<p>We have three very young children - infant through preschool and live in a lackluster school district in a city north of Boston area (middle of the road schools). We love our house (big, new, sunny, near the beach, etc) and are trying to figure out if our kids will fare OK if we send them to the local public schools for elementary and middle school and then pony up for college prep/private schools in the area?</p>
<p>Our other option is to move to a better school district and to a smaller house and put our money into a much more expensive house (but smaller than what we have) rather than spend $300K for high school alone for the 3 children.</p>
<p>Would apprecaite your thoughts on whether they can successfully survive a school system that is rather blue collar to say the least and has large class sizes. Currently enrolled in Catholic school, but folks tell us it is academically non-competitive and we should save our money.</p>
<p>Define “survive.” Or in other words, what is your goal here? To make sure they have pretty much all the advantages during their primary and high school years? To get them a good enough education that they can get into a top college? To keep them safe from gang fights and other violence? </p>
<p>We faced much the same question for our girls. They were bright students and we aspired to get them the very best educations we could afford, but we couldn’t afford to to pay for both high-end private high schools and high-end private colleges. They were going to have to go to public schools for either high school or college. And taking on a crushing mortgage to move to a nicer part of town with top public schools was going to wreck our retirement plans and savings even worse.</p>
<p>In the end we chose to save money on high school in order to spend money on college - to send them to our local mediocre public high school and hope that wouldn’t ruin their chances to get into top colleges. We we going to pull them out and send them to private high schools only if the public school got unsafe. We also tried to supplement their high school learning with a rich environment at home and outside of school with books, art, music, dinner table conversations, and some travel - not in an organized or comprehensive or home schooling-type way, but enough that they got more out of their life outside of school than TV and video games. It worked. Both girls did very well in high school and went off to highly selective colleges. </p>
<p>Your mileage may vary. It depends on what your high school actually has to offer. Does you high school send <em>any</em> of its top kids to very top colleges? If it does, then it is at least theoretically possible, probably if your kid is among the very top graduating seniors. Your job will be to do everything you reasonably can to make sure they end up at or near the very top of their class.</p>
<p>How do you define “lackluster”? Do you mean terrible, or just not the top? Your children are very young so where are you getting your information? In my own experience, I live in a district where the HS is considered average by many people. However, my oldest child attended and received a very good education there and went on to a top 50 university. Whenever I (truthfully) tell people that recent grads of that school have gone on to many really, really top schools (think Ivies/MIT), some of them do not believe me! Apparently these people have some idea that it is not possible. It is.</p>
<p>Also, IMHO, the most important factor is what you as a parent do. That you are even posting here shows that you are already planning for your childrens’ education. Read, read read to them, be involved in their schools, etc. There was a thread on this forum some time back, I can’t remember the exact title, but parents posted what they did to help prepare their kids for college. It had a lot of good advice.</p>
<p>I think it is going to depend on your individual children. It’s quite possible that the high end public high school you are considering would be wrong for at least one of your kids. I’d do whatever I could to keep my options open for them. </p>
<p>We live in a town with a high end school that’s considered to be one of the best in the state. The daughter of a high ranking administrator told me that she was no where near as prepared for her top 10 LAC as some of her friends who had gone to prep school. My son graduated from said school, did a PG year and just graduated from an Ivy. My second son we pulled from the public system and sent to private day school because the public school was just not right for him. He’s currently at a top 50 private uni, but will probably transfer to an Ivy.</p>
<p>The other thing I’d like to add is that your children are very young. High school, and college, are a long way off. Many things will change in the next ten years.</p>
<p>spend $300K for high school alone for the 3 children</p>
<p>YIKES…why does it have to cost that much?</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of a Catholic high that costs this much…not even a Jesuit.</p>
<p>*Currently enrolled in Catholic school, but folks tell us it is academically non-competitive and we should save our money. *</p>
<p>can you put your kids in another Catholic school? I paid about $9k per year for each of mine for high school and about $4k per year for elem. I realize some are a bit more or less. </p>
<p>How much is your tuition?</p>
<p>What do you mean by saying it’s not academically challenging? Who is saying that? Some people can have ridiculous expectations or just want to believe that the local publics are equivalent (they’re often NOT.)</p>
<p>However, if this is a Catholic K-8 which doesn’t send many to a Catholic high school, then I might be concerned. I would work within the system and thru the diocese to improve. Is there a board?</p>
<p>If anything, I would keep my kids in the Catholic school and “co-teach” them or pay for some extra tutoring.</p>
<p>We have NEVER regretted paying for Catholic K-12 education for our kids…not for a second. It was worth every penny and more.</p>
<p>OP - You have a very common situation. But you also have several years before you need to make a decision. We didn’t encounter significant educational issues until our D’s hit middle school. At that point it became a lot easier to choose educational paths that best suited each. Good luck!</p>
<p>I hate to generalize, but our experience has been what you often hear about public schools. I think most of them do a <em>great</em> job with kids at both ends of the spectrum, maybe not always such a good job with the ones in the middle. (I was a product of public schools and would put my education up against anybody’s. My kids have done both. A fair number of people where we live send their kids to both public and private, depending on the kid.) (And I agree this is VERY early to be making a decision like this!)</p>
<p>i would say so.
Since none of the children are even school age yet, let alone prepared to discuss what sort of high school experience best suits them, perhaps they should just go outside and play.</p>
<p>We lived in a town which had a good public school, not the best, but taxes were low (about half of most expensive town around us). We made a choice of sending our kids to a prep school.</p>
<p>As someone who made this choice many years ago, I would say you need to consider how much of a stretch it would be for you to pay for private school, how confident do you feel about your job(s). I have seen many parents pull their kids out of private school during the economic down turn. H and I have lost our jobs a few times while kids were in K-12. We made a point of always having our kids´tuition available, it was the first bill we paid. But it was a big commitment.</p>
<p>We had families at the school with 3 to 6 kids, and money was no object for some of those families (tuition check for family with 6 kids could be close to 200K a year). But for some people, not so easy.</p>
<p>If money is a big consideration for your family, and you want to have good education for your kids, I would move to a town with the best public school and live in a smaller house. If you should feel more secured about your family´s financial situation later on, you could always then send them to a prep school when they are in high school. You would get the most bang for your money that way.</p>
<p>And remember tuition may not be the end of it. My son is in a rigorous prep school because the publics in our neck of the woods are huge and lackluster. At his school the sciences and math are taught at the college prep level are at an honors pace. This has required outside tutoring for my son to keep up.</p>
<p>We ran into that too. Well meaning friends warned us that we were sinking our daughters’ college chances by sending them to our middling public high school. Didn’t happen. Both girls ended up in the Ivy League. Private school friends didn’t think that was possible.</p>
<p>I love this thread. And I loved the comment above about limited $$ and having to make a decision to go with either public high schools or public colleges. </p>
<p>We are this family as well. Our public school district is not considered to be very good (lots of schools are underacheiving on state standards) BUT the high school my children have attended is probably the best in the system. There ARE AP classes. There IS an honors curriculum. Are there also kids not so into learning - yes. But such is life and such will be the work world when they get out there. We figured (as said above in another post) that it was OUR job to help to keep our kids motivated and to provide outside enrichment and OUR job to get their minds on the college track early. </p>
<p>Your kids are young. Things might change in the 8-10 years before they GET to high school. For better or worse! Personally, IMO, if you love your home and the quality of life it gives your family (time at the beach, roominess, etc.) I would not change that unless desperate. </p>
<p>As far as private K-8, unless the local system is terrible (blue collar kids are smart too by the way!) I would start the kids there and see what you think. You can change ANY year. Set the stage for them to enjoy school, get them involved in varying outside activities - music or sports or art or visits to the library - a variety (but not TOO much!) and see how things fall.</p>
<p>I know countless families from our kids K-8 Catholic education who spend the $$ on K-8 and high school and then basically told their kids “you’re on your own” for college because they were out of cash and full of loans. This was not acceptable for us. So, we remain the odd one out of the bunch - we did K-8 Catholic (in the ball park of about $2500/year for each child), public high school and then the two oldest are currently in private colleges. We have struggled a bit this year - have one more child, 8th grade - and there are many cuts in the public schools here this year - but we still can’t justify spending $10,000/year for the private high school. </p>
<p>You know your cash flow and what you have to work with. Make education a priority but don’t have it rule your family and home life as well. IMO.</p>
<p>We faced the same dilemma as the OP 15 years ago. We chose the very good public in a low-tax area for K-12 so we could save our money for college. </p>
<p>As point of clarification, our “very good public K-12” rates a 9 or 10 on greatschools.net and is sometimes on the Newsweek “best high schools” list. Sometimes. However, in CC terms, it would be considered mediocre. </p>
<p>That’s because very few grads head to colleges coveted by posters here. For example, our Val last year is at Bucknell and my son is at Wake Forest. One other is at UVA. Each year one or two get into a service academy. Most of the others end up at state schools or tier 3’s. Do those “results” align with the rating and rank? Who knows.</p>
<p>So, my point is, a “very good public system” means different things to different people. Would you be satisfied with a system like ours? (rhetorical question, food for thought) IMO, you need to define your goals and expectations for your kids before you can establish a plan to achieve them. </p>
<p>My son did 1st grade at the ‘best’ public elementary in our town and we decided that the best wasn’t good enough and put him in a private, college prep school from 2nd grade - 12th grade. We have zero regrets, he received a fantastic education, a foundation that will last him a lifetime and one he would not have gotten in our local schools. OTOH, if we had been a position where we had to choose between a private school education and college…college would have won hands-down.</p>
<p>IMHO, it’s important to understand what the ‘best’ means in your town. Some towns have fantastic public school systems, in some, even the best aren’t up to snuff. The only way to know this is to go around to various public and private high schools and ask about the curriculum, SAT scores, the colleges most kids attend, do they let anyone into AP courses, do they make all students take the AP test and what is the AP pass rate? How often are students required to write papers and give presentations? How do they ensure that their students develop strong critical thinking skills? None of these things by themselves will give you the answer but you will eventually be able to gauge what will meet your education goals for your children. Don’t think of it in terms of getting into selective colleges. Think of it in terms of getting the best primary education for your child.</p>
<p>Buy less house than you can afford right now and start saving your money now. You have a long way to go and the money can always be spent on private schools and/or college or travel or whatever later if you don’t need it. For the last 10 years, we have lived in neighborhoods where the houses start at $600,000. These are the most expensive neighborhoods in our area. And I routinely have neighbors tell me they would love to send their kids to son’s private school but they can’t afford it. They could afford it but they are making the decision to live in an more expensive home in lieu of private schools. No one needs to lives in my neighborhood, it’s choice.</p>
<p>We live in a mediocre school district (median household income is around $80K) and homeschooled. Our district does send a few kids to top schools and there are affluent residents but there is a much better school district nearby (top or near top in the state) and that’s where the very affluent live.</p>
<p>One thing to be concerned about is the state of the MA economy - revenues are still a challenge in the state and I can envision local aid cuts resulting in higher local taxes or budget cuts to local schools continuing until we get a job recovery. My guess is that any kind of robust job recovery is a few years out.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>That was our approach too. We also bought during the previous housing crash when
interest rates were sky-high which turned out to be a good move. The housing problems
look like they will be with us for a while.</p>
<p>Mom Live
Our town is full of Mercedes and Lexus with a bumper sticker proclaiming their student is a superstar at local mediocre school.
Priorities.</p>
<p>Mommytothree, you live on the east coast and I live on the west coast but I will still recommend you read the very funny Sandra Tsing Loh’s “Scandalously Informal Guide to the Los Angeles Unified School District” [Sandra</a> Tsing Loh Website](<a href=“Account Suspended”>Account Suspended) Several years ago, Loh and her then-husband went house-shopping in the hopes of moving into an area with better schools for their young children. It was the height of the housing market, and they simply couldn’t afford to move into the areas they wanted. Then there was a period of applying to private schools, which didn’t work either. Loh decided that she should at least make a visit to the local elementary school, which she ended up finding warm and friendly and charming. She was set to send her oldest there to start kindergarten, but then a magnet spot came up. </p>
<p>Even though Loh names specific schools in the SoCal area, her observations and sarcasm are more far reaching regardless of where any of us live. Her point about visiting a school and not accepting “common knowledge” as truth are worth considering. </p>
<p>For your current dilemma, I’ll vote in favor of flexibility. You don’t know yet what your children will be like, if they will have learning issues or need more academic challenge, if they’ll be fine with larger class sizes or if they must have more one-on-one instruction, if they should be with students who are smarter or drama geeks or away from students who are very moneyed. If you investigate and decide that the “better” district is truly worth it, make sure that you still have resources around to move a child to a different school if the child’s needs require it.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids,
I just checked two of the outstanding Catholic high schools in our area; one is $16,900/year before books, and the other is $26,500. $300k by the time the OP’s kids are in HS may not be that far off the mark, scary as that is.</p>
<p>slitheytove, I am so far behind on my Atlantic reading that I just read that article. I’m still catching up on what happened in the world while my kids were applying to colleges. </p>
<p>We were happy magnet parents, too. The resources were better in these programs for what my kids needed than the privates.</p>
<p>A few things to consider, along with the great advise offered by other members…</p>
<p>-Your home is new. If there is new construction near you, there will be new schools. Depending on the growth, many before your students hit a desk.</p>
<p>-When you look at the school system as a whole, pay careful attention to the schools your students will attend. School #2 and school #8 in the same district can be worlds away from one another in every area. After you figure out how your school rates within the district, refer to my first point…your kids may not be at this school by the time they are ready to attend.</p>
<p>Our students have been rezoned so many times I can not count. We moved strategically simply so our youngest could get through high school without another change. The zones were drawn very odd so rezoned again. He will stay at the original high school to finish, but that was not easy. Having said this, the schools elem, middle, & high school, have all been at the top of the mark for our district. Go to other parts of the county and you will not have the same experience. Are there successful students from those schools? Absolutely! Do they have the advantages I feel my students have had? For the most part, no. Have my kids had the advantages that my neighbors kids have had at their elite private? No. </p>
<p>It’s very easy to find current property holdings by your school district, planned improvements, proposed zone changes, etc. It will give you an idea of how much and how often your area makes changes. A call to the Facilities Management/Services or Planning & Financial Services will give you some information as well.</p>
<p>Mommyofthree, you remind me of myself when my kids were your age. I had a lot of anxiety about where they would attend school. My kids are ages 7 and 10 (nowhere near college age obviously but I enjoy CollegeConfidential so much). They both attend a “blue collar” public elementary school in Florida that has Title 1 status (50% or more of population receives free or reduced lunch.) </p>
<p>The school is safe. I have volunteered at the school over the years and while it is not perfect it is quite adequate, and most of the time excellent, at providing a great education for my kids. The class size is not overwhelming. My 10-year-old has 19 in the class, my second grader has 18. My feeling is that school is what you make of it. The curriculum is the same across the district. Our school, which is a mile away, doesn’t have as much PTA money and stay-at-home moms who hang out at the school all day, but it offers the same curriculum and has plenty of enriching after-school activities for the kids beyond academics – my eldest son is in chime choir and the little kid is in a singing group. </p>
<p>My point is, don’t discount your neighborhood school. If you are involved and have high-expectations your kids will be fine. There are plenty of high-achieving and intelligent adults who attended “mediocre” public schools. My motto is to make the most of it and no excuses. You can find flaws with any school. There are slacker and stellar teachers at Title 1 schools., wealthy suburban public schools AND private schools. It’s the luck of the draw. I worried that my children would be “corrupted” by misbehaving kids or that the school would have loads of behavior problems. This is completely untrue and I was only being paranoid and judgmental.</p>
