Changing to public middle school from private

Hi, My daughter will be transferring from a private school to King Middle School next year. She will be going into the 8th grade. I was wondering if the transition would be easier if she got to know some 7th graders who have been attending King and/or will be going into King next year. She does not want to leave her school, but we cannot afford private schools any longer. Thanks, A worried 7th grade mom

Leaving private school for public

I would be interested in hearing from parents who have left private schools in Oakland and Berkeley/El Cerrito for public school. I have heard from several families that with the California standards being fairly accelerated, when they left private school to go into public they actually needed tutoring to catch up. Private school provided an environment that was culturally more protected but not academically more advanced than public schools. We are currently in private school and I do see that my child's friends who are in public school seem to be getting more in the way of math strategies, spelling, etc -- the benefit for us of private seems to be the smaller, more intimate environment. I'd be grateful if people who have moved from private to public school would be willing to share -- if you can specify which schools you've moved among that would be very helpful. I'm especially curious about the move from a private school that embraces progressive education and diversity to public school. Do people find that their kids are having to play catch up a bit -- and in the end, does it matter if they are ''behind''? thanks!

My boy is a very easy going, cheerful, and happy kid, who unfortunately had to go through cancer treatment since K through the end of the 3rd year. He had to miss lots of school during that time. We did not move him to the public school during his treatment for social reason, to maintain the same environment for him. However, when he was ending the 3rd grade, we decided to move him to the public school, thinking he would do well there too.

I can say,,, the way they learn is very different from the private school to the public school he entered. Now it is more text-base, and more straight-forward learning , while at the private school it was more project based, requiring more research time and filled with activities related to subjects. Had my son been able to attend the private school every day, I thought he could have been able to benefit more from such a way of learning, but since he missed the school so much, we felt that he could not develop the learning skill which is necessary to have for project-based learning. We sought for more basic, solid learning skill from the public school system, and for us, it is working wonderfully. He is less frustrated, and he also said that he can learn better that way.

Prior to starting the school, we requested meetings with the principal and his new teacher, expressed our concerns to them, etc. We were happy to be assured that they have many resources (learning specialist, occupational therapist, psychologist, reading specialist, etc) to support him (for free!!) Luckily, so far he has not needed much of anything, and he is a happy, average kid. His homework load at his school is not too heavy, so it is easy for him still to manage. However, that should depend on which school your child is moving to.

Before deciding whether to move him to a public school, I asked other friends whose children are in the public school to borrow and see what kind of homework they were doing. That gave me some sense of whether or not he would need some tutoring prior to moving. I also advice you to go to some school events in the public school (where you would like your kid to go to.) Ask your friend in that school to invite them, or take them, to the school fair, parties, or if allowed, PTA meetings. This way you can learn about the public school community a lot. If you contact PTA, they can also give you some contact informations of other parents who are willing to talk to you about the school.

Good luck with your decision. E-mail me if you have more questions. mika

Yes...our child was a bit behind in some subjects after being at the ''academically advanced'' private school, but is quickly catching up with the help of a great teacher as well as some work with us at home. It is hard to know if the students all end up at the same level when they graduate to middle school, and the schools are simply taking different approaches to get there, or if the public school is really more advanced. In that way, it's challenging to answer your question about worrying if they're being left behind.

I wish you the best in your decision, if only we didn't have to think and worry so much about these issues! --happy public school parent

1. Academics in public school are solid, and the teachers are very well educated, informed, and truly know how to differentiate instruction. There are children in our kids' classes who are several years above grade level, and several children who are one or more years below grade level. All of these children are given an outstanding education, no matter where they fall on the continuum.

2. Public schools have community support--programs that include Art, Science, Ecology, Music, Theater, and so on. In our school, there are several local centers that come in weekly to do things with the kids.

3. The kids are NICE. We have found there is much less bullying, exclusion, and so on in the public school. I think in part because of the lack of funding and support state and nation wide for public education, teachers, parents, and kids really fight for a sense of belonging and there is a real all-inclusive feeling at the school.

4. Parents in the private school have a fear of ''the test,'' and feel that they are giving their kids a better education that is not ''test driven,'' but we have found that there is little to no mention of testing in the public school, and there is no more attention paid to the STAR test than there is to the ERB test in the private school.

5. All of our children were behind academically when the moved to the public school, in every subject. The difference in the public school, however, was that the teachers made a huge effort to catch our kids up, whereas our friends' kids in private school who are in need of help are told to get a tutor.

6. If I could do it over, I would never send my kids to a private school without first trying the public school. If it did not work, then I could send them to a private school. But moving the other direction (private to public) had my kids at a disadvantage all around. Happy in Public!