Is it worth it to explore private schools? (Dallas, Richardson: daycare, house)

[Aggielina]

All along I've planned to send my kids to public schools, mostly because of financial reasons. As such, we bought a house zoned to what I feel is an up-and-coming elementary school in RISD.

Despite that, a big part of me is curious to know if my kid could get accepted to a good private school. He has another year before kindergarten. A part-time montessori or similar program is out of the question for now because my spouse and I both work. So he would need to start in kinder.

So my question is, should I pursue my curiosity just to see if he could get in, knowing full well that we probably can't afford it should tuition exceed $12K a year, which I assume it will? We also have a 1-year-old. I don't think my older son is genius level, but he's definitely bright. What I think is most exceptional about him is that his emotional/social skills seem high for a four-year-old. His daycare/pre-K teacher says his empathy level is off the charts.

Should I bother looking into it, or stick with the original plan, which I'm completely happy with? I wonder if down the road I'll regret not looking into other options. I would have loved to have gone to a good private school when I was a kid (I was very academically focused) but my parents didn't have the money, nor were there any good ones within a reasonable commute.

Private school also would mean that I would have to keep working and set aside my hope of being a SAHM.

I'd appreciate input from those who have been there. I have so many mixed thoughts about this!

[Vintage Life]

Yes, there is always worth in exploring your options. Go for it!

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by Aggielina

As such, we bought a house zoned to what I feel is an up-and-coming elementary school in RISD.

What is RISD? Are you talking Richardson ISD? What's "up and coming" as those schools have all been established for some time.

Are you talking Rockwall? Roanoke? Rowlett is part of GISD... no other single word R city names in the area...

[lakeside15]

Other than Catholic schools, I'm not aware of any private schools in Dallas that have tuition under $12k. If you're ok with Catholic schools, St. Monica and St. Rita are very good and may be worth a look.

[Aggielina]

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

What is RISD? Are you talking Richardson ISD? What's "up and coming" as those schools have all been established for some time.

Are you talking Rockwall? Roanoke? Rowlett is part of GISD... no other single word R city names in the area...

Sorry, I should have specified. Richardson, Prestonwood Elementary. And I said up and coming because it's not one of the elementary schools that people seem to seek out the most, i.e. Brentfield, Canyon Creek, etc. But the neighborhood is changing a lot with new families and it has a ton of community support. I originally wrote a long paragraph about it but decided that was beside the point of my question.

[BLDSoon]

Public school is ALWAYS an option.

When all else fails, there is public school.

When you've taken all possible paths in education and they have all failed (or not) for whatever reason... there's always public school.

When you try private and find out its too much of a financial investment, there's always public school.(If your kids gets into the top 3, apply for aid. If it isn't enough or an option...there's always public school.)

When you try private and your kid hates it, there's always public school.

When you try private and YOU hate it, there's always public school.

Public schools take any and every kid, in their zone, all the time - even former private school kids...

So anyways the moral of my rant is; public school is ALWAYS an option.

On the other hand, private schools... good ones, are not, and are very particular about when (and how, and why and where) you can attend.

I say go for it.

[Aggielina]

Originally Posted by lakeside15

Other than Catholic schools, I'm not aware of any private schools in Dallas that have tuition under $12k. If you're ok with Catholic schools, St. Monica and St. Rita are very good and may be worth a look.

I'm not opposed to Catholic schools, but my Puritan ancestors might roll over in their graves, LOL! I said $12K because that's about half of what we're paying for daycare for two kids now, and if I put one in private school we'd probably want to put the other one there too when he's older, if possible. And barring a huge raise, I can't imagine paying more for private school than we already are for daycare. But there's always scholarships, right? Or is that a pipe dream?

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Aggielina

I'm not opposed to Catholic schools, but my Puritan ancestors might roll over in their graves, LOL! I said $12K because that's about half of what we're paying for daycare for two kids now, and if I put one in private school we'd probably want to put the other one there too when he's older, if possible. And barring a huge raise, I can't imagine paying more for private school than we already are for daycare. But there's always scholarships, right? Or is that a pipe dream?

If you make anywhere near $100k a year in HHI, you will not get any financial assistance to the Dallas private schools. IMO, there are very few privates that are worth paying for when you're already zoned to good public schools. 80% of those schools run in the $18-24k range for Kindergarten and go up from there. Just sticking your kid in a Catholic school because 1) it's private and 2) you can afford it is probably not a great decision....unless you visit one or more of the schools and absolutely fall in love with it as the best environment for your kid.

You have to answer the question you asked, is it worth it?

Is it worth it to continue working vs your hope of becoming a SAHM?

Is it worth it to add a commute to school/ friends/ activities into your family's life? Most of the better Catholic schools are 15-20+ minutes away from Prestonwood in traffic.

Is it worth it to sign up for the stress of $20k+ per year in tuition (2 kids) for 13 years? And remember, tuition goes UP every single year.

Is it worth it to your kid? What specifically about these schools vs your neighborhood school is going to be significantly better than your neighborhood school.


If I were zoned to good public schools, I would probably stick with that path until much further down the road. If you get to 4th or 7th grade and he is showing off the charts academic prowess, THEN evaluate private school options. Right now it sounds like he is very mature for his age - probably remarkable to his daycare because most boys are on the immature side of the curve.

[CMC_TX]

Originally Posted by Aggielina

All along I've planned to send my kids to public schools, mostly because of financial reasons. As such, we bought a house zoned to what I feel is an up-and-coming elementary school in RISD.

Despite that, a big part of me is curious to know if my kid could get accepted to a good private school. He has another year before kindergarten. A part-time montessori or similar program is out of the question for now because my spouse and I both work. So he would need to start in kinder.

So my question is, should I pursue my curiosity just to see if he could get in, knowing full well that we probably can't afford it should tuition exceed $12K a year, which I assume it will? We also have a 1-year-old. I don't think my older son is genius level, but he's definitely bright. What I think is most exceptional about him is that his emotional/social skills seem high for a four-year-old. His daycare/pre-K teacher says his empathy level is off the charts.

Should I bother looking into it, or stick with the original plan, which I'm completely happy with? I wonder if down the road I'll regret not looking into other options. I would have loved to have gone to a good private school when I was a kid (I was very academically focused) but my parents didn't have the money, nor were there any good ones within a reasonable commute.

Private school also would mean that I would have to keep working and set aside my hope of being a SAHM.

I'd appreciate input from those who have been there. I have so many mixed thoughts about this!

You might look at Grace Academy in Dallas. It's a Bible-based evangelical school that is not Catholic. It's near St. Rita and wouldn't be hard to get to from where you live in the Prestonwood ES area. Tuition is within your budget.

Many of the more prominent private schools are going to be 15k + year for elementary.

I wouldn't hesitate to consider Grace if your priority is Christian based environment and teaching or you desire a smaller environment, but I'm not sure I'd go there just for fear of the local school being bad. I'm sure RISD has mandated curriculum consistency across their schools.

As far as scholarships, that would be for academic year 2018-2019 since it's too late for this fall. Some schools do have academic scholarships, but they are very competitive. My coworker mentioned his 2 kids got need-based financial aid to attend Prestonwood Christian Academy, but they still have to come up with the remaining 80% of the tuition the financial aid doesn't cover...

[lakeside15]

From my understanding, scholarships for elementary school are typically need based (two working parents with average income will not qualify). Academic scholarships are available in limited circumstances starting at middle and high school, if your child is exceptionally bright/talented.


Tuition at most of the schools I looked at started at $25k. Catholic school tuition is around $7-11k, depending on your parishioner status.