Greetings SJP. I am sorry that it took so long for someone to recognize your post. Please allow me to start with your easiest question first: What's "KP"--a private school? No, KP stands for King Philip, part of the local Native American history of the area; King Philip is the name of the regional school system, grades 7-12. As for how long it shall remain a regional system with all the continued growth, well that is open to debate. For now, KP is made up of Norfolk, Wrentham, and Plainville. In Norfolk, preschool needs are served by the Norfolk Co-operative pre-School at the Federated Church, and the Norfolk Children's School on Union Street. Our family absolutely loved the Norfolk Children's School and its very dynamic and creative director Pam Mele, who just recently retired. I have heard no feedback as to how things were going under the direction of her successor, but Miss Pam had faith in her and that is a very high endorsement. There are several other pre-school oportunities available in surrounding towns, including a Montessori in Millis, as well... Norfolk's own have had good reputations. For a while the town was also offering a limited capacity pre-school program by lottery. To be honest, I am now a high school student's mom and very out of touch with what is going on at the pre-school level. I do recall that classroom space was becoming an issue, however. Norfolk does have its own K-6 Schools: H. Olive Day School for K-2, which again was a wonderful experience for us. My daughter loved all her teachers there. Mrs. Balfour was the most supportive Principal you could ever hope for, and was also a fountain of information for us. The guidance department at H. Olive Day was also knowlegable, compassionate, and very professional. Grades 3-6 attend the Freeman Centennial School. My daughter's first year there was wonderful. She had an awesome teacher and was intellectually and creatively stimulated. That teacher is the subject of the controversies you have undoubtably read about on these boards. After third grade, things went down hill in our experience. My daughter was at times bored, at times she did so well that it was actually questioned if her work was her own (It was, she still maintains a 4.4 GPA in High Honors and Advanced Placement classes, is first in her sophomore class, and ranked in the 98th percentile of American high school juniors). The accusations just crushed her spirit. She was also beginning to have issues with being bullied at school. This was addressed on several occasions with the former school principal, many promises were made, and things just kept getting progressively worse. There were some other issues with student safety with a particular 5th grade teacher at the time. The 6th grade teachers were wonderful, but my child was still bored and sad, by the end of 6th grade, she was still maintaining her grades, but was seriously withdrawn and depressed, and I decided it was best to move from Norfolk. For us it was the best decision, however that does not indicate that others haven't had a wonderful run through the entire system! There is teasing and snobery, and at least some degree of bullying almost everywhere; the main thing is how it is addressed and followed up on by the school administrations and staff... and the parents! The high school my daughter attends has a zero tolerance policy and they mean every word they say. Even though it is a high school, both offenders and their parents are held accountable. Thus, we have VERY little trouble with this issue. But, back to Norfolk... The D.A.R.E. program is terrific. Officer Steve Plympton, who runs the program and is the resource officer for the schools, is a great guy and always accesible to the kids. He really knows how to reach them and connect with them. I have heard that the S.A.C.C., the before and after school child care program, is also excellent. Grades 7&8 start the begining of the regional school programs. AT one time KP middle school (located in Norfolk) had a variable reputation and it was at that point many parents entered their children in the private schools available. However, I have heard nothing but good comments and remarks on the school in the past few years, and, the same for King Philip High (located in Wrentham). High school students also have the option of the tri-county vocational school in neighboring Franklin, or the Norfolk county Agricultural High School in neighboring Walpole. Both of these schools have very good reputations for preparing the students for more specialized fields. As far as the percentages of Norfolk students that attend public v. private schools, I don't have that information, but it can be found on-line by key words "Comparison of Massachusetts School Systems" I forget the exact name of the page that has the search engine that allows you to do this, but if you look around there you will find it. It will also tell you percentages of students to go on to higher education and how various schools compare on the MCAS results. Regarding your decision to go forward with the purchase of your prospective Norfolk home, that is a decision only you can make. I wish you success and much happiness in whatever decisions you make. I can only advise you to make sure your questions are answered to you satisfaction. I must close now before I trigger more negativity for yet another long post. But, you know what? If I was of any assistance to you, then I will gladly abide anyone else's criticisms. Best wishes, and lots of luck, - SW   norfolknet.com