Catholic School vs Public School

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I’m a father of 3 little ones (the eldest is in preschool now) and the wife and I are grappling with the decision of whether to send the eldest to Catholic School for kindergarten (he is at a Catholic Preschool currently) or to send him off to the local public school. Our public school system is academically highly respected, which I can personally attest to as a graduate myself. However, the wife and I strive to raise the kids in the Faith and we worry that the public school system might be detrimental towards that goal. Of course, with 3 kids (and maybe more someday) Catholic School is pretty expensive. Does anyone have experience surrounding this issue that might be helpful in weighing the options? Thanks.
 
Pray, pray, pray!

We were in an almost identical situation with deciding this for our kids (same public school district both my husband and I grew up in - great academics!)… and we made the decision at the very last moment to go with the Catholic School. All I can say is that it took a lot of prayer to bring us to that decision. It’s a hard choice, financially… I’m a full-time working mom of 4… challenging and stressful (especially considering my husband lost his job last year! :o)… but one we’re willing to sacrifice for. It’s a great school at our parish and we’ve been tremendously blessed through the experience so far.

Prayers for your discernment! 🙂
 
There’s nothing wrong with public school. Going to public school isn’t going to turn your kids into atheists just like going to Catholic school isn’t going to turn them into saints. There are many kids who come out of Catholic schools as unbelievers. The most important thing is the parents involvement and teaching in the children’s faith formation.

I’m not advocating one or the other, but don’t make the choice solely on the idea that putting them in Catholic school will make them religious while putting them in public school won’t because one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other.
 
I would lean toward the Catholic school IF it’s a good, solid orthodox school. Otherwise, I suggest saving your money and going with the public school. Unfortunately there are a lot of Catholic schools out there that are pretty much Catholic in name only.
 
This is what canon law says (among other things):

Can. 798 Parents are to entrust their children to those schools which provide a Catholic education. If they are unable to do this, they are obliged to take care that suitable Catholic education is provided for their children outside the schools.

and also

*Can. 803 §1. A Catholic school is understood as one which a competent ecclesiastical authority or a public ecclesiastical juridic person directs or which ecclesiastical authority recognizes as such through a written document.

§2. The instruction and education in a Catholic school must be grounded in the principles of Catholic doctrine; teachers are to be outstanding in correct doctrine and integrity of life.

§3. Even if it is in fact Catholic, no school is to bear the name Catholic school without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority*.

If you are unable, you are unable; you do not need to impoverish your family to make tuition to a school that is beyond your means. If the Catholic schools available to you are affordable but, unfortunately are not only but nominally Catholic but in fact pose a danger of undermining your child’s formation as a Catholic, then it would be fair to conclude that those schools, in spite of their stated reason for existence, do not “provide a Catholic education”, and therefore must, in good conscience, be avoided.

If a Catholic school is available to which you cannot object to on the terms above, then as canon law reads, you ought to send your children there. What “object to on those terms” means is something for the parents to discern, however. I am not proposing to be an expert on where the boundaries are, only to point out that the boundaries are there in canon law to be taken into account: vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P2N.HTM

PS Homeschooling, if done according to the directions of the parents’ bishop, would qualify as a Catholic school. If the bishop says, “this is a Catholic school”, then it is a Catholic school, even if school is conducted at the parents’ kitchen table. The parents do have a responsibility to ensure that the education they are providing at home has the consent of the competent ecclesiastical authority, however.
 
There are many factors to consider (quality of the public school, quality of the Catholic school, family finances, scholarship opportunities, etc.), so Em’s advice to pray is really the best way to begin (and end and everything in between!). 👍

All things being equal, I would always try to make the Catholic school option work over the public school one. But then, all things aren’t always equal in these situations. A lot can vary from place to place, school to school, family to family, and even child to child.

I always say, don’t be afraid to ask for money. In my experience, no child is ever turned away from a Catholic school for inability to pay. Many Catholic schools have family rates, too, which would put an upper limit on the most you would pay per year, regardless of how many children you may have. What type of financial assistance is available can vary greatly from school to school and diocese to diocese. It doesn’t hurt to gather as much information as you can to help make your decision.

There are also other options (charter schools, home schooling, etc.). We tend to easily pigeon-hole ourselves into thinking that we have only two options, but in many cases, we have more to choose from than we realize (although, of course, for many it will come down to those two options).
 
I attended Catholic Elem and Middle, but public high school.

When I entered college, my knowledge of my faith had become very weak due to lack of day-to-day exposure. Basically, I had stopped learning about Catholicism or Christianity after 8th grade.

I eventually lost my way and have only recently returned to the Church after 25 years or so adrift.

I’m not saying public school caused this. Not in the least. In fact, I have a much better grasp on many facets of everyday living because I attended a public school (like living and learning with people who are not like me racially, ethnically, socio-economically, etc.)

It’s just something to watch out for. The kids I know who were very strong in their faith in college were the kids who went to parochial high schools or probably had very active church influences during high school, like parents or friends.

If I could do it all over again, I’d still go to public school, but take a very active role in church ministry of some sort before going to college. Would’ve saved me a lot of dangerous time that I personally lost and, Thank God, survived…
 
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the government schools are the same as when you were there 20-30 years ago. Don’t kid yourself. Government schools are heavily infiltrated by people pushing an atheistic agenda.

This does not mean that all Catholic schools are necessarily good. There are some bad ones. We should all take an interest in the quality and orthodoxy of our Catholic schools.

Please don’t make a decision based on the idea that government schools are “free.” You wouldn’t send your children to work for economic benefit. Your children’s education is your sacred responsibility. Well educated happy children will pay you huge dividends in your old age.

The best possible choice for your children may be Catholic homeschooling. This may seem difficult at first thought but many do it on very limited incomes.
 
well, at a Catholic school, they won’t get silenced for praying (because it would be part of their day). At a Catholic school, they won’t have “prince and prince” or “Heather has two mommies” on a reading list.
 
Thanks for all the food for thought so far. I don’t think we’ll be able to send the kids through Catholic HS, prices around here are high, $12k a year, and with (at least) 3 kids to put through school that isn’t really an option for us. I’m not sure if sending the kids through 8th grade and then dumping them into the public system is better than just starting from the beginning at the public school. On the other hand, the moral teaching in the public schools isn’t exactly in line with Church teaching and our eldest son is rather outspoken about his faith, which might be discouraged in a public school setting. Tough decision.
 
PietroPaolo said:
Thanks for all the food for thought so far. I don’t think we’ll be able to send the kids through Catholic HS, prices around here are high, $12k a year, and with (at least) 3 kids to put through school that isn’t really an option for us. I’m not sure if sending the kids through 8th grade and then dumping them into the public system is better than just starting from the beginning at the public school. On the other hand, the moral teaching in the public schools isn’t exactly in line with Church teaching and our eldest son is rather outspoken about his faith, which might be discouraged in a public school setting. Tough decision.
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I’m a big advocate in taking things year by year. Don’t think that you have to make a decision now about where you are going to send all your kids (and all future kids) to school for all the years of their formal education. Just look at what you want to do this year. What’s best for your family and your children this year.

If you have to switch from Catholic grade school to public high school down the road, then make that decision at that time and be grateful for the years of Catholic education they had.

Not trying to pressure you or anything. :o I’m just speaking from my point of view as someone who used to want to plot everything out in perpetuity but is now trying to take things one step at a time. It’s just something to consider.
 
PietroPaolo said:
Thanks for all the food for thought so far. I don’t think we’ll be able to send the kids through Catholic HS, prices around here are high, $12k a year, and with (at least) 3 kids to put through school that isn’t really an option for us. I’m not sure if sending the kids through 8th grade and then dumping them into the public system is better than just starting from the beginning at the public school. On the other hand, the moral teaching in the public schools isn’t exactly in line with Church teaching and our eldest son is rather outspoken about his faith, which might be discouraged in a public school setting. Tough decision.
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I know that you have a tough decision! But as someone else said, try not to focus too much on the money (I know, I know, easy for me to say!). But if the eldest is in preschool, you have no idea what your finances will be like in 9 years, or if you will even be living in the prohibitively expensive area you are in now. I would say you don’t know about future finances whether you were flush or poor…it just seems like a long time!

Praying for you and your beautiful family!
 
I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but here in California, I wouldn’t put my kid in a public school no matter what the academic standing. Catholic schools are expensive, but it is also an investment in your child’s spiritual future.
 
PietroPaolo said:
Thanks for all the food for thought so far. I don’t think we’ll be able to send the kids through Catholic HS, prices around here are high, $12k a year, and with (at least) 3 kids to put through school that isn’t really an option for us. I’m not sure if sending the kids through 8th grade and then dumping them into the public system is better than just starting from the beginning at the public school. On the other hand, the moral teaching in the public schools isn’t exactly in line with Church teaching and our eldest son is rather outspoken about his faith, which might be discouraged in a public school setting. Tough decision.
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If you can keep your kids out of public school between 5th and 8th grade, do it. As for high school, wait to see what is available when the time comes. By that time, there may be financial aid that makes it possible. “Sufficient for the day are its own troubles…”

BTW, I’m assuming you know that “isn’t exactly in line with Church teaching” is an understatement. There are *Catholic *high schools in which too much of the prevailing “wisdom” is diametrically opposed to Church teaching, but the public schools are even worse. Some of the teaching is not only the opposite of what the Church teaches, but in combative opposition set up against lies about what the Church teaches. But cross that bridge when you come to it.
 
The Catholic school in my town has a sort of discount if you send your kids there. So your eldest goes first and when the second is ready the tuition will be lowered. I’m not sure if that would make it easier to decide, but as far as today goes, I would always try to send all of them to Catholic school. It’s the best way to learn, and that has been proven time and time again by the scores. I know it is a sacrifice, especially when multiple kids are involved.

Ultimately the best thing to keep them going and being better people is to be an example for them and show them the benefits of a Catholic education.
 
In my humble opinion, I prefer Catholic School. I went to a public school for a few years and I ended up getting lost in the crowd. I was just another kid to teach. At a Catholic school, I got to know my teachers on a more personal level, and they got to know me the same way. Yes, I hate the uniforms, but it’s worth it in the end! I am not necessarily advocating for a Catholic school. I mean kids who went to Catholic school all their lives might say yes to it, kids who went to public school would go more towards that decision. I just thought I’d offer my slant on argument.

God bless,
Schatzl
 
Catholic1954 said:
I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but here in California, I wouldn’t put my kid in a public school no matter what the academic standing. Catholic schools are expensive, but it is also an investment in your child’s spiritual future.
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This.

I live in the people’s republic of Massachusetts. There is no way my husband and I would subject our children to the spiritual suicide that is the public school system. I don’t care how good the academics are.

My daughter is only 9 months old and we are already making decisions on how to finance her education and the education of our future children that aren’t here yet.

We’ll figure it out. Fortunately our Parish has a wonderful private k-12 school.

The high school is more expensive…but that is 15 years away. Plenty of time to stash money away. 😃
 
PietroPaolo said:
I’m a father of 3 little ones (the eldest is in preschool now) and the wife and I are grappling with the decision of whether to send the eldest to Catholic School for kindergarten (he is at a Catholic Preschool currently) or to send him off to the local public school. Our public school system is academically highly respected, which I can personally attest to as a graduate myself. However, the wife and I strive to raise the kids in the Faith and we worry that the public school system might be detrimental towards that goal. Of course, with 3 kids (and maybe more someday) Catholic School is pretty expensive. Does anyone have experience surrounding this issue that might be helpful in weighing the options? Thanks.
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Public school is generally ambivalent in matters of faith. As long as the religious viewpoints of students is respected and they are safe, there would be no problem in having your children attend there. OTOH, it could be dangerous to depend upon Catholic school to raise your children in the Faith. They could be a valuable help but far too many Catholic schools place academic performance above religious formation (likely because they feel a need to justify the expense).

Sadly, every school in our district is underperforming badly, so we are faced with the choice of paying the Catholic school tuition, homeschooling and a long-shot transfer to a neighboring district that’s already packed with inter-district transfer students (long waiting list).
 
If I had a really good Catholic school available but couldn’t afford it all the way through and was limited in the years I could homeschool, this is what I would do:

Send them to public school in elementary school (as late as possible)–children still are very close and influenced more by their parents at this age. Remind them to pray for those who do not know any better rather than to sit back feeling superior!

Homeschool in middle school–so many people have told me middle school is a disaster.

And a really super-good Catholic school for high school, because that is when they tend to be more influenced from outside the family.

I went to so-so Catholic schools, private school, public high school, and I homeschool my children. I do believe that no matter what, the most important aspect of anything you do in terms of education is the relationship between the parents and children. I have seen great Catholic children come out of k-12 public school, and miserable homeschooled children (not many, but enough!)

Most of all, and no matter what, keep your family as Catholic as you possibly can!!! and remember that Dad is the most important influence on the children’s faith…
 
To me it would depend on how “Catholic” the Catholic school is. Some schools are only Catholic by name and do NOT teach the faith, or at least not correctly. I went to a Catholic school like that and it was a horrible experience. I had teachers that told us that confession was not necessary, birth control was a personal choice and usually alright, the Eucharist was a symbol–you get the picture. In a case like that, public school is the better choice. And that’s exactly how my parents saw it and removed us from that parish school and sent us on the school bus to public school the next year. But if you are lucky enough to have a good Catholic school in your area, it may very well be worth tge money if you can afford it. My husband and I can’t, do we homeschool now. Our public schools are some of the worst in the nation (no joke, it’s that bad), but we did send them to Dept of Defense schools which are no different than good public schools. Since we currently aren’t in post housing that is no longer an option. Hoping one day it will be again. I love homeschooling but I really miss my break from the kids.
 
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