Pressured to send kids to private school

I live in a Title I city. My zoned elementary school is a 1/10 on Great Schools. We entered the lottery for pre-k hoping we'd get the one magnet school that gets great reviews but we didn't get a spot. My oldest is in a pre-k program funded by the city but at a daycare and we've been really happy there. But kindergarten looms and there's only 12 new spots at the "good" magnet school.Our zoned elementary school is only 6% white and while it has teachers with lots of experience and lots of enrichment I don't know any middle class families who send their kids there. I really believe in public schools but I also don't want my sons to be in a school with a high transient population and no other likeminded families. To be clear, I have no problem with him being a minority but I worry he won't fit in.Financially I want to cut back my hours at work but I'm still paying off student loans. I can't do reduced hours plus private school and I'm not sure what to prioritize. My first son (4) is really smart but he struggles with fine motor skills. My second son (2) is a wild child. If I get into the "good" magnet school my second son will likely get in there too. Private school is about $1k a month per kid. Catholic school is cheaper but we're not religious.Any recommendations or thoughts on our predicament? Most of my friends who don't get into a magnet move to the suburbs but we don't want that. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2zsua58