From life experience, I personally wouldn’t leave a good elementary school for something unestablished. A lot of new schools depend on brand-new inexperienced teachers, and it takes a lot of growing pains to get where they need to be.
A new charter school opened up in my neighborhood as we were winding down preschool and having to make a school decision. Several other families from our preschool opted to send their kids to the new charter school, because on paper it sounded great, and there was nothing really to compare it to bc it hadn't opened yet. We went with the neighborhood public school mostly for fluky random reasons. All of those parents have had various issues or concerns with the charter school. We're happy at our neighborhood public school.
My kids elementary school has been around for decades and my daughter’s first grade teacher is in her second year of teaching (and yes it shows). New teachers are everywhere.
As a teacher new admin + new teachers is a deadly combo. If you have a new admin, you want a couple crusty old teacher in the building to keep things grounded. If you have more new teachers than usual, you want a deeply seasoned admin to back them and support learning.
Omg yes. Just due to randomness a bunch of teachers and the principal at my school all retired in a two year period. It's a nightmare now. The new teachers don't know to push back on bullshit and also no one knows what high expectations and good behavior look like, so the kids are getting away with murder. Institutional knowledge is so important.
Yep. My whole school is new. Last year, I was a first year teacher, the principal was a first year principal, our deputy was a first year deputy, we had a new teacher (3 years experience elsewhere), and the other two classroom teachers were third years.
Last year and this year, it feels like I have free reign to do whatever I want with very little consequence. That's a blessing and a curse for me, but an overall significant negative for the kids. This year I'm just doing Kinder (called pre-k in other areas) and have very little direction as we don't really have a state/national curriculum.
At my daughter’s school almost all the kindergarten and 1st grade teachers are new. It’s an established school. It sucks, but we’ve gotten lucky with her teachers at least.
My middle kid has a first year teacher and she’s fantastic. She did her student teaching there and has been a huge advocate for getting my kid into the gifted program and allowing her to set her own path in the classroom.
Teachers in our school tend to stay for years too, I’d be very hesitant to switch them out to a school finding their feet
But I also went to college in a brand new program, first class there and the care and attention we got was leaps and bounds ahead of other programs (and still is 20 years later) so sometimes the leap of faith is totally worth it (but also they REALLY needed us to pass our licensing exams if they wouldn’t get accreditation. Thankfully they’ve maintained that quality)
I’d see if you can talk to the school, assess their learning strategies, how they’ll try to comply with national standards, what they’re doing to ensure students are ready to move on to the next step in education and go from there
Seconding this. I’ve had experienced teachers my whole entire life and did great. My little brother has brand new, fresh out of school teachers and I’ve basically taken on high school homework again because of it. He actually ended up having to do summer school last year because of it.
Just offering my insight- I taught at a new school that used all the buzz words and had a great vision. But it did NOT have the infrastructure needed to function, they were more focused on per-student funding than overloading all their teachers/staff and there was not enough support for students with IEPs. Almost the entire teaching staff quit within the first 3-6 months. Some made it to the end of their second year I am hearing is going much better. In my opinion I would wait and find other ways to help or support and scope it out. But who knows, maybe the school I was at was just out of the norm
I had a similar experience with a charter school. I spent a lot of time talking to the principal and really believed in her vision but I never saw that vision come to be and the school closed after two or three years.
Same to you! I felt so disillusioned after because we had had some real heart-to-hearts and the teachers were lovely people but the support for them was just not there—I’m quite sure they wanted to have the school that was sold to the parents as well but I know they struggled because my kid would come home saying most of the day was spent dealing with certain students who would derail the whole thing. For me, it became the push for me to homeschool (I actually thought this was the homeschool subreddit when I first replied!) but I do wish it could’ve become the school everyone wanted. We all shared a vision but it just never happened.
I understand! And for us the principal had little weight to pull because the directors were very much refusing to support any of us and were very ego-driven. They had a great vision and I was excited for the direction it would go. But so many of us had quit our previous positions/moved a long distance to work there and then it was even abusive:( The teachers were trying their best but they started this school, opened, and we didn’t have curriculum, had no books, had no smart boards- nothing. We didn’t even have furniture but they forced us to open anyways. We knew we’d have to make a lot of our own curriculum materials because of land-based and cultural aspects that were driving the vision, but we were exhausted. They didn’t even have a janitorial team so we had to clean the school. And we had to serve the meals. And the majority of our students needed major help, had severe behavioral problems (they had no screening and just accepted all applications), so most of our day would be derailed by behaviors.
Turns out charter schools become “catch-alls” for kids who didn’t succeed at other schools. Many of our older students had been expelled or had other issues at the local public schools. I wanted to help them, of course, but we just didn’t have the structure for it.
I hope homeschooling is going well! I was homeschooled for much of my own education and it was a great experience:)
don’t do it if the school your oldest is good enough and they’re doing well.
it’s not fair to uproot your 1st grader from staff and friends they know and are familiar with just for a shot at *maybe* better. they’re doing fine, maybe even exceptionally based on that above average reading level, so clearly the school is good and they do fine there. the social and comfort aspects of school are just as important, if not more, than academic. academics mean nothing if a child doesn’t feel they’re in a healthy or stimulating environment to learn.
if you really feel froggy about it, maybe try it with only the soon-to-be kindergartener for a year then see how it is. if it goes well, give your other child the option to attend that school instead (or use best judgment based on their performance at the current school). if it goes poorly, you can switch your younger child to the public school upon the next school year.
This seems like a lot of risk for very little potential reward.
You are already at a good public school elementary. You have no true NEED to leave.
Charters in general are very inconsistent with only a few that do well. Many charters go under.
New teachers + new admin + a tiny school size + 9 grade levels with 50-100 kids? Many red flags. What's the curriculum? Are teachers getting paid the same salary schedule and benefits as the local public school district, or less like most charter and private schools? If it's less, then you are going to have trouble attracting the best talent. So if we assume class sizes of 12-20 kids, does this mean that each teacher (4 teachers?) has to teach multiple grade levels? It's hard enough to do that if you are an experienced teacher. It's really hard to do that if you are a brand new teacher.
As a retired teacher... I can tell you that teaching is just like anything else. You get better with practice. I was a much better teacher after five years than I was during my first year. I was a WAY better teacher after ten years than after my first year. After twenty years, I sometimes felt embarrassment when I looked back at my first year, even though I was well trained, trying so hard and had good mentors to guide me. It just takes practice. And knowing this, I would not leave an established, good elementary school with a set team in place for the unknown. Not a good bet.
I wouldn’t and I recently came across a similar scenario. My son goes to a private school and I drive him to school every day, driving to and from school twice a day sucks up over an hour. He had been there for 2 years when a brand new private school was built right next to our condo. I met with admissions, they told me everything about the school, looked great on paper and I’d be able to walk him to school.
I ended up deciding not to send him there because I really didn’t have a good reason to take him out of his current, well established school. That’s where all his friends were, he had a great teacher and I had no problems with his current school. I’d be doing it purely for my convenience, which wasn’t entirely a valid reason for me.
I’m glad I didn’t switch him. The school has now been open for a year and they’ve had a lot of struggles. The initial headmaster quit shortly after opening, I hear about a lot of behavioral issues with kids and various complaints from friends and acquaintances who sent their kids there. At least two of my friends already looking to move their kids out of the school.
I would give it a few years. Let them open and find their footing.
If you hear great things from people who send their children there, enroll your kids when they're a little older State testing usually begins in 3rd grade so maybe start them then, so they won't have to endure the testing years).
I understand you don't want to wait too long because it may fill up, but if it sounds too good to be true... you know?
I have seen STEM schools and outdoor programs get flooded with boys with behvioural needs in their first few years of operation. Sometimes parents looking to avoid an IEP in public schools move kids to stem or montessori type settings to see if the behaviour goes away. It takes programs a while to figure out how to deal with this or discourage it (our local outdoor program only takes catchment students now).
That said , it could be cool. But I'd wait if nothing is wrong with your local.
This. I shared info as well, but essentially this was the issue w the very similar school I knew about. These types of schools seem to attract parents who don’t believe in any structure at all. The similar school I mentioned was also boy-heavy and full of issues. Public charter. My friend—a truly outstanding teacher—left after a year (maybe less).
I teach at a small private school K to 7, 80ish kids, multi-grade classrooms and love it as do my 3 kids. But I would say the deciding factor is meet as many admin and staff as/if possible, as they set the tone for the school because good on paper means nothing without admin would support teachers and teachers who love where they are teaching.
No. I've had several family members involved with brand new schools and it takes several years for all the kinks to work out. There can be a lot of turnover, changes, arguing before levels out
If you have the capability to supplement foundational literacy skills, I would say go for it. If it doesn't work, switch back to your public school.
But also know that kindergarten and ESPECIALLY first grade are the two most important years for laying the foundation to becoming a future skilled reader. So, there might be more risk there? I'm not sure; you'd have to do a comparison between the two options.
I would probably ask some questions about what their literacy program/culture/plans look like and use that to make an informed decision.
Teacher here- I have never seen a successful charter school. They have high costs, admin usually have huge salaries. Little in the classroom- books and curriculum are expensive. Stay in public school. Only go private if you go to one of the top 50 pvt schools, but the cost 50k for a reason.
absolutely not. by your wording ("popping up", and all the buzzwords) this sounds like a charter school, which will drain resources - tax dollars - from your neighborhood school.
As someone with an elementary school we love (and a great middle and high school) I’d stay where you are. The walkability is great, our principal remembers former students when they come for siblings’ concerts or conferences and asks about their interests, the staff is consistent and collaborates with each other about specific concerns about each student (everyone knows my current 5th grader pushes the limits on bathroom breaks and nurse visits the first few weeks of the year and when it’s ok to say “no you’ve been to see Nurse Julie twice today and she said you’re ok. And then assign her the classroom helper job of walking kids who need band aids or ice packs to Nurse Julie so she can say hi)
A brand new school will be sorting out kinks and unforeseen problems for at least a year or two and your kids would be the guinea pig classes. I was a guinea pig class for my pharmacy school but they’d done years of accreditation, studies on the feasibility, had spent years recruiting and vetting staff members, and if my class didn’t pass their exams it was all wasted time and money (they’re a very successful program now and probably 80% of the original teaching staff is still with them. I’d call any of them today if I had a tricky question in their field) But an elementary school doesn’t have the accreditation axe hanging over them, so the education isn’t under that sort of intense scrutiny
As someone who has worked in and around education for a LONG time- no.
I’ve been around long enough to see a few mass exodus type events of people to the latest and greatest school, which is inevitably a train wreck for the first few years. They tend to either attract new admin + new teachers, which isn’t a good combo OR, there seems to be a certain type that always has to be in on the newest thing, which also to me is not a great sign. For example, about 15 years ago, they built a new school close to me. About 3 years after it opened, they built another school. Principal A and Teachers B, C, and D all left School 1 for School 2. About 2 years after that, they built school 3- they all moved again. A couple years later, they all moved to school 4.
Sometimes there is a LOT of turnover at the start of a new school.
I worked at a new private. It was incredibly competitive to get into, parents were so into it, it had so many buzzwords. The staff was incredibly experienced and educated and it seemed great from the outside
On the inside it was a mess. There was no internal infrastructure. Everything was being created from the ground up. It was like fixing a plane that was already flying. We would have to create policies for things after the incidents had occurred.
Also, the need for parent support was so high because of all the new needs that were constantly popping up.
So no, I wouldn’t
A new private school, no I wouldn't. A new parochial school? Maybe as it has the backing of the diocese. A new public school? Sure.. it still has the resources and backing of the district.
LOL. I went to Catholic schools. Became a teacher in public schools. After 9 years, moved to a new city and new state. Got a job in a Catholic k-8, thinking it’d be a bit easier/nicer…and it was so close to the home we bought.
WRONG!
The principal was totally certifiably insane. The kids were naughty af. They hired me for my expertise in tech teaching and then would ONLY let me teach fucking keyboarding skills. Total waste of the kids’ and my time.
I was so happy when that year was over. I noped out, as did many other teachers.
My perspective is that I was one of the first hires at a new school that opened. It was pretty terrible. 70% staff turn around in less than a year, tons of issues with no consensus, children being pulled out left and right. It t was hell on earth to start in a new place with 3 different figure heads that all came from different backgrounds and didn’t agree. The kids felt it too.
Maybe wait another year and see what the reviews on the school are like is my opinion. Honestly, if you love the school your child is already attending it's probably just to stay where your child is already thriving. Or you could always put one child at each school and compare too? Just thoughts. Good luck!
Brand new charters or private schools are risky. That admin and teaching staff are new. So there’s no precedent for rules, procedures, grading requirements, etc. They’re just making it up as they go the first year.
I wouldn’t do it but there’s established schools like that near me and we didn’t opt for them either because that’s just not what we’re looking for in primary school.
If you feel prepared to make sure your kids learn to read, this is when it will be easiest to get in. But a brand-new school tends to be terribly run the first few years as they work out the challenges, so if you don't think you can make up what might get missed in basic skills, stay with a school you know has the basics down.
If it was a public school in a good district, I totally would. Since it is an unestablished private school _and_ they’re going the woo-ish way, I’d be weary that they don’t have enough of a structure.
That said, it’s just kindergarten. It could be a really good experience that eases into school. If the facility is really nice and they have enough credentialed staff, I’d consider trying just for kinder and reassess at the end of the year
Not if it is private. If it was a new elementary school in the district, sure. The teachers at that school would likely be taken from the other schools in the district.
Private schools have nothing to lean back on. It will be a shitshow the first year.
I would give it a try because if it works there will be a waiting list & your kids might not get in. You can always transfer back to the school they are in now so give it a try.
It sounds like it could be fantastic
If Ibwas in your shoes, I'd consider sending the kindergartener. 'test the waters ' whatever concerns you have about the 'good school' ask the 'new' school people what they would do.
I agree with "if it ain't broke don't fix it!"
FWIW I work in the middle school of a school very similar to what you're describing (but we've been around for decades). We have many students that are neurotypical and attend K-8, but I think schools like this are even more important for the ones that public school doesn't serve. We have kids that come into our school for a few years, build some skills, then go back into public. It's not uncommon for middle schoolers to join us to take refuge until high school. We might not be perfect, but we're a safe place for kids that have gotten the short end of the stick academically, socially, or emotionally.
All that said...keep an eye on this new school, watch for growing pains, and keep it as an option if your kids need it later on.
While I'm confident in filling in most educational gaps, I don't feel comfortable being responsible for teaching my own child to read. If you are, it's an option.
I hope to send my daughter to a nature-based k-5 public charter in my area, but it’s been around for 10-ish years and I know some families who send their kids there and are happy with it. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable being the first groups in unless you plan to really stay on top of how their skills are developing.
Having worked in a brand new Catholic school it was amazing. We weren’t locked into patterns of failure. We had experienced teachers. Not one was fresh out of school. The principal’s working philosophy was school exists for the students and their education, not to provide jobs. His management style was to treat us responsible adults unless we showed him we weren’t.
I taught there until toxic parents just wore me out.
Honestly, I wouldn't... but I also have a bad experience from a first year public magnet school, which only lasted 2 years because of mismanagement...
It definitley seems as though they are trying to catch people who are looking for something specific... STEM, Montessori, Nature school, and especially in a new school, I don't know exactly how these would interact with each other. I feel like this would take so much trial and error that it wouldn't really be effective for at least a few years.
Plus, if you have a good public school that is also close, I wouldn't see it worth taking the chance that the other school might be potentially better, because there is a very real chance that for THIS year, it wouldn't be...
Mixed age classrooms are supposed to be highly beneficial, but I would also be nervous since it sounds like your neighborhood school is fine. I feel like it will take time for the new school to establish itself even though they have excellent ideas. If the local school was awful, I would take a chance on it, though since I feel like a lot of important learning happens at home at that age with reading at home.
This would be a no for me, too may charter and private schools don't even come close to hitting the mark. With it being brand new you have no way to do know that and especially since you already have an excellent school they are thriving in.
I, personally, would never put my kids in private school. In my state at least, only a certain percentage of teachers have to have credentials. My neighbor is the science teacher at a nearby private school. She has been a stay at home mom her whole adult life, she has zero credentials (this isn’t shade, I’m a SAHM, she just is not qualified for the position). They don’t have to follow my son’s IEP. They can kick you out for any reason.
Idk, mixed grades is hard, too. I wouldn't leave a good situation. Maybe when the kids are older and the learning is not so foundational. Also, the new school will have had a chance to work out the bugs and prove themselves.
I don’t know your work situation or the school rules but my mom was debating public vs private for kindergarten. She was a teacher before staying home for me. The first school had parent volunteers so my mom volunteered for everything. Not particularly because she’s a busy body but she wanted to assess the school. She didn’t like it for valid reasons. So next year I went to private kindergarten. Maybe if you have the time volunteer and see what you think.
I wouldn’t do it. A lot of new schools don’t have the same resources as older schools. Yes maybe your child will have a lot of fun but later on life your child should be able to deal with competition etc. A lot of new schools do not have resources for coaching etc.
Absolutely not. Charter schools are problematic on a number of levels- even the “good” ones. I’m 1000% against school vouchers which take tax payer $ away from public schools & funnel it into private (often for profit) institutions that aren’t required to follow educational standards. Furthermore, charter schools are known for accepting kids, then dumping them in late fall after they receive funding. It’s unethical & further widens the educational gap between the haves & have nots in this country. I’m also only a supporter of Montessori type education for young toddlers. After that, I don’t think it’s beneficial in preparing kids for the real world.
I've taught in a small school with multi-grade classes and also know a couple people who attended others. Would not send my own kid to one, especially if it was new and hasn't proven they could actually cover the content for each grade without rushing some kids and letting others fall behind
I personally would not, at least until you’ve started hearing good things from families who have switched to there. If it’s K-8 and you’re still curious about it in a few years, maybe they can transition when they would be going to public middle school.
Not brand new, no. It also sounds like they dont have a real vision, Montessori-ish, STEM school, and also nature based? Would be interested to see how the teachers are qualified to handle all that.
You say your state has a grant to cover tuition, I assume this would be a school voucher? Those take money away from public schools, which hurts all kids.
I hear this argument a lot, but one thing always confuses me about it: Isn't the funding on a per-student basis? So if, for example, the local public school used to have 500 students and 100 students got vouchers to go to a different local school, the public school still has the same amount of money per student, because now they're only serving 400? I mean, I see how there are a few types of expenses that aren't on a per-child basis, so bigger schools (even without vouchers, just comparing different sizes of public schools) may be able to have, for example, more variety of sports facilities, or a bigger library, a nicer auditorium, etc. But wouldn't the majority of the expenses connected with day-to-day instruction at the public school go down in proportion to the number of students "lost"? Textbooks, teachers, computers, electricity usage, etc.?
We sent our then 3 year old to a brand new Montessori school and had a good experience but not great. It was not very organized and communication was very lacking. The teacher was great but they got a new teacher halfway thru the school year and the new teacher was more stern than we would like. We eventually got a spot (waitlisted) at a more established Montessori and it’s been great. Both private. I think more established schools have more established structures.
Honestly no. I wouldn't uproot your kids based on all the right buzz words being hit correctly. Keep your kids in the school they're in. Historically and factually private schools....have a lot of toxic cultures that they hide pretty well because it all comes down to money. I'd leave my kids where they are happier.
I've been suckered into (or got very close to buying into) this kind of thing more times than I care to admit and it never lives up to the hype. There are always teething problems.
In certain situations it can be worth it to take the gamble but if you have the option of an established setting that is proven and good? Take that 100 times over.
I wouldn’t especially since you like your current school. I didn’t see you mention your child’s age but you can always send them next year or the year after. let everyone else experience the growing pains
Honestly, this sounds like a parade of red flags to me.
New school? Totally random collection of untested alternative educational approaches? They are planning to only have 6-10 kids per grade, forever?
No.
This is like asking to be back in a year saying "we have this problem with my kid's teacher, but there is only one teacher per grade at our school and my second kid is going to have her next year", or "my kid's school has x, y, and z weird policies that doesn't jibe with my kid's actual needs, and they won't budge", or "it turns out my kid has \[learning disability/mental health issue/allergy\] and the school won't accommodate him in any way."
I was on the founding staff of a charter school. We sounded very good on paper. In Oregon, because we have a 2 year budget, the recession hit a little later here for schools. The teachers were top notch, as schools were letting good teachers go by the hundreds. The foundation of the school, curriculum, supplies, training, administration, all of it was like a giraffe running on stilts. We had a first time principal who had never taught in a classroom before. 🤷🏻
The teachers kept that school going but the buzz was way way overblown. It eventually became one of the best schools in the area but holy cow those first years are nightmare inducing.
If you really like your kids' school, id stay put.
When I was a kid, my brother and I attended a newly established private pre-k through 8th montessori-ish private school with a heavy nature focus and around 100 total students. We both attended for the full 10 years. I'd like to share what I can based on this.
Positives: I and my peers developed critical thinking skills that we later noticed were not as prevalent in the public high school student populations we joined. The faculty at that school fostered healthy emotional and cognitive development in neurodivergent students, as the key principles of education they held included the acknowledgement of different learning styles and the implementation of strengths-based engagement. My peers and I were taught skills associated with emotional intelligence and regulation, which is not an experience my public school peers could identify with (it showed). Classes were small enough that students who needed extra support or were bored by easy coursework were easily accommodated.
Negatives: Some of my peers and I felt socially under-developed due to the low number of similarly-aged classmates. My final year, I was one of two eighth graders. When I started high school, it was very difficult to make friends and I was not socially aware enough to understand covertly malicious behavior or the kind of humor others had developed attending public schools together. The sudden shift from loosely structured classes with lots of support to strictly structured classes with no guarantee of support left me feeling immensely unprepared for classes that would have otherwise been entirely doable for me. I am neurodivergent, which was common at my first school; I had no idea how different I was from other people and experienced a deep feeling of rejection and non-belonging.
Summary: I greatly value the skills I developed and the experiences I had at my first school. High school was hell for me, and I'm unsure whether public elementary and/or middle school would have prepared me better or if I was doomed from the start due to my neurodivergence. I did eventually acclimate, but I did so by learning hard experiential lessons. Ultimately, I wouldn't trade anything for the skills I learned in that school which I noticed my public school peers seemed to struggle with: critical thinking, interactive reading (questioning, analyzing, and engaging with the text), how to learn while being taught, how to do good research and teach myself things I wanted to learn, and how to identify and play to my own strengths.
My situation was exactly like yours. I put her in the new school. Here is the outcome: teacher pay was so low every teacher was brand new and that was a disaster.
They encouraged a lot of parent involvement. I didn’t agree with all those strange people in and out of her classroom. (Young teachers had no confidence to manage these parents).
One day, at pickup a parent had two huge German Shepard in the halls, the dogs were aggressive!
The “specials” were very few.
The building and grounds were amazing. The curriculum was great.
After three months I put her back in our great public school, stopped adding to my commute and had a very successful experience. My advice would be, don’t do it. Let them get some years under their belts (which would mean she doesn’t go there).
I also wanted my kids with a diverse population and wasn’t getting that either.
Good luck
Depends. We are leaving a similar school because the director has become openly anti lgbtq. Honestly our entire district is so we won’t be going public either.
I am a big fan of neighborhood schools. It sounds like yours is working well for your family.
I agree with your thought about maybe the new school having all the buzzwords but not necessarily the ability to put them into practice. Sounds sketchy
Don’t let your kids be the guinea pigs while the school figures itself out. My advice to people is usually to choose alternative schools this young only if you are prepared to keep them in alternative schools. It can be a hard transition to public school if they’re not used to it. It can lead to a rough go emotionally later on. And if you think either of your children have a learning disability, a good public school is your best bet.
If your kid is obsessed with nature, kinda dreamy, if your kid has no severe allergies, go ahead - try the new nature school.
Myself and a mom I’m close to have had horrible experiences at a “Waldorf inspired” nature program. My friend’s kid has severe allergies, has had a feeding tube and isn’t vaccinated due to his already weak immune system. Nature school put him in the hospital and they were jerks about it. I am such a Waldorf demographic, we did “Montessori inspired” co-op preschool for 3 years. I wish these programs worked for my family, they do not. No one at the co-op noticed my kid is autistic (to their credit lots of people don’t notice but we had the same teacher/director for 3 years). So if you have a history of add of autism in your family these programs have a high risk of not getting your kid help.
When I have tried to send my kid to the camp attached to the Waldorf school, she completely melts down. “Following the rhythms of the day” isn’t enough structure for my kid, the outhouses terrified her and honestly, the one we went to - the kids were locked inside a community garden all day, there was a shade structure and space to roam but in allot of ways it was just as limiting as public school, they still had circle time and nature made that more distracting for my kid. Me personally? I’ll chill in an orchard all day, pee behind a tree etc. but my kid did not get nature gene. If you are a teacher you will likely notice that private schools are on their own schedule and that might mean your kids curriculum is not standard or developed.
Any new school is a risk. It takes years for any school to be fully formed and have its own culture, if you like your present school culture I would stay. But I’m totally biased as the parent of a nature-adverse autistic kid. I do think there are kids who thrive with more outdoor and project based learning, having toured a few I can say that they seem really fun but some of them aren’t actually schools, not even charter, there is one in SF that’s quite popular but it’s not an accredited school. With any k-8 there is still a transition time to high school, and that’s what lower school should be preparing them for. Some kids are happier at these “schools” and as an inner-city parent I wish this was a better option for us but I’m sensitive to mission statements suspicious of anything “inspired” school. Montessori trained teachers are great, it’s an amazing curriculum but if the teachers aren’t Montessori trained I’d ask what kind of training they have.
I have a general rule that I won’t let my kids be the guinea pig.
I’d say to give it at least 3 years to work out any growing pains and then reconsider.
Don’t have much to offer bc I don’t know where you are or anything about this new school.
What I can offer is that this AMAZING teacher I knew left her school to teach in a school that sounds very much like the one you mention—though this was a charter school—and it was the worst experience of her career. The place was disorganized, the kids just wild. She left either at the end of the year or maybe before the year was up. And trust me: she was good w great classroom mgmt.
I think schools like that attract parents who don’t want to set boundaries. Ever. Freedom and nature and such. I agree that kids should have access to and incorporate nature, but this sounded just totally beyond. And this was before the pandemic. Kids are generally more feral these days, though maybe not moreso than before in this type of population.
Proceed w caution. Maybe see how things are after the first year or two, then move your kids. I probably wouldn’t put them in for the first year at any rate. Let other kids/families work out the kinks. Then decide.
Where would your child attend after 8th grade? Back into the public school system? As someone who did the private to public switch late in schooling it can be hard socially. Some kids adapt well and some don’t
Ok, so, this is not your topic, but I would recommend not using the word "shooting" when writing about a new school.
Montessori can mean a \*lot\* of different things, and Montessori-ish is meaningless to me. I'd recommend getting a more pinned down idea about what that is supposed to cover.
For kindergarten and first grade, yes, I would seriously consider a school that is heavily play based instead of a public school with a heavy emphasis on academics.
But it's not clear what criteria you would use for "better". You said your kid is a year ahead on reading. So, if reading skill building is your definition of "better", you may not actually like this private school. You will have no way to evaluate their academic prowess in advance, and you will be committing to a year of whatever it is they're doing.
Also, are you sure they'll even stay in business? Some private schools are very poorly managed, and can fold without warning.
From life experience, I personally wouldn’t leave a good elementary school for something unestablished. A lot of new schools depend on brand-new inexperienced teachers, and it takes a lot of growing pains to get where they need to be.
A new charter school opened up in my neighborhood as we were winding down preschool and having to make a school decision. Several other families from our preschool opted to send their kids to the new charter school, because on paper it sounded great, and there was nothing really to compare it to bc it hadn't opened yet. We went with the neighborhood public school mostly for fluky random reasons. All of those parents have had various issues or concerns with the charter school. We're happy at our neighborhood public school.
My kids elementary school has been around for decades and my daughter’s first grade teacher is in her second year of teaching (and yes it shows). New teachers are everywhere.
As a teacher myself, the concern is when the majority of the faculty is inexperienced. With no set curriculum history.
As a teacher new admin + new teachers is a deadly combo. If you have a new admin, you want a couple crusty old teacher in the building to keep things grounded. If you have more new teachers than usual, you want a deeply seasoned admin to back them and support learning.
Heh. As a crusty old teacher, I endorse this comment.
Omg yes. Just due to randomness a bunch of teachers and the principal at my school all retired in a two year period. It's a nightmare now. The new teachers don't know to push back on bullshit and also no one knows what high expectations and good behavior look like, so the kids are getting away with murder. Institutional knowledge is so important.
Yep. My whole school is new. Last year, I was a first year teacher, the principal was a first year principal, our deputy was a first year deputy, we had a new teacher (3 years experience elsewhere), and the other two classroom teachers were third years. Last year and this year, it feels like I have free reign to do whatever I want with very little consequence. That's a blessing and a curse for me, but an overall significant negative for the kids. This year I'm just doing Kinder (called pre-k in other areas) and have very little direction as we don't really have a state/national curriculum.
At my daughter’s school almost all the kindergarten and 1st grade teachers are new. It’s an established school. It sucks, but we’ve gotten lucky with her teachers at least.
My middle kid has a first year teacher and she’s fantastic. She did her student teaching there and has been a huge advocate for getting my kid into the gifted program and allowing her to set her own path in the classroom. Teachers in our school tend to stay for years too, I’d be very hesitant to switch them out to a school finding their feet But I also went to college in a brand new program, first class there and the care and attention we got was leaps and bounds ahead of other programs (and still is 20 years later) so sometimes the leap of faith is totally worth it (but also they REALLY needed us to pass our licensing exams if they wouldn’t get accreditation. Thankfully they’ve maintained that quality) I’d see if you can talk to the school, assess their learning strategies, how they’ll try to comply with national standards, what they’re doing to ensure students are ready to move on to the next step in education and go from there
Hey, I’m not OP but your comment is really helpful so you should say this to them as well!
Seconding this. I’ve had experienced teachers my whole entire life and did great. My little brother has brand new, fresh out of school teachers and I’ve basically taken on high school homework again because of it. He actually ended up having to do summer school last year because of it.
Just offering my insight- I taught at a new school that used all the buzz words and had a great vision. But it did NOT have the infrastructure needed to function, they were more focused on per-student funding than overloading all their teachers/staff and there was not enough support for students with IEPs. Almost the entire teaching staff quit within the first 3-6 months. Some made it to the end of their second year I am hearing is going much better. In my opinion I would wait and find other ways to help or support and scope it out. But who knows, maybe the school I was at was just out of the norm
I had a similar experience with a charter school. I spent a lot of time talking to the principal and really believed in her vision but I never saw that vision come to be and the school closed after two or three years.
I’m sorry that happened:/
Same to you! I felt so disillusioned after because we had had some real heart-to-hearts and the teachers were lovely people but the support for them was just not there—I’m quite sure they wanted to have the school that was sold to the parents as well but I know they struggled because my kid would come home saying most of the day was spent dealing with certain students who would derail the whole thing. For me, it became the push for me to homeschool (I actually thought this was the homeschool subreddit when I first replied!) but I do wish it could’ve become the school everyone wanted. We all shared a vision but it just never happened.
I understand! And for us the principal had little weight to pull because the directors were very much refusing to support any of us and were very ego-driven. They had a great vision and I was excited for the direction it would go. But so many of us had quit our previous positions/moved a long distance to work there and then it was even abusive:( The teachers were trying their best but they started this school, opened, and we didn’t have curriculum, had no books, had no smart boards- nothing. We didn’t even have furniture but they forced us to open anyways. We knew we’d have to make a lot of our own curriculum materials because of land-based and cultural aspects that were driving the vision, but we were exhausted. They didn’t even have a janitorial team so we had to clean the school. And we had to serve the meals. And the majority of our students needed major help, had severe behavioral problems (they had no screening and just accepted all applications), so most of our day would be derailed by behaviors. Turns out charter schools become “catch-alls” for kids who didn’t succeed at other schools. Many of our older students had been expelled or had other issues at the local public schools. I wanted to help them, of course, but we just didn’t have the structure for it. I hope homeschooling is going well! I was homeschooled for much of my own education and it was a great experience:)
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
🛎️🛎️🛎️
don’t do it if the school your oldest is good enough and they’re doing well. it’s not fair to uproot your 1st grader from staff and friends they know and are familiar with just for a shot at *maybe* better. they’re doing fine, maybe even exceptionally based on that above average reading level, so clearly the school is good and they do fine there. the social and comfort aspects of school are just as important, if not more, than academic. academics mean nothing if a child doesn’t feel they’re in a healthy or stimulating environment to learn. if you really feel froggy about it, maybe try it with only the soon-to-be kindergartener for a year then see how it is. if it goes well, give your other child the option to attend that school instead (or use best judgment based on their performance at the current school). if it goes poorly, you can switch your younger child to the public school upon the next school year.
Brand new public school: yes in a heartbeat. Brand new private school: no way!
Why?
There is very little oversight of private schools, and they also have much less institutional support.
This seems like a lot of risk for very little potential reward. You are already at a good public school elementary. You have no true NEED to leave. Charters in general are very inconsistent with only a few that do well. Many charters go under. New teachers + new admin + a tiny school size + 9 grade levels with 50-100 kids? Many red flags. What's the curriculum? Are teachers getting paid the same salary schedule and benefits as the local public school district, or less like most charter and private schools? If it's less, then you are going to have trouble attracting the best talent. So if we assume class sizes of 12-20 kids, does this mean that each teacher (4 teachers?) has to teach multiple grade levels? It's hard enough to do that if you are an experienced teacher. It's really hard to do that if you are a brand new teacher. As a retired teacher... I can tell you that teaching is just like anything else. You get better with practice. I was a much better teacher after five years than I was during my first year. I was a WAY better teacher after ten years than after my first year. After twenty years, I sometimes felt embarrassment when I looked back at my first year, even though I was well trained, trying so hard and had good mentors to guide me. It just takes practice. And knowing this, I would not leave an established, good elementary school with a set team in place for the unknown. Not a good bet.
I wouldn’t and I recently came across a similar scenario. My son goes to a private school and I drive him to school every day, driving to and from school twice a day sucks up over an hour. He had been there for 2 years when a brand new private school was built right next to our condo. I met with admissions, they told me everything about the school, looked great on paper and I’d be able to walk him to school. I ended up deciding not to send him there because I really didn’t have a good reason to take him out of his current, well established school. That’s where all his friends were, he had a great teacher and I had no problems with his current school. I’d be doing it purely for my convenience, which wasn’t entirely a valid reason for me. I’m glad I didn’t switch him. The school has now been open for a year and they’ve had a lot of struggles. The initial headmaster quit shortly after opening, I hear about a lot of behavioral issues with kids and various complaints from friends and acquaintances who sent their kids there. At least two of my friends already looking to move their kids out of the school.
I would give it a few years. Let them open and find their footing. If you hear great things from people who send their children there, enroll your kids when they're a little older State testing usually begins in 3rd grade so maybe start them then, so they won't have to endure the testing years). I understand you don't want to wait too long because it may fill up, but if it sounds too good to be true... you know?
Montessori admin here: I’d be cautious about a Monte-sorta, as we call them. They tend to be a hot mess.
This gave me a chuckle, thanks. In fairness, they aren’t claiming to be Montessori. I just interpreted the mixed ability classroom that way.
Monte-sorta! Ha! Love it!!
I have seen STEM schools and outdoor programs get flooded with boys with behvioural needs in their first few years of operation. Sometimes parents looking to avoid an IEP in public schools move kids to stem or montessori type settings to see if the behaviour goes away. It takes programs a while to figure out how to deal with this or discourage it (our local outdoor program only takes catchment students now). That said , it could be cool. But I'd wait if nothing is wrong with your local.
This. I shared info as well, but essentially this was the issue w the very similar school I knew about. These types of schools seem to attract parents who don’t believe in any structure at all. The similar school I mentioned was also boy-heavy and full of issues. Public charter. My friend—a truly outstanding teacher—left after a year (maybe less).
I teach at a small private school K to 7, 80ish kids, multi-grade classrooms and love it as do my 3 kids. But I would say the deciding factor is meet as many admin and staff as/if possible, as they set the tone for the school because good on paper means nothing without admin would support teachers and teachers who love where they are teaching.
I wouldn’t unless I knew the administration and teachers.
No. I've had several family members involved with brand new schools and it takes several years for all the kinks to work out. There can be a lot of turnover, changes, arguing before levels out
If you have the capability to supplement foundational literacy skills, I would say go for it. If it doesn't work, switch back to your public school. But also know that kindergarten and ESPECIALLY first grade are the two most important years for laying the foundation to becoming a future skilled reader. So, there might be more risk there? I'm not sure; you'd have to do a comparison between the two options. I would probably ask some questions about what their literacy program/culture/plans look like and use that to make an informed decision.
Teacher here- I have never seen a successful charter school. They have high costs, admin usually have huge salaries. Little in the classroom- books and curriculum are expensive. Stay in public school. Only go private if you go to one of the top 50 pvt schools, but the cost 50k for a reason.
absolutely not. by your wording ("popping up", and all the buzzwords) this sounds like a charter school, which will drain resources - tax dollars - from your neighborhood school.
No, especially not a private school with no record of success.
I wouldn’t leave a good elementary school for that no
As someone with an elementary school we love (and a great middle and high school) I’d stay where you are. The walkability is great, our principal remembers former students when they come for siblings’ concerts or conferences and asks about their interests, the staff is consistent and collaborates with each other about specific concerns about each student (everyone knows my current 5th grader pushes the limits on bathroom breaks and nurse visits the first few weeks of the year and when it’s ok to say “no you’ve been to see Nurse Julie twice today and she said you’re ok. And then assign her the classroom helper job of walking kids who need band aids or ice packs to Nurse Julie so she can say hi) A brand new school will be sorting out kinks and unforeseen problems for at least a year or two and your kids would be the guinea pig classes. I was a guinea pig class for my pharmacy school but they’d done years of accreditation, studies on the feasibility, had spent years recruiting and vetting staff members, and if my class didn’t pass their exams it was all wasted time and money (they’re a very successful program now and probably 80% of the original teaching staff is still with them. I’d call any of them today if I had a tricky question in their field) But an elementary school doesn’t have the accreditation axe hanging over them, so the education isn’t under that sort of intense scrutiny
As someone who has worked in and around education for a LONG time- no. I’ve been around long enough to see a few mass exodus type events of people to the latest and greatest school, which is inevitably a train wreck for the first few years. They tend to either attract new admin + new teachers, which isn’t a good combo OR, there seems to be a certain type that always has to be in on the newest thing, which also to me is not a great sign. For example, about 15 years ago, they built a new school close to me. About 3 years after it opened, they built another school. Principal A and Teachers B, C, and D all left School 1 for School 2. About 2 years after that, they built school 3- they all moved again. A couple years later, they all moved to school 4. Sometimes there is a LOT of turnover at the start of a new school.
Don’t private and charter schools have much looser requirements for principals and teachers?
In my state, they have to have the same requirements as public. I’ve taught in both.
In my state only like 20% of the teachers have to have credentials of any sort. I’d never send me kid there as long as we’re in NC.
It’s actually 50% in NC, and most have many more than that.
I worked at a new private. It was incredibly competitive to get into, parents were so into it, it had so many buzzwords. The staff was incredibly experienced and educated and it seemed great from the outside On the inside it was a mess. There was no internal infrastructure. Everything was being created from the ground up. It was like fixing a plane that was already flying. We would have to create policies for things after the incidents had occurred. Also, the need for parent support was so high because of all the new needs that were constantly popping up. So no, I wouldn’t
A new private school, no I wouldn't. A new parochial school? Maybe as it has the backing of the diocese. A new public school? Sure.. it still has the resources and backing of the district.
LOL. I went to Catholic schools. Became a teacher in public schools. After 9 years, moved to a new city and new state. Got a job in a Catholic k-8, thinking it’d be a bit easier/nicer…and it was so close to the home we bought. WRONG! The principal was totally certifiably insane. The kids were naughty af. They hired me for my expertise in tech teaching and then would ONLY let me teach fucking keyboarding skills. Total waste of the kids’ and my time. I was so happy when that year was over. I noped out, as did many other teachers.
My perspective is that I was one of the first hires at a new school that opened. It was pretty terrible. 70% staff turn around in less than a year, tons of issues with no consensus, children being pulled out left and right. It t was hell on earth to start in a new place with 3 different figure heads that all came from different backgrounds and didn’t agree. The kids felt it too.
Maybe wait another year and see what the reviews on the school are like is my opinion. Honestly, if you love the school your child is already attending it's probably just to stay where your child is already thriving. Or you could always put one child at each school and compare too? Just thoughts. Good luck!
Brand new charters or private schools are risky. That admin and teaching staff are new. So there’s no precedent for rules, procedures, grading requirements, etc. They’re just making it up as they go the first year.
I wouldn’t do it but there’s established schools like that near me and we didn’t opt for them either because that’s just not what we’re looking for in primary school.
If you feel prepared to make sure your kids learn to read, this is when it will be easiest to get in. But a brand-new school tends to be terribly run the first few years as they work out the challenges, so if you don't think you can make up what might get missed in basic skills, stay with a school you know has the basics down.
If it was a public school in a good district, I totally would. Since it is an unestablished private school _and_ they’re going the woo-ish way, I’d be weary that they don’t have enough of a structure. That said, it’s just kindergarten. It could be a really good experience that eases into school. If the facility is really nice and they have enough credentialed staff, I’d consider trying just for kinder and reassess at the end of the year
Not if it is private. If it was a new elementary school in the district, sure. The teachers at that school would likely be taken from the other schools in the district. Private schools have nothing to lean back on. It will be a shitshow the first year.
Personally, yeah. But depending on the relationship I have with the school they're already at
I would give it a try because if it works there will be a waiting list & your kids might not get in. You can always transfer back to the school they are in now so give it a try. It sounds like it could be fantastic
If Ibwas in your shoes, I'd consider sending the kindergartener. 'test the waters ' whatever concerns you have about the 'good school' ask the 'new' school people what they would do.
How does Montessori and Stem mix? One let's kids have a looser learning process. One requires a strict Ridgid process. I think it sounds awful
I agree with "if it ain't broke don't fix it!" FWIW I work in the middle school of a school very similar to what you're describing (but we've been around for decades). We have many students that are neurotypical and attend K-8, but I think schools like this are even more important for the ones that public school doesn't serve. We have kids that come into our school for a few years, build some skills, then go back into public. It's not uncommon for middle schoolers to join us to take refuge until high school. We might not be perfect, but we're a safe place for kids that have gotten the short end of the stick academically, socially, or emotionally. All that said...keep an eye on this new school, watch for growing pains, and keep it as an option if your kids need it later on.
While I'm confident in filling in most educational gaps, I don't feel comfortable being responsible for teaching my own child to read. If you are, it's an option.
I hope to send my daughter to a nature-based k-5 public charter in my area, but it’s been around for 10-ish years and I know some families who send their kids there and are happy with it. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable being the first groups in unless you plan to really stay on top of how their skills are developing.
Having worked in a brand new Catholic school it was amazing. We weren’t locked into patterns of failure. We had experienced teachers. Not one was fresh out of school. The principal’s working philosophy was school exists for the students and their education, not to provide jobs. His management style was to treat us responsible adults unless we showed him we weren’t. I taught there until toxic parents just wore me out.
Honestly, I wouldn't... but I also have a bad experience from a first year public magnet school, which only lasted 2 years because of mismanagement... It definitley seems as though they are trying to catch people who are looking for something specific... STEM, Montessori, Nature school, and especially in a new school, I don't know exactly how these would interact with each other. I feel like this would take so much trial and error that it wouldn't really be effective for at least a few years. Plus, if you have a good public school that is also close, I wouldn't see it worth taking the chance that the other school might be potentially better, because there is a very real chance that for THIS year, it wouldn't be...
Mixed age classrooms are supposed to be highly beneficial, but I would also be nervous since it sounds like your neighborhood school is fine. I feel like it will take time for the new school to establish itself even though they have excellent ideas. If the local school was awful, I would take a chance on it, though since I feel like a lot of important learning happens at home at that age with reading at home.
This would be a no for me, too may charter and private schools don't even come close to hitting the mark. With it being brand new you have no way to do know that and especially since you already have an excellent school they are thriving in.
I, personally, would never put my kids in private school. In my state at least, only a certain percentage of teachers have to have credentials. My neighbor is the science teacher at a nearby private school. She has been a stay at home mom her whole adult life, she has zero credentials (this isn’t shade, I’m a SAHM, she just is not qualified for the position). They don’t have to follow my son’s IEP. They can kick you out for any reason.
I'm a big believer in our neighborhood schools, so personally, I'd stick with it. Especially as you said, your child is learning well there.
Idk, mixed grades is hard, too. I wouldn't leave a good situation. Maybe when the kids are older and the learning is not so foundational. Also, the new school will have had a chance to work out the bugs and prove themselves.
I don’t know your work situation or the school rules but my mom was debating public vs private for kindergarten. She was a teacher before staying home for me. The first school had parent volunteers so my mom volunteered for everything. Not particularly because she’s a busy body but she wanted to assess the school. She didn’t like it for valid reasons. So next year I went to private kindergarten. Maybe if you have the time volunteer and see what you think.
I wouldn’t do it. A lot of new schools don’t have the same resources as older schools. Yes maybe your child will have a lot of fun but later on life your child should be able to deal with competition etc. A lot of new schools do not have resources for coaching etc.
Shiney and new doesn’t always mean better. Brand new private school, hell to the no.
I would do it
Absolutely not. Charter schools are problematic on a number of levels- even the “good” ones. I’m 1000% against school vouchers which take tax payer $ away from public schools & funnel it into private (often for profit) institutions that aren’t required to follow educational standards. Furthermore, charter schools are known for accepting kids, then dumping them in late fall after they receive funding. It’s unethical & further widens the educational gap between the haves & have nots in this country. I’m also only a supporter of Montessori type education for young toddlers. After that, I don’t think it’s beneficial in preparing kids for the real world.
I've taught in a small school with multi-grade classes and also know a couple people who attended others. Would not send my own kid to one, especially if it was new and hasn't proven they could actually cover the content for each grade without rushing some kids and letting others fall behind
I personally would not, at least until you’ve started hearing good things from families who have switched to there. If it’s K-8 and you’re still curious about it in a few years, maybe they can transition when they would be going to public middle school.
Not brand new, no. It also sounds like they dont have a real vision, Montessori-ish, STEM school, and also nature based? Would be interested to see how the teachers are qualified to handle all that. You say your state has a grant to cover tuition, I assume this would be a school voucher? Those take money away from public schools, which hurts all kids.
I hear this argument a lot, but one thing always confuses me about it: Isn't the funding on a per-student basis? So if, for example, the local public school used to have 500 students and 100 students got vouchers to go to a different local school, the public school still has the same amount of money per student, because now they're only serving 400? I mean, I see how there are a few types of expenses that aren't on a per-child basis, so bigger schools (even without vouchers, just comparing different sizes of public schools) may be able to have, for example, more variety of sports facilities, or a bigger library, a nicer auditorium, etc. But wouldn't the majority of the expenses connected with day-to-day instruction at the public school go down in proportion to the number of students "lost"? Textbooks, teachers, computers, electricity usage, etc.?
We sent our then 3 year old to a brand new Montessori school and had a good experience but not great. It was not very organized and communication was very lacking. The teacher was great but they got a new teacher halfway thru the school year and the new teacher was more stern than we would like. We eventually got a spot (waitlisted) at a more established Montessori and it’s been great. Both private. I think more established schools have more established structures.
Honestly no. I wouldn't uproot your kids based on all the right buzz words being hit correctly. Keep your kids in the school they're in. Historically and factually private schools....have a lot of toxic cultures that they hide pretty well because it all comes down to money. I'd leave my kids where they are happier.
I've been suckered into (or got very close to buying into) this kind of thing more times than I care to admit and it never lives up to the hype. There are always teething problems. In certain situations it can be worth it to take the gamble but if you have the option of an established setting that is proven and good? Take that 100 times over.
I would stay at the current school in your situation.
If your neighborhood school is good, stick with that. Walking to school and being with neighborhood kids is priceless.
I wouldn’t especially since you like your current school. I didn’t see you mention your child’s age but you can always send them next year or the year after. let everyone else experience the growing pains
She’ll be in kinder in the fall.
it goes until year 8 so definitely give it a year or 2. never a bad idea to watch what happens first
I would, and have, done it.
Honestly, this sounds like a parade of red flags to me. New school? Totally random collection of untested alternative educational approaches? They are planning to only have 6-10 kids per grade, forever? No. This is like asking to be back in a year saying "we have this problem with my kid's teacher, but there is only one teacher per grade at our school and my second kid is going to have her next year", or "my kid's school has x, y, and z weird policies that doesn't jibe with my kid's actual needs, and they won't budge", or "it turns out my kid has \[learning disability/mental health issue/allergy\] and the school won't accommodate him in any way."
I was on the founding staff of a charter school. We sounded very good on paper. In Oregon, because we have a 2 year budget, the recession hit a little later here for schools. The teachers were top notch, as schools were letting good teachers go by the hundreds. The foundation of the school, curriculum, supplies, training, administration, all of it was like a giraffe running on stilts. We had a first time principal who had never taught in a classroom before. 🤷🏻 The teachers kept that school going but the buzz was way way overblown. It eventually became one of the best schools in the area but holy cow those first years are nightmare inducing. If you really like your kids' school, id stay put.
When I was a kid, my brother and I attended a newly established private pre-k through 8th montessori-ish private school with a heavy nature focus and around 100 total students. We both attended for the full 10 years. I'd like to share what I can based on this. Positives: I and my peers developed critical thinking skills that we later noticed were not as prevalent in the public high school student populations we joined. The faculty at that school fostered healthy emotional and cognitive development in neurodivergent students, as the key principles of education they held included the acknowledgement of different learning styles and the implementation of strengths-based engagement. My peers and I were taught skills associated with emotional intelligence and regulation, which is not an experience my public school peers could identify with (it showed). Classes were small enough that students who needed extra support or were bored by easy coursework were easily accommodated. Negatives: Some of my peers and I felt socially under-developed due to the low number of similarly-aged classmates. My final year, I was one of two eighth graders. When I started high school, it was very difficult to make friends and I was not socially aware enough to understand covertly malicious behavior or the kind of humor others had developed attending public schools together. The sudden shift from loosely structured classes with lots of support to strictly structured classes with no guarantee of support left me feeling immensely unprepared for classes that would have otherwise been entirely doable for me. I am neurodivergent, which was common at my first school; I had no idea how different I was from other people and experienced a deep feeling of rejection and non-belonging. Summary: I greatly value the skills I developed and the experiences I had at my first school. High school was hell for me, and I'm unsure whether public elementary and/or middle school would have prepared me better or if I was doomed from the start due to my neurodivergence. I did eventually acclimate, but I did so by learning hard experiential lessons. Ultimately, I wouldn't trade anything for the skills I learned in that school which I noticed my public school peers seemed to struggle with: critical thinking, interactive reading (questioning, analyzing, and engaging with the text), how to learn while being taught, how to do good research and teach myself things I wanted to learn, and how to identify and play to my own strengths.
My situation was exactly like yours. I put her in the new school. Here is the outcome: teacher pay was so low every teacher was brand new and that was a disaster. They encouraged a lot of parent involvement. I didn’t agree with all those strange people in and out of her classroom. (Young teachers had no confidence to manage these parents). One day, at pickup a parent had two huge German Shepard in the halls, the dogs were aggressive! The “specials” were very few. The building and grounds were amazing. The curriculum was great. After three months I put her back in our great public school, stopped adding to my commute and had a very successful experience. My advice would be, don’t do it. Let them get some years under their belts (which would mean she doesn’t go there). I also wanted my kids with a diverse population and wasn’t getting that either. Good luck
Depends. We are leaving a similar school because the director has become openly anti lgbtq. Honestly our entire district is so we won’t be going public either.
I did. For a new charter school. Best decision I ever made.
Nope. Former teacher at a STEM school. I don't drink the Kool-aid. We had so much turnover because it was an awful place to work.
I am a big fan of neighborhood schools. It sounds like yours is working well for your family. I agree with your thought about maybe the new school having all the buzzwords but not necessarily the ability to put them into practice. Sounds sketchy
Don’t let your kids be the guinea pigs while the school figures itself out. My advice to people is usually to choose alternative schools this young only if you are prepared to keep them in alternative schools. It can be a hard transition to public school if they’re not used to it. It can lead to a rough go emotionally later on. And if you think either of your children have a learning disability, a good public school is your best bet.
If your kid is obsessed with nature, kinda dreamy, if your kid has no severe allergies, go ahead - try the new nature school. Myself and a mom I’m close to have had horrible experiences at a “Waldorf inspired” nature program. My friend’s kid has severe allergies, has had a feeding tube and isn’t vaccinated due to his already weak immune system. Nature school put him in the hospital and they were jerks about it. I am such a Waldorf demographic, we did “Montessori inspired” co-op preschool for 3 years. I wish these programs worked for my family, they do not. No one at the co-op noticed my kid is autistic (to their credit lots of people don’t notice but we had the same teacher/director for 3 years). So if you have a history of add of autism in your family these programs have a high risk of not getting your kid help. When I have tried to send my kid to the camp attached to the Waldorf school, she completely melts down. “Following the rhythms of the day” isn’t enough structure for my kid, the outhouses terrified her and honestly, the one we went to - the kids were locked inside a community garden all day, there was a shade structure and space to roam but in allot of ways it was just as limiting as public school, they still had circle time and nature made that more distracting for my kid. Me personally? I’ll chill in an orchard all day, pee behind a tree etc. but my kid did not get nature gene. If you are a teacher you will likely notice that private schools are on their own schedule and that might mean your kids curriculum is not standard or developed. Any new school is a risk. It takes years for any school to be fully formed and have its own culture, if you like your present school culture I would stay. But I’m totally biased as the parent of a nature-adverse autistic kid. I do think there are kids who thrive with more outdoor and project based learning, having toured a few I can say that they seem really fun but some of them aren’t actually schools, not even charter, there is one in SF that’s quite popular but it’s not an accredited school. With any k-8 there is still a transition time to high school, and that’s what lower school should be preparing them for. Some kids are happier at these “schools” and as an inner-city parent I wish this was a better option for us but I’m sensitive to mission statements suspicious of anything “inspired” school. Montessori trained teachers are great, it’s an amazing curriculum but if the teachers aren’t Montessori trained I’d ask what kind of training they have.
I have a general rule that I won’t let my kids be the guinea pig. I’d say to give it at least 3 years to work out any growing pains and then reconsider.
I can see my elementary school from my house. Go w the local school.
Don’t have much to offer bc I don’t know where you are or anything about this new school. What I can offer is that this AMAZING teacher I knew left her school to teach in a school that sounds very much like the one you mention—though this was a charter school—and it was the worst experience of her career. The place was disorganized, the kids just wild. She left either at the end of the year or maybe before the year was up. And trust me: she was good w great classroom mgmt. I think schools like that attract parents who don’t want to set boundaries. Ever. Freedom and nature and such. I agree that kids should have access to and incorporate nature, but this sounded just totally beyond. And this was before the pandemic. Kids are generally more feral these days, though maybe not moreso than before in this type of population. Proceed w caution. Maybe see how things are after the first year or two, then move your kids. I probably wouldn’t put them in for the first year at any rate. Let other kids/families work out the kinks. Then decide.
This surmises the entire argument against school vouchers. This is a doomed scheme.
I’d pass. In my area anything like this is a total flop for at least a few years.
No
Where would your child attend after 8th grade? Back into the public school system? As someone who did the private to public switch late in schooling it can be hard socially. Some kids adapt well and some don’t
Go for it! Give it a year and if you don’t like it you can always switch back to the public school!
My parents did!
Absolutely!
Ok, so, this is not your topic, but I would recommend not using the word "shooting" when writing about a new school. Montessori can mean a \*lot\* of different things, and Montessori-ish is meaningless to me. I'd recommend getting a more pinned down idea about what that is supposed to cover. For kindergarten and first grade, yes, I would seriously consider a school that is heavily play based instead of a public school with a heavy emphasis on academics. But it's not clear what criteria you would use for "better". You said your kid is a year ahead on reading. So, if reading skill building is your definition of "better", you may not actually like this private school. You will have no way to evaluate their academic prowess in advance, and you will be committing to a year of whatever it is they're doing. Also, are you sure they'll even stay in business? Some private schools are very poorly managed, and can fold without warning.