Transfering to Private School in 6Th grade...can It Be Done?

I work at a private middle school. We look at testing, but also what kind of girls would be a good fit for our school. We do understand not everyone tests well. You can be very bright and have a so so testing result. If we feel that the applicant would catch up with some help and it seems like the girl would thrive in our community we open our arms gladly. If the school only goes off testing you prob. wouldn't be happy at the school anyway. That age is a hard time for young girls, and it is so much more than just book smarts that middle school teaches. She needs to learn how to deal with peers and have a good seance of self worth. 10-13 is a really important age for girls, we work on good confidence as well as math. :) I think that it is a great idea to move to private school at that age. Save the money early on then move her when it really counts. Try a summer tutor to expand her knowledge and then she will blow away the admissions team! A good attitude is almost more important than straight A's and a great ISEE test. Best luck to you!

D.,

I have four children, now adults, that attended private schools. Two of the four went to public school in the 6th grade while we waited with the other two until they were ready for high school.

Our decision to place our kids in a private setting was to establish not only great study habits but the curriculum was much more challenging and students are able to work at their own pace. In a public setting they keep all the kids at the same level so many tend to get bored and loose interest....not an option in our household. We also made this choice to remove them from the competition of label wearing (ie Gucci, Dolce/Gabbana, Nike etc). While most private school kids wear these items, mine included, there is no significance placed on clothing.

I think we took our older two out of private school a bit too early (6th grade). As they didn't seem to be as emotionally mature as those that attended public school and encountered some adjustment problems. The problems (more distractions in the classroom) were nothing major and were overcome rather quickly but it was still something they were not used to. And so we waited with the other two (9th grade) and found that to be the more appropriate choice. These two were less susceptible to peer pressure and were far ahead of the main stream kids. In fact, they each had to take math and foreign language courses at the community college because the high school didn't offer a level high enough for them when they entered. The courses taken at the local JC were transferable to the four year college they selected and so we kinda killed a few birds there.....

I'm really not giving you any advice here, just telling of my experience and hopefully giving you some things to think about as you make your decision....

Good Luck!!
CM

Private school public school ??? you get bad teachers in both...and it is all about the teachers. I would visit all your school options and then pick one that is works for you...whether it is public OR private. YOu will be surprised to find out that some private school aren't any better than public one. Unless you are in a district where the public schools are very good, stick with public. But interview the private schools.

I'm not sure if that is true or not but I wanted to let you know our experience. Our daughter turned 5 on December 5, 2007, just 4 days past the cut-off. Campbell school district would not even return my call inquiring about Kinder registration (they didnt know her b-day, just that I had a child I wanted to register for K). We had her in a private preschool and decided to just leave her there another year and have have her start K the following year. In Feb 2008, the Elementary school (same private school) offered Kinder testing. We took her in and they decided the best thing for her would be to move to Kinder the next week and go to 1st grade in the fall. It was the best move we ever made! She was starting to get in trouble in preschool because she was bored, the rest of the kids were learning to write their numbers and she was starting to add already! She is now in 1st grade and right with the top of her class, even though she is almsot a year younger than some of the students.

We would love to keep her in private school, but with money as tight as it is, we may not be able to. It costs about $10,000/year to keep her in the school!

Good luck and I hope you find the right answer for your family!

L.

Hello,
I work at a private school and we do have an intake of 6th graders in our k-8 community. The main reason is that there are many schools public and private that end at fifth grade. This makes 6th grade admission even more competitive than kindergarten. If you are applying to a 6-12 school, they may have a practice of taking students from mostly private schools as they know they will be a fit with their population. I know we have strong collaborative ties to local high schools who know our program and how our students are going to fit with their population.

Private schools tend to be at least a grade level ahead in math as well as have the experience of reading more novels and writing more than their peers. A concern would be about what the current state budget cuts will do to your local school. I have worked in public schools and even smaller cuts were devastating to supplemental programs in our schools.

We also see a difference in behavior of new students, nothing major, but a subtle resetting of expectations by the students. In our school it typically happens by other student example. Our entire population just doesn't tolerate the type of behavior and attitudes that are present in many large public schools that are tasked with teaching a much broader population.

Send me a private message if you want to talk more.

Hi D., I am sure you will have many mixed responses over this. When it was time for my kids to start school, it was very hard for me. Some of their friends went to private, some went to public. My dad taught public jr high for 37 years. He had a fit when we even considered going to private. My daughter is now getting her credentials to teach in a public school There is nothing wrong with public schools. Neither one of my kids test well. It doesn't matter if they were in private or public. As far as I can tell, they both got the same type of instruction, yet the classrooms are smaller in private. Also some of the private school teachers, do not have the same credentials that a public teacher has. When your child starts school, they will make friends. I personally wouldn't want to change my kids school. My daughter's best friend left to go to private shcool, and after a year they were no longer friends. It was sad. I am sure you will make the right decision. Good Luck

I am a first grade teacher in San Jose and to be honest I find your comments about public education offensive. Public teachers work very hard to provide a rigorous curriculum and have high standard for students. We do this despite the fact that we are often treated like babysitters. While I acknowledge that the private schools do have more flexibility lets remember why. They can choose who attends their school; they do not have to accept students who have disabilities or have behavior problems or who are not "smart" enough. In addition they do not have to use state standards. Public schools accept all students and teachers are held to almost impossible standards with all students including the homeless ones, the students with Autism, the students with low IQ's. All this and my students LOVE learning and are learning how to cooperate, how to speak, read and write in two languages and how to thrive in a real world environment. Please choose your words a bit more carefully ladies.

Hi D.,
I was having the same issue with my 4 year old daughter. I wanted to put her into a public elementary then transfer to a private. My niece, who is in 5th grade, has just made the transition a year early since there was availability. She was a straight A student in public school and is still a straight A student in private school. Depending on your public school, your son might be okay. I think that if you put the time into his school, which it sounds like you will, he will be fine to transfer from public to private. Good luck with your decision! C.