Having kids in three different types of schools and myself teaching at another has really given me a good view of schooling options in Indianapolis. China is going to a charter school. Everything is state of the art, the classrooms are non traditional (last year's had easy chairs in it!!!), and everything (even breakfast and lunch) is free. They are an environmental school and have windmills, goats, chickens, bees, and a big garden. Interestingly they do not have a central library or a gym. (They use a local community center's when necessary.)
Ana's new school is classically based. They will learn Latin and do a lot of homework :) They strongly emphasize a well rounded student and have strong art and music programs. I'm super excited that Ana will be challenged in many ways.
Mitike is in the public school system. This school is primarily African American. The public schools have the best support system for behavioral/mental issues. This school has two behavioral specialists as well as counselors, etc. interestingly, there are no English Language Learner Teachers at this school, so Mitike is missing out because there are not enough students to justify bringing in a teacher. This school also partners with a large local church for an after school program as well as having a privately funded after school program. There are a lot of resources going into this little school! 90% of these children qualify for FREE lunch--so the incomes around here are very low. The biggest blessing at this school is that Mitike's teacher has a foster child with similar issues as Mitike. She has been very supportive and understands where we're coming from.
My school also mainly serves poorer children from around our area. Our biggest issue is bringing their English up to par. Although we do have some children with some special needs we are mainly just dealing with low academics and difficult home lives. Shepherd pours a lot of love into these kids.
So, which is best? Possibly Ana's school, BUT many can't afford it (tuition is based on your income.) We
didn't feel like we could put China there because he would be so far behind in Latin--so we decided to leave him where he was. I think it really depends on what your child needs and what the schools can offer. Indy has a lot of options. We're very thankful!
Ana's new school is classically based. They will learn Latin and do a lot of homework :) They strongly emphasize a well rounded student and have strong art and music programs. I'm super excited that Ana will be challenged in many ways.
Mitike is in the public school system. This school is primarily African American. The public schools have the best support system for behavioral/mental issues. This school has two behavioral specialists as well as counselors, etc. interestingly, there are no English Language Learner Teachers at this school, so Mitike is missing out because there are not enough students to justify bringing in a teacher. This school also partners with a large local church for an after school program as well as having a privately funded after school program. There are a lot of resources going into this little school! 90% of these children qualify for FREE lunch--so the incomes around here are very low. The biggest blessing at this school is that Mitike's teacher has a foster child with similar issues as Mitike. She has been very supportive and understands where we're coming from.
My school also mainly serves poorer children from around our area. Our biggest issue is bringing their English up to par. Although we do have some children with some special needs we are mainly just dealing with low academics and difficult home lives. Shepherd pours a lot of love into these kids.
So, which is best? Possibly Ana's school, BUT many can't afford it (tuition is based on your income.) We
didn't feel like we could put China there because he would be so far behind in Latin--so we decided to leave him where he was. I think it really depends on what your child needs and what the schools can offer. Indy has a lot of options. We're very thankful!
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