People with Kids -School Questions - Also those who went to catholic school...

[Bam]

My daughter will start kindergarten next year and my ex and myself are going back and forth on schools, so I figured I'd ask here.

 

My EX wants to put her in catholic school, St. Michael in Worthington to be exact.

My concerns:

-- It's $3800 annually next year and will go up, although I won't have to pay for it per our court agreements, I still don't see the point

-- I don't attend church all that often, and I attend Lutheran church, just holidays and maybe once every 6 or 8 weeks, occasional.

-- The whole catholic priest thing, plus attending mass or whatever daily, plus the uniforms and their rules/etc BS, I just fear it'll be quite different than what she is used to and what goes on at either of her parents house.

-- We have multiple good school districts available to us at no additional cost and I just feel regular public school is better suited for us. I live in Bexley, she lives in Worthington and Dublin is open to her as well. So why pay extra?

 

Anyways, to sum it up, I want to hear your guys opinions on private catholic school either through opinion or experience as well as the difference in education/overall on the two.

 

Here is St. Michael website: http://stmichael.cdeducation.org/

 

I just don't get any good vibes/feelings when reading their website etc. I am attending the open house this week for a personal experience of it, but I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach for some reason, and my ex doesn't understand it.

 

Thanks

[TheHaze]

It's between you and your ex to decide that one. I wouldn't ask other parents if my own child should go to Catholic school or not. Just know, though, that Worthington and Dublin districts are very good with both their private schools and public. I've had quite a few friends go through St. Michaels and it IS a good school. It comes down to whether you want her going through a Catholic school or not.

[Bam]

Oh, I completely agree, I'm not asking for anyone to make that decision for me. I'm merely asking for your experience or knowledge of St. Michael's. I know nothing of it, am not really religious, and just am uncertain about catholic schools.

 

I appreciate your input. I agree with you on the Worthington/Dublin/Bexley schools, they all rank the same or extremely close to St. Michael.

[TheHaze]

If you end up doing Worthington Public, she may get my mother as a teacher!

[TTQ B4U]

Tough call. I grew up in a Catholic family and attended such schools for 12 years. I really do feel it did me well and I can honestly say the education I received was much more personable and helped me along the way. That's just me. I don't function well learning in huge classes or among crowds. Having visited with public schools when looking at high-schools, I just felt more at home at Benedictine (cleveland) where I went.

 

That said, my wife and I had this very same converation about our kids. We sent them (Daughter still is in) private school through Age 5. At $1,100 per month per child, your option is way more cost effective and one I would be relieved to have. However, costs seem to be a moot-point for you.

 

We are now sending my son to Dublin Schools where we live and he's doing very well. Classes in his school are very small though and while they may increase in size over time, I believe he'll adapt well and we always have the option of offering him private schooling.

 

My advice to you is keep and open mind. Unless there's a concern over Catholic teachings, I don't think you can go wrong with them as a school. The reputation seems very good. That's what counts. Again, everyone is different, but I really like the education I received and if Dublin doesn't work out for my son, I'm working hard to insure he has great options.

 

Think of your son first and only your son when going there. It's tough to put aside personal feelings, and not that you won't, but I had to say it. My wife is a family lawyer and I know every decision, especially ones like this are tough. Just don't make more of them than they really are.

 

All the best.

 

-- We have multiple good school districts available to us at no additional cost and I just feel regular public school is better suited for us. I live in Bexley, she lives in Worthington and Dublin is open to her as well. So why pay extra?

 

Anyways, to sum it up, I want to hear your guys opinions on private catholic school either through opinion or experience as well as the difference in education/overall on the two.

[wnaplay1647545503]

I am not religious, nor have ever went to a school where that is part of the curriculum. However I would think that if you do go that route, you would make it knowing you could stick to it through your childs entire schooling. I would think it may be akward or difficult to transition in either direction at somepoint throughout their schooling.

[HotCarl]

Is there anyway she can try and pin a portion of the cost on you? or is it pretty clear that its her decision to send your child to private school then she pics up the tab. No matter how you cut it it will cost you more (uniforms, maybe special literature that might not be provided by the school etc...). However I went to Tree of Life christian school from 7th-10th grade (then graduated from WKHS) and can say as far as level of education it should be the same if not better than public if your paying 3800 in annual tuition. I enjoyed my time at Tree, smaller classes, some cool teachers, you get use to uniform's after a while and its kind of a relief not having to pick out "cool clothes" to wear to school, and believe it or not it actually enjoyed my bible classes. I knew the name of ever single kid in my class (all 53 of them) then went to Kilbourne where my graduating class was over 600 kids.

 

Are you not sure about private schools in general or just this particular school? why is your ex so headstrong about St. Michael's?

[Bam]

No, it has been written in the court documents we have filed that she accepts 100% responsibility for ALL related costs over and above regular costs incurred in public schools. Also, if she shall chose NOT to pay willing, the court can and will garnish her wages. The is in effect k-6, which at that time we can re-evaluate what our daughter thinks of private school,etc. Of course if we both agree to transfer her to public beforehand, that's fine, but if I feel she is getting a quality education and our daughter is happy, then my ex must bear the financial burden alone until at least 7th grade.

 

Not too sure why she is set on St. Michale's. It's the ONLY private school she's mentioned, and no she didn't attend.

 

I'm not necessarily against private schools, more so the religious aspect is what I am unsure about. I'm all about giving my daughter the best education, but as it has been proven at least on a State level of assesments, any of the school districts we have available to us at no additional cost is of the same value as this private school w/ costs exceeding $4000/year over and above the taxes/whatnot we already pay just for where we live.

 

I like the thought of smaller classes, etc, but I graduated with barely 100 kids in my graduating class at Bexley and knew each one personally, so it's not huge by any means.

 

And yes, not having to worry about "cool clothes" etc would be nice, but like I said, I'm not all that religious myself and the entire thought of it is foreign to me. From the uniforms, to attending mass daily AND at school, to their way of thought/methods of handling situations, etc. EVERYTHING is different than public schools, and I'm unsure if whether they're better or worse yet.

[smokin5s]

I would never let my child go to school at a church... why indoctorine my child with as much bullshit as organized religion is if I can help it? I have always allowed my daughter to make up her own mind as far as religion, but I sure as hell wouldn't stick her in something where they force that shit on her every day.

 

with that being said, any private type of school you will probably recieve a good education and I think that school uniforms are a good thing.

 

If you are looking for a good education, Worthington schools will provide your child an excellent education.