Primary school around the world: USA

We were worried about how Olivia would settle into school when we moved here, as she’d been very unhappy at school in England. But all the children made her welcome cards, and some gave her gifts. The teacher asked her to bring in some of her special possessions so she could tell the class about them, and even decorated the classroom for her. It was a fabulous start to her American schooling, whereas I’d left her crying every day in England.

It’s very unusual for kids to wear school uniform in the US, although Olivia’s school has quite a strict dress code as it’s a Christian school. Girls can’t wear leggings unless they have a long shirt or skirt over them. Short skirts and shorts aren’t allowed, and they can’t wear spaghetti straps or have their midriff showing. Boys aren’t allowed to wear caps or clothes with skulls or bad language on them. If the kids get ‘dress coded’, they have to change into their PE uniform for the rest of the day. But I do think children look way smarter in the UK, and I really miss school uniform.

Olivia takes a packed lunch to school as she’s very fussy, but because her school is small and doesn’t have a kitchen, they have an arrangement with local restaurants. You buy lunch tickets in advance, then in ‘homeroom’, which is the first 15 minutes of the day, the kids who want a lunch hand their tickets to the teacher. The office counts up how many lunches are needed, then places an order with the restaurant of the day. It means they get lunches from Cambodian, Italian and Mexican restaurants, barbecues and Subway.

Because Olivia’s school is private, they don’t have to follow the national curriculum. Her favourite subjects are PE and science, but she doesn’t like maths as she has to work hard for her grades, and feels she’s not very good at it. Schools here cover a lot of American history, and at Olivia’s school, they do Bible study daily. I’m Christian, but at home, we’re very open to discussing other religions and cultures. There are things that Olivia is told at school that we don't agree with, especially my husband who’s a non-believer, but we try to give her a balanced view of faith and science.

Sports are important, and PE takes place outside 95 per cent of the time as the weather is so stable. There are lots of after-school sports clubs – Olivia plays softball – and they can join band from Fifth Grade.

Olivia gets far more homework than her cousin and friends back in the UK. There’s maths every evening, and she has to finish any other work that she didn’t complete in class. It averages around an hour a night, and on top of that, they’re expected to do 20 minutes’ reading. They also get set projects roughly every other month. These are often Bible or history research projects, which include report writing, Powerpoint presentations and posters. It’s a lot of work.

Olivia’s school does Terra Nova testing yearly, which is similar to SATs, and if a child is struggling, the teachers will talk to the parents and principal and may recommend they repeat the year. Most parents are aware if their child is having problems as the teachers are in regular contact, both in person and by recording grades via smartphone app.

Discipline is a lot stricter here. Back home, losing golden time was the worst punishment the children got; here, they get detentions, have possessions confiscated and have to put on a high-vis jacket at lunch and pick up litter.

The school day here is 8am till 3pm – so quite similar to the UK – but there are lots of holidays. They have three days for Thanksgiving, eight for Christmas, six for Easter, and then 12 weeks in the summer. There’s also a half-day once a month for teacher training, and various public holidays like Martin Luther King Jr Day and Presidents’ Day.

Because Olivia goes to a faith school, Christmas time is very special. The younger children do a nativity and there are plays in the chapel. At state schools, Halloween is one of the biggest celebrations of the school year, with parties and discos, but because it’s a Christian school, it’s not marked and the kids aren’t allowed to dress up.

The best thing about Olivia’s school is that there are so many opportunities to experience different things. Last year, Olivia went to Mexico on a missions trip to build a septic system for an orphanage so they could have flushing toilets. Olivia was mixing concrete by hand, laying foundations, litter picking in the local community and handing out pens and pencils to local kids. She also got to meet the four children who we sponsor. It changed her outlook on things, and she even asked Father Christmas if we could adopt Carmen, Edwin, Blanca and Kevin.

The worst, without a doubt, is that the schools are all open campuses, so anyone can walk in at any time. Given the high profile school shootings over here, it scares the living daylights out of me. Olivia has lock-down drills, and I talk to her regularly about what to do if someone with a gun comes into school. I hate having to have these conversations with her, but sadly, it’s just a part of life in this country.