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BarreandBark
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I live in a relatively good school district but wish I had the $$$ to send my Child to a Catholic/Parochial school when the time comes.
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0Scarlett_nidiyilii
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Catholic schools tend to give a better education, and better standardized test scores.
They may be skimpy on services for special needs kids.
That being said, don’t assume your kids are morally safe just because they go to Catholic school. You might guard your children’s hearts and minds, but not every parent does. Kids talk about sex, drugs and rock-and-roll just as much in the Catholic school playground as they do in the public school. Or you might get an iffy teacher who thinks they’re being hip and cool with the kids by talking about things or joking about things you might not like them to hear.
Make sure you know your kids friends and their parents.
Be judicious about sleepovers.
Good luck!
They may be skimpy on services for special needs kids.
That being said, don’t assume your kids are morally safe just because they go to Catholic school. You might guard your children’s hearts and minds, but not every parent does. Kids talk about sex, drugs and rock-and-roll just as much in the Catholic school playground as they do in the public school. Or you might get an iffy teacher who thinks they’re being hip and cool with the kids by talking about things or joking about things you might not like them to hear.
Make sure you know your kids friends and their parents.
Be judicious about sleepovers.
Good luck!
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cloistered
Guest
When comparing apples-to-apples, public school students do better academically. But, as the student population of geographically close parochial and public schools differ quite a bit in the favor (on average) of the parochial, people often assume that parochials are better academically. I have met a LOT of Catholic school families that don’t think there is much to any difference in socio-economics between the two until I show them that stats for their local schools.
The school my nieces attend does slightly better on state tests than my children’s school, but nieces school has 2% of population receiving free/reduced lunch and 0% English lang. learners. My kids school has 24% free/reduced and 15% ELL.
But, that isn’t why I choose public. My kids go to school with kids of all economic backgrounds, kids with down syndrome, severse autism, kids that are homeless, kids of all kinda of religions and ethnicities.
I have heard people in my family whose children attend Catholic schools say, “I hate the public.” If that is the lesson learned in Catholic schools, that the public should be avoided, not good enough to be around, must pay extra to avoid, then I think you have forgotten the Christian part of Catholic.
The other reason I wouldn’t send my kids to Catholic school is vouchers. We ALL benifiet from having an educated populace. If you don’t want to send your kid to a public school, that is your choice, but the public shouldn’t have to pay for your choice. That would be like, “I don’t like seeing the homeless in the library, so all of the rest of you lowly people should pay for all of the books I want at Barnes and Noble, yes, I realize this means even less money for the library for the rest of you, but I am just too special to be around you guys.”
The school my nieces attend does slightly better on state tests than my children’s school, but nieces school has 2% of population receiving free/reduced lunch and 0% English lang. learners. My kids school has 24% free/reduced and 15% ELL.
But, that isn’t why I choose public. My kids go to school with kids of all economic backgrounds, kids with down syndrome, severse autism, kids that are homeless, kids of all kinda of religions and ethnicities.
I have heard people in my family whose children attend Catholic schools say, “I hate the public.” If that is the lesson learned in Catholic schools, that the public should be avoided, not good enough to be around, must pay extra to avoid, then I think you have forgotten the Christian part of Catholic.
The other reason I wouldn’t send my kids to Catholic school is vouchers. We ALL benifiet from having an educated populace. If you don’t want to send your kid to a public school, that is your choice, but the public shouldn’t have to pay for your choice. That would be like, “I don’t like seeing the homeless in the library, so all of the rest of you lowly people should pay for all of the books I want at Barnes and Noble, yes, I realize this means even less money for the library for the rest of you, but I am just too special to be around you guys.”
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starlady
Guest
I attended a parochial grade school, as did my younger brothers. We then attended a Catholic junior/senior high school. This was all in a rural area of my state. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to have theology class every day and go to Mass once a week with my schoolmates. I never wanted to be in a public school, not even the local public school. My dad went to the same Catholic junior/senior high school us kids went to, and my mom went to a public high school in a neighboring town. They both had good experiences and good friends, but there was never any question about where we would attend school.
As for quality of education, etc., it really depends on where you live. In my diocese in the city where I live now, our Catholic schools on average score higher in standardized tests such as the ACT; this is especially true for minority students. Catholic schools in our area have a higher graduation rate and receive lots of college tuition assistance and are generally prepared well for higher education. In my job, I assist Spanish-speaking families enroll in Catholic school and apply for financial assistance. We hear a lot of stories from kids and parents alike about the problems they found in their public school. Many of them are low-income families, and are surprised to learn that financial assistance is available, and that, with some help, they are able to afford a Catholic school.
Really depends on where you live. Is the public school district excellent? Do the Catholic schools offer financial assistance? How are special education programs (if applicable)? Is there transportation (if necessary)? Before/after school care? I think every family has to evaluate their own situation. I could talk all day about Catholic schools and the wonderful things they are doing in my diocese, but I also recognize that every child is different and you need to evaluate whether the school has the resources to meet the needs of your child(ren).
As for quality of education, etc., it really depends on where you live. In my diocese in the city where I live now, our Catholic schools on average score higher in standardized tests such as the ACT; this is especially true for minority students. Catholic schools in our area have a higher graduation rate and receive lots of college tuition assistance and are generally prepared well for higher education. In my job, I assist Spanish-speaking families enroll in Catholic school and apply for financial assistance. We hear a lot of stories from kids and parents alike about the problems they found in their public school. Many of them are low-income families, and are surprised to learn that financial assistance is available, and that, with some help, they are able to afford a Catholic school.
Really depends on where you live. Is the public school district excellent? Do the Catholic schools offer financial assistance? How are special education programs (if applicable)? Is there transportation (if necessary)? Before/after school care? I think every family has to evaluate their own situation. I could talk all day about Catholic schools and the wonderful things they are doing in my diocese, but I also recognize that every child is different and you need to evaluate whether the school has the resources to meet the needs of your child(ren).
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SouthCatholic1
Guest
I went to Catholic schools from pre-k4 through the middle of the tenth grade (when I couldn’t deal with the nuns anymore and finally convinced my parents to let me leave). I then went the public school I was zoned for which also happened to be the fifth best public High School in the city (I live in a very large city with multiple public, parochial, and private schools). I was in honors classes at the Catholic high school and tested into the honors classes at the public high school. The public high school was leaps and bounds ahead of the Catholic high school. I had to get tutored to catch up to what the public school students were doing in mathematics and I was the top math student in my class at the Catholic school. Across the board I got a much better education at the public school. My mom ended up feeling like she wasted her money all those years. I think you should do your homework and find the school that will work best for your child–public, private, Catholic, or cyber!
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Daisy
Guest
The Catholic school system gives you and your family a great opportunity to develop a positive network of people with mostly the same goals. But don’t assume ithe school itself is going to fulfill all your child’s developmental needs. And make sure you do some detective work and interview as many families as you can about the Catholic school you might choose before slapping down tuition.
But I firmly believe you are the one who is going to have the greatest impact by encouraging holy conversation and prayer with your children all the way through their lives. In my experience, though, the local Catholic schools had higher academic standards and expectations from their students than the public schools. It seems they also give greater flexibility and power to the teachers themselves, instead of having a removed bureaucracy control all of the educational decisions. I’ve found that the teachers can tailor a more suitable structure to the class they are dealing with that year, which seems to me to be more practical and effective.
But I firmly believe you are the one who is going to have the greatest impact by encouraging holy conversation and prayer with your children all the way through their lives. In my experience, though, the local Catholic schools had higher academic standards and expectations from their students than the public schools. It seems they also give greater flexibility and power to the teachers themselves, instead of having a removed bureaucracy control all of the educational decisions. I’ve found that the teachers can tailor a more suitable structure to the class they are dealing with that year, which seems to me to be more practical and effective.
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