Schooling in UK or USA

[mesha123]

Hi,

My husband is considering moving to USA due to a work opportunity there.

My Dd is currently in year 4. I am not sure about the education system in USA and whether it is better then UK.

I am quite worried especially because not only it's a new country but also might be difficult for little one to settle down in a new place, new systems and environment.

Any thoughts please?

Year 4 is pretty portable to be honest. But where you are thinking of in the states makes a big difference.

There is quite a wide range of schooling in the USA and location as pp says makes a huge difference.

I think the system is different from the Uk. My suggestion would be to get some advice from an education consultant - but they are likely to need to know where you will be living and if you want private or state schooling.
it’s no unusual for Us schools to have drills for lockdown/active shooters etc. So take that into account.
Most kids are driven to school. And get out in a line of cards. I have also heard there is a lot more volunteering from parents required - just in the community generally and lots of sport.

Many kids are actually taken to school in the iconic yellow buses still.
City schools often have kids walking to them.
It really does depend on where in the country you are going to be.

Location?

Kids start school later in the US so transferring there is likely to be less of an issue (you may want to have your child move a year ahead to put them in line with what level they were at in the UK). The bigger issue would be if you wanted to move back later when your child is a few years older - the curriculums are quite different.

British living in USA - so so regional, in terms of quality, and curriculum is under local/state control. There's really no way to say one is "better" given that, and to be quite honest I think some children would do better in one country or the other. One thing I think the USA is a bit stronger on is special education, especially mainstreaming.

Kids start a bit later; they start kindergarten when they are 5. Some areas have public pre-K. I would say that moving anytime in primary (US elementary) would be an adjustment but doable. The later you get the harder it gets to match up; the secondary curricula are entirely different.

Yellow buses are the norm in much of the US - California is the big exception with very low bus ridership. Schools do ask for volunteers (though again some areas are bigger on this) and sport/activities are popular but again, if you are in an affluent suburb people will have much more money to spend on that than if you're in an inner-city type of school.

Also remember that private education here can be anything from elite schools like Sidwell Friends (where Chelsea Clinton and the Obama girls went) to fundamentalist Christian, so "private school" isn't very meaningful either. In fact, since the USA doesn't fund religious education in the state sector, religious schools form the majority of private schools. I believe the Catholic parochial system is still the largest sector.

Sorry didn't mention earlier. It's in San Francisco- California

Okay, I'm in the Midwest so can't help you.

I'd be there in a shot personally

I'm in the DC area so can't help with local schools but I do understand from friends that it makes a big difference whether you are in the city proper or the suburbs. Some suburban districts are really shameless asking for financial contributions.

Generally, the US public education system is worse than the U.K. state system.
A few States, the public schools are as good as or better, but these are expensive areas to live: NY, CA, MA, PA for example. States to avoid are all the southern states and all the midwestern states. If you are in one of those states, look into tuition paying private schools.

It is a culture shock for them. My DCs were freaked out by the daily pledge of allegiance to the US flag each morning among other things.

Their schools are excellent, better than U.K. state schools. San Fran is very high cost of living though. I have a brother there who works in Silicon Valley.

I would disagree on "all the midwestern states": suburban Chicago schools are excellent and in many rankings, Minnesota does very very well. Southern schools tend to be underfunded but there are good pockets.

California is so big it's impossible to generalise, though because of a tax cap that was passed in the 1970s funding is not great.

Tbh my main concern is because there's also so much gun crime so feel extremely scared

States to avoid are all the southern states and all the midwestern states. If you are in one of those states, look into tuition paying private schools.

I also don't agree with this at all. Many Mid Western areas have excellent public education. Although that isn't of much help to OP.

Wow, he must be offered insane amount money if he can support a family on single salary in Frisco.

Yes shooter-drills are a regular thing even in SF schools. Also Earthquake drills.

San Fran is a bit of a nightmare at the moment; hoards of homeless people, piles of excrement in the streets in the centre. Cost of living is massive. Expect 3-4x grocery costs, $2000 a year car insurance. About the only thing that's cheaper than here is eating out and petrol. I lived north of San Francisco 9 years ago, I wouldn't have stayed with school aged children. I couldn't deal with the active shooter drills and gun culture. My best friend lives in a very affluent area of SoCal now and despite insane property taxes (hers are $40k a year), the school expects huge financial donations from parents for basic amenities.

insane property taxes (hers are $40k a year)

I thought property tax was 1% of the purchase price, did this friend buy their property for $4 million? Even by SoCal prices, that is huge, 4x an expensive area median house price. Means friend is rich.

Prop 13 limits the property tax amounts too, still ,right?

States to avoid are all the southern states and all the midwestern states

Don't be ridiculous

Well the OECD ranks the UK at #6 and the USA at #14

The thing is that it's a national average. The variation within the USA is unacceptably wide, but it also means you can't impute anything to an individual school district based on national statistics.

As for gun crime, it is an issue but, again: compare statistics by state and city.

Education is a very local issue. My Midwest city and suburbs has some truly excellent and some very poor schools.
Generally the suburbs are excellent as are the selective state schools along with the catholic schools. Community secondary schools in the city are poor.
It isn't a one size fits all.

Yes well, each state ranks and rates it’s own schools so of course every state has schools that are highly ranked and what not. But on average, these states’ public schools are below the national average and below the U.K. average state school.

San Francisco and Oakland state schools can be very rough. Suburban and Silicon Valley state schools are almost all wonderful. For private schools that end at grades 6-9, consider the destinations of their graduates. You want them to attend secondary schools with AP or IB programs. The same is true of all through schools. Private school tend not to say the Pledge.
Don’t worry about earthquake drills. Local Californians accept them as a matter of course to deal with geological conditions.
San Francisco is filthy and dangerous with poor quality of life. Last month, the husband of a prominent Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi was attacked in their $ 6 million Pacific Heights home.