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Mine has been at Grace Christian for the last 8 or 9 years. We've been happy both academically and socially. It's non-denominational Christian, theologically I'd put it pretty middle of the road. It does NOT get involved in political topics which was very important to me. That could be an issue with other local Privates. It's not associated with a particular church (but does currently share a parking lot with Hope on their lower campus). All schools (public and private) have plusses and minuses, and those vary greatly by child. For ours, Grace has been a good fit. They are building a new campus closer to Holly Springs in the future, which will get them out of their tight for space, awkward two location campus layout currently.
As others have said, the public school reaction to the pandemic (no desire for a political debate) drove a lot more people to Private, so wait lists are common. Apply early, get on wait lists, etc, particularly if your child is on the younger side. At least at Grace, there are usually more openings in the upper grades, than in the lower ones.
Mine has been at Grace Christian for the last 8 or 9 years. We've been happy both academically and socially. It's non-denominational Christian, theologically I'd put it pretty middle of the road. It does NOT get involved in political topics which was very important to me. That could be an issue with other local Privates. It's not associated with a particular church (but does currently share a parking lot with Hope on their lower campus). All schools (public and private) have plusses and minuses, and those vary greatly by child. For ours, Grace has been a good fit. They are building a new campus closer to Holly Springs in the future, which will get them out of their tight for space, awkward two location campus layout currently.
As others have said, the public school reaction to the pandemic (no desire for a political debate) drove a lot more people to Private, so wait lists are common. Apply early, get on wait lists, etc, particularly if your child is on the younger side. At least at Grace, there are usually more openings in the upper grades, than in the lower ones.
GRACE parent here as well. No place is perfect but we love it for our kids - seems like a nice balance of everything most would in a private Christian education. Plus, it is roughly half the price of some others which is nice.
Worked in many settings in my profession, including public schools, so when it was time for my own child to enroll, toured a lot of schools in the area (Public, Waldorf, Montessori, Private, Nature/Forest, Classical, Religious, Magnet, Charter, Hybrid, etc).
Went with homeschool initially, but time proved child needed more social interaction with same age peers than could be provided through intermittent homeschool coops, playdates, etc. Then went to public school due to cost/societal unpredictablity. HAH. Since you're not even considering it, I won't exhaust myself reliving all the negatives we experienced at our ”highly desirable” public school.
Looked again at multiple privates. Went with Thales Academy. Has been a great fit for our values/wants/child's temperment/etc. I still favor Montessori, but none within a reasonable driving distance for us were accredited. And in my observation, the ones I toured that aren't accredited are selling you an image they aren't necessarily delivering on....Get started on the application process NOW because yes, waitlists.
I agree with many others that a good many, but not all, of the pitfalls with Wake County Public schools could be addressed by breaking it up. Smaller schools/neighborhood schools. Something more personal. But don't see that happening...
As far as going to UNC-CH...remember that at the end of the day, education, like healthcare and everything else, is a business. What you child does with their classwork, the way they network, what experiences they earnestly pursue, will carry them further towards their goals and happiness than going to a particular institution. For example, Anatomy and Physiology is still the same subject whether you take it at UNC-CH or the community college---the body systems don't change based on where you took the course. And at the college level, you're teaching yourself. How does the child intend to pay their way when they are an adult on their own? (I find this is a more realistic and grounding question to ask youth as opposed to "What do you want to be?" which often is answered with something they have no experience with but merely like the image of.) Find out what institution/opportunities will give the best internships/real-life experiences in that field. And if it won't lead to gainful employment, then it's a hobby not an academic pursuit. For example, I know too many biology majors who have ended up working retail, some because they couldn't find work, some because the pay and working conditions were better at the mall! (I think working fast food is respectful employment, but you probably don't want to go into debt pursuing an education that leads there).
Last edited by teddy_clark; 12-03-2023 at 02:41 PM..
Thank you for the responses. I will look into all the schools mentioned. I was hoping to maybe hear from families who have had kids in area privates. Our family has graduates from CH, State and Duke and I am very aware how competitive it is, the same with top TX universities.
As for the good student comment, our child is an A honor student and college choice not driving relo decision. The much lower cost of privates is a bonus compared to Houston where 2nd tier is 20-25k/year.
I’ve had kids in private for almost 10 years although not a Christian school as such. Do you have specific questions ?
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