My youngest child turned 5 last month and is set to begin kindergarten in September. The problem is I live in an area which has a not so great public school district and I don’t want to send her there.
We’ve been looking at different options and so far its not looking too good. I can’t afford a good private school (two more will be going to school in the coming years) and there doesn’t seem to be many alternatives. I’ve checked charter schools in my area and there is only one nearby. According to them entry is based on a lottery: first priority goes to children of the founders, second to families that have siblings in the school already, third goes to members of the school district where the school is located, and finally its open to those outside the district which is where we live. We’ve entered but only a very small number of slots open each year so I highly doubt the lottery will even make it to the out of district families. I’ve also checked with other school districts that are better in my area to see about having my kids attend but they charge a significant fee (estimated to be around $7000 a year) for each student so that’s not an option either. I also don’t think home schooling would work for us.
We’re resigned to moving to a new house but that has its own set of challenges not the least of which is being able to even sell my current home. There are 3 other houses for sale on my street and all of them have been there for more than a year.
I’m hoping there might be another option that I’m missing out on…a scholarship, state or federal program (we are in PA)…some other alternative to sending her to a school that has a poor record in education. I would greatly appreciate any advice you could offer, thanks!