Middle vs. High School?
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Anonymous
| I am sure there are lots of theories on this. I have a 5th grader in a charter I am happy with but I am less confident about the middle school options she has. A co-worker whose kids were lifers at Georgetown Day told me that looking back on it, she isn't sure that her kids needed to attend all those years and would have been just as successful if they'd only attended for high school. She thought her kids did as well as the kids who entered in 9th. Do you guys have thoughts on whether the money is worth it for middle school? Also, I would love to hear thoughts on whether it seems harder or easier to get in in middle school vs high school. We just have one kid so while it would be a big stretch for us, we could pull off private. |
Anonymous
| Depends on what kind of foundation the student has before high school. It is really easy, in the face of limited options, for a lifer at GDS to say other options might have been as decent. |
Anonymous
| 8t depends on your child and your definition of success. I doubt very much that when you enter gds will affect college admissions. But if your child isn't getting something you think he needs (social/emotional support, being known in a smaller community, extracurriculars that would be more accessible elsewhere), that might be a reason to switch. |
Anonymous
| This so child dependent. We have one kid in a k-12 and the other in MCPS; both are doing great and we were ready to switch either (or both) if the social environment warranted it (too small or too large). |
Anonymous
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Agree that the relative benefits of independent school education are child dependent - and also parent perception dependent.
With regard to competitiveness of admissions; in general the longer you wait the harder it is to gain admissions. You might think chances would be better in the traditional 6th and 9th grade entry years but they are consistent as there are many more applicants in those years as well. |
Anonymous
| First, I agree that the kids who will be accepted to a high school are set for success no matter where they went to middle school. Schools generally do not admit students who they do not think can be successful. However, having a sense of which high schools you are considering helps too. If the high school has a middle school and an atypical curriculum (like a traditional classic, but your middle school is progressive), getting that particular school's foundation can make the transition to high school easier. If the curriculum is pretty standard for modern education, then it doesn't really matter unless the math sequence is "off." But even any of those situations can be managed. |
Anonymous
| Depends on the kid and the middle school. We switched both of our kids from MoCo public to independent at 6th grade. Our older kid went to a "Big 3" and we found the middle school meh. Our younger kid went to another school -- not a "Big 3" -- and the middle school was much stronger. Academically, both kids had good high school experiences, but the schools had very different cultures. |
pbraverman
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I've seldom found anybody who thinks that middle schools are the long suit at MCPS, FCPS, or DCPS. For whatever it's worth, my own kids attended independent school through grade 8 and then an MCPS high school. My bias is that families with limited funds (for whatever reason) should consider whether investing earlier, rather than later, makes sense. What happens earlier gets into their DNA in a way that makes for a much more *lifelong* outlook on education. And middle school is much more likely to be dicey than high school. For those who consider the same route, strong independent college counseling is widely available in this area, and much less expensive than four years of independent school. Here's a piece I wrote some time ago encouraging families to consider K–8 schools seriously, in addition to K-12 options. For the sake of full disclosure, I was running a middle school at a K–8, but I wouldn't have been able to write it if I didn't believe it, and I still use it frequently. https://peterbraverman.com/school-that-ends-in-grade-8 |
Anonymous
Completely agree. |
Anonymous
Agreed 100%. DC in an independent k-8. We will consider both private and public for 9-12, but we have zero regrets about choosing to spend our $$ on the elementary/middle school years. If DC ends up in public we know the foundations have been formative and amazing in all ways that our kids needed. |
Anonymous
| Completely disagree with Peter. Our kids did MCPS for elementary and it was fine . Our middle school experience at a big 3 was light years better than friends' kids had at MCPS and the high school was even better. I think elementary is where you should save the $$$ and invest in middle and then high school. If you have to choose I'd send them to private in middle. |
pbraverman
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I'm not sure we disagree. My only point is that I sense most people begin by assuming that the upper grades are a better, ahem, investment, without considering the "inverse" approach. I mean only to encourage people to consider that, as there is a case to be made for either path, and reasonable parents can certainly do it either way. It does seem we agree that middle school is not the gem in the crown of most public school systems. |
Anonymous
That's also true of independent schools. Caveat emptor. |
pbraverman
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Middle school is challenging in most places, but the PP's statement is too broad a brush for me. It brings me back to an earlier point: I do think that middle school is the gem in the crown of many K–8 schools. It certainly was for my two kids. |
Anonymous
Not in our experience. We had great ES in public and private, but private MS was miles ahead better than public. So much that I felt guilty for having sent our first kid to public. |