Why I’m Considering Private School
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Despite record growth for the city of Huntsville in the past decade, the public school enrollment levels are static largely due to parents choosing alternative options. For the next couple of weeks, some of those parents will share their stories and advice for those considering making a change.
[/box]I’m one of those people. You know the people I’m talking about. The ones who just look plain tired when you bring up the current state of the Huntsville City School system. The ones who have pretty much given up. The ones so desperate to create a good educational foundation for their children that they are willing to give up vacations and dinners out and drive 15-year-old minivans in order to afford private school. The ones lucky enough that if they make those sacrifices, they can afford private school.
Whitesburg Academy-95% White
Randolph – 93% White
Westminster Christian – 93% White
Catholic High School – 89% White
Grace Lutheran – 89% White [/box]That’s about it. The truth is, that first one (no diversity) is a very important one to us. My husband and I want our daughter to be able to function in the real world and that world isn’t white. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly less so. Plus, one of our absolute favorite things about living in Huntsville has been the fact that our daughter’s playgroup is actually diverse. There are as many non-White children in the group as there are White. Her current world is color-blind. That matters to us and to send her to what is basically an all-White school feels like failure.
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[/box]I’m one of those people. You know the people I’m talking about. The ones who just look plain tired when you bring up the current state of the Huntsville City School system. The ones who have pretty much given up. The ones so desperate to create a good educational foundation for their children that they are willing to give up vacations and dinners out and drive 15-year-old minivans in order to afford private school. The ones lucky enough that if they make those sacrifices, they can afford private school.
I am one of those people. My daughter is only three but we are zoned for Providence and I have literally heard NOTHING good about that school. This fall she’ll be attending a preschool that has students up through 8th grade. If things don’t get better, we might just stay.
Here’s why I want to:
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- I have worked at two very different independent schools as both a teacher and administrator and had wonderful experiences at both. The faculty and administration worked in partnership with each other for the better success of each individual student.
- Independent schools are by their very nature intentional communities. All parents (and children) are at least somewhat invested in the success of the school, which is integral to the success of any school.
- Student Teacher Ratios are significantly lower at independent schools.
- There is no concern about schools “teaching to the test” as there is no “test” to teach to.
- Teachers have much more freedom to develop curriculum and thus to use teaching methods that are geared towards student’s strengths (and weaknesses).
Here’s why I don’t want to:
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- There is a dearth of diversity in private schools nationwide but especially in the south. Many private schools in the south were created during the decades of desegregation and a combination of that history with still very real economic inequalities among races has led to schools with abhorrent diversity statistics (see below).
- It costs a lot.
Whitesburg Academy-95% White
Randolph – 93% White
Westminster Christian – 93% White
Catholic High School – 89% White
Grace Lutheran – 89% White [/box]That’s about it. The truth is, that first one (no diversity) is a very important one to us. My husband and I want our daughter to be able to function in the real world and that world isn’t white. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly less so. Plus, one of our absolute favorite things about living in Huntsville has been the fact that our daughter’s playgroup is actually diverse. There are as many non-White children in the group as there are White. Her current world is color-blind. That matters to us and to send her to what is basically an all-White school feels like failure.
So we’re still debating and we’ve got some time. We cross our fingers and hope some real change will come to HCS. We also talk about moving to Madison. I guess for now we’re hoping for a miracle.
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Having just sent my twin daughters to the Montessori School of Huntsville for the past two years, I’d like to chime in that the diversity at MSH seems to be pretty high and also diverse in many ways. There were kids there who were from various countries and also many kids whose parents were of differing backgrounds. I feel like our daughters are still color blind when it comes to other people. Yes, it was expensive, but it was something we chose to do since our daughters’ birthday is in October and the public school has ZERO flexibility. BTW, Randolph also has zero flexibility and their cutoff date is 8/15, earlier than the public school cutoff of 9/1.
Barbara – you are absolutely right about Montessori School of Huntsville. According to the numbers, they are by far the most diverse school in the area. Only 70% of their students are White. Although, the other 30% are reported as Asian so still no Black students (or at least not very many). It’s one of the many reasons we are seriously considering that school despite the massive commute it would mean for us.
We spent the largest part of last year debating this same topic. Our children currently attend Covenant Classical School, but they only go up to the 2nd grade. As our daughter finished 2nd this year, we began searching for an option that would uphold the excellent academic foundation she’s received at CCS. After visiting our local public school (I live in Lincoln County, TN), and several private schools in Huntsville, to include Westminster, Huntsville Christian Academy, and Providence Classical School, we came up empty. For a number of reasons, none of these schools were a good fit. I don’t consider myself a too-picky mother…but I just had a gut feeling about most of these. The one that I liked, turned us down because we are Catholic. Yes, that is true. We eventually came to the decision to homeschool. Believe me, this was something I was adamantly against…but I came around to it. In fact, I’m even excited. I’ve got a great curriculum that’s a follow-on to what she’s already done at CCS. While homeschooling may not be everyone, I am very excited about the opportunity, and networking with the large base of homeschoolers in the area (I was pleasantly surprised to find that our umbrella school, based in CA, has a large number of families and even a consultant in Huntsville/Madison).
I wish you luck in your debate/search for a good educational fit.
Thanks and good luck to you too. Homeschooling is a massive undertaking.
I thought Covenant Classical School was expanding (building a new school) that would go up to 8th grade. I think it’s opening this Fall.
https://www.covenantclassical.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117&Itemid=146
I appreciate all the points brought up in this article. Well-written. Good job.
Here is all I ask – because I firmly believe we all do what the best we can for our kids. Please, if you choose private school, don’t tell people whose kids are in public school that you chose private because you are unsatisfied with the public schools their children attend. OR, if you MUST explain it that way, understand you are probably insulting them.
I have one in high school in Huntsville and we’ve been 100% happy with our experience and I have one starting Kindergarten and I’m hoping for the best. But – I have several friends who have chosen private school and constantly say things to me like, “I have to send my child to private school because the schools are so bad now.”
I’ll be honest. It just hurts my feelings. It may sound silly, but it’s true. While it may be true about that schools, just be aware that if you’re talking to someone whose kids are in public school, then you are essentially slamming that person’s educational choice. I’m not sure why people don’t think about it, but in this atmosphere with the school system in jeopardy, it seems like people just disregard the feelings of other parents. If that’s your reason? Great. But if your talking to someone whose children are in that school system you want to avoid? Find a kinder way to explain your motivations if you need to. OR – don’t explain them at all. Most of us know why kids go to private schools.
I’ve just had this happen several times in the last few years and it always blows my mind. I never know how to respond. These friends/family KNOW my kid is in public school and KNOW I’m sending the rest to public schools, yet they don’t have any problems saying things like, “I had to choose private because the school system is just SO BAD.”
Of course, maybe this is just me. I’m sensitive, I guess.
Here’s the thing. I went to private school and I have an assortment of reasons why I don’t want my kids going to one. Do I tell these reasons to my friends whose kids go to private schools? NO! Of course not. If they asked? Sure. But they didn’t and I don’t want them to think I’m insulting their choice. Yet, for some reason, it’s become okay for parents with kids in private schools to bash the public school system around parents whose kids attend that system.
WOW. I’m so sorry. Can you tell I am sensitive to this? I guess as the educational atmosphere has deteriorated in this area, I find myself very sensitive to this issue!
I know you’ll decide what is best for your child and your family. I think the fact that you are putting this much thought into it shows you’re dedicated to making your child’s education a top priority and if that’s the case? Your child will excel anywhere. I assure you.
Good luck!
Kim – thank you so much for your thoughtful and very honest response. I think you’ve brought up a topic that most people probably don’t consider when discussing this issue and I appreciate you bringing it up.
If I was completely honest, my list of why I don’t want to send my daughter to private school would also include the fact that I feel taking her out of the public schools is doing a disservice to the system as well. When involved parents (and I know you are one of those) keep their children in the public schools, it improves the schools. Those parents (and their children) can make a large difference at their school. If we go the private school route, I see that as another failure on my part.
I think it should also be noted that Huntsville actually has some really incredible public schools. The problem is that those schools are also almost all White and in the most expensive parts of town. That is not the part of town we live in and we don’t want to move there. We like the diversity of our neighborhood. The problem is that it isn’t reflected in our schools. Providence is 34% White and Butler is 15% White. That tells me that most of my White neighbors are pulling their kids from the public schools.
I hate that I might be one of them but I don’t want to send my daughter to a school that isn’t what’s best for her to make a point. Still hoping for that miracle.
We wanted to send our kids to public school from day one and only sent out girls to private due to the inflexibility and arbitrariness of the public school’s Sept. 1 cutoff date. They will be attending public school this fall and I think it will be a good thing. The private school environment, while definitely more diverse, is also tiny, a microcosm that doesn’t represent the real world. There were only 9 kids in first grade at MSH last year. Both my husband and I attended public schools our entire school lives and feel that public school is a much better representation of what the real world is like, what they’ll have to deal with once they’re out of school and college. It’s not just diversity of race and culture, but also personalities, athletic abilities, temperaments, intelligence, etc. They need to learn that people are different in many ways.
Well said, Zoot. My kids haven’t been in the HSV schools as long as yours have, but I completely agree your assessment of the quality of the education they have received from Mt. Gap, Challenger, and Farley. (My son is autistic, and attends different schools than my daughter.)
And yes, I’m the same guy who told the closing panel that parents have lost faith in their ability to lead. I’ve lost faith in the leadership of the system, but I have not lost faith in the teachers in the system.
As a teacher myself, I’m highly critical of other teachers that might give the profession a black-eye. Knowing this, I can honestly say that every teacher my children have had in the system have been excellent, dedicated teachers who teach because they love education and our kids.
The quality of education a child receives depends less upon the setting and more upon the child, his or her parents, and the teacher. So long as those three/four components are in place, any system can be excellent. (Even when it’s run by people who seemingly have little idea what they’re actually doing.)
I agree that private school and home schooling are and should be options that parent give consider for their child. Every child is different, and every child will respond differently to educational approaches. But so long as my kids are receiving the quality of education they have so far, they will stay in Huntsville City Schools.
Oh, I meant to add. Respectfully, I question the accuracy of the diversity numbers. In visiting the schools I listed, plus our current private school, I have found them all to be extremely diverse; in fact that’s one of the benefits in my opinion of attending the private schools. Our current school, for example, goes beyond the traditional black/white – there’s indian, pakistani, european, hispanic, and I could go on.
Oh, and one other thing about the numbers. As a Girl Scout Leader, we have TWO lines to check on our girl registration. One is if the girl is white, the other is if the girl is black. There’s no hispanic, indian, etc. We only get two choices. I’m wondering if the reporting from the schools could be the same or similar. Just a thought.
Ok, now I’m done. 🙂
Stacy – Those numbers actually come from the AL Department of Education (08-09) and are likely self-reported so they are probably fairly accurate. Having said that, I might have confused the issue by only putting the statistics for White (and by default non-White) students. The numbers are actually broken down by White, Hispanic, Asian, Black and American Indian.
Also, I looked up the schools you mentioned and although I couldn’t find any numbers for the other two schools you mentioned, you were right about CCS. Their numbers broke down as 56% White, 38% Black and almost 6% Hispanic. So that school has done what very few others have done and achieved a great deal of diversity. It’s a shame they only go through 2nd Grade.
Ah, thanks for the clarification on the numbers.
Yes, CCS had a traditional classroom up through 2nd, but I believe that they are now offering classes through the 8th grade…but they’re more a video-type class. We had already committed to homeschooling (ie a check had been sent to the umbrella school), so we didn’t explore this avenue.
Even though my children went to Montessori until Kindergarten, I had no choice but to send them to public school after that because of the cost. Yes, I am really disgusted by our school leaders (I think they all should have done the honorable thing and stepped down), but when I take a step back, I see that my children’s education really boils down to their one-on-one interaction with their teacher (at least in elementary school). In my children’s world, the Board of Education might as well be in another country–my kids just know who they see and respect each day. And luckily, their teachers are fantastic, so that comforts me to know that they will be getting a good education. Even if money was not a problem, I don’t know that I would choose private school. I grew up in a public school, and I believe in them. Nothing in life is perfect, including the educational experience. When we stop trying to make everything perfect, we give our children a valuable gift—the ability to cope and handle adversity.
This was a big decision point in where we bought a home when we moved here two years ago and our daughter was only 2 years old. After talking to many parents and some teachers we knew in the area, we chose Madison City. And this was before the issue with school closings. I don’t know what I would do (public or private) if we lived in Huntsville, but I am glad to see a lot of parents are getting involved in these discussions.
I am one of those few people who is from here and returned here. I graduated from Randolph and won’t be sending my kids there for many reasons. We also bought in Madison City to avoid Huntsville City school drama. It cost us more than we would have liked, but still probably cheaper than Randolph.
On the whole, Huntsville City School system is a really good system compared to a lot of others in this country. One must ask themselves if they are just spouting off what they hear others saying or if they truly know what is happening at their individual school?
The best way to know and be involved in your child’s education (and what it boils down to ultimately is what your child is learning) is to be involved in PTA and in the classroom.
I advise any parent before making a snap decision about what they think they know about a school their child is zoned for is to take a tour. You might be surprised by what you see.
Schools might close and it’s not something we want, but it might not be the worst thing either. I think parents need to put it into perspective. Are we upset over our school closing because we feel like it means our child is not getting the BEST education (and I say this meaning it as a competition) or is it something else? Yes, you may have to travel further. Your child’s class may be larger. But they also might have more experiences that might not have been open to them at another school.
Just my thought!
Marie – thanks for your two-cents! I actually agree, I think there are many people who are just joining in the chorus. I’m actually intending to check out Providence the way you would a private school and maybe even volunteer with their PTO (before I’m a mother there, not sure if that’s possible) so I can have more of an inside view.
They would be crazy to not accept any help they could get! Good luck! And don’t forget, HSV City has two magnet schools as well you can tour if you would want to consider those as well.
I truly believe that some of the public schools in the Huntsville and Madison City school systems are on par with the local private schools. Look at the number of National Merit Semifinalists, the scholarships awarded, the number of AP classes offered, etc. If the end goal is to give a child a broad base of knowledge and prepare them for college, you can get that from local public schools. I grew up in Huntsville and attended the local public schools from kindergarten to graduation. I was grateful for this education when I went to a university with a very challenging curriculum. I found that because of my HCS education I was better prepared for college courses than many of my peers.
When it came time for my husband and I to decide where we wanted to live (i.e. what schools we wanted our child to go to), we made the choice to live in neighborhoods zoned for high performing public schools. They are a little more expensive, but if we lived elsewhere we’d probably make up the difference in private school tuition. I felt it was a top priority for my child to have the opportunity to receive the same quality education I benefitted from previously.
However, I will say this: I believe that public school is not for everyone. The size of the student body can be overwhelming. Some kids need more one on one attention or some of the other benefits of a private education. I’m a naturally shy person and the idea of smaller classes would have sounded very appealing to me at age 16. But I believe that my experience of graduating in a class of 700 prepared me to go to college. Shy me could walk around my university campus with a population of 36,000 and not feel lost in the crowd! However, I say all this knowing that we will be watching my child throughout the coming years and if we feel that the schools are not meeting his needs, we will consider putting him in a private school.
I agree with previous commenter Kim: It hurts my feelings to hear people say that our local systems are SO BAD. They’re really not! There are some definite bad apples in the bunch, but there are some really stellar examples too! All in all, I think that school choice is a private decision, which is why it is so hurtful to hear friends dismiss my choice so easily. They have made a choice that is right for THEM, but MY choice may be different. To those making the big school decision I say this: give your local public school a chance. As a society we tend to pass around the horror stories and downplay the good stuff. As RCM said in a comment, “When involved parents… keep their children in the public schools, it improves the schools. Those parents (and their children) can make a large difference at their school.” Try it. And if it turns out the school is not for you, enroll in private school later. Our public schools need good, involved, and concerned parents like you!
Lexie – thanks for great comment(s)! I’m so pleased people are speaking up on both sides. As I said in the article, we haven’t decided one way or the other but up to this point, the loudest voices have mostly been those disappointed with the system. Of course, that’s usually the way it is 🙂
We have been considering it too.
Our girls go to Riverside Christian Academy in Fayetteville TN. They have preschool-12th grade. It is a wonderful school, and has been such a blessing to our family. My husband teaches PE there and coaches soccer and football.
Well, I have five children and have tried many educational options. I’ve sent some of my kids to public schools, some to private schools and home-schooled a couple of them over the years. Each child learns differently and I have been in different places in my own life which also affects what options we have taken during their school years.
Sometimes public schools are the best option, and sometimes they are the only option if time and money are in short supply. We as parents just do the best we can, and hope our kids find good friends, happiness and success with whatever school they attend.
Thanks for posting this article and for hosting this discussion. It’s an important one for us to have.
I don’t know of many people who have been more vocally critical of HCS over the past four months than I have, but as I said in response to Zoot’s comment above, my criticism of the system stops at the administration of the system.
The teachers, staff, aides, and principals at the local schools are, without exception in my opinion, superb. I’ve been involved with numerous systems across the nation, and frankly we moved here because we knew the schools and the teachers to be excellent.
I still feel that way.
Also, one other point concerning diversity of the private schools in town: to the best of my knowledge, not one of these schools is equipped to educate or will accept a special needs child as a student.
As the parent of an autistic little guy, I know that he’s as capable of learning (and is in fact as smart) as any other child in our system. He simply expresses himself in a different way.
In order to succeed, he must be educated with and allowed to interact with children who are not on the spectrum. (We’ve seen the biggest improvements in him once we moved him out of private therapy–at a cost of about $22,000 a year that insurance does not even now cover–and into a public classroom setting with other children.)
This isn’t just a benefit for him either. This past year, whenever he was taken into his regular kindergarten class, the students in his class cheered when they were selected to get to work/play with him.
A private school setting, at least right now, is not an option for my boy. And frankly, while I understand the desire to move out of the HCS mess, doing so means that those kids won’t have the opportunity to cheer when they are selected to work and play with a cool kid like my boy.
I am not trying to be overly critical of private schools. I’m glad that they are an option, at least for some. But even with the mess that HCS finds itself in right now, there are benefits to a public education that most private schools cannot offer. Learning to communicate with people who communicate differently is one.
Thanks again for a good discussion.
We live in the Providence School district. We purchased a home in the neighborhood around the school before the school was even built just because we believed in public schools and close-knit neighborhoods and kids walking to school together. Rather idyllic, I know…but we believed in that. Right now: we homeschool.
I could ramble on about Providence School but instead I’ll simply say this: YOU can make your child’s education a good one. If you have to work harder and you’re prepared for that, then where ever your child goes, that child will succeed…no matter what.
Now, having said that…we did not have any luck with our request for a tour Providence School last summer. My request (and I’m not sure with whom I spoke) was met with (I’m paraphrasing): “We’re too busy right now. That’s impossible. You can see the school when school starts.”
A call to the Admin offices got us a return call from the principal with apologies and a promise that she’d call us back in a couple of weeks (after vacation). She didn’t, but by that time—and after considering the answers to the questions my husband asked the person at the Admin offices—we’d decided homeschooling was for us. (And that, my friends, is a *very short* description of the circuitous, desperately long decision process that started way before the call for a tour. We don’t make snap decisions…)
My husband and I were longtime proponents of public schools, but now we’re (rapid?) advocates of homeschooling. We thought we’d try homeschooling for at least a year. I figured if I was going to spend a lot of time making sure my child was getting a good education I might as well do it myself–without having to get up early and stay up late to do it. 😉 Educating a child at home is *not* the massive undertaking that people think, btw. It might get harder later, but right now it’s awesome. And, I’m learning a lot about myself teaching my kid. (Bonus!) The only downside for us is we’re secular and we’re the minority—everywhere—so we don’t have that automatic, built-in support network. But I’m working on it…
I think the bottom line is this: If you care (and obviously you do), whatever you choose will work out. The decision your family makes is the decision that’s right for your family and your child.
Karen – I think you and I need to talk off-line. I’m sending you an email. I’d love to hear the longer version of your interaction with Providence because I too live within walking distance and initially loved the idea of walking my daughter to school. As someone who grew up on a farm and had to ride the bus for 30 minutes to get to school, walking seemed very idyllic.
I hate not giving it a shot but unless some real change comes, I don’t know how I’m going to put my daughter in that situation.
Karen,
We are moving to Huntsville next week ,and will be homeschooling due to very similar experiences we have had so far. If you see this could you please contact me! We are looking for homeschooling families we can get into a group with and make friends !
Hi Jennifer,
Just curious…which route did you decide to take? Also, which school? How has it been so far? We are facing this same dilemma.
Thanks.
For now, we decided private school was the best route although we looked very seriously at the magnet programs and frankly, if we thought we’d be in Huntsville for the long-term that is likely the way we would have gone. Our daughter has been enrolled at Country Day School for the last two years (in their preschool program) and we’ve been very impressed and she loves it there. So for us, that was the best choice. That said, I think HCS offers some great options via their IB and Magnet programs.
But can we as a Providence-Columbia school zone community do anything to not remain Providence Elementary-Williams Middle-Columbia High forever now that the last middle school class at Providence is wrapping up? It seems we can find alternatives for our kids, but how can we join together in our area to have a school zone that makes sense for people who are homeowners? And newcomers? And who want a public school to support us as a community? PS I live in Limestone Co Huntsville north of Capshaw, but I was hoping for more too since joining this area in 2008.
Nancy, im in the same boat as you. Im new to the area and was wondring the same thing as in can i send my child to a different zoned school? I live closer to other schools besides providence/william/columbia. Private school is not much of an option as its way to expensive. Thanks for your input.
You’re only option outside of private/homeschooling is to apply to the Magnet programs at HCS but you’ll need to ask about admissions periods because I think they’ve passed for Fall 2016.
Just wondering if you plan on staying with Country Day School past preschool or go with Providence or some other route. My daughter and her preschooler are moving to that zoned area (Providence/Williams/Columbia) and will be faced with the same decision. Thanks.
We chose to stay with CDS for Kindergarten. We did consider the AAA magnet program along with the other magnets in the area and those might be a longer-term solution (CDS only goes through 8th grade). I have a neighbor whose son will be starting Kindergarten this fall and I’m curious to see how that goes for them. That will be the first child in our neighborhood that we know of who is going to Providence. Most of our neighbors have chosen private schools or homeschooling.
I was wondering if you could give more details about your experience with CDS regarding the issues with the principle’s son last year. I have heard amazing things from friends whose children attend and read great reviews online but I have a hard time getting past the conviction of the 5th grade teacher.
Jennifer, thank you for your insight on this complicated topic. Could you please email me offline? I am looking seriously at Country Day School and Montessori School of Huntsville. I am very interested in your opinion of CDS. My email address is zaghias@aol.com. Thabks.
I think the education voyage is a fascinating one. I think that we learn so much about ourselves when we figure out what it is we want for our children. I LOVE this discussion! Everyone is so different!
I only would caution judging people or communities by their skin color. People are very diverse, in every community, by abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs. It is important to recognize that, and embrace the differences we have, rather than assume too much. If we assume that people of all one color are all the same, we fail! 🙂 I think, unfortunately for MLK Jr, too much emphasis is placed on race, creating a perpetuating cycle. I know this is the south, and there is a heavy history to overcome, but I do not see current policies and talking points helping us get out of that.
One of the critical thinking assignments my daughter will have (as we homeschool right now) is to define color blindness. I mean really, truly, what does that mean. Should be a good ride for our family!
Thanks for opening up this can of worms for a discussion! It is and should be a huge deal and a huge decision. Kudos for your courage.
I honestly can’t speak too much to the situation you are referring to because it was long before our time there (10 years). I never had anything but wonderful interactions with all the teachers I came into contact with and NEVER had any qualms about my daughter’s safety. Obviously, every parents makes their own decisions about what they are comfortable with but it never bothered us or felt like it was an issue. The teacher you are referring to never had interaction with the preschool and by the time my daughter was in Elementary he wasn’t there.
Huntsville schools in general are rated 6 out of 10 on greatschools.com. So I really doubt Huntsville City School system is a really good system.
Just FYI, this is a a great option with much greater diversity.
https://private-schools.findthebest.com/l/134469/Valley-Fellowship-Christian-Academy
Boy, this discussion just keeps on going. We live on Balch Road between HWY 72 and Capshaw and have a Madison address but are zoned for Providence, Williams (all the WAY UP Zierdt Road), and Columbia.) We live less that 3 minutes from the Madison City School Columbia Elementary and not much more to the middle and high schools. Every day I see the Huntsville City School bus drop kids off well after 5 pm (they are picked up around 6:30 am.) I spoke with a trusted friend of mine that teaches at Providence and she said even the teachers don’t send their kids to that school.
My parents live way out in Limestone County about 3-5 miles west of the Publix on County Line Road and their neighborhood managed to get zoned for City of Madison schools (they were zoned for East Limestone) but it was a pain in the butt and took over 2 years to get done. So in the meantime here we are, paying for private school until we can get enough equity in our home to sell it and move into Madison.
We moved here a few years ago. My daughter has been making extra money substitute teaching in Huntsville City Schools. She has been in Elementary, Middle and High School – and any special school situation in between. (Magnet arts high school etc…)
From her daily experiences there is no way I would put any of my children no matter what age in a school in HSV. I think every single parent who is considering public school (or private school for that matter but it might not be an option) should substitute teach in the schools – at every level. Wherever you want to send your kids – see what it is REALLY like. Not by volunteering either – it doesn’t give the real picture. It might be a real eye opener! My mother also just retired from working in an elementary school in another state… no better there…. And remember – not being there all day and observing things that happen throughout the day… you don’t really know what is going on and how it is going on. Honestly I’m shocked at the amount of disrespect she describes – no matter the age level, and the lack of the administration to be able to do a darn thing about it.