Charter vs. Private Schools

[SimplyComplex]

Little bit of a dilema....

Our DD is going to be starting school this fall and were not exactly sure where she should go. We would prefer her to go to a Christian school but its pretty dang expensive here. There are a couple of Charter schools around our area that seem like a good choice but Im not sure about them. We have already decided that we dont want her to go to public school. Charter is tuition free and I guess in most cases a "step-up" from public. But Christian schools would encourage our faith and values more. It would also cost us a couple hundred a month that we really dont have right now. Im kinda stressed because we need to start the enrollment process soon and we havent the slightest where shes going. HELP PLEASE!!!

 

[b.hopeful]

Really really really check out your charter schools. I live in a fairly large city and charter schools seemed like the golden ticket when they started to get popular but they have been total failures here. I have a friend that was transferred to Detroit with the military and decided to teach in the charter schools thinking it would be and improvement over the public schools in Detroit and she found them to be worse. I know that some charter schools have done really well...but it's not always the case. Also...check their test scores.

We gave up our huge beautiful house in the city that I loved to move to a smaller ranch house in the burbs....for better public schools. As much as it broke my heart..I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[ChildByGrace]

We are in the fortunate position where the Christian schools are free in the same way as the public schools. We are sending ds to our local Christian school. However there are some Christian schools in our area that are just as bad as the public schools and some of the public schools are better than the Christian ones. So you just have to take each school on it's own merits. We choose to live where we do because the Christian school that is within walking distance is a really good school but if he doesn't get in there then he'll be fine at the public school we are close to.

Don't be misled that Christian schools are all better. My nephews both go to one and they behave in just the same way as all other kids I know!

 

[CrystalBrooke]

I've never heard of Charter schools..but I echo what b.hopeful says..make sure you check them out really well.

If you can fit it into your budget in anyway I highly encourage a private school. I'm cutting back every which way I can to pay for Emily to go to a private school. The children in this area who go to this school are years ahead of public school children and excel in everything they do. The money is worth it if you can budget around it.

 

[lucypevensie]

We're a family who has kids in private school. It's one of the more expensive Christian schools in the area, adn many of its families are very well-off. Cost is not necessarily reflective of the quality of education in a Christian school, but in our case it happens to work out that way. Kind of unfortunately. So we sacrifice. We are not in debt or anything, but we sure don't have a lot of extra money either. We drive older cars and live in a more "modest" neighborhood than many of their classmates. We take long weekends to the neighboring state for our vacations while their classmates go to Disneyworld and Mexico and Italy.

We have had to learn to be content with a little less, and sometimes it is hard, but most of the time it's not. Their education and their experiences are worth it to us. I think we'll plan to send them to public school when they reach high school.

Just one more person's perspective.

 

[Robinsegg]

I've heard positives and negatives about both in our area, recently. As a matter of fact, one charter school just closed about 6-8 weeks before the end of the school year, for lack of funds. So, you'd *really* need to check out the specific schools in your area.

We homeschool (an option you didn't mention), so I don't have any personal experience with either private schools or charter schools.

Rachel

 

[Birbitt]

Charter schools in my experience are no better than the Public schools, they still have problems, they still have funding issues, they still have parents who don't want to be a part of the school life of the child, they still have children who misbehave, they still have teachers who are overworked and underpaid. Just like there are some (many) Christian schools that have issues, IMO it's not the school where you child learns that makes the difference, though I homeschool so it may make me unqualified to answer here, but rather it is the parents involvement in the child's life that makes all the difference. If you child has a solid grounding in his/her faith, and supportive parents at home the child will make it through school with little effect on the child's faith, the real question is what quality education means to you and what are you willing to do to get it. That's why we homeschool because we want to give our children a Quality education and have our faith be the basis for it!

 

[Mandy_S]

Little bit of a dilema....

Our DD is going to be starting school this fall and were not exactly sure where she should go. We would prefer her to go to a Christian school but its pretty dang expensive here. There are a couple of Charter schools around our area that seem like a good choice but Im not sure about them. We have already decided that we dont want her to go to public school. Charter is tuition free and I guess in most cases a "step-up" from public. But Christian schools would encourage our faith and values more. It would also cost us a couple hundred a month that we really dont have right now. Im kinda stressed because we need to start the enrollment process soon and we havent the slightest where shes going. HELP PLEASE!!!

Have you checked out the school to see if they offer any aid..I have 3 children in a Christian school and it is expensive. Alot of Chrisitian schools may offer either scholarships or financial aid. Also if you could find a smaller school, they are not only sometimes better on the tuition but the smaller the better concerning education and discipline. With the smaller schools the teachers have more opportunity to pay more one on one attention to your child..The school my children attended last school year only had 35 students and that was from K4-12th grade. It was the best school I ever sent them to. My husband and I made a decision to never put them in a public school but then again there is no way we could afford the tuition. So we just went and talked to the school and in the end, God worked it all out for us. Find a small school, go talk to them and see if they have anything to offer to help you.

 

[Girlee]

Little bit of a dilema....

Our DD is going to be starting school this fall and were not exactly sure where she should go. We would prefer her to go to a Christian school but its pretty dang expensive here. There are a couple of Charter schools around our area that seem like a good choice but Im not sure about them. We have already decided that we dont want her to go to public school. Charter is tuition free and I guess in most cases a "step-up" from public. But Christian schools would encourage our faith and values more. It would also cost us a couple hundred a month that we really dont have right now. Im kinda stressed because we need to start the enrollment process soon and we havent the slightest where shes going. HELP PLEASE!!!

My sister homeschooled her kids til high school, then put them in public school. (her youngest went back to public in 7th grade). Then, she switched them to a charter school. Much, much better than public school. Although, the public schools were not terrible in her area.
I think it completely depends on the schools in your area.

When her oldest first went to public school in the 9th grade after having been homeschooled since 2nd grade, he was amazed. He would have all his work done quickly while many of the others procrastinated. He told his mom once "mom, no wonder why these kids are having trouble in school--they never do any of their work!!"

 

[mstrohm]

On DiscoverChristianSchools.com they have some very good points on making your decision. Obviously they are interested in showing you the benefits of a Christian school, but they are still good to help you get thinking.

 

[janny108]

Charter schools in my experience are no better than the Public schools, they still have problems, they still have funding issues, they still have parents who don't want to be a part of the school life of the child, they still have children who misbehave, they still have teachers who are overworked and underpaid. Just like there are some (many) Christian schools that have issues, IMO it's not the school where you child learns that makes the difference, though I homeschool so it may make me unqualified to answer here, but rather it is the parents involvement in the child's life that makes all the difference. If you child has a solid grounding in his/her faith, and supportive parents at home the child will make it through school with little effect on the child's faith, the real question is what quality education means to you and what are you willing to do to get it. That's why we homeschool because we want to give our children a Quality education and have our faith be the basis for it!

this year we are utilizing K12 Virtual Academy after 2 charter schools stopped working for us. It's been said public school kids go to charter schools because of behavioral issues, but I guess it could be the other way around too.

 

[bliz]

Charter Schools ARE public schools. They are paid for by public funds. And they have a very mixed record when it comes how well they are educating students. Some do an excellent job, and some are worse than poor traditional public schools. Ask a lot of questions and ask to see the scores on standardized tests and state mandated tests.

Christian schools vary greatly with regard to how well they educate, and what kind of atmosphere they offer. When a college recruiter, I visit many Christian schools that I found appalling and many that were excellent. Having a Christian label doesn't guarantee anything.