'Uniforms are easier, ' church school student tell mom

By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
Staff Writer

This is the fourth in a series of articles comparing Fayette County's public and private schools.

What differences would a parent notice if she opted to pull her child out of public school and put him into one of the church schools now open in Fayette County?

For that matter, what differences would the student note?

In this series, Sallie Satterthwaite goes inside some of Fayette's public and private schools to provide an indepth look at what's different, and what's the same.

A family that has a child in public school and another at a church school might have a distinct perspective on the differences — as well as the similarities — between the systems.

Mark and Lisa Skinner of Peachtree City visited St. Paul Lutheran School with the idea that the particular approach of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod tradition might be more appropriate for their son Eric than that of public school. Upon seeing what was available, they decided against it, for now, at least — but enrolled their older daughter Jessica there.

“Jessica is very high achieving,” Lisa Skinner said. “She went to St. Paul for sixth and seventh grades, and it has been a very positive experience.

“It doesn't hurt to have the Christian atmosphere,” Skinner continued, “but the main reason [for enrolling her there] was academics. The grading scale is tighter, an eight-point scale instead of 10, and she has to work a little harder.”

She admits that she worries a little about whether the kids are missing out on some of the amenities available at public schools — especially the younger children — but, she says, St. Paul “will come up to speed when they can.”

Jessica loves music, for example, and missed that experience last year. This year, however, science teacher Mark Abresch has added music to the curriculum in the form of choral material and some in-depth music appreciation.

“Mr. Abresch is so enthusiastic and he's terrific on the guitar,” Skinner said, “and it's fun to see Jessica's enjoyment.” The popular teacher, a native of Miami, is also teaching Spanish at St. Paul.

Skinner said she's not sure trips to Disney World, like those often sponsored by public schools, do much to enhance learning. St. Paul sees to it that kids get outings, but they are on a more local level. Last year Jessica went with her class to the High Museum in Atlanta, to see an exhibit, The Impressionists, and recently participated in a bicycle excursion to Peachtree City's Line Creek Nature Center.

“I like the way teachers handle problems too,” Skinner added. “Kids always come first.”

Meanwhile, Eric is in a fourth grade class at Oak Grove Elementary School and doing well. Skinner stressed that both of her children had “good teachers and good guidance” at Oak Grove, although she thinks St. Paul gives a more “hands on” experience than Oak Grove because classes are smaller at the private school. Eric's class went to 27 students this year.

She says she and her husband haven't counted out sending their son to St. Paul in the future, although the economics of tuition and associated costs for two children will be a stumbling block. There's also the possibility that Jessica will return to the public system for ninth grade.

“We're just waiting and watching, and listening to what other people do,” she said. “We're also interested in how colleges will look at the church schools.”

Skinner discovered that her daughter's initial aversion to school uniforms has disappeared. On the first day of school, Jessica was complaining that the public school kids “gave them grief” about wearing the blue plaid outfits.

Recently, however, when the St. Paul students were allowed to wear jeans for a half-day session, Jessica spent 45 minutes in front of her closet trying to get the look she was after. She decided uniforms were a lot easier.

And when they passed a school bus stop where every child was wearing jeans and white shirts, she laughed out loud. “Look,” she said to her mother, “they're wearing uniforms.”

Uniforms are common to the experience of students at both St. Paul and Our Lady of Victory School north of Tyrone. A further bond formed between the schools when six youngsters transferred from the Lutheran to the Catholic school this year. “It brought the schools together,” Skinner said.