredibly talented students. For years, they've taken private music lessons, played in ensembles, signed up for drama groups and art classes and all sorts of extra-curricular activities that happen on a once or twice a week basis.  While those activities were valuable, they just can't compare to a consistent, daily exposure to an arts experience with a wide variety of students who have different interests and specializations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Previously, they've attended public school gifted programs and regular programs and I could go on at length about the benefits they received. One of the greatest was the diversity they encountered in the public school system.  They gained a wonderfully wide perspective from attending school with students from a variety of backgrounds.   </p>
<p> </p>
</div>
</div>
<p>Now this sounds like an awesome school!<br>
 </p>

 

[CariOfOz]

<p>I don't *know* if I'm happy with public school yet, but I THINK I might be.. at least so far     My kids have been homeschooled for the last 3 years and a bit (since my 8yo, who's going into grade 4, was halfway thru his K year) and life has thrown us curve balls that have me sending them to school when the new year starts at the end of January.  It took a while to get to a place of acceptace, but the kids & I are ALL looking forward to it!  THey've tried on and ordered their cute little uniforms, hats & school bags.. we're on the hunt for cool lunchboxes and chck out the progress on the school often (it's still in construction)  In the next month we should get their class assignments and hopefully get to meet their teachers.   </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is going to be a massive change for our entire family that's for sure... but we're treating it like an adventure and the boys are excited about the new friends they will make and more importantly, recess LOL.  I am REALLY impressed with the school so far, the principal is very very anti bullying (to the point that the kids even have to have the official school backpack as here the brand name special backpacks are a popular way to indicate 'haves vs have nots'.  some parents think it's too far, but I'm ok with it)  The school just posted the bell times on the website and it's GREAT!  845-1045 is first session followed by lunch/recess till 1130, then 1130-130 second session, followed by another half hour snack/recess period, then the final 45min learning period then home at 245.  So it's 4.5hours of focused learning and 2 respectable sized recess periods.. big thumbs up from me!   The school is also going to be very technologically advanced, the kids will be doing a lot of their homework on the computer (mathletics online math site, reading eggs etc) and it will be about 10mins per year in school (so my 4th grader should have no more than 40minutes of homework, I can live with that)   And they plan to get a lot of good extracurriculars going as the year gets underway,  even a lego robotics club  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, hopefully in a couple of months *I* can come back here and post about how we are loving public school too!</p>

 

[mad4mady]

<p>For a long time I would not have been able to say that I loved my daughters school. Last year in fact we hated it! However, this year things have totally turned around and I have to say it is all because of her teacher. She has a wonderful teacher that makes learning fun! I had planned to homeschool this year due to our experiences in 2nd grade but, I decided to give 3rd grade a try and I am so glad we did. My daughter loves going to school everyday! I really believe that you can have the best school in the world and it wouldn't matter if you have a bad teacher. The teacher makes all the difference well that and if you child has good friends!</p>

 

[kythe]

<p>Over the years, we have been in 3 public schools.  I really like the one we are in now.  Most people in the neighborhood make more than we do, but I think its worth being here for the quality of education in the school.  The staff seem to really care about the students, and the schools have enough supplies and personnel.  They require art, music, PE, library, and computers in elementary school, rather than just skimming by with the "basics". </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some of the fundraisers are quite fun, like McTeacher's night.  Okay, I know it's McDonald's, but its always packed on these nights because kids love ordering their food from their teachers and the school makes money through tip jars, face painting, and "photo sessions" with the mascot.  They also contract with a neighborhood pizza joint about once a semester, where teachers deliver pizza to student's houses when you order, and a portion of the money earned goes to the school.  Okay, this isn't the only reason we like the school , but you have to admit, it's better than door-to-door fundraisers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Most importantly, my son is in special ed.  We have had some really good experiences with the program at this school, and he recieves physical, occupational, and speech therapy at school.  I once tried to homeschool him for a semester after a bad experience with a different school, but it didn't work out as well as I hoped.   He actually is doing very well in school now, both academically and socially. If I was still trying to homeschool him I would have to seek out these services individually through our health insurance.  It would be much more expensive and time consuming, but he gets everything he needs now right at school.</p>

 

[Treasuremapper]

<p>We love our public school.  There were some VERY rocky moments during the first nine weeks, but frankly, we had rocky moments when we were homeschooling, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The school figured out that our dd is different, has asperger syndrome and is gifted, and then they worked incredibly hard to individualize her education. So she started out with some heartbreaking meltdowns, where the teacher did not understand, but since that time, this awesome teacher (who I thought was bad) has knocked herself out to get to know our daughter and everything there is to know about twice exceptional children.  At this time, our daughter skips joyfully into school, where she receives compassion, kindness, and free social skills groups and speech therapy.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>So this is what professional educators do!  </p>