My oldest son graduated from Thomas Heyward Academy, the largest private school in Jasper County, where I lived for twelve years before moving to the Boro. THA was founded shortly after Brown v. Board of Education came to be applied in South Carolina, and the reason for the founding of the school can be inferred from the choice of its mascot.
Jasper County used to be about 50% black, 49% white, 1% hispanic (numbers, last time I checked, changed to about 45/45/10). THA is about 98% white. JHS is about 98% black. THA was, and is, a much better school than the Jasper County public schools, with an SAT average about three hundred points higher than Jasper High School, so I didn't have to ponder what part the large racial differences might have otherwise played in mine and my babymomma's decision to send Oldest to THA. Now I got to start thinking about it. The Lads currently attend the largest private school in Colleton County: Colleton Preparatory Academy (formerly known as John C. Calhoun Academy). I like CPA. I like the Headmaster and the office staff, and a few of the Lads' teachers. The Lads are more circumspect. They are learning. They are struggling (though not as much as I did when I was sent to private schools). The public school that they would attend if they attend public school is one of the better public schools in Colleton County. Racial mix reflects the County generally (about 50/50). My friends at the Department of Juvenile Justice say that they have very few problems from that particular school. The public schools are not academically as good as CPA. They are not abysmal (about 100 points or so better on SAT than JHS), but CPA is definitely better. Extra-curricular activities? Public schools definitely have more. They have all of the sports that CPA has, and more, and offer things like band, that CPA doesn't offer.Wonder if the boys from the band had kids?
13 comments:
I'm facing this choice myself. Forget what anyone tells you - except for me of course.
It comes down to the kids. You know them better than anyone. Where will they be more likely to excel? That's what's important. And ultimately, that's what will guide your decision.
It's looking like my children benefit most from a structured, disciplined environment focused on academic and athletic excellence.
I know, gulp. Catholic school here we come????
Yeah,I don't know. I love teaching in my Catholic school. We have more time to deal with the kids and the kids behavior than at Public School.
That said, the only reason we score higher than Public school is that most of the kids take SAT prep classes and have the kind of coin to spend on tutors. Shoot man, all those kids have tutors. SuperD in our day, we didn't know a tutor from a Four-tor!
No Catholic schools in the Boro. Got a coupla Baptist ones, but they're not renown for their high academic achievement.
So are you and Kate advocates of "school choice" for everyone?
Not as such. SC actually has a voucher law on the books. It was passed in, like, 1969, and has been declared a denial of equal protection by a federal district court (but not by the state supreme court, nor by a federal appeals court). It's never been rescinded. It's also never been funded. I actually called the Secretary of Education a few years ago and asked for my money. The response was... chilly.
I'll take that as a yes (since you asked for teh money).
and equal protection? really? you just spent a few paragraphs saying that this (white) school is better than this (black) school.
Or in Kate's case, this (Catholic) school is better than this (public) school.
John, I never said I was against getting money. And denial of equal protection of the laws? That was the Court's rationale, not mine.
There is already school choice, right? I get to send my kids wherever they will do well and learn the most. If my kids end up in a Jewish school (Tampa) or Catholic school (Co. Springs) it will be because my husband and I chose it.
Or are you asking if taxpayer's money should be taken from public schools to fund catechism or torah portions? Errr. No.
Perhaps the whole parochial school issue is why the voucher law was never funded. A district court opinion without an appeal to the Fourth Circuit or getting an opinion from the State Supreme Court struck me a odd. SC doesn't usually just accept their fate calmly.
Limited school choice in SC, if your school is graded "failing", and, effectively none in the Boro, because the you'd have to travel an hour and out of district to find better schools. Fortunately, the HS is not awful and the middle school is the least bad in the district.
Kate, taxpayers' money already supports religious education. Have you heard of the Hope Scholarship tax credit or the Lifetime Learning tax credit. Add to that the tax deduction for charities and you got a whole lot of taxpayer support for religion and religious schools.
I get to send my kids wherever they will do well and learn the most.
What choice do people without the means to pay for a private school have?
A lot of the time the only choice we have is how much time and attention we spend with the chilluns. Children whose parents are poor and poorly educated fail an awful lot. It's not fair, but Jimmy Carter told us in the 1970's that life isn't always fair.
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