<p>My rising 8th grader has decided he wants to go to a specific private school for high school. The school is a Catholic school with a military option. </p>
<p>My son’s strongest and favorite subjects at school have always been social studies and music. If he stays at our local school he should be able to take both subjects every year, and after ninth grade he’d have an additional elective that he could use for art or drama or computers or a second music or social studies class. </p>
<p>However, at the private school, if he did the military option, which he wants to do, he wouldn’t have any electives at all. Both schools have 7 period schedules, but at the private one of those periods would be JROTC, and one would be religion. I think there’s a good chance he’d enjoy both courses as they’re both kind of “social studies like” if that makes any sense. But he’d either need to skip music entirely, or take a music course in the school year and then take social studies in the summer. Social studies is the only course they offer this with, and the summer class does not have an honors or AP option. Realistically, I don’t think he’d be able to have much involvement in music outside of school. Our budget would be super tight with tuition, and the private school’s athletics are pretty intensive so I don’t know that we’d have the flexibility to take advantage of some of the free options in our area. The private school does have some afterschool arts options, but it appears that they conflict with sports, and I’m pretty sure he’d pick the latter.</p>
<p>There are, of course, many other factors that will go into this decision. For one thing, he hasn’t actually been accepted yet. Money is a huge concern. I need to figure out how I feel about my child attending a school that teaches religious values that aren’t necessarily in line with our family values. etc . . . On the other hand, my son has some pretty compelling arguments for attending this particular school. But I’d love people’s thoughts on the pros and cons of this schedule.</p>
<p>9th grade social studies (geography?) usually isnt very challenging at a public school since it is a general Ed requirement for all students. Usually there are no AP options before 10th grade and for some schools 11th grade. Since I love music also, I would pick music any day over social studies. If the high school has a good music program that would be a plus.</p>
<p>If your son is interested in the military option and you can afford it, I Would pick the private school and wouldn’t worry about taking social studies in summer school.</p>
<p>My son went to a private school exactly like the one you are describing. He also had no electives. Does he play an instrument? if so, he could certainly do band as an EC. I certainly wouldn’t substitute a music class for 9th grade social socials. My son was able to be in two bands, do a fall and spring sport, color guard and masterminds. </p>
<p>We were also not the same religion (and we aren’t religious at all) but it was good my kid to get a different perspective. I can’t speak for your school but at my son’s the religion classes were more theology than doctrine. </p>
<p>That his school also had a mandatory JROTC program really freaked me out at first, more so than the religious part, but it really helped him focus and mature in a way that I don’t think would have happened if we kept him in public school. </p>
<p>And while tuition is a burden our ROI was fantastic. Between all the schools he applied to he received a total of over $600K in scholarships over 4 years. We made back his high school tuition in one year.</p>
<p>If it was just 9th grade, I wouldn’t have an issue. However, the summer school/music class choice would continue for at least 3 summers, 4 unless he decided to skip foreign language, or science his senior year.</p>
<p>If he chose to go with music, he’d have no AP’s or honors classes in his strongest subejct, and wouldn’t have the option of attending a program at a college in the summer, or working a full time job, etc . . before graduating high school. </p>
<p>I say all this, but I haven’t actually sat down with the school to confirm. We’ll visit in the fall. It’s possible, for example, that he could take the online AP’s my school district offers over the summer, or that he could do math or science in the summer instead in our local district. </p>
<p>It’s also possible there are ways that he could do sports and arts as EC’s that don’t seem obvious on the website. </p>
<p>I was so not expecting to have to make this choice. We have a strong public school, and my kid is doing well in the feeder middle school. But he’s never been one to love school, and so when he came home from camp and said "Mom, I really really want to go there, it just feels right, I’ll do anything, I’ll get a job to pay tuition . . . " I feel like I need to at least investigate. He’s attended summer camp at many of the most elite private schools in our city, and has never once shown interest in returning for the school year until now.</p>
<p>We looked at private school options for one of our kids. Schools where music was not part of the class schedule were immediately removed from the list. I think having to choose between a military program and music should not be a necessary choice. Isn’t there a private school option where this student could do both? We know kids who attended schools where both thingies were available during the regular school year.</p>
<p>Most military schools around here are single sex, boarding, and attract troubled kids. My son isn’t interested in boarding schools or single sex schools, and he’s far from a troubled kid. In addition, his interest in this school goes beyond just the military piece. I think there were things about the community that just clicked for him.</p>
<p>If the tuition is a real strech, think hard about whether you want to spend that money now or use it to beef up his college account. Especially if you have good options that cost less and also play to his interests (eg, social studies and music).</p>
<p>We’re in an odd situation in that day to day money is relatively tight, and we’ll look good for some high school financial aid, but my family has put together a 529 that will put him in a good position for college. The 529 isn’t in his name, but since he’s the only child/grandchild/great grandchild on that side there’s really no doubt it’s for him. </p>
<p>I feel like I need to make 2 decisions. One is whether I think this school is something I’d choose over our public school if cost weren’t a factor. The other is how much I can afford. If the answer to #1 is no, then he won’t apply. Otherwise, we’ll make a decision when we see whether he got in and what financial aid they offer. </p>
<p>At this point, I’m still trying to figure out the answer to question #1 – would I let him go if cost weren’t a factor.</p>
<p>What is most important about high school is academic, that should be his and your main focus. More often than not, public schools do offer more options than poorly funded small private schools. </p>
<p>Both of our kids went to private secondary schools, but I would be the first one to say that private is not always better public. Some private schools can’t afford as many electives as good public schools, and if your kid has special need, a private school may not be able (or willing) meet it.</p>
<p>There are pros and cons of size of private school. The small size could mean getting more individual attention, but it could also mean getting stuck people your son may not like. High school could be brutal when it comes to social life.</p>
<p>If your have strong public school and your budget is tight, I would save your money for college instead of spending it on a private school.</p>
<p>Neither school is small or poorly funded. The private is about 1,100 kids 9 - 12, the public about 1,600. Private has a large endowment, and public is well funded.</p>
<p>I think that the private is “stronger” in terms of the number of kids at the very top, the number of AP/IB classes etc . . . But my kid, who is a B+ type student might do better at the private with somewhat smaller class sizes and a little less pressure. For example, at our public you can start APs in 9th and many kids do. At the private there are no APs until 11th. For some kids APs in 9th is probably great. My kid won’t be ready for APs in 9th, I’m confident of that, so the fact that he can start in 11th and still be considered a top student taking a “rigorous” courseload might be to his benefit.</p>
<p>Oooops, I mistyped that. I think the PUBLIC is “stronger” for kids at the very top. We’ve got a pretty good selection of Catholic schools in our area. The academic high flyers aren’t choosing this school, and the school isn’t taking the kids at the bottom, so relative to our private it’s got a more homogenous group of kids in the middle with a course selection that’s probably appropriate for them. </p>
<p>As far as facilities, they’re roughly even. Public has better arts and drama, private has better sports and the military thing.</p>
<p>Is it the military thing that is attracting him? Does he want to go into the military? If so, have him check with the local Army recruiter to see what programs they have available for high school students. Most have something to offer and might give him the military outlet he is looking for while allowing him to stay with the music programs he likes. Another thing to look into is if the public school has some kind of cooperative agreement with this private school for music/arts–could he attend the private school but participate in music at the public school somehow?</p>
<p>I don’t think he wants to actually join the military. I hope he doesn’t as he has a medical condition that makes him inelligible. I think it’s the camraderie and the order and the sense of community he wants.</p>
<p>While the arts at the public are better, the ones at the private are fine. The issue at the private is simply time. Play practice is simultaneous with football practice. Chorus is a class, and there aren’t 8 periods in the school day. If he doesn’t have time to take a chorus class at the private school, he’s not going to have time to take the bus to the other school take a class and come back. </p>
<p>If he was at the public school, he could do the arts in the period that would be freed up by not having religio or JROTC. He could also do the winter plays as he doesn’t play a winter sport, and might be able to sneak into the fall or spring play with a minor role because their sports are less intensive. At the private they have only 2 plays – fall and spring, which both conflict with sports.</p>
<p>Do either school offer a zero hour for those activities (before school)?</p>
<p>How about a community choir or community theater that he could participate in if he goes to the private school? Usually the community theater productions are in the summers but not always.</p>
<p>If he recognizes that he’s giving up the best theater/music opportunities by leaving the public school, they must not be that important to him. Are you thinking he may choose to major in music or theater in college?</p>
<p>Our HS has a rotating 8 block schedule. Even with this schedule, the students who want to concentrate on music are unable to participate in Navy Jr.ROTC. Some students go on to military service, however, the Commander sits down with the students and parents and explains the reality of the military to them. It is not considered a “feeder” program. There are huge lifelong benefits other than entering the military that ROTC students come away with. If this is what draws your son to the private school, I suggest that you set up a meeting with the Commander and maybe arrange for him to observe a class or activity once the financials are in place.</p>
<p>Have you gone through the entire course catalog for the school he likes? Are there any other private schools in the area that might be a good fit?</p>
<p>My son will be going to high school in two weeks (!!!) and he will be attending a school that wasn’t on our radar last year, and we had only vaguely heard of it. It is a private, Catholic, single-sex school outside of our district. Son’s music teacher told us that we needed to check it out because it is THE place for a serious musician whose musical interest is outside the usual. We went to the open house and, frankly, they had me at the bagpipes! But we took a tour and were blown away by the options, and my son tends to be a little flaky, so I had been doing a lot of reading about how some boys can really benefit from a single-sex option. We were very worried about the finances, but he auditioned and received the school’s top scholarship. The academics are at a much higher level than the public school option he received, but the deciding factor was that even at the super-prestigious music programs, the directors expected the kids to conform to their expectations and weren’t open to anything different. With the exception of this one school, they all wanted to push him to jazz saxophone because it’s more convenient than the jazz clarinet that my son loves.</p>
<p>My strong suggestion to you would be to ask the school if your son could come in and spend the day in the fall and really see what it’s like. If he truly loves it after being there, you should really consider the fact that it speaks to something in him. We are not Catholic and my son’s new school is very religious and all about supporting the boys to become men of principle and passion, which was not something that I would have expected to speak to him, but it does. We are a female-centric family and my son is thrilled that he is going to have an official big brother at school and do boy things. As long as he does his best, I’m not the one who will be in the classroom everyday.</p>