Looking for help choosing a great school for my DS

[Chicken Chaperone]

My DS has been going to pre-K and K at a Montessori school here in town that we really love. Unfortunately, this school only goes up to kindergarten so I'm looking into
schools for him for this coming fall when he'll be starting 1st grade. We can't afford private school anymore- Montessories in this area are not cheap so it will need to be
a public or charter school. The public school that he'd be assigned to, if we went that route, is just so-so. I'm really crossing my fingers that maybe someone here will know
of a good website or two that will help me compare schools and weigh our options. Thanks everybody!

 

[ducks4you]

I think you've got it better than most of us--doesn't Texas have non-tenured teachers? Good luck in your shopping from a recovering burned-out-on-public-schools, ex-middle school educator.

 

[KatieH]

Have you ever considered homeschooling?

I empathize, my oldest went to preK and Kindergarten at a great Catholic school, but even with tuition help we couldn't afford to keep sending her (didn't help that it was 20 minutes away and gas was over 4 bucks a gallon at the time!) So we started homeschooling (which I always wanted to do, anyway!)

 

[EweSheep]

Had to do that earlier this year, trying to find a spot at Montessori school here and the list was 200 people long. We didn't get it now after the deadline of ONE selection came and went. Charter schools were overbooked and more people on the list, waiting up to two to three years to get in.

So we ended up going to private Christian school, it was $280 a month. Expensive for us but we are doing OK. Our public schools that my DD was awful, teachers there for the paycheck, their goals and ambition gone, students passed on even they have failed due to the "NO child left behind". UGH! That is the only choice we have at this time. We will continue to keep our dd in school as long as we can afford it. If not, we will take her back to public schools and see if we move elsewhere. Our public schools are a disgrace if you ask me. the funds from the state of the year 2008 was $16 M and this year, the state will pay the schools $3 M. Pitiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What are they doing with their tax dollars that homeowners are paying for? They can not even tell us exactly!

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

Quote:
I wish I could home school him but my DS is the kind of kiddo who is an angel around his teachers and hell-on-wheels when he's at home. Before I had him I always imagined that homeschooling would definitely be an option for us
but he is his own little stubborn self and I think if he and I tried it we would butt heads even more than we already do. When he wants to learn with me butter won't melt in his mouth but when he's in a bad mood
or giving me sassitude boy-oh-boy...

...but around other authority figures he's attentive and caring and honestly wants to do his best. Maybe when he's matured some we could consider it but at ages 5 and 43, respectively, we both need to grow
up more and find more patience with each other.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I wish I could home school him but my DS is the kind of kiddo who is an angel around his teachers and hell-on-wheels when he's at home. Before I had him I always imagined that homeschooling would definitely be an option for us
but he is his own little stubborn self and I think if he and I tried it we would butt heads even more than we already do. When he wants to learn with me butter won't melt in his mouth but when he's in a bad mood
or giving me sassitude boy-oh-boy...

...but around other authority figures he's attentive and caring and honestly wants to do his best. Maybe when he's matured some we could consider it but at ages 5 and 43, respectively, we both need to grow
up more and find more patience with each other.

Ditto, my DD is a sassy young gal that speaks her mind LOL! That is why I really do not want to homeschool her.

 

[KatieH]

Oh, don't worry, dd1 is definitely not a little angel! She's very strong-willed and I'm not the most patient person, so sometimes things get interesting! It was the same way when she went to Catholic school...she was an ANGEL at weekly Mass with her class, and a holy terror at Sunday Mass with us! Kids!

 

[mom'sfolly]

I just noticed you're here in Texas. I would go to your district's website and look at the TEA ratings for all the elementary schools in your area. This will give you a jumping off point for your search. Schools get one of four ratings: exemplary, recognized, acceptable, unacceptable. This will give you a basis for comparison, but is not the whole story. These rating are based on test scores, and have rates set for things like number of minorities passing, number of children with special needs, etc. Some districts are very good at playing games to get test scores higher; and schools with large ESL populations generally have lower scores.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Get local recommendations from your current school, friends who have older children, etc. Then, visit each school (call ahead to make an appointment)--you want the full tour the office, the grounds, the classrooms (preferably while the teachers are teaching their students). You want to know their curriculum, their teaching styles/styles, any extras or before/after school opportunities, whether they have a PTA or PTO (and these are two very different organizations), etc. Make up a list of questions ahead of time so that you can compare the different schools you visit.

Realize that every child is different, and an environment in which one child will thrive might well starve a different child. The classroom teacher makes a HUGE difference--much more than the school, although the school does set the atmosphere that will draw or repel individual teachers.

If your child has specific needs make sure you include questions related to that. Try to work your questions so that there is not an answer that you are obviously looking for--you want honest straight opinions, not verbage that tells you what you want to hear.

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

mom'sfolly :

I just noticed you're here in Texas. I would go to your district's website and look at the TEA ratings for all the elementary schools in your area. This will give you a jumping off point for your search. Schools get one of four ratings: exemplary, recognized, acceptable, unacceptable. This will give you a basis for comparison, but is not the whole story. These rating are based on test scores, and have rates set for things like number of minorities passing, number of children with special needs, etc. Some districts are very good at playing games to get test scores higher; and schools with large ESL populations generally have lower scores.

Ooo- thank you for that info! Since you posted it I've been looking at all the schools here in our district and near by and it's amazing (and scary) how widely the TAKS scores vary! The way our district seems to be set up my DS would have to go to a school 3.6 miles away even though we have an elementary school .5 miles from our doorstep. And the school that's closer has MUUUCCCHHHH higher scores and lower student/teacher ratios than the one he's assigned to. ugh!

The teachers at his current school recommend a particular school that's almost 15 miles away that is a charter school. It's TAKS scores are ok but the student/teacher ratio is 21-25 to 1 depending on grade!

What the heck?!? I taught elementary school- I know the difference 8-10 little bodies can make on a class size!!

Thank you to everyone who has responded- it's meant so much to me to know that I can come here and find advice, information and support and smilies that show me bashing my head against a wall!! Y'all rock!!