Encinitas Schools: Mission Estancia Elementary vs. St. John's (San Diego, Oceanside: new home, catholic schools)

[mss1207]

We are moving from the East coast where public schools are relatively conservative and many compete with the private schools (it's more a preference and social status thing then a real difference). Based on the location of our new home our choices for Elementary school are Mission Estancia as the public option or St. John's Catholic school as the private option. We've heard fantastic things about St. John's in general, but would appreciate hearing from parents who have children there - specifically around any special programs for accelerated children and/or how the school deals with children that may be a little ahead of the game. I know the public schools generally have GATE programs, but most private schools do not. On the public front, can anyone tell me if the pledge of allegiance is still allowed? And how some of the recent legislation enacted may impact when and how sexual orientation is introduced in elementary school. I was told text books are being rewritten to introduce this as early as kindergarten. We have never dealt with these sorts of issues out here on the East Coast, so would appreciate your candor. We would like to know the real deal and not the hype the media puts out. Thank you...

[carlsbadbruin]

Hello,

Welcome to the west coast! I grew up in NYC. I would call St. John's and ask them how they handle gifted children. Since they want your tuition money, I would assume they would somehow customize the curriculum for your child, so that he/she is challenged. I found the "gate" program in public schools was not enough for my child (we were in the Encinitas disctrict, too, but have since moved to Carlsbad), so I am homeschooling. I may consider private school for high school. Good luck!

[aztoga]

First, I am not a San Diegoan but I have had my children in a Catholic school here in Arizona for a long time. I have to disagree with the previous poster with the statement that St. John's would customize the curriculum for a child. Typically, Catholic schools do not have the resources to make modifications like that.

Here in AZ, Catholic schools curriculum is said to be about one year ahead of public schools. Children are tested coming into kindergarten to be sure that everyone is at about the same ability level. The population is pretty homogenous too. There isn't any room for kids with special needs or gifts. (I say this as a parent of a dyslexic child who struggled in Catholic schools) Still, I love the Catholic school environment and will be taking a look at them if and when we move to the area in a few months.

I don't know about California schools, but one suggestion would be to look at the CA Dept of Ed website. Look at their grade level standards. Do the same by going to the Catholic Diocesan website in San Diego. Hopefully they have a link to their school standards.

Please do post again to let us know if you found any helpful info!!

Best of luck.

[Olivenhain]

Mission Estancia has an excellent reputation. There are several good private schools as well, but why bother? We have had our kids in both elite private schools, and now public. (middle and now high school) Our experience is that the private schools are not superior academically, and perhaps inferior in several cases. Mostly it seems to be an ego thing for the little darling's parents. After all, who doesn't think their child is just the smartest? Keep in mind, I'm referring to local Encinitas/Solana Beach/Del Mar/ RSF schools. If I lived in San Marcos/Vista/Escondido/Oceanside, we wouldn't even consider the public schools there. As far as rumors of the pledge of allegiance, etc.; false, but check for yourself with the actual school. It's a bit of a stretch to imagine homosexuality being taught in kindergarten, but... California schools are largely controlled by the leftist teacher's union.

Homeschooling is always a valid option. It also allows you a great deal of time to shape your kids values yourself, rather than by folks with a philosophy quite possibly counter to your own.

[cobmw]

You might take a look at The Classical Academy in Escondido. They are a charter school offering a traditional curriculum including Latin in elementary school. Their K-8 campus is very nice. And their high school is the number one performing school in north San Diego county.

I'm sure that they would encourage patriotic behavior as they are a traditional thinking group of people. Charter schools are not required to use teachers who belong to the teacher's union. So far as avoiding the homosexual indoctrination I don't know how successful you will be in any CA school. Even charter schools may be required to put that into their curriculum.

[South Carlsbad]

I would choose Mission Estancia over St. John's. I think that Mission Estancia would offer more challenging coursework and have a wider breadth of opportunity than St. John's offers. I have not seen that many academically impressionable children come from St. John's, but I have seen that the parents are generally happy with it.