Posted on 04/11/2011 7:33:59 AM PDT by ConjunctionJunction
Looks like we're moving to Washington this summer. What are the public schools like there (elementary schools, in particular)? Do they have a lot of social engineering?
We're trying to decide if we should look into private schools or homeschooling instead.
Thanks in advance!
Homeschooling is your best option unless you can afford private. Public school should be your last choice.
I was raised here and went to college in Washington. I received a good, not great, education. After being moved around the country we made our way back here to finish raising our kids. 12, 10 & 7 at the time. We initially put them in the public school. Shortly we brought them home to homeschool. Finally, I and 3 other fathers started our own private school, Paideia Classical School in Friday Harbor. That was 10 years ago and though very difficult and not for everyone, it was the best thing I could have done. At least my youngest was able to benefit from it.
Washington is a very liberal State and suffers from many of the same things that you read about at schools back east. There are very few public school systems that will suit you if you are conservative or worse yet, Christian. Just my $.02.
Washington ping
Depends of the area of WA state and the local school district, even the principal. We homeschool and have one in a charter school.
What part of Washington State? Western (especially urban Puget Sound) Washington and Eastern Washington (flyover country) are two completely different cultures. You should be able to guess the character of each.
We’ll be moving to the Fort Lewis area. I’m just trying to get a feel for the schools. We’ve been pretty happy with our current school’s approach, although they do use the Everyday Math (new new math LOL!) program.
Somewhere in the Fort Lewis area. I’m guessing it’s fairly liberal because it’s between Tacoma and Olympia?
Its on the N side of Tacoma, but Christian Faith School would be an excellent choice.
http://www.christianfaithschool.com/
Stay out of Lacey, maybe check out Yelm. depends on the school. I hear the high school in Yelm is pretty good. Always go private if you can. Towns around Fort lewiss are pretty liberal.
Avoid public schools if at all possible.
If you’re moving to western Washington, this becomes even more crucial.
A summer break is a great time to get the homeschool train moving. I recommend AlphaOmega’s LifePac curriculum and the EdHelper.com website. One of the great things about LifePacs is that you can buy an assessment test that will tell you exactly where in their curriculum you should be starting your kids. Then each child works in a workbook for each of 5 subjects (4 if you aren’t teaching Bible) and continues working through the books with adult supervision until they’ve completed the grade. This allows a pretty structured program while allowing children to work at their own pace and even have different grade levels in different subjects.
EdHelper’s good if you’re trying to do things on a very inexpensive basis (the resource pool at the site is just enormous and it only costs $20 a year), but it’s not as well orgaized and you have to evaluate the materials carefully because they’re written mainly by public school teachers.
We moved here about two years ago from Pennsylvania. The schools are waay better than PA. Both of my children are in advanced classes. There are very few minority children in our district. We live in western WA. Two teachers at my children’s elementary school are also Sunday School teachers at my church. I have lived in LA, Tex, PA, and now Washington, and I consider the schools here to be the best I have seen.
Where in WA state are you moving? If you are moving to the Seattle area, homeschooling would be best. The Puget Sound area is very left-wing. The eastern side of the state can be more conservative.
Somewhere in the Fort Lewis area. Trying to find out if there are any school districts we should look for or avoid. So far, it looks like stay away from Tacoma and Lacey public schools.
The school quit using it after about two-three years because the 7-8th grade teachers began complaining that the kids were unprepared for the math that was being taught in those grades. Prior to Everyday Math, these kids were prepared.
That’s crazy. They will send Everyday Math homework home sometimes, and I can’t even figure out what they’re asking!
The difference between homeschooling and Seattle schools? Or the difference between Puget Sounds schools vs. Seattle schools? Sorry, just trying to understand what you mean.
Which program did you use to homeschool?
“We moved here about two years ago from Pennsylvania. The schools are waay better than PA. Both of my children are in advanced classes. There are very few minority children in our district.”
Wow, what a great selling point.
Then, it would be like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, as I would complain about the non-sensical curriculum that this book had and be told, very enthusiastically, that --- "oh, no, it spirals into learning", or some such nonsense.
My husband calls me a "practical learner" (I need to see a purpose to what I am being asked to learn). Well, I'm watching my daughter do nonsense, and then seeing her be unable to perform the most basic math. Sorry, this is a crappy math system.
Fortunately, because we were in a Catholic school system, the principal could get rid of this program. In the public schools, they will just keep this stuff, it doesn't matter that no kid is learning math.
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