This may the most controversial post I write and I don't really intend it to be because I know that there is no "one size fits all" answer for every kid and every family. Among my friends I know families who have made every school choice available: homeschool, private school, neighborhood public school, out of district public school, public traditional school and charter schools. I even know some families that have different options for different kids (ex: one child in public school and one in private school). I know every family has made the decisions they have for specific reasons and many feel they are called to make the decisions they have regarding their child's education. To me this isn't a right/wrong issue . . . it's a choice.
Here in Arizona we have a lot of freedom when it comes to school choice. Basically, as long as there is room in a school, any student can apply for open enrollment at whatever public school they want. Also, because of the way our charter school laws are written there are A LOT of choices for those. It's almost mind boggling how many choices there are when it comes to the best school for your children.
Our oldest started Kindergarten in August so we've made our first venture into school this year (aside from the 2 years of preschool he had at a church preschool) so my husband and I are well versed in the choices available to us. After weighing our options here's why we made the decisions we did:
a) We bought our house with the school in mind. This is definitely NOT our dream house and there are things we'd change (including what we get for our money by living here), but we chose this neighborhood specifically for the schools.
b) We want our kids school friends to be their neighborhood friends. We go to church about 25 miles from our home and so our kids' church friends don't live close enough to get together frequently. We want to be able to have our kids' school friends over, and for our kids to hang out with their school friends in the neighborhood, without it requiring major driving on behalf of either set of parents.
c) We want our kids to get used to being "in the world". We want our kids to be under our roof, where we can help them with their struggles, when they are exposed to ideas that may not necessarily be taught in our home. We feel that they're going to have to eventually enter the "real world" and we want to be able to walk along side them, and guide them, as they realize what it means to follow Jesus in our culture.
d) We want our kids to be salt and light to the world around them and we feel if they are only around people who believe the same way we do they won't be building relationships and be able to introduce their friends to Jesus. I was an education major and had planned on teaching in a public school. It's a very long story as to why I never taught, aside from my student teaching, but my reasons for wanting to teach in a public school are the same reasons I want my kids to attend one. It's no secret that our schools can be a very dark place and that's why Jesus has told us to be a light to the world. If all the light (Christian students and teachers) are removed from the public schools they will be even darker and we want to be part of the illumination that occurs.
e) We are aware that there may be things taught, or said, that are in direct opposition to our belief system. When this happens (because I know it will at some point) we are going to use it as a teachable moment for our kids about standing up for what is right.
These are just some of the reasons we've made the decision to send our son (and eventually our daughter) to the neighborhood school. As with all things related to parenting, the situation is fluid and we're not ruling out another option down the road, but this is where we are right now. If circumstances change and we feel it becomes necessary to re-evaluate our decision we will and we'll be confident that that is the best decision for our child at the time.
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