Private vs Public School for EL Children?

[Mae_Jakob_Ka]

Hi Everyone,


My little boy is ready for Jr. Kindergarten this September.  We have been thinking a lot about which school is best for him. We are considering the following choices:


1) A Private Montessori school – This is a school he goes to right now. He is in their Sr. Preschool class (5 half days/week). Before I chose this school for my son, I talked to some parents and they all had only good things to say about this school. I was quite happy with this school but lately I start to have doubts. I am quite worried about the staff turnover. Our family friends told us that staff in private schools quit whenever there are job openings in public schools.  ???

His teacher just quit due to health problem. The school replaced her with a certified Early Childhood Educator. I mean we are paying $$$$ a year for him to go to this school. So, I am expecting a “certified Montessori teacher” in his class.  Though, the Principal did say to me that when he goes to Jr. K, his teacher will be a certified teacher with E.C.E as an assistant.

2) A Private Christian School – We are a Christian family. There is a private Christian school which is just a few minute drive from our house. I never visit this school but my MIL loved this school. It’s the oldest private school in the city.  The curriculum is traditional, and is based on the provincial guidelines.  I have heard good things about this school too. Again, is it going to be better than the Montessori one he goes to right now? Is it true that only those who can’t teach in public schools work at private schools?

3)A public French Immersion school - I always wish for my son to be able to speak, read and write French. We live in Canada and French is one of our official languages.  Neither I nor any members of my immediate family speak French. Nobody seems to want to see him go to a French Immersion school. The only person who’s considering this is me. Luckily, I hold the YES or NO key when it comes to my son’s school so I really am considering this option.  However, I am quite worried about teacher/students ratio in a public school. My son, like many other children in this board, has been exposed to early learning and may be more academically advanced than his peers who have not been taught at home at a young age.  Will he reach his potentials if he goes to a public school? What should I do to gently assist him through academic years?

I am very confused and trying to think about what’s best for my little boy.  If he goes to a private school, he may miss an opportunity to speak French as a second language. At the same time, I am worried he may not reach his potentials or gets bored if he goes to a public school.

Would you please share your thoughts and experiences? If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

Thanks,

Elle

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Luckily, I hold the YES or NO key when it comes to my son’s school

I love this and it's so true! I get the final say because this is my department, when I feel something is regards to my kids' education, I will go to the moon and back to make it happen. The problem arises when I don't know what I want LOL. I don't have much input on what you should do, but I wanted to let you know that I am sharing your "choose-a-preschool" woes right now too!   Gotta make a decision soon!

[Kimba15]

My husband and I are sending our two little girls to a private Montessori school in the Adelaide Hills. This I thought would be the best option for my child. Miss S started last term and loves it and her behaviour at school is excellent (This is how I gauge how stimulated she is, bored = bad behaviour) We have an excellent public school down the road but felt because she was so far ahead that she would be bored in school and likely to distract other kids. We also felt that if a public school suggested she skip a year than she would end up being the youngest in her class. Which I felt would be a problem. At the Monte school they have the three year age groups where even if she wasn't the youngest in her class she can still work above her year level and still be around her friends her own age which I like. The school goes to year 10 and then it is on to the university colleges for yr 11-12


I personally would almost go to each school and sit down with the principle explain where your son is at and what can the school offer him? I think it is great you have a french immersion school down the road and that would just about tip me to stop sending my child to a Montessori school to be able to give him another language. I thnk being able to speak more than 1 language has soooo many advantages for the future.

The other disadvantage 1 see with the Monte is the high staff turn over whch a personally perceive it to be that things are not good with the school behind the scenes and people can't wait to get out of there and this in turn is not good for the children. At the Monte I am some of the staff have been there for 30years they come and they never leave. All are Montessori trained to.

[Mandabplus3]

What country are you in? This makes a huge difference to the answers!
I am in Australia. I chose private a Christian school for my kids. ( I am not particularly religious)  In australia teachers teach in private if they can and public if they have to! I have a Montessori school nearby but 15 minutes further away. It wasn't better enough to warrant the drive ( or the money!) anyway my decision ( and the reason I am still at this school) is because of the kids. All of the children at this school are just lovely! All the parents truly care about their kids and it shows in the high standards of behavior and attitude the children display towards schoolwork and peers.
To make the right decision you need to visit all the schools! Really you do! Observe the work, the attitudes, the language, mannors and questions about the education you can expect.
Also remember you can get a tutor or uni student to teach languages outside of school. The French school has to stack up in all areas, not just in French.
For a Christian school you need to be sure they have a strong focus on academics and not just on religion. The one my girls attend doesn't push the academics enough and they are often just not challenged. I haven't changed schools because I realize there is more to it than just academics but it is great when you can have both!
Also don't rule out the public schools. I think a small public school can be a great choice for advanced young children. They have policies to use and you have more support with the public educational bodies if you need enhancement and aren't getting it. In private if you don't like it you really don't get much say. It's put up with it or go somewhere else. However I probably would avoid the really big public schools where your kid is one of a 1000 or more. They have the resources but not usually the heart.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

For me, and I am very leery of public school for my kids but the exception I guess would be that we have a great public school for the gifted (at least least pretty good anyway, I have not seen it firsthand.)  I would consider that when they reach 1st grade, but I feel like sending them to public school now would stunt their growth academically. I am torn between a Montessori school where one teachers agreed to speak to the kids in Russian when possible (3 half days a week) and both of the kids would be in the same class. OR a Spanish immersion program for Lily 5 days a week and a 2 day a week program for Owen, but it's not Montessori. The more time they spend away from me (like 5 days a week) the less time I have to teach them at home. I just don't know.

[Mae_Jakob_Ka]

Thanks you all for sharing your thoughts and comments.

TmT, welcome to the woes of school search! . I am exactly as you described. I am so confused because I don't know what I want. I don't just want the best of both but "every" wold for my son! That's the root of the headache, I guess. 

Kimba15, Mandabplus3 - I am from Canada. According to our PM, Canada is one of the countries with the best public school systems. Could I believe in a politician’s words? Here come again, my doubt. 

I am planning school visits. I will go to their open houses and tell them about my son and his early learning exposures. I want to see how the teacher would react when I tell them about his ability to read and other stuff he could do. If I spot eye rolling, or "ah huh, that's a mother talk" attitudes from the principals or teachers, those schools will immediately get crossed out from my list. I want my boy to be happy at school and do fun things with his friends but at the same time, I want him to be motivated and challenged.

Like TmT, I still don’t want him to go to school full time (yet). I will definite choose the one that offer flexible schedules or half day program.
So let the search begins and I will keep you guys posted.

Thanks!!!

Elle

[Mandabplus3]

How great would it be if we could send them to school part time, and then teach them ourselves for the rest of the week! Oh I would love that, so would my kids. They need to social interaction and group sports and someone else telling them to do it! But I don't have enough time after school to cover everything!
I kept my daughter home two days this week ( her teacher is sick) and she learnt soooo much, but I don't want to commit to full time home schooling. A flexible education would be great!
Canada hey, well I would go and find the dux of grade 3 or 4 and ask their parents what they think of the education they are getting for their bright student, that should tell you all! I would tell you in a heart beat my kids school is great but if you asked me about the education my dux is receiving it would be a very different answer 

[Kimba15]

I would love a flexible education to, that would be great.    My dd needs the social interation but I still want to be her main teacher which I have to let go of when she goes to school and my husband is dead against the idea of homeschooling. He still thinks Imgoing to be able to teach her after school and extend her education but he also wants them to play a sport and a musical instrument and its going to be me who takes them and gets them to practice.... Not him. Which is why I love the idea of homeschooling so flexible. sigh never mind

Good Luck Mae Jakob Ka. I hope the canadian education is system is as great as your PM says it is. My husband lived in canada for a year when he was 10 he loved it. and I believe when he came back to Aus he was 6 months ahead of the other kids in hs class but i am unsure if that has to do with the different schools years. Here is a lst of the world's best education system http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading. Strangely for once I don't think your PM was lying at all.

Oh and @ TmT good luck with your search to.

[Mandabplus3]

Interesting Kimba i am feeling pretty good about being an Aussie now
My hubby is the same, not keen about the home school. However he expects me to ensure they get the results. He complains about the cost of the after school activities but when I threatened to can them all he said that wouldn't be fair on the kids He wasn't impressed with a drop in results, but wasn't willing to front up to school about it...left that one to me!  Oh well at least I know what they are talking about! 

[Mae_Jakob_Ka]

Kimba15, thanks for the link!! It makes me feel so much better! I was trying to search for something like this but couldn't find anything till you posted the link.

The flexible schedule is only for Kindergarten. I live in Ontario. Some schools offer full time kindergarten while others offer half day programs.
When children go to Grade 1 and up, they will have to go full time. That's the time I have to let go of my son too!! 
Although I love teaching, homeschool is not an option for me. Plus, I have seen positive changes on my son since he’s gone to Preschool.  Like Mandaplus3 said, sometimes kids need someone else to tell them what to do.

[Skippy]

I live in Canada, and know of several students who did well in the French Immersion program.  However, some students have trouble picking up the French.  I would definitely give the French a try.  In Nova Scotia where I live there are also bilingual pre-schools and daycares. I would meet with the principal to check and see if anything can be done for children who need enrichment.  For example, if several children can already read, maybe they could have their own reading group.  on Christian schools:   My son also went to  a Christian school for Grades 4-9 and was greatly helped by the small classes and a program which allowed him to miss as many as 60 days a year to pursue his musical interests.  He was able to graduate and start college at age 16 and is now a professional violinist.  Unfortunately, the Christian school has now changed to a traditional classrom setting where students can't advance very fast. Back to the French topic,  If French isn't your son's cup of tea, he could later change back to English.  Although this is is somewhat off the topic, does anyone know how I can find the subject in the forum for kids being bored in school because they learned to read at home.  I don't know how to find it.  I offered the Starter DVD of Your Baby Can Read to a friend, and she wouldn't let her three year old see it even once, on the grounds that he might learn to read and this would cause boredom when he starts  school which would lead to behavior problems.  She has two older boys in Grades 1 and 2 in the French Immersion program, and reads a lot to them in French and English. 

[Mandabplus3]

I think this is the link you wanted
http://forum.brillkids.com/general-discussion-b5/i-need-advice-what-to-do-with-advenced-reader-kids-in-school/ it's a bit uninformative I thought. It seems there is a lack of mums on this forum with older kids! Lol makes sence being an early learning forum    all this info on what happens at schools to advanced kids is very country specific, but the general ideas are useful.
My kids were advanced in school ( oh still are!) and it's a constant battle to get teachers to recognize that they re bored and to give them some extention work. What's worse is that they are still required to do the same work as the rest of the class before they can start on their extention activities some teachers get it, others don't. The school you choose is only half of the story! The kids will spend a year bored with one teacher and thrive the next under another! The schools general attitude to early leaning can be assessed pretty quickly in an interview, the teachers are pot luck!
However, reguardless of all the difficulties I still wouldn't give up the early learning opportunities my kids get/got. They didn't read until school ( well they did but not much and one is still at home) but they were always the kid with their hand up to answer the questions, had amazing general knowledge, great social skills, language skills, a quality sence of humor.. There is so much to teach them that can get them SOOOOO enthusiastic to learn for themselves. Think about teaching breadth rather than height wherever you can and that will make for brighter, interesting kids and less trouble at school. Definitely teach them to read early, open doors are better than locked ones any day!

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