I don't understand why parents waste so much money on private schools in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest OP go tour a couple of private schools during this falls admission process. The tours are quite eye opening and I promise you won’t be asking this question.

OP here, shrug. Having come from the bay area, I had always assumed how well a school did was just purely a function of how many hard working asian kids good at self learning were in any particular school. The whole game is just a filtering tournament anyhow and teachers don't really add huge value. You either have self motivated smart kids or you don't. So as a venture capitalist by training, the ROI for private seems pretty poor and silly intangibles I see being justified by parents on this board are borderline ridiculous. The real KPI is Asian enrollment pre-K numbers. Montgomery county has a bunch of older Asian parents due to Rockville and Bethesda being the good school districts in the 90s haydays. Today, most younger Asian parents are in NoVA. I'd take Haycock over Sidwell or St Albans in 5-10 years.

Oh I get it now. You’re a pretentious ass.

I am a data and numbers kinda gal and don't care about stepping on feelings to get to the truth.

You don’t sound data driven at all. Best of luck with your 3-year-old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest OP go tour a couple of private schools during this falls admission process. The tours are quite eye opening and I promise you won’t be asking this question.

OP here, shrug. Having come from the bay area, I had always assumed how well a school did was just purely a function of how many hard working asian kids good at self learning were in any particular school. The whole game is just a filtering tournament anyhow and teachers don't really add huge value. You either have self motivated smart kids or you don't. So as a venture capitalist by training, the ROI for private seems pretty poor and silly intangibles I see being justified by parents on this board are borderline ridiculous. The real KPI is Asian enrollment pre-K numbers. Montgomery county has a bunch of older Asian parents due to Rockville and Bethesda being the good school districts in the 90s haydays. Today, most younger Asian parents are in NoVA. I'd take Haycock over Sidwell or St Albans in 5-10 years.

Nope -- you're mixing ROIs, talking about school performance as if it's the same as individual student outcomes. School performance is an aggregate result, but as a parent I am seeking to benefit my child, not the school.

Think it through. Your view is that a school's quality is predicted by the number of "hard working asian kid good at self learning" and that individual student performance is not affected by the school. If we assume that is true* then we would expect any individual student -- regardless of race or ability -- to have better individual outcomes in a school without a large number of capable strivers sucking up resources and competing for scholarships and prizes. In the world as you view it, a rational parent would seek out a small pond for their child ... such as one might find in a private school.

The logical result of your argument is that no parent should choose a school with a bunch of asian kids who are good at self learning, whether that school is public or private.

*It isn't true. Also, you are gross and bad at logic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest OP go tour a couple of private schools during this falls admission process. The tours are quite eye opening and I promise you won’t be asking this question.

OP here, shrug. Having come from the bay area, I had always assumed how well a school did was just purely a function of how many hard working asian kids good at self learning were in any particular school. The whole game is just a filtering tournament anyhow and teachers don't really add huge value. You either have self motivated smart kids or you don't. So as a venture capitalist by training, the ROI for private seems pretty poor and silly intangibles I see being justified by parents on this board are borderline ridiculous. The real KPI is Asian enrollment pre-K numbers. Montgomery county has a bunch of older Asian parents due to Rockville and Bethesda being the good school districts in the 90s haydays. Today, most younger Asian parents are in NoVA. I'd take Haycock over Sidwell or St Albans in 5-10 years.

Nope -- you're mixing ROIs, talking about school performance as if it's the same as individual student outcomes. School performance is an aggregate result, but as a parent I am seeking to benefit my child, not the school.

Think it through. Your view is that a school's quality is predicted by the number of "hard working asian kid good at self learning" and that individual student performance is not affected by the school. If we assume that is true* then we would expect any individual student -- regardless of race or ability -- to have better individual outcomes in a school without a large number of capable strivers sucking up resources and competing for scholarships and prizes. In the world as you view it, a rational parent would seek out a small pond for their child ... such as one might find in a private school.

The logical result of your argument is that no parent should choose a school with a bunch of asian kids who are good at self learning, whether that school is public or private.

*It isn't true. Also, you are gross and bad at logic.

How dare you use logic and reasoning and think that trumps her data and numbers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had assumed that my child would go to public school, but then it turned out that she had learning disabilities that required small, grade level classes. That doesn't exist in our school district, so we switched to private.

I don't understand why you waste time judging other people's choices.

me too

[Anonymous]

The truth is more akin to DC having outstanding elementary and middle public schools. But the high schools are still not the greatest yet. They will get there eventually though. That’s why in this area, families send their kids to private in 9-12 grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Now I live in FFX County and, originally, it didn't cross my mind that we would consider sending our kids to private school. I currently have a child in 9th, 7th, 5th in one of the sought after pyramids. It has been a huge disappointment, most especially elementary school. They don't teach grammar, they don't teach writing, they don't teach good basic study habits. Other than math instruction, I found elementary education entirely lacking. Middle school was MUCH better, but even there, why do the kids read two (not very challenging) books a year in English class?? Partly because the poor English teachers were playing catch up as they tried to teach advanced grammar to kids who don't know their parts of speech. If I had money to burn, I would absolutely send them all to the strongest private school that would accept them.

THIS!

My 6th grader (not FFX county) is home quarantined this week and we’ve given him a crash course in material I learned in 2nd grade. School is not the same as it was 20/30 years ago. If we had the money our kids would absolutely be in private school. I’m hoping we can pull it off for high school and I’m sure they’ll be behind.

If that content was so vital, why did you wait 3-4 years to teach it to him?

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't understand whey you are so concerned about other people's money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

The private school I send my kids to has a higher percentage of black kids than our local public. Nice try though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand whey you are so concerned about other people's money.

It was never concern. It was an arrogant “look how stupid you non-data driven people are”. The post was born out of unadulterated smugness.

[Anonymous]

See the thread in elementary forum about the mom being upset her kid is in the inclusion "IEP kids" kids class. A lot of parents are picking private because they don't tolerate the behavior issues public schools have to deal with (at the expense of the kids in class). If a private school does admit students with documented behavioral problems or learning disabilities, it is because they are equipped to handle them in a better way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

The private school I send my kids to has a higher percentage of black kids than our local public. Nice try though.

Interesting. That is not the usual, but I’m sure you know that. What school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

The private school I send my kids to has a higher percentage of black kids than our local public. Nice try though.

Interesting. That is not the usual, but I’m sure you know that. What school?

I don’t think it’s as unusual as you think. They would normally go to Whitman which is less than 5% black. Langley HS in VA is less than 2%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

The private school I send my kids to has a higher percentage of black kids than our local public. Nice try though.

Interesting. That is not the usual, but I’m sure you know that. What school?

I don’t think it’s as unusual as you think. They would normally go to Whitman which is less than 5% black. Langley HS in VA is less than 2%.

So barely any black kids at either school. Got it.

No one seeks our private school for more diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in the 90s, it was one of the top public high schools in California. When I went to university, I noticed very little difference between those who went to public vs private schools. The SAT scores in DC private schools are basically comparable to the top publics. I don't get it, i mean if you got millions to burn, so be it. I rather give my kids a house.

Because they don’t want their kids to go to school with black kids.

The private school I send my kids to has a higher percentage of black kids than our local public. Nice try though.

Interesting. That is not the usual, but I’m sure you know that. What school?

I don’t think it’s as unusual as you think. They would normally go to Whitman which is less than 5% black. Langley HS in VA is less than 2%.

So barely any black kids at either school. Got it.

No one seeks our private school for more diversity.

But do they seek it out for less diversity?