<p>We’re in the process of deciding where to send our 8th grader to high school - the local public or a Catholic school. Was wondering if I could get some feedback from the experts ;)</p>
<p>Public:</p>
<p>Pros: FREE! Most of her friends (whom I like) will be attending. Abundance of EC’s. Good amount of courses (and different tracking for each. Many APs). Various levels of students (so Dd would be towards the upper percentile, like she is at the middle school)</p>
<p>Cons: Most parents, and students, say it’s a good school, but you have to “watch who your kid hangs out with”. Yes, that’s anywhere, but it was interesting to hear it from both parents AND students. Theater dept. (which is one of DD’s interests) is present, but not great. Less than 40% attend 4-year colleges after graduation.</p>
<p>Catholic:</p>
<p>Pros: More controlled (as in strict) environment. Over 70% attend 4-year colleges. Uniforms (I happen to love that). Equal amount of APs. Great theater dept.</p>
<p>Cons: No late bus for ECs (so someone would have to pick her up). Price, of course DD may not be towards the upper percentile (she is a very good student, but not great. ) One of her friends (who I really don’t care for at all - or her mother) will be attending. And we aren’t Catholic, and DD has never been to Catholic school. (not sure if that’s a con or not)</p>
<p>DD is torn. They have visitation days at the CAtholic school, but not at the public. I’m afraid if I allow her to go to the visitation day, she will be unfairly swayed.</p>
<p>My three attended Catholic high schools. After the fact - would they do it again? All three would say yes - as would I. I do know that individual Catholic high schools differ in the same way that public schools do. One category does not fit all. The schools mine attended had 99% attend 4-year colleges, including many names beloved by CC parents. Strong college prep programs.</p>
<p>By the way, my daughters’ closest friends tended not to be Catholic (Hindu, Muslim) and I don’t think it caused them difficulty.</p>
<p>All three of mine loved wearing uniforms. Is that strange? I don’t know - I just know that throwing on that uniform and not really thinking about what to wear in general made mornings easy. The girls came home and stayed in uniform pretty much until they showered and went to bed - the uniforms were just comfortable to them.</p>
<p>I wore uniforms for three years. I think they are highly overrated. (My school dropped uniforms senior year.)</p>
<p>You know your kid. My kids go to a huge high school where some kids do indeed get lost and end up with bad crowds, but my kids have thrived there. They like having the diversity around them, though most of their classes aren’t nearly as diverse as the school as a whole.</p>
<p>I know many Catholic schools have many students that aren’t Catholic, but I’d check with some non-Catholic parents as to how much of an issue this may be. Usually it’s not a big issue at all. I went to a private school that was supposedly non-denominational, but in fact they had Chapel every day and we sang hymns and often got little homilies from the New Testament and we said the Lord’s Prayer. (We also got homilies based on secular authors and the Old Testament.) My Jewish friends thought it was extremely tiresome. They no longer do any of this by the way. Chapel is now called Whole School Assembly and they’ve got a much greater portion of Muslim and Jewish students than they did back then.</p>
<p>[Sigh] More evidence that mathmom and I are secret twins. I know the whole Presbyterian hymnal (circa 1965) front to back, practically, because of those daily chapels. I would go back and forth between humming to myself during the “Jesus Christ” parts or singing with gusto and a frisson of transgression.</p>
<p>To the OP: I think you have to be aware of your child’s social group no matter where she is. Merely attending Catholic school does not ensure that a kid is a nice, constructive person.</p>
<p>Also, if your child is oriented towards college, by personality and/or family background, going to a school where less than half (but more than a handful) of students go to college should not change her direction fundamentally.</p>
<p>But you and she have to decide which conditions (including economic ones) give her the best chance to thrive and to shine long-term.</p>
<p>I think she should visit both schools. Call the counselors’ office at the public school and explain that you are trying to decide on a school–I’m sure they will let your D have a private visit/tour, even if they don’t have a special day/event. I guess it would come down to $, convenience, environment (40% college attendance at your public school sounds pretty weak). If you’re not Catholic, you might look into what type of religious education might be required at the Catholic school and make sure you’re OK with it. </p>
<p>I’m Catholic. My older kids were homeschooled/ younger ones are in good public schools. I can’t afford the Catholic schools because older kids are in Catholic colleges!
I’m very happy with our public schools–they have more resources/APs than the private schools, college attendance is 90%, and I like the atmosphere. (The private schools here seem sort of snobby and I don’t like that “culture”–H and I both went to public high schools.) I wish the public schools had uniforms! Though my kid wears the same jeans and jacket every day, so. . .</p>
<p>I vote for the public school…she’s going to have to deal with the “real world” soon and learn how to pick friends. It’s best that she does this while still under your wing</p>
<p>Public school versus Catholic school really just depends on the schools. I went to Catholic school back in the day because a) I was Catholic and b) it was the best school, academically in the area. My daughters go to public school because a) they are not Catholic and b) the Catholic schools in the area are not academically stronger than the public school they attend.</p>
<p>One caution about Catholic schools in the areas I am familiar with (California). Sports are very important. Much of the school spirit and focus revolves around sports. The strongest high school sports league in pretty much any sport is the Catholic leagues. They can and do recruit for sports. If your child wants to play sports in high school you might want to check how competitive it is to get on teams. I know many a wonderful athlete (traveling all star teams good) that could not make the Frosh squad at their Catholic school. </p>
<p>Also, the Catholic umbrella doesn’t keep the school away from problems. More kids have been busted for drugs at the local Catholic high school than either of the large publics. There will be good kids and bad kids at either option.</p>
<p>You should definitely call the guidance office of the public hs. They should be able to set your student up with a quick tour if not a full day visit shadowing a student. A few yrs ago, my D did this when considering public or Cath HS. The public HS had her meet at the guidance office & she went to classes & lunch with a host student.</p>
<p>Good luck in yr decision. We considered Catholic school ing for ours, but for many reasons decided to go the public route. We’ll see in a few years whether we were right! But here’s what we picked up: </p>
<p>Being non-Catholic shouldn’t be a factor at all. Especially in big cities—and I don’t know where you live—lots of non-Catholic families choose Catholic schools because often it’s the best option going. The schools are often religiously very diverse, and the parishes or orders certainly appreciate anyone’s tuition. BUT-- schools have differing requirements about religion, so check it out carefully. Some I know require the parents to attend Mass weekly. Some mandate chapel attendance for kids. Some will only require that the student take a few courses in theology and church history. It’s all over the map so make sure you’re comfortable with whatever it is. </p>
<p>Academically it might be a wash, but getting high grades and class rank with tough courses (AP) in the public might make yr kid stand out more than being in middle of the pack at the church school. </p>
<p>Also, is the Catholic school single-sex or coed? That can make a difference for the kid and you. Lots has been written about how girls can do better in school without the distraction of boys. Lots of girls, I’m sure, disagree! And it can be claustrophobic if the Catholic school is a lot smaller than the public one. But you and she know whether she likes a big or small school atmosphere. In the smaller place, of course, there is no place to hide. </p>
<p>And as others have already said, both public and Catholic schools have their share of rotten kids (and good ones too). That, to me, shouldn’t be a factor. They may pray at the church school, but it doesn’t mean they’re not getting high or drinking too, as my own friends who went through parochial schools have told me. </p>
<p>The public may have no visitation days but you can usually find a way in. See if there is a PTA or PA meeting you can drop in on. Here, we also have parent coordinators—a formal position that is a liaison between parents (prospective and current) and the school and whose phone number is public. Does your public school have anything like that? If not, just call up the principal and tell him you want to visit and talk. If he/she refuses, ask for a guidance counselor or someone else. If they don’t’ want to let you in or find someone to talk to you, you don’t want to send your kid there.</p>
<p>Definitely check with the public school about evening open houses or just a “shadowing” opportunity. While the publics here don’t do the big hype “days” that the Catholic schools do, they do have open house for public jr. high students (and others) and are happy to have your student shadow a current Freshman or Sophomore (be sure to ask to shadow someone who would be in the same type classes as your D).</p>
<p>What’s your financial situation? Can you afford 4 years of private education AND college? If your D is a good student she can be a good student and good college candidate whereever she goes if she is motivated and if the school provides a variety of challenging classes. </p>
<p>We chose public HS after private Catholic K-8 and have been perfectly happy and as stated above, I feel my kids are very ready for the real world and the diversity of people. Both have received/are receiving very nice merit aid for their accomplishments as a result of their public school situation.</p>
<p>Religion isn’t a problem in our area … we probably have a half-dozen different ones with significant populations. The two single-sex Catholic schools provide the best academics locally available, so they draw from several religious groups. D#1 chose a distant competitive private, and D#2 chose the local Catholic school over the local public HS. No regrets for either, as each one’s choice was right for her.</p>
<p>The Catholic school is administered much more simply than the public HS. For example, rules in the Catholic school are more strict, but there are far fewer discipline issues. The local public HS has four layers of administration to deal with discipline issues … the Catholic school has just one person. What this means is that it’s typical to “go with the flow” in the Catholic school. That suits some kids … but not others.</p>
We did this as well 7 yrs ago when we were deciding between a local private and our local public hs. We ultimately chose the public school and our decision was based a great deal on what we learned by meeting on site with the principal and director of guidance.</p>
<p>For me, the decision would always be where my kid could get the best education and which school would be better in helping her to get into a good college. Everything else is noise. I would be concerned that the PS only has 40% of kids going to college. I believe in the “learning atmosphere.” Children are easily influenced by people they hang out with. Kids probably spend more time in school and with their friends than with parents. When they are surrounded by kids who want to get a higher education and it’s “cool” to be smart, that tends to have a positive influence. </p>
<p>I don’t believe every private school is better than public school. My town’s public school has much better track record than many of private schools around us. In the OP’s case the Catholic school is a much better option. If OP has the money, I think it would be money well spend.</p>
<p>I’d like to tweak that comment to say: check with some non-Catholic STUDENTS, or recent student graduates, not in the company of their parents, as to how much of an issue this may be.</p>
<p>The feedback that comes to me (IRL, not per CC) is that the kids go where the parents send them; the parents diminish the significance of religion to their nonCatholic children; the kids have to deal with the double-message every day. </p>
<p>The reason for choosing Catholic over public can be for valid reasons other than religion (discipline, academics, EC’s…), but I think it’s a mistake when parents absolutely gloss over the impact of daily religious study and ritual practice on kids. </p>
<p>Kids have reasons to spare their parents’ feelings on this topic, too. Sometimes the parents are from two different faiths; or both are not very involved in any faith. That’s the parents’ business, but when you send a child to a religious private school, it suddenly becomes the child’s daily business.</p>
<p>If the parents can engage in critical thinking at home and open ongoing dialogue about what’s being learned or practiced, that (to me) makes it a possible positive experience. To shut down and say “it really doesn’t make much difference” is not the kids’ feedback that I hear (IRL) from students themselves.</p>
<p>Will paying Catholic school tuition now undermine your ability to meet college expenses later? </p>
<p>It would seem rather counter-intuitive to pay for a high school that leads to a better college if you won’t be able to afford the better college.</p>
<p>Pros: More controlled (as in strict) environment. Over 70% attend 4-year colleges. Uniforms (I happen to love that). Equal amount of APs. Great theater dept.</p>
<p>Cons: No late bus for ECs (so someone would have to pick her up). Price, of course DD may not be towards the upper percentile (she is a very good student, but not great. ) One of her friends (who I really don’t care for at all - or her mother) will be attending. And we aren’t Catholic, and DD has never been to Catholic school. (not sure if that’s a con or not)</p>
<p>DD is torn. They have visitation days at the Catholic school, but not at the public. I’m afraid if I allow her to go to the visitation day, she will be unfairly swayed.*</p>
<p>Certainly, you can arrange some kind of tour at the local public to somewhat equalize. I wouldn’t deny my child the opportunity to visit the Catholic school.</p>
<p>Disclaimer… </p>
<p>I went to Catholic elementary schools and a Catholic (all girls) high school. So did my parents, my MIL, my husband, my children, and many of my nieces and nephews. :)</p>
<p>So, I am heavily biased towards Catholic education regardless of one’s faith. :)</p>
<p>I have never regretted the money that we spent on our kids’ Catholic school education. Never. I have life-long friends from my Catholic school education. We still have reunions every 5 years. There is a close-knit community that never dies. My 82 year old mom still meets every year with members from her high school class (that are still living, of course. LOL). My MIL does the same.</p>
<p>Looking at the theater department might be a case of the tail wagging the dog. I respect that passion (have 3 kids in the performing arts), but encourage OP to keep that factor in good perspective. When our kids’ public school offered a disappointing theater department, they just auditioned and found parts in local Community Theater instead.</p>
DD may not be towards the upper percentile (she is a very good student, but not great. ) One of her friends (who I really don’t care for at all - or her mother) will be attending. And we aren’t Catholic, and DD has never been to Catholic school. (not sure if that’s a con or not)</p>
Strong college prep programs.</p>