Public or Private?

It's that time of year again - the time where Hubby and I must make a decision about keeping the kids at the expensive private school for another year. If the expense was indicative of the quality of education they were receiving I would happily pay the tuition and go about my merry way. Instead as a child progresses out of kindergarten*, the quality of education appears to drop; so the answer should be clear cut. Except that we live in a place that was once known as one of the largest producers of meth on the east coast, and the educational options are limited. As a prosecutor, I had the pleasure of going to some of the public school to interview witnesses. My most memorable visit was a first grader who ran up and down the halls, slamming into classrooms cussing, and the staff barricaded themselves in the office until the police dragged this six year old in handcuffs. No, we are not zoned for that particular school. And yes, the elementary school we are zoned for actually has a decent reputation and solid test scores. And yes, Hubby and I are products of a public school education. And yes, no matter where they attend school I will still be helping them to receive a quality education.

So next week I am off to tour the public school. Youngest child will be in kindergarten next year and I would love to continue him for one more year at expensive private school, but oldest child will be in second grade and really needs more of a challenge than private school is giving her. I can't just pull oldest child from private school as she would be devastated that her brother still gets to see and hang out with her friends on the playground. Plus, the school are seperated by a good half an hour drive. I understand no where will be perfect, but I wish the answer was a bit more clear cut. Feel free to send along sage advice and clichés about how it will all work out in the end - at least then I'll feel a bit better about this.

*The pre-school and kindergarten teachers at expensive private school are great and deserve so much more than what they get from the crappy administration at that school.