What is happening to public schools?

My husband and I have recently decided to send our son to a private catholic school starting next year. This wasn't an easy decision, but the public school system is making it easier. My son is a bright, smart, young man. He is at or above grade level in everything but reading. He reads, just not fast enough for the public school. He is in first grade! Let me give you an example of some of his recent spelling words, foundation, mention, fantastic, survive, disturb, turtle, started, people, crispy, barnyard, former, shapeless, dribble, should, napkin, stacked, title, little, looking. These are FIRST GRADE words! I got these from his last 6 spelling test, he received five 100% and one 92%. He routinely has 45 minutes plus homework a night. He is adding two digit numbers together, counting money, reading two paragraph passages and answering comprehension questions. I often have to go back and re-read for comprehension. He is in FIRST GRADE! He does pretty well in school. He sometimes has some attention issues and talks at innappropriate times in class, but there are 27 kids crammed into his classroom with one teacher and every now and then a para or volunteer. I couldn't do what they are doing and admire and respect them for their heroic efforts. The public schools seems so obsessed with keeping their test scores up so everyone gets their federal money and keeps their jobs, that I often wonder if they are educating the "whole" child. This is a problem with the system, not this school in particular. This private school is going to cost us a monthly tuition, but he might have 18-20 kids in his class, and he'll get a homemade lunch every day (with a full 30 minutes lunch period). When I have visited over there, the children are attentive, polite, and helpful. The teachers seem happy and love their jobs. I think my son will really enjoy it there, and he'll have a chance to be a kid and enjoy the commitment of the school to educate the "whole" child. BTW, our daughter is moving on to middle school next year and is doing great. She doesn't want to move over to the private system. As long as she continues to be successful, we'll continue in the public schools with her, and support the schools in any way we can.