Private or public school?

I went through the public school system. My parents didn't consider private schooling, they wouldn't have been able to afford the expense for all 3 of us kids. Instead they supplemented our public education with private things like piano/voice lessons and tutoring as our interests and needs arose. My brother and sister didn't do too well when it came to high school in the public schools, and neither has completed a bachelor's degree. Though when it came to me, they figured it out - they let me take night classes at the community college while I was in high school. It showed me how easy college could be, how stupid high school really was, and gave me sufficient motivation to choose to go away for college right out of high school. I went to a private college, then ended up finishing at a higher-ranked public university. I'm currently working on a Ph.D. at another public university.

On the whole, I think that my public education served me well. But, again, I was attending award-winning public schools in safe neighborhoods. I appreciated having the consistency of the same group of friends throughout my K-12 education. Looking back I can honestly say (and I felt this way at the time, too) that by the end of the 7th grade I had learned absolutely all of the study skills necessary to succeed in college, and all of my public non-college/university schooling after that was a worthless waste - nothing more than a social torture that threatened to kill my love for learning and drive for success in life.

I have no idea what I'm going to do when it comes to public vs. private education for my child-to-be. It seems like an incredibly difficult choice. My husband and I both went through the public education system and turned out fine, but things have changed drastically in the past 20 years. My sister's children attend a public charter school which meets their needs and sparks their intellect - though they considered home-schooling for a couple of the children before they found this charter school because their previous public school was not willing to make necessary accommodation for peanut allergies and her children were breaking out in hives, having allergy-induced asthma attacks, and dealing with near anaphylaxis on a weekly basis. Not to mention the issues they had with verbally/emotionally abusive teachers... I'm so glad they found something that worked for them.

Were I in your shoes, I would be visiting every school that's a reasonable option and weighing their education standards - as well as the happiness of the children that are in the system. As long as it is a safe environment for your child to spend their day, it's not too difficult to fill-in the gaps in their education - just make sure that you are actively involved in their learning and you can make anything work.

Find out if there is an entrance exam.
What is their campus guest policy?
Do they require parental volunteer time?
What are they likely to learn in kindergarten - does your child need to come with any skills aside from potty-training?
Look around the classroom - are there bright colors, organized seating, age-appropriate art projects adorning the walls?
Is the play yard in good repair?
What is the daily routine? Does learning look fun?

I know snowy will have a far more comprehensive list of the kinds of questions you should really ask, but these are the ones that come to my mind as the most important.