If you live in NOVA and send your kids to private why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys underestimate how hard it is to go private in a hcol area most people have to tough it out in a public school I know i did and my kid might too.

Huh? Can you explain what you mean by "hard"?
- one of the private school families in a hcol area

I mean have you seen the price of homes lately🤣🤣🤣

To some of us, public schools are like public housing. Either pay for it yourself or get an inferior mess.

The point is that it can be difficult for people to pay for private school when many bought homes in good neighborhoods, usually planning to send kid to public. It’s not fair for all the rich people to pull their kids out of the system.

We bought in an excellent district. I don’t believe in sequestering rich kids away to private, so we send our kid to public even though we could comfortably afford private. We stuck it out for several years, supplemented at home, did outside math, respectfully raised concerns about curriculum and classroom behavior, and I volunteered countless hours helping to run PTA events including big fundraisers to help teachers (They don’t need it, district is rich.), STEM and science nights. I finally just gave up and we are switching this year.

Public education is a very, very different animal from when I was growing up. I went to a crappy poor school in a town where lots of girls get pregnant or do drugs and drop out. I learned to read at school. I was given advanced spelling lists and also allowed to read after completing math work. Everyone learned to spell, read, and write. Problem kids were sent to the principal, and parents yelled and sometimes spanked their kids. Schools now cannot dole out consequences and neither do parents. Teachers are stuck teaching to the bottom, and the rest of the kids are stuck on screens and ignored.

It’s not fair but it’s ok if you do it? Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys underestimate how hard it is to go private in a hcol area most people have to tough it out in a public school I know i did and my kid might too.

Huh? Can you explain what you mean by "hard"?
- one of the private school families in a hcol area

I mean have you seen the price of homes lately🤣🤣🤣

To some of us, public schools are like public housing. Either pay for it yourself or get an inferior mess.

The point is that it can be difficult for people to pay for private school when many bought homes in good neighborhoods, usually planning to send kid to public. It’s not fair for all the rich people to pull their kids out of the system.

We bought in an excellent district. I don’t believe in sequestering rich kids away to private, so we send our kid to public even though we could comfortably afford private. We stuck it out for several years, supplemented at home, did outside math, respectfully raised concerns about curriculum and classroom behavior, and I volunteered countless hours helping to run PTA events including big fundraisers to help teachers (They don’t need it, district is rich.), STEM and science nights. I finally just gave up and we are switching this year.

Public education is a very, very different animal from when I was growing up. I went to a crappy poor school in a town where lots of girls get pregnant or do drugs and drop out. I learned to read at school. I was given advanced spelling lists and also allowed to read after completing math work. Everyone learned to spell, read, and write. Problem kids were sent to the principal, and parents yelled and sometimes spanked their kids. Schools now cannot dole out consequences and neither do parents. Teachers are stuck teaching to the bottom, and the rest of the kids are stuck on screens and ignored.

It’s not fair but it’s ok if you do it? Got it.

Why sacrifice the well being and education of your own kids to (checking notes) bring up the average of failing public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

Shhh...you can't say the quiet part out loud and expose the people who want to pretend that it's racism not classism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys underestimate how hard it is to go private in a hcol area most people have to tough it out in a public school I know i did and my kid might too.

Wow so you just say fck it instead of trying to give them better you sound selfish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these things you can find in good public school districts.

It’s 2025, granny. Schools around here aren’t what Justin and Amy experienced in the late 90s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

Suprisingly most family’s at my kids school are middle class rather than poor is this uncommon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys underestimate how hard it is to go private in a hcol area most people have to tough it out in a public school I know i did and my kid might too.

Huh? Can you explain what you mean by "hard"?
- one of the private school families in a hcol area

I mean have you seen the price of homes lately🤣🤣🤣

To some of us, public schools are like public housing. Either pay for it yourself or get an inferior mess.

Absolutely brutal analogy but true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

Suprisingly most family’s at my kids school are middle class rather than poor is this uncommon?

For financial aid? Yes, it's very common. Been discussed her ad nauseam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

Suprisingly most family’s at my kids school are middle class rather than poor is this uncommon?

Assuming your school is a public school, we have very different definitions of what poor is.

Most likely, these middle class families in your public school would be relatively poor elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys underestimate how hard it is to go private in a hcol area most people have to tough it out in a public school I know i did and my kid might too.

Huh? Can you explain what you mean by "hard"?
- one of the private school families in a hcol area

I mean have you seen the price of homes lately🤣🤣🤣

To some of us, public schools are like public housing. Either pay for it yourself or get an inferior mess.

Absolutely brutal analogy but true.

I used to think of public school as flying economy vs flying first class. You don't need first class, but it is a better experience. Over the years, with the sizes of the classrooms, teacher shortages, lack of resources, etc, this is a better analogy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

Suprisingly most family’s at my kids school are middle class rather than poor is this uncommon?

Assuming your school is a public school, we have very different definitions of what poor is.

Most likely, these middle class families in your public school would be relatively poor elsewhere.

I meant with FA I just forgot to write it as I was in a rush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's basically this. Whites who can afford private school don't want their kids to be around a lot of black and brown kids in public schools. The few in private? Palatable.

NOVA / DC area is one of the most diverse in the country, however, education-wise, whites want it like somewhere in Indiana.

This isn’t quite true. The rich private school parents want their kids to be around other rich kids. They can be rich kids of any color though. Like world bank kids, embassy kids, black surgeons’ kids etc. It’s not so much a color thing - they don’t want poor kids of any color, including poor white kids. Just my observation as a parent at a very diverse private school.

+1 this is spot on. Also why most parents are against financial aid.

Suprisingly most family’s at my kids school are middle class rather than poor is this uncommon?

Assuming your school is a public school, we have very different definitions of what poor is.

Most likely, these middle class families in your public school would be relatively poor elsewhere.

I meant with FA I just forgot to write it as I was in a rush.

For the range of incomes at the school, they are on the low side and qualify for financial aid.

For many reasons, private day schools cannot admit truly poor kids. It would not be fair to surround them with so much excess. The kids need stable food, transportation, clothing, housing, etc and to actually fit in would also need access to vacations, athletics, hobbies, tutors, etc. it all gets very expensive.

[Anonymous]

My question is what do middle class families do in this area public is declining but private even with aid is unaffordable so what do they do?