Dale and I started discussing the possibility of sending the kids to public school as soon as we moved out to the country (farther out than before, at least), last November. We preferred the idea of a small, rural school, to the type of district we were coming from—moderately large and “political” (an apt euphemism once used by Willow's thrid-grade teacher).
We also began to suffer from isolation, with no close neighbors and the only homeschooling, playdate-compatible family we knew in the area moving to California in December. We settled into our new neighborhood and routine, planning to start fresh the following Fall.
We met with the elementary principal in August, the week before school started. We grilled him about everything from sports to school lunches, discipline to class size. Of course the policies weren't perfect, but our basic philosophies lined up rather well with the principal's, so we enrolled the kids. Dale and I agreed to give it a full semester before making our final decision on the matter.
The semester ended with Christmas break.
Of course there are many pros and cons.
Pros:
- The kids are making many friends
- Small class sizes (18-20 kids per class, two classes per grade level)
- Lunches (and breakfasts) are all cooked on-site
- Activities, life lessons, and points of view we couldn't provide at home
- The faculty is not only able, but expected, to know each child
Cons:
- Cliquish, small-town mentality makes it very difficult for parents to make friends
- Little to no funding for extra-curriculars, current textbooks, etc.
- Lunches (and breakfasts) are full of complex carbohydrates and HFCS
- Lots of money out-of-pocket on fund raisers, equipment, supplies, class parties etc.
- Grouchy teachers teach multiple classes and grade levels—no escape!
There are, of course, personal concerns we're dealing with that aren't necessarily about the school itself, but rather dealing with other peoples' children and introducing our kids to society in general. Closed-mindedness, bigotry—that sort of thing. They're being exposed to it sooner than I would have liked, but at a time when they are still willing to talk to us openly about the issues, so learning opportunities are being taken advantage of too. I won't go into detail about these right now, because like I said, it's more an issue of individuals than the school. I do appreciate how the school as a whole deals with our concerns when we bring them up. So that's an entry for both the pro and con side.
