Private school

The more we think about it, and the more Thak hears about what I've been dealing with when it comes to the public school we're zoned for, the more convinced he becomes that we need to transfer Erin to a private school.

Today, we looked into the local offering of such things. We originally were looking mostly at Catholic schools because I had thought there were a few on our side of town, and as private schools go, Catholic schools tend to be just slightly more affordable. Plus, I trust the quality of education in Catholic schools. Unfortunately, though, all the Catholic elementary schools were practically on the opposite side of town, and when you live in a city of 2 million people, the other side of town is very far, and the gas to get there every day, twice a day, would really add up, especially when you consider that we'd be paying tuition on top of that. We need something at least within a 20 minute drive. We found two which met our criteria.

There is the Radford School, which frankly intimidates me slightly because it seems VERY upscale and sort of one of those "tell us why your kid is the next great thing for NASA" types of schools, but I won't let that keep us from applying. The 8:1 student/teacher ratio makes it worth it. Plus, they have a heavy focus on math, which is Erin's strongest area. The tuition is a bit steep, and there was no mention of financial aid being available, but we'd find a way. If we just paid for it with the profit from my business, we could do it. We just wouldn't have the fun budget we have now. Oh well.

The other one we liked was St. Clement's Episcopal. They, again, have a very low ratio of students to teachers, and we just got a good feeling from the place. They also offer financial aid. I don't know if we'd get any, but we might, especially this year since our taxable income last year was really low since Thak was deployed for the majority of the year. (They go off most recent tax returns.) It certainly wouldn't hurt to apply.

Honestly, from my perspective, I liked St. Clement's the best. We're going to have to take campus tours of both, and go through the interviewing process, which is rather difficult considering Thak's work schedule, but I'm sure we can figure it out.

Private school, huh? Who knew it would come to this... I hope this is the right choice.