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My son attended an expensive private Montessori program last year. Beautiful school, set on acres of land, active parent association, parent-written newsletters, the whole works. My kid hated it. It just wasn't for him, for a variety of reasons.
So, after looking at schools that would likely cause us to give up every family vacation and most of our decent meals for the next 12 years, I gave up and decided to send him to public kindergarten and grade school. They're good schools. And, unlike the Montessori program, whose principal I never met, the public school principal gave me a personal tour of the school and answered all my questions.
It's still scary, though. My main impetus for going private was the look of the middle school with its temporary classroom trailers sitting in the parking lot, and the high school with metal detectors in the entrance. As much as I want to support the public system, it can be a scary place. As a mom, I want my child to feel save, and some of these schools don't feel or look safe to me.
As for now, I'm happy to go public school and pray that the next presidential administration does some drastic things to improve public education.
