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I've had my children in private day school for the last couple of years. The school district we are moving from is below unacceptable.
We are relocating to Wake County (Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle) and from the stat's and reviews I believe I will be pleased and not have to even consider private school.
That is the game plan. Hope we won't be disappointed.
I think it's just important to remind folks that "bargain" schools, like any other bargain, are cheap for a reason. You do get what you pay for. Check accreditation and test scores (no, privates don't do state test scores but they usually do other *national* standardized testing), and where kids go on after wards. Ravenscroft and Cary Academy cost a lot because they offer a lot. "bargains" often fall short in some area. Religious schools are another route, but I know for me, school is school and religious education takes place at home and in our place of worship. Catholic schools have good reputations (like St. Michaels) but remember that church members get the "bargain" rates and nonmembers pay more.
We used to pay the equivalent of Cary Academy's prices before we moved to NC and when we compared Wake public schools with private schools here (most of which use the NC standard course of study) and with our former private school, it was a no brainer. Even with all the madness of WCPSS, we chose to send our kids to wake schools. We like year round schools but hate the uncertainty (we are getting bounced from one track to another this year), so we'll be applying for traditional next year.
I know this is an older thread, but I wanted to agree with the "you get what you pay for" idea and add that many of the pricier schools will have tuition assistance if you qualify.
Thanks for all the suggestions, will look into every one of them. We did look into Chapel Hill (and the schools seem to be what we want); however, the purchase price of a home is just so much more than Apex or Cary. Maybe we're being penny wise though. The cost of private education for all of our children may end up bringing us close to what we'd spend in Chapel Hill.
What about looking at a home in Durham with a much lower purchase price that will save you the money you need for private school? You've got Durham Academy, the Trinity School, Duke School, just to name a few.
Chesterbrook is wonderful, but it's about $1000 a month, depending on what grade your child will be in, so it is double what Thales is a year. We considered Thales and changed our minds after doing a tour. I'm sure it works for some kids but we knew the DI method wouldn't work at all for ours. I really encourage a tour if you are going to consider it (one that shows the classroom in action) because it's a very different style to what most are used to. Also Thales had no gym, no cafeteria and a very small playground so it didn't fit the idea of the school that we were looking for. Good luck...
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