Neighborhood Charter School

Stats:
Tuition: $0
Grades: K - 6
Ratio:
Location: Atlanta, GA

Obviously the best thing about this school is that it is FREE! It is convenient for me because it is in  my neighborhood. The other thing I like is that they are using the Everyday Math curriculum. It is what is used at many of the private schools in the area. I also like the concept that they have of giving the children in depth knowledge of the subject matter for deeper understanding. This concept is very much like the teaching methods at the Friends School.

My biggest problems with the school is that I don't really understand the Constructivism Method of teaching. It is very "nuts and granola" and very low structure. At least, that's what the teacher told me. I don't mind giving kids some freedom, but part of life is having to do some things that you don't want to do. So do it!

I am also not happy with the diversity in the lower grades here. Somehow this school has managed to be zoned for a predominantly white section of a predominantly black city. I thought the diversity would be better.

St. Thomas More

Stats
Tuition: $6545 for Catholics and $8910 for non-Catholics
Grades: K - 8
Student/Teacher Ratio:
Location: Decatur, GA


I am remiss. I actually went here first. My initial thoughts...wow the Catholic school uniforms have not changed. Even the girls had on those awful shoes that are black in the middle and white at the toe and heel.

What I like most about this school is that it had pretty good diversity and the location was convenient. The school is accredited, but that goes without saying. The overall feel that I had for this school is..."what a nice little church school..."

I definately was not wowed and I didn't partcularly care for the fact that the Kindergarten was tucked away in a corner of the basement. We even had to cut through another class to get to it. Everything was just OK: technology, curriculum, staff, etc.

It was nice, but I left there knowing that I wanted more for my son.

Woodward Academy

Stats:
Tuition: $14,100
Grades: K - 12
Teacher/Student Ratio:
Location: College Park, GA

As an alumnist, there is no doubt in my mind about the quality of eduction at Woodward Academy. After visiting I also discovered that the facilities are the best that I have seen yet. The classrooms are bright and colorful. The music room has great acoustics and the best looking instruments I have ever seen for elementary school children. They look like grown up instruments that were custom built in a small size so the children can play comfortably with them. The Science room makes me want to do experiments. I can just imagine my son learning in this beautiful environment.

There is technology everywhere: smart boards, computer lab, ipads. I just know that my little one will be very well prepared for college if he is here. Bottom line, everything here is top notch. I just didn't get the warm and fuzzies. I don't know if they will be handing out any hugs around here...but the education will be very good.

I am told by other parents that the warm and fuzzies come after you apply and go through the process. More in depth information is given out then. I actually decided not to apply, so I didn't find out.

My First Visit...The Friends School of Atlanta

To start my search I visited The Friends School (www.friendsschoolatlanta.org)

Stats:

Tuition: $14,250

Grades: PK – 8

Student/Teacher Ratio: 1:9

Location: Decatur, GA

I almost didn't go. I thought it was going to be one of those hippie, low structure schools where the kids dictate the lessons and everybody loves the earth, but I went anyway so that I could have a basis for comparison. And truthfully, I wanted to find out what the thought process was behind that type of education. I mean maybe there was something that I wasn't getting, so I went.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the school exceeded my expectations. I am not a hippie, but the first thing I noticed was the energy. Go figure...The kids just seemed happy. I can't explain it, but it was a feeling or a sense of contentment about the place. I am a feelings person, so this is big to me. I definately felt like I wanted to know more about the place after that.

The school itself is small, and the student teacher ratio is small (1:8 or 9). The facilities are very nice. It looks like a church on the outside, but on the inside it is very much a school. I was able to learn more about the school when I went on one of the Friday tours.

Our tour was led by the principal/headmaster/I don't know what is title was and I can't remember his name either, but he was very nice. He gave us a history of the school and spoke about the Quaker beliefs. I'm Christian, so Quakers work for me. After all, I am not opposed to a Catholic school, and Quakers don't require religion classes like Catholic schools do. The thing that impressed me about our tour guide was that he himself had been a teacher for many years before taking on this role. He was very personable and open, and he spoke to every child that walked by and he knew all their names.

As we walked around and visited the class rooms I was struck by the amount of diversity they had at this school. I don't know percentages, but I saw racial diversity amongst the students and staff, gender diversity amongst the students AND staff (I hardly ever see male teachers) and religious diversity amongst the students. 

Some key points that I found very important were

1. Teacher Training. They put great emphasis on that and spoke to the necessity of it when it comes to teaching several children that learn differently in one classroom
2. Teaching Students at different levels. All the kids in one class might not be on the same level, but they are all still learning the same concepts. The example of time was used to explain that while some students may be learning to tell time, those that already know how to tell time will be introduced to a more complex understanding of time (For example, train schedules) to further expand their knowledge and keep them stimulated.
3. The school strives to help kids be the best "them" that they can be without putting them in competitive situations where they are measuring their skills against one another. (Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little healthy competition, but maybe that's why those kids seemed so calm and content)

Some interesting hippie things that I like about the school is their committment to community service and that each class has their own garden. Cuuuuuute!

When it was all done, I felt for sure that my child would be a better person if he went to this school, but how would he fare in the real and very competitive world after leaving this utopian community? I asked the headmaster this and he gave the best answer EVER!

First, he thanked me for the question, then he said that what my question told him that he had not spoken enough about the testing methods. He went on explain that all the kids are tested and at the end of lessons and the progress is reviewed to make sure they have a great understanding of all the concepts. If not, the child will go back and review those concepts until they understand it. Also, the kids here do take the ITBS test (Hope I got that acronym right) and score at the 11^th through post graduate level when they leave in the 8^th grade.

Of course no school is perfect, so here is what I didn’t like.

·       No Lunch. They have a service www.lunchforlearners.com that you can use to have lunch delivered to your kid or you send them to school with one. Either way it sucks that lunch isn’t included with that tuition

·       Technology. At a number of these other top schools I see Smart Boards in the rooms and they start doing power point presentations in the 3^rd grade, but it wasn’t like that here. There is a computer lab, but using computers on a regular basis or incorporating the technology into the educational methods doesn’t seem to happen until the later grades.

I have to say that I love this school, and I will apply. They also have an open house on December 10^th. See you there…

The quest has begun...

My oldest starts Kindergarten next year, so I have begun my search in earnest for the best place to grow his young mind. I had been browsing schools here and there, but now I really have to get on it. It's December for goodness sake, so I am behind the eight ball. 

At this point I do not trust public schools with my child's education. The best public schools are in areas where either there is no diversity, the homes are unaffordable or it would be an inconvenient commute to work and my familial support.

I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to be able to choose a private school education for my child, but it is most certainly a sacrifice that I do not enter into lightly. Sooooo....I am going to search my a_ _ off until I find the best, most affordable and convenient options for me.

What about you?