My daughter is in 5th grade and has been at the same private school for the past four years. She is thriving academically. It’s a small school and she is part of a friend group with four other girls. This was great until the beginning of this school year, when one of the girls decided she didn’t want to be friends with my daughter anymore, and basically blacklisted her. Now another one of the girls has become very high-drama, lying that another girl threatened to kill her (!?). I reached out to the teacher and the other moms, who delivered basically a “meh” response. My daughter is very distressed about the dynamics and she is the type of kid who wants to fix everything.
I want to move her to the public school system because next year will be the start of middle school and a natural time to switch schools, and she will have so many more people to choose from when she makes friends. I do worry that she will find the sheer number of students in the public school overwhelming. But I went to a small private elementary school when I was a kid and remember very well the girl dynamics, and the best thing that happened to me was that I graduated and went on to public school. I’m just having a hard time making a decision because she is a very anxious kid. She was also really looking forward to a class trip they all take near the end of 8th grade.
For what it’s worth, my older son goes to public school. After what I’ve been through trying to get his needs met in the public school system, I don’t have any illusions that public school will react any better than private school to issues that come up with my daughter. But my son has managed to find his people in the public school and I want that for my daughter as well. Any advice?