How are we here already?

The private school thing has been a discussion in our house pretty much since Jacob was born.  I went to private school from Kindergarten through 8th grade, but public high school.  Craig was nearly opposite--he had a stint or two as a kid, but high school marked his sustained private school experience.  As such, we've had different perspectives on it all along.  I got through public high school just fine and still got into a good college, I argued.  Craig countered with how important his experience was for getting his academics on track after some challenging public school experiences.  We could go back and forth on pros and cons forever.

Our district isn't great.  It's fine, particularly for the ages the kids are at now, but admittedly the middle and high school options aren't ideal.  Could a typical student get through just fine?  Sure, and we've known many who have.  It's not like it's a city district, but it does border it, and due to the lower cost of living on our side of town, it tends to be a first stop for those looking to escape the city.  As a result, it's a large, diverse, and sometimes challenging district with relatively low ratings.  But, so far it's been fine for us.  So, for the last many years, we've left our discussion at, "Well, when he gets to that age, we'll see what kind of student he is and make a decision then."  Little did we know a few years ago that private high schools here start with middle school programs at sixth grade.  So, if he's going to change schools and be in a high school building anyway, then maybe he should only have to make that transition once.  So, here we are.  The time to decide has come.

It turns out that private school does seem like a better fit for Jacob.  He's done fine in public school thus far, but as he gets older and the work gets more demanding, I think he'll do better with a smaller setting, closer relationships with teachers, and a good moral compass.  He needs challenging academics and strong sports.  Ultimately, I just think he needs to be "seen", and the odds of that are greater in private school.

Initially Jacob wanted to go to Aquinas, which has a fantastic sports program in addition to great academics.  They have gorgeous football/lacrosse field, too.  But it appeared something as simple as khaki pants (gasp) as part of the uniform were enough to make him leery, and since his lacrosse obsession has given way to basketball, he shifted to Bishop Kearney, a smaller school.  Neither school is particularly convenient to where we live, but people clearly make it work across the county, and busing is available (although it will likely make for an early morning).  I don't particularly savor the thought of those early mornings, or buying uniforms, or paying tuition, but deep down it feels like this is something we need to do for him.  And if all else fails, we give it time and change to something else.

When I was in college, if you wanted to live off campus you had to start securing your housing the prior fall.  Thinking that far ahead (or dealing with all that extra craziness in general) never appealed to me, hence why we lived in dorms for four years (also, dining halls and bathroom cleaners).  Similarly, private school involves a heck of a lot more advance preparation than public, but avoidance and procrastination are not an option this time around, so already we're making plans.  Fortunately I happened to see an ad on Facebook last week for an open house at Bishop Kearney on Sunday, so I immediately added that to our calendar.  I then figured I should also check on Aquinas, and sure enough, theirs is set for this coming Sunday, so once again, our Sunday will be spent touring since we need a means of comparison.

The Bishop Kearney open house was interesting.  Craig has a couple connections at the school from things he's done there through work, so it's comforting to have some eyes on the "inside" as we enter the middle school era.  The school is older--a typical mid-century high school building with select, minimal updates.  Not in a bad way, mind you, just very simple and unflashy.  Jacob still liked the gym despite its age, which was a big win.  We met some teachers during the course of the tour who all seemed really nice.  The entire sixth grade is smaller than the number of kids in Jacob's classroom (one of four or five in the grade) right now, which was a pleasant surprise.  They all stick pretty close together that first year, then have the opportunity in 7th grade to branch out to advanced classes if needed, which Jacob was happy to hear because he gets bored easily right now.  His standardized test scores in math came in better than 90% of the state, so I'd have to think he'd be a candidate for moving up.  Remember when his low math grade in 3rd grade was the thing that moved us to start medication?  Yeah, that's why. 

What was especially intriguing to all of us was that each student is assigned to one of four "houses" within the school, to give them a smaller "family" to help get them accustomed to the school.  They stick with that house through graduation.  Everyone seemed very proud of their house and somehow it doesn't seem competitive or negative in any way, so that was cool.  Jacob really liked the sound of that a lot to help get settled.  We saw some classrooms, the chapel, the cafeteria, the band room, and a few other things--including a science teacher doing some really fun experiments!  We also got a tour of their dorms, which are on the top floor and exclusively for the very competitive girls' hockey team that draws players from across the continent.  The space was beautiful, with rooms twice the size of my college dorm rooms.  They had a workout facility, dining room (with chef), and coaches' offices right down the hall.  It was really awesome.  Jacob wants to make friends with them someday, but I warned him that there is probably no chance that boys are ever allowed up there!

While the school doesn't seem to have lots of bells and whistles (well, aside from a program that gives everyone a laptop in 8th grade that's theirs to keep upon graduation), we really liked it a lot.  It seemed very warm and the students seem happy.  I think it would build great character in Jacob with the community service and other programs they have.  The jury's still out on where sports would fit in for him, but hopefully that would be an opportunity for him, too.  And just in case basketball doesn't work out, we found out that they're hopefully starting a boys' lacrosse team soon, which would take care of one of our initial concerns when he first wanted to go there.

So, I think if we committed tomorrow, he'd be thrilled.  It really is his top choice.  We have the entrance exam on December 1, so that's coming quickly.  But coming sooner is the open house at Aquinas, choice #2.  My prediction is that the facilities will be much nicer (which will be tough for Jacob to say no to), but that the social situation won't be as enticing as BK.  That's just a guess, and maybe they will surprise us.  AQ is a really good school and they've had some good philanthropic support, but I've never gotten the warm fuzzy vibe, so we'll see.  He'd honestly be lucky to go to either, so it's really just about finding the best fit.  And who knows, maybe it's laying the groundwork for Carter's future, too!

It'll be an interesting journey, to say the least.