Frankly, I thought Fairfax County was offering a pretty good education. I was totally satisfied with what I saw and thought our teachers both years and the office staff and principle were fantastic.
Then I went to Singapore American School. Something about it just screams upgrade. The quantity of laminated stuff on the walls, each teacher has an assistant full time, nice tidy campus, zillions of extra offerings (of course at a cost, but they do offer swim, yoga, karate, science masters, soccer, dance, etc.), student trips to Cambodia or China to experience the culture. I walked over to pick up Ben on his first day as a walker and went with the teacher to pick the kids up at the science lab. It was amazing to see all the tanks and plants and models and things in the room and a dedicated science teacher to go with it. Even the elementary school has a swimming pool and it is part of the curriculum. Because they have so many specials with teachers, the regular classroom teacher has more room to manage and concentrate on the kids in their class. With the help of the teacher’s assistant they not only do individual reading rooms like in American classrooms, but spelling test are made for small groups too at individual levels.
I can’t put my finger on the real, big difference, but that tuition definitely does make a difference. I’ll be happy back in Fairfax but we’re going to enjoy SAS for now.
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