@dani- Thanks for your input! It’s always nice to get the perspective from one who is actually still in school! Because us old people forget a lot of the time what it was like!

@Phalene- You made me laugh with that!

@Dent- I think it is critical for a school to have an involved, caring parent community. From what I hear, the public school has one as well.

@Lisa- I wasn’t saying it was a natural progression for everyone, but a natural progression in my mind. Such as, he would simply continue at the same school rather than switching over to public.

@Sandy- I wouldn’t put the entire monthly amount away, but we have already established a 529 plan, and we are big savers already as well. And listen, I’ve already got a cheap car and we don’t go on vacations!

The point here is that I am not currently working full time and thus the sacrifice would be HUGE and I’m not sure that big of a sacrifice is worth it when the local public schools are top-rated. Whereas the private ones do not test, and so it is difficult to tell exactly how good they are.

My grandparents would have been considered to be at the poverty level but because of their religious beliefs they insisted on sending all 10 (TEN!) of their children to private school up through high school. My mother wanted to send my sister and I to private school as well but opted for public school instead. Personally I don’t think it would have mattered as far as education goes, my parents would simply have been poorer because of it.

I have cousins who live in areas where public school is simply not an option, however, due to violence and poor education. It’s troubling and hard to change, but I hope someday parents can feel free to send their children to any public school with confidence and trust.

But as others have stated, the first step is an involved and committed parent.

A good public school or even a mediocre public school with supportive teachers or peers can give a kid a fantastic education. However, some kids need smaller class sizes than the public schools can offer; and some need an alternative to the public school curriculum or learning environment.

Usually good public school systems have small class sizes in kindergarten, so why not start the Munchkin in the public school? As one commenter said above, you can always make a switch.

I am also curious as to why you see going from a private preschool to a private kindergarten as a “natural progression,” when just about everyone who is in preschool is in a private preschool? There is no public preschool option in most U.S. communities, so lots of kids go from private preschool to public school.

But I don’t have children yet, and you know what they say about non-parents and their naive plans.

Since your son is still young, I would think that you should make the executive decision. As he becomes older and you can get more of a sense what he needs/wants intellectually, I really encourage having a discussion about it. My mother and I talk(ed) about education a lot, and even though it’s “my” education, from parental standpoint her input is always helpful.

Hopefully that was somewhat insightful? Good luck with your choice of shoes!