RanchGirl Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 We are having trouble deciding between homeschooling and private school for high school. There are so many different pros and cons for both. Homeschooling has been very successful for my boys, but my oldest wants to continue with baseball and we don't think he'll get a fair chance on the local public school baseball team as a homeschooler (although our state does allow it). We can afford the tuition, but there will be sacrifices, not the least of which is family time and family vacations. My wonderful, happy, easy-going children are fine with either option. Which is great but doesn't help in decision-making at all. If anyone has any advice, I would love to hear it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Well, if it helps, we have been homeschooling our dd since 2nd grade, and have enrolled her in 8th grade this fall at a private school. We plan on having her there through high school graduation. Here are our reasons: 1. She is an only child and has outgrown the neighbors as playmates (the oldest is 4 years younger). 2. I would love for someone else to teach her science. I hate it, and that's not fair to her. I think she could love science if it was taught by someone with genuine love for the subject. 3. I would love to outsource math, even though it is my strong area. It is not hers, by any means. And it is very difficult to teach her this subject. I would rather be the re-teacher or homework helper. 4. She can participate in any and all sports. The school is small and everyone is welcome in sports. 5. It is a classical school, so they do the 4 year history cycle (with corresponding literature), which is what we do at home. She loves history and literature, and I'm happy to have a school that does it my way (unlike the public school). 5. I really look forward to the formal dances they have every year for the high school students. It's a bit like "cotillion" where the kids are taught formal dance lessons and such. The dresses are so pretty! 6. I'm ready for our family to be part of a larger school-based community. This school really wants parents to volunteer and be a part of things. 7. They include fine arts every year, and my dd is fine artsy. I have minimal training in any of that. Their art teacher is amazing, and they are starting a drama program, too. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 We chose to homeschool, but ds played basketball for the PS 7th-12th grade. We found that the coaches cared more about the student's athletic ability than their school status. Definitely communication was more challenging with ds not being at PS all day long. Private HS runs $15,000 per year here. We could have afforded it, but CC is free in 10th-12th grade and we chose that route. They all have their pros and cons: Academically homeschool/CC was best Athletically PS was best Socially private school probably would have been best Financially private school would have been worst I don't know how talented or passionate your ds is about baseball. I assume he's passionate if he wants to continue. If he's talented, you may find that the coach doesn't care about his school status and PS may offer better competition. If he's not so talented, you may find that he will get more playing time at the private school. Ds went to basketball camps at the Catholic HS and the coach actually pursued him a bit. We discussed competition, opportunities, scholarships with him. Eventually, the diocese said no to homeschoolers though. Ds definitely had better competition on the PS team, but scholarship opportunities (at least in basketball) have a lot to do with off season play. My son's AAU coach was actually much more important to his being offered an athletic scholarship than the PS coach was. That's not to say that the PS coach didn't help at all. He provided ds (and the other seniors) with strong competition outside the regular PS schedule. I don't know if this has been helpful or not. Hope it provides you with some food for thought. Good luck in your decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thank you perky and Sue for your thoughts and experiences, I appreciate it! Sue I think your analysis is where we are at right now, except we are not sold on the athletic experience being better at our public school. He may also continue to play for a club team in the fall/winter (I think that's similar to AAU for basketball). Also we are not expecting him to get a scholarship playing baseball, we are hoping he plays throughout high school but focuses on academics and networking (via internship, volunteering, etc.) at college and maybe just plays intramural. Yikes, this is difficult!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Would the private school allow him to play as a homeschooler? I've heard there are some private schools here that allow it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 We are having trouble deciding between homeschooling and private school for high school. There are so many different pros and cons for both. Homeschooling has been very successful for my boys, but my oldest wants to continue with baseball and we don't think he'll get a fair chance on the local public school baseball team as a homeschooler (although our state does allow it). Have there been problems with homeschoolers in your district not getting a fair chance? My state just passed a bill last summer giving homeschoolers the right to play on the public school sports teams. There were some negative comments in the press right after the bill passed about homeschoolers not being able to fit in since they didn't spend all day in school with their teammates. My freshman played on the public school team this spring. Homeschooling never came up once with his fellow teammates, or with any of my conversations with the other parents. One of the teachers maintains the school's website, and I don't think this person even realizes that my son is not a student at the school. Maybe your son's experience would be similar if you decided to continue to homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_NC Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 For background, my daughter was in a public elementary, private middle and high school, and we are homeschooling for the last two years before graduation. She requested to be pulled out. We've been avid afterschoolers throughout her childhood so making the leap to homeschooling isn't' a huge stretch. Our private school was great in middle school, still pretty good last year (9th grade) and this year everything just went berserk once the kids started getting their licenses and a lot more freedom. We still believe in the school and its mission, but the student culture (and parent, to a degree) is at odds with what they are trying to achieve. I honestly don't know if its just this particular group in her school or a trend in society as a whole, but there sure seem to be a lot of entitled kids with access to large amounts of money and not a lot of supervision.I'm not sharing this to scare you off, but the trend in our area seems to be parents pulling their kids out of private to be homeschooled or go to carefully selected public schools. Having a larger group of kids to choose from can be a benefit - small school social dynamics can be tough and force kids to conform to a very narrow definition of acceptable to fit in. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2boys Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 We are having trouble deciding between homeschooling and private school for high school. There are so many different pros and cons for both. Homeschooling has been very successful for my boys, but my oldest wants to continue with baseball and we don't think he'll get a fair chance on the local public school baseball team as a homeschooler (although our state does allow it). We can afford the tuition, but there will be sacrifices, not the least of which is family time and family vacations. My wonderful, happy, easy-going children are fine with either option. Which is great but doesn't help in decision-making at all. If anyone has any advice, I would love to hear it! You only have a few years left for family time and family vacations before your oldest goes off to college. I would choose to continue homeschooling and make lots of wonderful memories together as a family while you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Thinking that he maybe might perhaps not get a fair shake on the public school team is borrowing trouble, imo. Why do you think that? Coaches want to win. Clearly talented players are going to play. Plus, it sounds like he has the option to play club ball as well. Given that, plus the fact that it doesn't sound like college ball is a huge priority, I personally would be very reluctant to change the entire family's lifestyle so one kid can play ball on a certain team. I would encourage club ball and home schooling first, with the public school team as the second option. Might the coach be harder on him? Perhaps, but he might run into a difficult coach on any team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 If academics is the motivating factor for private school, then yes. Do not let sports be a deciding factor for this. In all honesty, the high school team means very little in the grand scheme of things. Travel baseball teams abound. The major recruiting, scholarships, etc. come from these teams, the big tournaments, not the high school team. If the academic life of homeschool has worked well for your sons, then why change it? Take time and investigate travel teams in your area. There is likely one that suits the needs of your sons. Just an experienced baseball mom's two cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Thanks so much ladies for sharing your thoughts with me. I'm kind of liking the idea of staying with homeschool and his winter club team and no high school team. The added benefit is that we know that a high school team will conflict with his math program and he would have to choose between the two by the time he got to Varsity level. With a club team I don't think he'll have that conflict as they travel on weekends but don't do many weekdays during the school year. At least that's how I'm feeling today. Somedays I wouldn't mind turning over the day to day challenges of homeschooling to someone else, especially the college counselor role! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 My boys went/go (1 has graduated) a Catholic boys' high school after always being homeschooled. We found that there were very limited choices for academics and athletics for homeschooling high school for them. That was a big factor in our decision. pros: the faculty and staff. My boys have had so many wonderful Catholic men and women who are living their Faith, day in and out. They've had religious and lay people, priests, deacons, brothers, and single and married lay people. Academics: It is a very strong school academically. They have resources and expertise I don't have. Also, I was assured that their education continued when I was/ am busy caring for my DD bc of her epilepsy. Extracurriculars: music programs and clubs and sports that the boys couldn't experience elsewhere. Cons: bullies Getting cut from athletic teams The pace of classes is relentless, and the class keeps moves on whether they struggled or not. ( I know this is the nature of all schools.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Thanks everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts, I really appreciate it. We have decided to homeschool and we are excited about it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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