APS (Jamestown/ATS) to Private?

[Anonymous]

It’s my first time posting on DCUM, and I couldn’t locate anything about this topic. I’m curious to know if anyone out there has had their kid(s) go through APS (specifically Jamestown or ATS) for K-5 and then switch to private? If so, did you find that the foundation provided by APS was sufficient upon enrolling into private for 6th grade, or were there challenges in the way of gaps, etc.? Any experience and/or advice (especially which private school you ended up enrolling in for 6) would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We went to another APS. We had an advanced

[Anonymous]

We went to another APS. We had an advanced reader who read Harry Potter in 1st grade (the whole series) and reads about 5 books a week.

Struggled in the writing/composition in private.

Math was super easy transition.

Probably gaps in knowledge of history and culture, but voracious reader probably papered over those issues.

[Anonymous]

Send your kid to private now if you are worried they can’t cut it when the real cuts come later on.

[Anonymous]

@00:18 - Thanks; that’s helpful insight.

Did you transfer into private at 6th grade, or sooner (or later)? Also, if you don’t mind sharing, which private did you transfer into? I’m interesting in Field, Edmund Burke, GDS (maybe Potomac).

[Anonymous]

We did APS elementary to gds in 6th. Fine transition. APS ahead/stronger in math and GDS more so in writing/reading. Good time to transition as plenty of time to adjust pre high school.

[Anonymous]

Lots of kids go from APS to Little Langley. No issues, Langley catches you up if needed. It is a big change with the amount of homework though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of kids go from APS to Little Langley. No issues, Langley catches you up if needed. It is a big change with the amount of homework though.

Maybe not from ATS my 5th grader had a lot of homework there

[Anonymous]

We went from Jamestown to private. Kid got As at both schools, but had to work a lot harder at private.

[Anonymous]

Went from Jamestown/Williamsburg to a Big 3 private for high school. Wasn't behind at all - in fact, was probably ahead in math and Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Went from Jamestown/Williamsburg to a Big 3 private for high school. Wasn't behind at all - in fact, was probably ahead in math and Spanish.

How much writing did your child actually do in APS? This is where my sense is that APS falls behind Big3. I mean, I believe that APS teachers are on par with the best private school teachers around here; the compensation makes it so. But APS teacher still have bigger classes and, particularly in MS, exponentially greater # of students. So, if a teacher in APS assigns a five page paper in MS, they will have (best case scenario) five pagers per 20 students per five periods equals 1,000 pages to review. They cannot possibly give real editing feedback or teach children the iterative process of writing/editing/revising. A private school teacher has the luxury of maybe 1/3 (or much less) number of pages. They can give detailed feedback. Not all do of course. Many are terrible. And you could win the lottery of teachers in APS so there is no right answer. On the other hand, you are giving up a ton in my view when you pull for private and almost always it’s the wrong call and based more on parents neediness than child’s actual development.

[Anonymous]

One of my kid’s very best friend went to a Big 3 after another North Arlington elementary school and Williamsburg. They met up again at UVA and rekindled the friendship that they still have to this day. The parents assume the switch would get the kid into an Ivy. It didn’t. Ironically, it very well may have had the kid stayed at Yorktown, where they likely would have been a superstar.

Oh well, it’s not my money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kid’s very best friend went to a Big 3 after another North Arlington elementary school and Williamsburg. They met up again at UVA and rekindled the friendship that they still have to this day. The parents assume the switch would get the kid into an Ivy. It didn’t. Ironically, it very well may have had the kid stayed at Yorktown, where they likely would have been a superstar.

Oh well, it’s not my money.

Totally true.

OP, make sure you know what you’re getting into. If you’re looking for increased rigor (particularly in writing), private could be a great choice.

If you want to secure a spot at a top college, a switch to private could very well work against your child. There are too many kids with (major) hooks at these schools. Harvard’s only going to take so many kids from any given school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send your kid to private now if you are worried they can’t cut it when the real cuts come later on.

It depends on the private school. Some privates favor a whole child approach in the primary grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did APS elementary to gds in 6th. Fine transition. APS ahead/stronger in math and GDS more so in writing/reading. Good time to transition as plenty of time to adjust pre high school.

I think math is generally stronger at public and writing is stronger at private.