Choosing the Right School

By Contributing Writer: Kim Wilhite of Oregon

We all want what is best for our children and choosing the right schooling is one of those things that will keep a mom up at night. When it came time for my oldest son to start kindergarten, I didn't know what to do or what was best for him. I looked into every option possible to make sure we were putting him in a school that met his needs, as well as our family's needs.

We felt it was very important to choose a school that was safe, had a low workload (little to no homework), a clean campus and small class sizes. Something else that weighed heavy on us was time. We wanted to be involved in our son's education and his daily life and didn't feel public school met that need for us. Sending him to kindergarten for 30 hours per week was daunting., I mean, this was the kid that got tired after playing for an hour at the park. I didn't want my little guy to be coming home exhausted and with 45 minutes of homework. I wanted to be able to play with him and teach him things.

So, the search began...

We looked at a private school, a Montessori school, a charter school and also considered homeschooling. We were pretty bummed when we toured the private school. The prices were high, while the campus was underwhelming.  The Montessori school seemed like a good fit for us because they offered the option to choose between three and five days per week attendance. We really liked the idea of being able to teach him for two days per week, while still being able to socialize him at school for the other three. Unfortunately, we were also disappointed when we toured the Montessori school. The campus was dirty and the classroom was complete chaos. Our son likes organization and learns better in a quiet and calm environment. The lack of structure at this school just wasn't a good fit. 

We were now left with the choice to home school or send him to a charter school. I wanted to home school over everything else, but I had this lingering feeling that he needed to be able to make friends and build a life outside of his parents and little brother (as hard as it would be to let him go). That is when I messaged a local mom group for advise on charter schools in the area. I also verbalized the idea that I was also considering homeschooling. 

I got a lot of recommendations! The one that stood out the most to me was a charter school that had a part time home school option. We went and checked it out and LOVED it! The in class days were Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the other days being left for the parent to home school. 

We decided to go all in and our son attended that school for two years. It was an amazing experience and we all learned a lot. The best thing for us was this school allowed us to be in control of our son's education. We had control of the homework load and what he learned/didn't learn. I would definitely recommend this option for parents who have time to home school, as you need at least 20 hours per week to teach and organize assignments. If you have more children, it obviously becomes more time consuming. 

Kaly Martin Photography