Public or Montessori Kindergarten

bones said:
Everyone's kid in irvine is "way above grade level".  I don't think I've ever read a post on TI about how their kid is BELOW grade.
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LOL...I'm just speaking honestly about the situation.  Daughter is at 3rd grade reading level and 2nd grade math.  Her classmates are barely starting to read.
 
I think my kids are average but they learned better in the smaller class environments of a private (doesn't necessarily have to be Montessori) school.

There were 3 adult staff members in their class for 25 students... in public school, there are 30+ kids and 1 fulltime teacher and a part-time helper or classroom parent. That alone makes a difference in the educational experience.

And maybe it's just me, but I don't know many kids who like to go to school for 6.5 hours a day and then go home for more tutoring/work on top of their homework.

#somekidsneedtobekids
 
OCgasman said:
zubs said:
People move to Irvine to go to the great public schools.  Why would you send your kids to a private school if you live in Irvine?  You're property is very expensive partly due to the good schools.
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The hours are much more flexible in private.  Drop off at 7am and pick up at 6pm.  Some families have both parents working.  Also, you can take your kid out of private school for vacations at any time, public give you a hard time cuz attendance is tied to budget.
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You can go with afterschool programs...half the price of Montessori.  Both Rainbow Rising and CDC are excellent. 

I have experience with both Montessori and IUSD and I would say that on the whole, they're equal.  Montessori has some benefits while IUSD has other benefits.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I think my kids are average but they learned better in the smaller class environments of a private (doesn't necessarily have to be Montessori) school.

There were 3 adult staff members in their class for 25 students... in public school, there are 30+ kids and 1 fulltime teacher and a part-time helper or classroom parent. That alone makes a difference in the educational experience.

And maybe it's just me, but I don't know many kids who like to go to school for 6.5 hours a day and then go home for more tutoring/work on top of their homework.

#somekidsneedtobekids
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It depends on the kid...some kids like to be challenged while others don't.  You have to gauge where your kids are at.  My daughter loves to read so I don't even tell her to do that.  We kinda push her on math but everything is left up to her.

My experience in Montessori is basically one teacher and an aide.  IUSD has one teacher and volunteers.  Also, Kindergarten is 3.5 hours a day. 

Montessori stresses group play and allowing kids to find their own level/skills.  Teachers are there to guide but not to dictate where the kids should go.  Public schools are more about instruction and lessons.  It is definitely true that some kids are better in a private school setting but others may benefit from a "stricter" setting.  Again, YMMV. 
 
O.K., I'll begin the trend then.  :p  I must have the only three Asian kids that aren't good in math and sciences.  :'(

bones said:
Everyone's kid in irvine is "way above grade level".  I don't think I've ever read a post on TI about how their kid is BELOW grade.
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We were trying to get our daughters in full-day Kindergarten in WA state.  It was part of the public curriculum but you had to snag the few coveted slots.  Hence, I tented out the night before (with many other parents) in a snow storm to get two slots (out of 20) for my twin girls.  :p  But, we moved down here just before school started.  I'm kind of glad we didn't put them through that since our girls probably weren't emotionally ready for that.

irvinehomeowner said:
And maybe it's just me, but I don't know many kids who like to go to school for 6.5 hours a day and then go home for more tutoring/work on top of their homework.
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I compared the cost of all-day afterschool care for public K with the cost of a  private K + afterschool care recommended by a friend (Catholic school/not Montessori) - the private K was actually cheaper, has a lower student to teacher ratio and longer school hours.  I was surprised at this.  What are some of the good private schools in Orange County near Irvine?
 
moonchild508 said:
I compared the cost of all-day afterschool care for public K with the cost of a  private K + afterschool care recommended by a friend (Catholic school/not Montessori) - the private K was actually cheaper, has a lower student to teacher ratio and longer school hours.  I was surprised at this.  What are some of the good private schools in Orange County near Irvine?
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Good question. I would be interested to know as well. My limited research shows me that the elementary private schools near irvine are all pretty muddled. There's really no clear choices. The private high school landscape gets more clear.  For elem, I have friends that send their kids to st.john and Serra (both in rsm) and love it. I have friends who go to fairmont and st Margaret's (Sjc) and also love it. But then you read about it on other forums/review sites/ask other people and the opinions are all over the map. 
 
moonchild508 said:
I compared the cost of all-day afterschool care for public K with the cost of a  private K + afterschool care recommended by a friend (Catholic school/not Montessori) - the private K was actually cheaper, has a lower student to teacher ratio and longer school hours.  I was surprised at this.  What are some of the good private schools in Orange County near Irvine?
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In Irvine?  All day care for Rainbow Rising is about $690 a month.  Most Montessori are double that...some are almost triple that.
 
There are two private Catholic schools in Tustin, St. Jeanne De Lestonnac and St. Cecilias.

I believe tuition for both is about $600-$700 depending on grade. After school care runs about $200-$250 depending on morning/afternoons and which school. You also have to take into account the registration fee (~$700) and also other obligatory donations (usually another $1000/year)... so maybe $900-$1000 per month all in.

As for Montessori, last time we paid, it was ~$1100/month, but that included a hot lunch and all day care (morning+afternoon).

I think the LePort is on the high side, for primary grade and after school care, you are looking at about $1500:
http://leportschools.com/documents/applications/preschool-application-irvine.pdf

Maybe be qwertessori can tell us how much Milestone Montessori is.
 
Milestone Montessori preschool for 3-5 year olds is 1,084 + 160 for before and after school care. Kinder and elementary through third grade is 1,132 + 160 for before and after school care
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Also, I didn't realize that the new one off of Alton/Culver is actually a Chinese Immersion LePort... so FCBs only.
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Apparently the preschool (3-6) is like half fcbs. Other half is a good mix of whites, non-chinese asian, hapas, Persians, etc. 
 
bones said:
irvinehomeowner said:
So Mandarin is the new Spanish?
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Or is korean the new mandarin which was the new Spanish? K-8 korean immersion schools FTW!
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You don't really need immersion Korean...Korean is pretty easily to learn.  Mandarin and Chinese on the other hand is incredibly difficult to learn..and nearly impossible to master  without being in an immersion environment.
 
Bones - the private K my friend told me about is St. John in Costa Mesa.  Not sure if it's affiliated with the one in RSM.

IHO - What are these donations that everyone mentions?  Sounds like public schools and private schools both ask for donations, but not the Montessori schools.  The Montessori that my daughter attends right now charges $1100 per month for tuition and afternoon daycare, meals NOT included.  St John's tuition and afterschool care is a little less than $700 per month.  Afterschool care at our public K is $725 (2014 pricing).  We have to pay annual registration and other misc fees in all these different schools/afterschool care regardless where we go.

Socially, does it make a big difference if our kids don't go to the same school as the neighborhood kids?  Right now the kids in our neighborhood are young and the parents/kids don't really socialize that much, probably due to the busy schedule of the dual income families.  Does this change much once they grow older?
 
moonchild508 said:
Bones - the private K my friend told me about is St. John in Costa Mesa.  Not sure if it's affiliated with the one in RSM.

IHO - What are these donations that everyone mentions?  Sounds like public schools and private schools both ask for donations, but not the Montessori schools.  The Montessori that my daughter attends right now charges $1100 per month for tuition and afternoon daycare, meals NOT included.  St John's tuition and afterschool care is a little less than $700 per month.  Afterschool care at our public K is $725 (2014 pricing).  We have to pay annual registration and other misc fees in all these different schools/afterschool care regardless where we go.

Socially, does it make a big difference if our kids don't go to the same school as the neighborhood kids?  Right now the kids in our neighborhood are young and the parents/kids don't really socialize that much, probably due to the busy schedule of the dual income families.  Does this change much once they grow older?
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I think it depends...if your kid do sports and other activities, they'll probably end up with those kids as friends.  Going to a school local to you is helpful with playing at the local parks.
 
moonchild508 said:
IHO - What are these donations that everyone mentions?  Sounds like public schools and private schools both ask for donations, but not the Montessori schools.  The Montessori that my daughter attends right now charges $1100 per month for tuition and afternoon daycare, meals NOT included.  St John's tuition and afterschool care is a little less than $700 per month.  Afterschool care at our public K is $725 (2014 pricing).  We have to pay annual registration and other misc fees in all these different schools/afterschool care regardless where we go.
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For most faith-based schools, donations are made in service hours or money. Usually there is a minimum that varies by school. Montessori, from what I've seen, does not do donations. Some private schools also do a lot of fund raising (candy sales, jogathons, etc) but that depends on the school and location.

As for reg fees, if you look at the websites for St. Jeanne and St. Cecilia, the registration (or family) fee is $700. I don't think other schools charge that high.
Socially, does it make a big difference if our kids don't go to the same school as the neighborhood kids?  Right now the kids in our neighborhood are young and the parents/kids don't really socialize that much, probably due to the busy schedule of the dual income families.  Does this change much once they grow older?
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I think this depends on you and your kids.

I didn't think it was that big a deal but now that my kids are in public school, it would have probably been more beneficial for them to have neighborhood kids and school friends overlap. Part of it was our issue too because we moved 4 times in the last decade or so... but I do think having neighborhood besties is helpful both in friendships and parental backup support.

You could get lucky and have kids in your private school who also live close to you... but that's usually the exception.
 
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