So my daughters (Ages 3&5) went straight from Goddard Daycare to private pre-K. Now my wife is gung ho about getting them into SAE. I will be looking at about $2200 per month for educating a pre-schooler and a daughter in kindergarten. Trust me I understand the benefit of private education as compared to some of the public schools here. We are very active in their education at home so I'm wondering if the money we are going to be potentially spending is worth it at this point.

What are some of your experiences with this?

You stay classy okayplayer!!

Depending of what part of the metro Atlanta area you are in private is sometimes the best option. However, there are some great charters schools around, that in my opinion are as good if not better that some of the private schools. There are also a few public schools that if you lucky enough to have access to, rival the privates, but those are few and far between.

Private doesn't always equal better. I know parents who have had major complaints with some of ATL's most prestigious private schools. Many people get caught up thinking that just because it's private it's automatically better.

I'm in unincorporated DeKalb, where the schools largely suck. Luckily my son is in an outstanding charter elementary school, which he will attend through middle school. We have some big decisions to make, however, when he enters high school.

what charter school did yall choose?

Mine are in dekalb prep. so far so good. you're right tho. its a crap shoot on getting a good school in some areas.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme

The Museum School.

We're in unincorporated DeKalb, but right outside the boundary of Avondale Estates, so luckily we fell in the Museum School attendance zone.

If we hadn't gotten in to TMS, our next option was The International Community School (ICS), another good charter located in the Medlock Park area.

TMS also. I forget why, but we ended up not trying. maybe it was a little too far from where we live once the dekalb prep opened.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme

I grew up right up the street, on Austin. My little sister went there back when it was Glen Haven.

I know the charter school issue is controversial, but as parents of school age kids in DeKalb, we're lucky they exist. Because the only other option for us, if not TMS or ICS, would have been private....probably Friends School, Waldorf or Saint Thomas Moore.

I'm crossing my fingers now, seeing how the whole cityhood and annexation issues play out, since that will determine where my kid goes to high school.

I was very active in his education, but his mom was not (he lives with her). Thus, the educational benefits of a private school were a push when compared to public school, because he was not getting the support or attention at home from his mom.

If the parents are not involved in the education process at home, then it doesn't matter a child attends a private or public school. So, you can base your choice on that fact that a public school education is just as good as a private school education if the parents are highly involved.


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"America, stop turning our Court Houses of Justice into Dens for Justified Murderers."

My child turns 3 in March. She is pretty advanced for a 2 year old. And, I found this part time daycare (she's gotta be potty trained--ugh! Our albatross) that focuses on STEM. Is this a good idea?

My munchkin is ahead of the curve at this point. We are working with tracing and writing her letters and numbers at this point.

"We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents" - Bob Ross

"I'm wearing a MSU Tshirt because I went to MSU, you are wearing a UM Tshirt because you went to Walmart!" -unknown.

http://bjsquirrelchronicles.blogspot.com

Probably couldn't hurt, but there are studies that say that specialized education in pre-school and early grades don't yield any benefits.

Parents like to brag on the things their toddlers or preschoolers can do earlier than others, but they all start to level off by 2nd grade. Like a child may learn to read or add early, but by 2nd grade the other kids catch up.