Private School

It is official. Owen will attend private school this fall.  The decision to send our eldest to Catholic School did not come lightly.  First and foremost we are Lutheran.  Paul grew up as a non-practicing  Catholic boy. I grew up in a small Lutheran church with a great deal of Norwegian influences.  In 2003 we were married Lutheran. Paul converted and was confirmed Lutheran.  We joined a small Lutheran church here in Owatonna, and both of our little blessings were baptized Lutheran.  We attend Lutheran church on a regular basis, I serve on the Lutheran Sunday School Board, Paul ushers in our Lutheran Parish and Owen attends Sunday School at our Lutheran church.  Lots of "lutefisk loving" Lutheran uh?

This spring we attended an open house at the local public elementary school and I left feeling somewhat disappointed.   While I found the the meeting to be very well presented I was shocked to hear there would be approximately 30 kids in his Kindergarten classroom. I was nervous to hear he would have to change buses two times to get to daycare and I was floored when I walked in the building and saw the "Welcome" sign in 5 languages with English listed last.  I hate to get political but wasn't this "melting pot" of a country founded on Christianity and our ancestors forced to learn the language to survive.

I happened to be working a Saturday morning when a woman who teaches at our local Catholic school came in for care. We began talking and I expressed to her my concerns with public school and the values I wanted Owen to embrace in the upcoming years of his education. (Don't get me wrong both Paul and I completed our education in the public school system and we turned out just fine.) She suggested I check out St. Mary's sometime soon.  She simply stated if this was the right choice for me then I would walk away from the tour knowing what I wanted.   I thought about it for several days and called the school to set up a meeting.  Owen and I meet with the principal one Tuesday morning and from the time I walked threw the school door I felt something.  The environment was warm, friendly and there was evidence of the presence of God splashed threw out the hallways. 

My first question to the principal was, "We are not Catholic, is that OK?"  She smiled at me and said, "that does not matter to us."  We toured the school, got to meet some staff and watched the teachers and children interacting.  I walked away convinced this was where Owen needed to go. 

Yes, private school comes with a price tag and because we are not Catholic it will cost us more money.  We were blessed enough to get some finical aid and the rest, well we trust God will provide.  As for Owen, he will began his Christian education journey this fall and we his parents are confident this experience will enrich all our lives.