Data on Public v. Private Schools in Chicago suburbs

[bevsilva22]

Well too make a long story short I moved to Riverside about a year ago. I had my children in Private School all their lives and upon moving to Riverside I wanted to save some money and go Public schools. The 1st year of 4th grade was horrible they tested and tested my son putting him in lower math classes asking me to signe papers saying he was a little slow. I never signed the papers according to the teachers I need to sign them for him to get extra help? The programs were government sponsored and so on? He has been in Catholics School since Kinder not 1 teacher ever mentioned he had issues? I am really upset with Riverside Public School here he is in 5th now and struggling with all theses teachers saying he has difficulties. Really! Im pulling him out next and putting him in Catholic next year. These teachers bully you!!!!! Riverside public schools not for me!!!!

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by bevsilva22

Well too make a long story short I moved to Riverside about a year ago. I had my children in Private School all their lives and upon moving to Riverside I wanted to save some money and go Public schools. The 1st year of 4th grade was horrible they tested and tested my son putting him in lower math classes asking me to signe papers saying he was a little slow. I never signed the papers according to the teachers I need to sign them for him to get extra help? The programs were government sponsored and so on? He has been in Catholics School since Kinder not 1 teacher ever mentioned he had issues? I am really upset with Riverside Public School here he is in 5th now and struggling with all theses teachers saying he has difficulties. Really! Im pulling him out next and putting him in Catholic next year. These teachers bully you!!!!! Riverside public schools not for me!!!!

Is Riverside using Everyday Math or Chicago Math? Many public schools around here do while the private/catholic schools do not. This alone may be the issue or the previous school may have done a better job of differentiating within the classroom since they may not have had the resources to seperate into different classes. Have you gone up the chain of command to the principal or curriculum director? Maybe it's more efficient to hire a tutor, especially if he has a network of friends and changing schools will disappoint him. Just some suggestions.

[efb]

1. Maybe as to deciding the merit of the Catholic school...you could ask for the leaving details. In other words, where do the kids from that school go for 9th grade and beyond. That may give you a better feeling as to what they are prepared for. If the high schools the kids end up at are acceptable to you, you can feel confident that they are prepared as you would like.

2. I cannot stress strongly enough how BAD a program the Everyday Math/Chicago Math program was for my child (and apparently for many others based on reports I have read). They teach some neat tricks which I, as an adult who already knows how to multiply and divide, think are fun. But, for kids learning these skills, it is NOT helpful to be taught 5-6 ways to do the same problem. There is never one concrete, fast way for them to arrive at the answer. There are too many different methods, some of which are multiple steps --- this causes more room for error along the way. I, personally, would steer clear of that program.

Good luck with the decision!

[Sarah H.]

I'm not a fan of Everyday Math either. Just complicates basic principles.

bevsilva22, my neighbor pulled her kids out of our public suburban school to send them to Catholic school (for religious reasons) and said as a bonus her daughter now enjoys math. Our school teaches Everyday Math and she never got it or thought she was good at math. Now with old fashioned basic math instruction her mother said she's confident in her math skills and loves it. It sounds like your son may be at a disadvantage because he didn't start with Everyday Math in kindergarten- not that he's not good at math.

[purplesky]

The sad thing is that most of the schools in the suburbs teach Everday Math --even the "good" schools in the wealthier areas. When I was looking for a school that didn't teach it, I was left with a few districts in Mundelein, Des Plaines, Barrington, and North Chicago.

My son is very advanced in math, but the way they jump from topic to topic without any real concept building is frustrating. Last year he went from multiplication to converting fractions into decimals instead of a natural progression of 2 and 3 digit multiplication, followed by division.

I now do math with him at home. Mammoth Math is a good program that you can download for about $15 a year, has many worksheets and builds on concepts. Math Expressions is also a good program (my coworker has a son who attends a Des Plaines school). There are also many free worksheets you can download.

[linicx]

This is not directed toward a Chicabo or Chicago suburb school.

In the last few years I've had reason to be involved with K-6 education. I was appalled at the disinterest of the teachers and the politics played against the best interest of four students in one family. The mother was under-education and the father worked out of town all week. The principal decided she did not want the children in her school. They wee never tested; they were treated unfairly, and three quit school before they were 15 years of age. And this principal was given a "teacher of the year" award.

What the principal did, with the blessing of the Superintendent, was to artfully drum the indigient, ADD, Autistic, slow learners and others who lived on the "wong side of the tracks" out of her school. Her students all had bright shiny faces, designer clothes and a father who was a VIP in that town. The Shcool Board was worse.

Sadly,. if you are not prepared to fight for your child's right to have a good education he may not get a very good one.

Personally, the more I read about schools in America, the more I am inclined to believe the best education any child can get is at home.
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[chet everett]

I am not as big a believer in The Atlantic Monthly as I once was, but the above whines of what is arguably the best researched, most comprehensive attempt to improve the quality of mathematics education and grow the depth of knowledge of teachers belies the fact that Americans are pretty pathetic when it comes to accepting inferior results -- Your Child Left Behind - Magazine - The Atlantic

I truly doubt parents that themselves are ill equipped to grasp more than basic math will do much to champion the development of deeper, broader knowledge in that area...