Dear moms,
I have moved from overseas to Frisco 8 years ago. I don't consider myself new to the country or its culture any more. However, when it comes to the education system, especially early education, I think i need a lot of help. I have a 3-year old (turned 3 in July) who currently attends a montissory school. At this point I'm starting to think about the next step3.
Basically i need advice about the best way to plan for his next school given the following considerations.
1. I'm hoping I can enroll him in a private school in Frisco or North Plano. I can affored to pay up to $700 a month in tuition.
2. I'd like him to be in a great school with focus on enrichemnet in many aspects of his life, academic, social, arts, environemntal, athletic etc...
3. Only if possible, I'm hoping I can find a school he can grow in... i.e. with elementary program and so on. Basically, I'm wondering if it's possible to avoid changing schools when he finishes preschool... here i'm really confused about terminology, what do K-8 and K-12 refer to?
4. As a second option, do you recommend that he stays in his Montissori school for the next 3 years... the school offers three preschool stages? In this case what would be the next stage? is it Kidergarten?
5. Finally I know I'm asking for too much, but i'd really appreciate it if anyone can list form me the school years in order... i.e. from preschool through kindergarten, elementary, middle school etc... how does that go? and typically what's the age range for each level.
I'm sure any information you moms can provide will be veyr helpful.
keep him in montessori as long as possible and he will suceed anywhere he goes after that!!!!
K-12 means Kindergarten through HS, Senior. K-8 which is fairly common of private schools is just through the 8th grade which is the last yr of Middle School. Freshman (9th grade) starts HS which goes through 12th grade (Senior) There is also a Prek for four yr olds or TK for very young 5's or who's bday makes them too young to start Kindergarten, which is 5 yrs by Sept of the current school year.
There are MANY private schools and some require testing to see where your child is.
K-8 describes education for 5 year olds up to 8th grade which is about 13 years old.
K is Kindergarten Then it goes numerically 1-12.
Grades 9,10,11,12 are often referred to as senior high.
6,7 and 8 are Middle school or Jr. High.
Most private schools are fairly expensive. Public school is free but it's not for everyone. Visit the schools and learn as much as you can about them. Google Private schools in the area. Montissory schools are good and are a bit more engaging than public schools. Some private schools are just like public schools only you pay for the experience.
Pre-K in public school is for 4 year olds that qualify based off language or income.
Kinder is for 5 year olds as of Sept. 1st of the year.
First is for 6 year olds as of Sept. 1st. of the year
Second is for 7 year olds as of Sept. 1st of the year and the following school years are the same going up in age. In each of the grade levels you will find a range of age depending on the month of birthday.
Middle school begins in most places at 6th grade and goes through 8th.
High School usually is 9-12 however some school systems are going to 9th grade centers transitioning into 10-12 buildings.
I believe in the private schools they also go by this same system however some schools will be K-12 or even PK-12.
Hope this helps you some.
My son is a Dec. b-day and therefore even though I had sent him to private kinder he still attended public school kinder. It actually turned out to be to his advantage as it gave him another year for social skills and he is doing quite well in school. And no he isn't bored as they make sure they are teaching to his academic level. He is performing above grade level and they are even considering Gifted and Talented classes for him in the public school we attend.
Hope this helps you. :-)
There are also charter schools in the area. Some are great others, not so good. They are free schools funded like public schools but they offer more of a private school feel. An internet seach of Texas Charter schools will show you those in the area. I am not sure if anyone answered this questions but K-8 means the school goes from kindergarten through 8th grade while K-12 means they service Kinder through 12th grade.
