30's w/ kids moving to STT

Hello Teresa,

Which island are you moving to? How many children; school aged? Did you look into public and private schools as yet?

--Islander

Hey Teresa,

I am a thirty-something looking to move to St. Thomas, with one child. My husband is no longer a thirty-something (41 yrs old), but acts and looks like one.

I'm heading to St. Thomas in early June to check out some of the things you mentioned in your post, i.e. schools, daycares, etc. I'll be happy to share my findings with you. If there is something in particular you want me to check out, just ask me.

Ansley

Hello All,
I am moving to St. Thomas in August. I have three children - my son is 6 and is finishing Kindergarten this month, I have a daughter 5 and a baby girl 4 months old. I wasn't so sure about the public schools. I heard that the government has problems and I didn't know if that trickled down to affect the schools or not. I have looked at a couple of websites of private schools. It is really hard to judge a school based on the website though. I have heard of an Antilles (spelling?) private school, but did not know if they were religion based or exactly what they are based on. I would actually like a Christian School, but my first priority is to find a school with educated, caring, intuitive teachers and a diverse classroom. I am actually not as picky as I sound 😉 My problem with finding the right school is that I don't know what works best on the island. Here in the mid-west we find schools that are close to home. I don't know if the same is true on the island. It seems that everything is close together. My husband will actually be on the island next week, but honestly he doesn't know what to look for in a school. I am hoping to be able to correspond by phone once I decide if I need a school close to my home or public or private, etc. Can you tell I don't know where to start? 😉
Ansley - what grade is your child in? Have you decided between private or public yet? Religious or non? Thanks for replying and yes - you are in the right group! 🙂

Teresa

Teresa,

My daughter is not even 2 yet. I'll be checking into day cares & pre-schools, religious and secular. All private, though. I am a picky one, and drive people (including my husband) crazy with all my questions. I'll be happy to share my research with you.

ANsley

Hello Theresa,

Yes the government's problems do trickle down to the schools from empty promises of raises to funding to school buses... The public elementary schools are ok but you definately should research them, visit them, see if you can sit in a classroom. The junior high and high schools have bigger problems in my opinion. Antilles is a private school, yes - they are not religiously affliated. Sts. Peter and Paul is a Catholic School, All Saints is Anglican and there are a few others.

The public schools I do believe work by what area you live in; I think they assign students to schools closest to the area they live in. But for private schools you might live in one area and go to school in a completely different area. The drive could be up to 30-40 minutes if you say lived way on the West End or Northside and your kids attended Antilles - and in morning traffic it would be a pain. The schools are in town, on the east end, in Tutu and a couple in Northside for the most part.

As for where to start. If you are going to be on island I would say drive around and look at the different schools. Then see which ones are attractive as in the building, playground, environment, close to home - call your favorites and speak to the admin. See if you can visit and walk around, meet some teachers, see some classrooms. Then compare the private and public schools you visited and maybe take your kids to the schools you narrowed it down to and see what they think. Ask people you meet, have your husband ask his co-workers if they have kids or even if they don't what schools are good in both the public and private elementary schools.

Good Luck.

--Islander

Thanks all,
I look forward to your 'report' of the island - ansley. 😉 My husband is there and is having a grand ole time. (I don't really talk like that) But anyway, he hasn't made much progress on his To-Do list that I made him. Oh well, I will keep reading everyone's postings and learn as much as I can. I will be flying down for a weekend on May 14th. Although, it is more to try to find a home than looking at schools, but I will take Islanders advice and at least drive by them to see where they are located. My husband started his job today and loves it. He is 'learning' to drive today as well - the left side of the road must feel awkward at first. He managed to make it to the hotel.
Cheryl - did you have any kids that went to school on the islands? I was curious to know if you recommended one above the other.
Can't wait to get there!
Teresa