A very poor shot from my phone of the awards he received

His journey at this school hasn’t been without its hiccups and a few bumps. I’ll be posting about some of the more gray experiences at this school in days to come. However, for the most part I really can’t complain about how it all worked out. When we first started researching schools to enroll him in, it was a challenging process. Public school wasn’t even a consideration. For the most part, public education in our county leaves a lot to be impressed with. Furthermore, I feared what he would be learning from the students and I was also concerned about peer pressure. With the problems of school violence and bullying out of control in local public schools, the thought that he would subjected to such situations was enough to hurdle the public school system out of the running.

When the time came for us to choose a school we opted for the private Christian Non-Denominational school our church operates. I absolutely love our church. We have truly found a home among its congregation. I was very enthused to place my son in the academic hands of the church because I already felt comfortable with the spiritual training he has been receiving in the children’s ministry. We enrolled him and my son loved every minute at the school. I, unfortunately, was not happy with the administration of the school. Their lack of appreciation for science and how it interrelates with creationism concerned me. Although, their reading and math program was exemplary, I felt their curriculum greatly lacked inclusion of scientific theory, much of which goes hand in hand with Biblical thinking.

At the end of the school year we were left with the dilemma of finding another school for Kindergarten. We wavered back and forth about whether or not we should consider another private school and if so, should it be a Christian school or a secular school. Finally after much deliberation, we decided to try a charter school that had a strong science, math & reading curriculum. At first, my son was bored and unenthused about the school and wanted to go back to the private Christian school. His teacher pulled me aside one day and told me that he was quite advanced in the class. She started giving him 1st grade level work and immediately she saw a change in his attitude toward school. From this point on, my 8 year old began to soar and he’s done amazingly well at the school.

So here we are, finding ourselves at yet another junction. We are quickly approaching a new adventure for our family and this means we will be looking for a new school for my 8 year old. Once again we are confronted with the public school question - to enroll or not to enroll. From my research, the public school that he would be enrolled in, should we choose, is nationally recognized and has received quite a bit of buzz. This is encouraging, however, on the flip side, the school is HUGE – maybe 1000 students for all elementary grades combined. My son is used to a school population of about 160 students. My head is overloaded with questions and concerns about whether or not he will adjust quickly to such a big school setting. Will he feel lost? Will it be too intimidating and overwhelming for him? With so many students the possibility of bullying, mean kids, peer pressure, etc increase exponentially. Most likely sending my son to public school is going to be our most convenient choice to make and I am just praying that it won’t end up being the most regrettable choice.

I’d love to hear thoughts, stories, advice on making the transition from a small school setting to a large public school?