re: Baton Rouge private schools vs. public schools

Exactly my point. For the amount of money you are paying from K-12 (roughly 108k) your child should have scholarship offers coming in left and right. You should not have to pay for your child to go to college considering the investment you made in the child's education. If that child is not college ready after dropping down over 100k, something is wrong.

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yay, typical generic internet response guy. I could say the same to you, but that would be as lame as adding in one of those 3rd grade quality emoticons you're so fond of.

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and yet somehow I managed to avoid insulting you, I did not attribute things to you that you did not say and I did not take your points and extrapolate them out to ridiculous extremes. You can not say the same thing though can you?

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MY point is, my son is not really far enough along to judge his progress, but I have been told that the BR Catholic schools are tops among all diocese, including your 25 kids per class Lafayette. I don't have a damn thing to support that though. I only see alot of the kids in our neighborhood that have gone through both St Jude and St George kicking arse in College after ST Joe and Catholic High.

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You were probably told this by someone in the Baton Rouge Diocese or at your kid's school, imagine that. Those darned Diocese people love to talk about their successes (for example the number of National Merit Finalists at St Joe's and Catholic-BR) but they dont get too fired up about the lower tier test scores at Redemptorist now do they? and for the record, the NOLA Catholic Schools were traditionally way out in front in the Iowa testing before Katrina. So whatever scores you told about were probably post Katrina and should be taken into consideration that a large portion of Catholic kids from NOLA ended up in BTR schools after Katrina.
I sit in our meetings with our Priest and our principal and they defiantly argue against expanding class size despite the ever increasing demand because they know that it is against their school charter and also the wishes of the Diocese to herd kids through the school packed to the rafters and then send them on their way.

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I've told you how St Jude handles it with additional sections for math and reading, yet you continue to spout on about 32:1. So comprehension is not going real well for you at this point. So I give the frick up.

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Think about what you are saying, two hours of the day they are split up for reading and math, what about the other 4 (science, social studies, religion, writing) in the curriculum? Honestly I am thinking in my head about our facility's footprint and there are maybe 6 classrooms in the entire school that could even handle 32 desks. Some of the classrooms are full with 25 kids, their desks, computer work station, A/V area and supplies/storage.

You are touting the party line to justify a situation you have ZERO control of and are forced to accept. As a parent I get that, but for what I pay in tuition it is still unacceptable to me to have my child in a 30+:1 ratio classroom when even the most overcrowded public schools in the parish don't have that in primary schools because it would be bedlam. I am telling you flat out the educators who work in and run the Catholic schools in Lafayette simply would not stand for that kind of environment. I have sat there and listened to them argue about it ad nauseum and the data supporting smaller classes is overwhelmingly on their side. The only justification there is for the large classes is vainly trying to meet demand with outdated facilities and financial gain for the school's operating expenses (like raising teacher salaries).


Before today you probably never thought about your kid's class size, I know I certainly had no idea it was like that in Baton Rouge. All I am saying is it is like that for a reason, and the reason is not always a good one. You say the school are making do right now, well how good could some of the kids do in a environment that was even more nurturing and conducive to learning? Isn't that what you are paying your after tax dollars for?

ehhh yeah you are right

you have a great day nut

I am the product of both the EBRPS G&T program (K-4), a regular EBRPS elem. school (5), and Parkview Baptist (6-12). I strongly believe when comparing STRICTLY education standards, the G&T program is far superior to any other schools in BR. The educational foundation that I received in the G&T program continues to help me today.

That being said, I realize that there are many different factors to be weighed when choosing a school other than merely educational value. Because of this, I would recommend either sending your child to a) BR High or b) a private school.

I know a number of BR High students (including my sister), and I can tell you that it is a much better choice than any public school in the area. The quality of education as well as the vast number of opportunities available to students there is MUCH better than anything I received while at Parkview. Parkview is a good school, but it doesn't compare to BR High.

In my immediate group of friends exactly half went to private schools in BR and the other half went to public schools in surrounding parishes (All went to LSU). There is no difference at all in success levels or intelligence. My smartest and most successful friend went to a crappy BR public high school, and the one friend that's unemployed at 29 years old went to a middle of the road private school. The rest of us all fall somewhere in between.

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32 per class for K and 1st grade.

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my kindergartener has 24
and my prek has 15, but only since we go to a B school

You get out of a high school education what you put in. I went to a horrible public school (didnt have calculus or physics), majority of my friends went to private school. Most of them graduated in 2002, I graduated in 2003 and right now I am only one with a real job(engineering). I think it is simply a matter of motivation instilled in the kid from the parents. I will never pay money to send my kids to school. I understand why people do it, but I think you are a sucker to pay for something twice.

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I think it is simply a matter of motivation instilled in the kid from the parents. I will never pay money to send my kids to school. I understand why people do it, but I think you are a sucker to pay for something twice.

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Well not every kid is the same. Many would fall in with the wrong crowd, become total cheeseballs, or need to be pushed in the classroom. I would rather my kid be in school with other kids who are at least middle class and not trashballs. Plus, if you live in LA, college is free anyway.

I went to public school K-7th and private after that. It was good to see the different side of things but I needed to get out of that environment badly.