Private School

 I don't think I've shared that we are at a crossroads with public schools.  As a product of public school myself, and someone who believes in many socialist programs, I've never thought I would even consider sending my kid to a private school.  I've felt like private schools are elitist, overly religious, homogenous, anxiety-producing institutions that churn out carbon copies of stuck up kids.  But, now I'm eating crow.

I've been working in public schools for the last 8 years since getting my Masters in Speech, and I've seen how the public schools are struggling, especially since COVID, with finding qualified teachers, good student to teacher ratios, accommodating students and meeting their needs...  There are plenty of good teachers in public schools, but I've also seen a lot of screaming, telling kids to shut up, focusing solely on state testing, denying kids opportunities for socializing, not to mention bullying, violence, shooters...  There's a lot going on for public schools right now and I certainly don't have the answers to fix them.

But I can fix it for Evie.  Frankly, she is just surviving school.  She has a few favorite teachers, but also some that have been a struggle this year (and last year).  She has friends, but with public school culture as it is, she doesn't get to talk to them much.  She enjoys project-based learning, but instead it's a lot of worksheets, quizzes, and tests.  She gets overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids in the classroom and in the hallways, and how little time there is between class transitions.  She gets flustered when teachers correct her in a harsh way (I do too, and I work a couple of days a month at the school she's going to right now so I've experienced firsthand the shameful way some teachers talk to their colleagues - not to mention their students!). She's basically a ball of anxiety when she comes home and on Fridays, I can see the relief on her face in a way that makes me know she's been struggling all week.

That's now how I want her to experience school.  She loves learning.  She hates school.  So, we are looking at sending her to a really great private school next year.  Now, I've always said I wouldn't send my kid to a single-gender school or a school that had a religious affiliation.  But again, I'm eating crow.  This is an Episcopal all girls school, and after touring it in November and seeing what I saw today, I'm so excited for her to have that experience.

In November, we went to an Open House where two students gave us a tour and we got to meet several of the teachers.  Hallways were filled with student creations (truly amazing pieces of ceramic art, displays of country facts, DNA models), and teachers were friendly and happy to talk about how they like to teach through a variety of methods (project based, simulations, creative movement).  Evie was especially excited by the idea of chapel, which occurs after the first 1.5 hours of the day.  She said, when we were leaving, "I really want to go here."  I said, "Okay, why."  She said, "I'm excited about chapel."  I said, "Okay - why?!" because I was really surprised that that would be the first thing on her list.  She said, "I just feel like if I can do two classes and then have time in chapel to center myself, well - that would be good!"  She listed off several more things that impressed her and gave her good feelings, and Seth (who is a private school kid himself) was also all in, so we started working on the application.

On of the application components is taking a standardized test (ironically, since that's what we're trying to get away from; but it's the only one she'll take, I think), and so on this past Saturday, she sat for the test, and then we met up with Sasha who was also taking the test and also considering this particular school, along with a couple of others.  We went out for lunch and I drove the girls; it was a hoot listening to their conversation!  Sasha was talking about her crush at school, and Evie was listening and being supportive, and it was just so fun to overhear their preteen conversation, in contrast with when they used to play together at Montessori.  When we got to the restaurant, there were plenty of seats, so Marina (Sasha's mom) and I sent the girls to go sit at their own table so they could chat, and we could speak freely too.

Today, Evie went for her day to experience what it would be like to be a student at the private school.  She picked out an adorable, professional looking outfit to wear, and was thrilled to see the sign with her name on it when we checked in.  She got to go to English class, then chapel, then Science and Social Students, and then eat lunch with the girls that she would be in class with.  She absolutely loved the day and said she felt welcome and included immediately.  I also went on a tour, and I went to chapel as well.  It was amazing that there was all this ruckus when all 350 girls were filing in and then once the bell pealed, immediate silence - you'd never get that in any public school I've been to!  There were a couple of hymns to sing, some prayers, and those were interspersed with speeches delivered by the graduating seniors.   I could tell these seniors had been well prepared to craft and deliver their speech; and everything I saw on my tour made me think how well-rounded and well-educated Evie would be at this school.  She'll go to college having already written research papers, delivered a speech, given several presentations, all with hands-on guidance.  We're fortunate to be in a position to send her to this school, and while I hope public schools turn around soon, now that the idea is in my head, I can't imagine sending Evie back to public school for 7th grade when such an amazing opportunity is just down the street.

We won't know that she's been admitted until February 16th, but I'm not expecting to be turned away.  They don't have a waiting list at the middle school level like they do at high school, so this is an excellent time to make the transition.  Here's hoping she goes from surviving to thriving!