I am in the midst of gathering information to enroll my oldest daughter in kindergarten. Our original plan was to enroll her in the Gifted and Talented Academy available through our public school system (we will probably still do this) but after discussing this with several people they have suggested either private or part time private kindergarten as an option. We have looked into both a little bit and unfortunately neither option sounds feasible to use for several reasons. Besides the money issue (Tuition between $6-8 K per year - not including fees and electives) there are only 2-3 options even remotely near us - we would need to drive almost 45 minutes each way to attend any other schools. Full time private school is not completely out of the questions but would still need afterschool care and have found none so far that will pick up from the 2 we have looked at. Part Time private school seemed appealing but both my husband and I work full time and we have another child 3 years younger. The program would require us to "home school" the selected curriculum 3 days a week while she attends classes the other 2 days. I do not know that I will have the necessary time needed to take part in this program. If you have looked into this and have more information please let me know so that I may make an informed decision. My husband and I both attended and graduated from public school and we both have college degrees and good jobs so we have no qualms with sending our kids to public school.
Both of my kids attended Hillside Academy in Garland from Kindergarten through 5th grade and we were VERY pleased. If your child qualifies for the Garland gifted and talented program, then I would definitely go for it. I don't think you can get a better education even in private school. Also, the middle school Austin Academy is excellent. Not as pleased with high school though. Save your money for college!
If a program that meets your daughter's needs is available through the public school, then I wouldn't spend the money or go through the hassle of the private school options you have. Where we live we did not have a good public school option so we chose a private school that we are extremely happy with. If the public school would have offered a program or curriculum to meet my daughter's needs, I definitely would have gone that route. Good luck!
I don't know where you live but Good Shepherd Catholic School is a private school with very good teachers and for one child is not outrageously expensive. They also have an after school care program that lasts until 6 (I think). Please check it out, even if you are not Catholic. The school community is very close knit and they do alot of fun things thoughout the year (i.e. Breakfast with Santa, Casino Night, Fall Carnival etc.)
Vista Academy in Garland may be a great fit for you, it is tuition free and 5 days a week, the advantage over traditional public school is more individualized instruction and smaller class sizes. My daughter attends one of their other locations and we love it. She has computers twice a day for 30 minutes so 1 hour of computers each day, this is way more than public schools offer.
I think their website is responsiveed.com. Good luck with your decision and if you really want to do Coram Deo and homeschool I can help you earn income at home so you can have the option, visit workathomeunited.com/jobs to request more information. I love being home with my children and still earning a great income on a flexible part time basis without having to sell products or have home parties.
Blessings to you and your family :)
Not sure which PT schools you have looked at, but http://www.covenantdallas.com/default.aspx does not require a homeschool portion. Kindergarten is PT MWF or TTH. They are at LBJ and Coit. And BTW, their application is due this Friday. :-)
If your public school system is at least half-way decent, and their gifted program meets your daughter's needs, I would just go with that. As long as the local public schools are not horrible, your child will do just fine as long as you are an involved parent - the more involved you are, the better. It's the kids whose parents are not involved and don't make their kids education a priority who sometimes tend to flounder. We are going through the same debate ourselves, but both myself and my brother went through the same public school system that my DD would go through and we did more than fine (I am a veterinarian and my brother has a master's and is a chemical engineer working in R & D for Ford). You can also start with the public school and if it becomes apparent that your daughter would be better off in a private school, you can always switch later.
