My daughter will be starting school, I want to make sure she has the very best education.?

Question

I would like her to go to a private school.... but I cant afford alot The local schools in Utah lack funding... I heard of Waldorf and Charter is there any others and what does it normaly cost...

Answer 1

in general, school is what your child makes of it. i went to private school (catholic school actually and high school was also all girls) and i didn't make the most of my education. i did well enough... the most important thing is for you to get to know individual teachers. some of my teachers were excellent, others lacked tremendously. the qualifications tend not to be as stringent in private schools for teachers as they are in public schools.

also, a lot of the religious private schools usually have some form of adopt a child where benefactors pay for part of or even all of the child's education. you may wish to look into that as well. but i must stress that private is not necessarily the way to go. a few things to remember about private schools: less interaction with the regular world (a lot of kids leave with scholastic knowladge, but with little knowledge of dealing with real world issues), private schools tend to be a "punishment" as well (a higher concentration of "misbehaved" kids is a distinct possibility, the ratio will be significantly higher because there will be fewer students), they tend to give the students more leeway in some areas and less in others (we never had any kind of random locker checks [even knowing some of the kids had drugs and -oh in their lockers], but if we were more than 5 mins late to class our parents were called), they are very stressful on the students, often the grading system is much more difficult and colleges will not weight grades based on this (to get an A grade you had to have a 94%, failing was a 60% or below).

i can't give you pros and cons for public school as i don't have that experience, but keep in mind that fewer students doesn't mean it's better. it makes the percentages and ratios grossly exaggerated because of the difference.

given all of this, i would look for ways to put my own child in a private school as well. but my husband is adament against it (he went to public school). most of the education does rest with the parents, but more than your making sure your child is doing his homework; you need to make sure the atmosphere of the school and teachers are what is best for him.

Answer 2

the most important thing you can do is be involved, no matter what school it is (public/charter/private).

Show up unannounced (not often, just once or twice) at the school and when asked why you are there, just tell them you are an involved parent.

we homeschool 2 of our children, but the youngest is currently going to public school.

we are in frequent contact (at least 1x per week) with the teacher. this may be notes have gone both ways, it may be trading voice mail messages, whatever works, the communication is key to agreeing on how to educate our child.

we don't miss a meeting w/the teacher & are on the prinicipals radar as parents who don't think school equals day care.
if there is a field trip or a class party, we don't wait to be asked, but invite ourselves (we are almost counted on now to be chaperones on field trips)

we ask alot of questions at parent teacher meetings/IEPs, Anything/term/reasoning we don't understand is a question and even if we understand it, we try to summarize and ask 'do i have this correct?'.

If you have concerns that you don't think are being addressed by verbally contacting the teacher, then you should present them to the teacher & her supervisor in writing and ask that they formally respond to you. It sounds adversarial, and depending on the school it may be at first, but once they realize you are reasonable and want to be informe, involved and really care most about your child's education, they come to appreciate you.

at home, read read read read read to your daughter. we read at the very minimium 3 short books every night. we visit the library at least once per week.

education is more about home than school

current school models mostly indoctrinate with dry facts and methods that should have changed 20+ years ago with the advances in psychology of learning & learning style variations.

Answer 3

Charter schools are free public schools and if they are the same as they are here in NC, you will be chosen by a lottery drawing. Charter schools are great but be prepared to make some sacrifices. Our catered lunches are expensive and we do not have great facilities but the education that my son is getting is WONDERFUL. Good luck!!!

Answer 4

Try the public school system. You will need to be involved . Let the teacher know you are willing to help. Then go out maybe once or twice a week to volunteer .There is always a great need for assistance.

Answer 5

to be honest, the most important factor in determining the quality of your childs education is your child and the second most important factor is yourselves as parents. Your child needs to want to learn, and supported by you that will overcome any shortcomings in the school.

if your child don't want to learn and you ignore your child, then even the most expensive school in the world will struggle.