Things to consider in deciding on Public or Private for ES?

[Anonymous]

I'm sure this has been hashed out numerous times, but I wasn't successful in finding old threads dealing with this question in a broad fashion (would be happy to read them if someone can provide the links.)

So my question is what criteria you used in deciding on Public or Private for your elementary aged children? I grew up going private, but for assorted reasons had thought our ideal situation would be sending our child to public school at least through the local elementary school years. However I've now seen references to the changes in K curriculum / teaching philosophy brought about by the No Child Left Behind Act that make me wonder if this is the right choice.

At this point, I haven't really given this decision much thought / research, as our eldest child is only 2.5. However, we may be moving (out of the area), and believe this decision could impact where we look to purchase a home.

So I'm looking for insight into how to go about deciding if the public school is a good fit for our child - what kind of information to look for about the school system, particular local schools, etc.

thanks!

[Anonymous]

Question 1: Can you afford private without doing anything stupid, like not saving for retirement?

Question 2: Is there something about your child or that you want for their education that a public can't provide? For us, it was smaller classes with more teachers (shy kid) and a heavy visual arts emphasis.

Question 3: How does the school - whether public or private - handle outlier kids? In some schools because of the admissions criteria, there may be less risk of your child being an outlier, although if your child is an outlier (reading Tolstoy by K), you will be more interested in that. Conversely, some public schools have very strong gifted programs even in elementary.

Question 4: If leaning private, can you find a school that seems right for your kid? If you are on the fence, there is no sense in paying the money unless you really think it is a good fit for your child.

Question 5: If diversity is important to you, how do the various schools you are considering rate? Around here, public is not always more diverse than private.

Question 6: Sports. Our kids are into sports no school, public or private, supports in the elementary years, so we haven't thought hard about this.

That's my list. I am sure others can improve on it.

[Anonymous]

16:42 has a great list. Not much to add but my own reason for choosing private for elementary:

1) small class size
2) more progressive approach to learning
3) more emphasis on arts, music, physical activity -- i.e., not just reading and math


We in a very small private school. Not one that's ever talked about on these boards. The tuition is very reasonable and we're very happy.

[Anonymous]

1) Amount of class time dedicated to test prep. IMO, the less the better.

2) Turnover rate of teachers/administration. If there is high teacher/admin turnover, you need to find out why. Stability and institutional knowledge are impt, but you don't want a situation where bad teachers get to stay, either.

3) Afterschool activities. What is the quality of the activities? Who teaches them? What is the level of supervision? Do the kids have to go elsewhere, or are they offered at campus?

4) Foreign language teaching. At what grade do they begin teaching? How many languages are offered? What is the quality of instruction?

5) Parent commitment. Schools where parents are committed, not just financially, but are visibly part of the school structure are better.

[Anonymous]

I went to private Catholic school K-12 in Kensington, and I'm sending my kids to public school in MCPS.

FWIW, my sister teaches for MCPS (and has for 15 years or so).

Things I considered:

1. Teachers in MCPS have advanced degrees in education (they have to either get their Masters in a certain amount of time or regularly take masters-equivalency type classes), whereas most teachers in private schools on the elementary level do not. I know folks who have yanked their kids out of private schools and sent them to MCPS b/c they felt the private education was sub-par. I think this is often the case on the elementary level, but not so much on the HS level where private HSs tend to be very challenging (I know my private HS was more stressful and challenging than law school).

2. Private schools aren't equipped to differentiate based on the student's academic level (in elementary schools). Generally speaking, they teach to the middle/slightly advanced, but they aren't equipped to help kids who really struggle, have special learning needs, or are truly advanced/gifted. Public schools are equipped to meet the needs of students on all levels.

3. A lot of the hype about MCPS being a stress factory and teaching to the test is overblown. My very active little boy thoroughly enjoyed K in MCPS --- he said all they did was play (which obviously isn't true). He was placed in 1st grade math. Ditto for the hype about lack of recess, PE, art, music, etc. My kid had each class weekly (which is the same way it was at the private school I went to).

4. The class sizes vary at each school. My kid's public school K only had 19 students (and this isn't a Title 1 school --- this is a solidly middle/upper class neighborhood). Many private Catholic schools have much larger class sizes.

5. The PTA at my kid's school is very active and several parents volunteer in each class. I think this happens more frequently in neighborhoods with lots of SAHMs and SAHDs (although DH and I both volunteered and we both work).

6. Diversity. I went to a chi-chi private elem in Kensington with zero diversity --- and I didn't want my kids to do that.

7. Dollars. My parents spent a fortune on private education for their kids, and while I appreciate it, I realize that it wasn't necessary (it was nice, but not necessary). Private school isn't a golden ticket to the good life. While most of my relatives and friends who went to private school turned out ok, a bunch didn't. There are tons of HS kids in my neighborhood who went to the neighborhood schools who have gone on to great colleges (some on academic scholarships), so I'm confident the public schools are serving them well.

[Anonymous]

I would have been "ok" with our local public school, but when considering the choice there were a few factors for the private school our children are attending:

-Instilling a love/passion for learning. Yes, this comes from the home, but at least for our kids and the local public school option, we felt that the private school had a better culture towards this. Everyday, our kids are very happy to bound into their school, happy to do their homework, happy to work with their teachers. That doesn't mean it doesn't/can't happen at the local public school, but it is a more even experience (based on conversations with neighborhood parents) than the public school option.

- Teaching to the test/standardized tests. This is simply killing public schools, in my opinion. Even the latest reports about IMPACT at DCPS suggest that the evaluation process is uneven, and many local parents are wondering why some of what they considered 'good" teachers were excused, while some of the "bad" teachers remain.

- Enrichment - I have heard horror stories about the lack of PE, arts, sciences, languages etc at the local public school. These"extras" were considered core for my elementary school experience and are core for our kids, but are somehow considered "extras" by our local neighborhood school. 15 minutes a day is simply not enough recess/outside/free time for kids, 40 minutes a week is simply not enough exposure to the arts, etc. This goes with the standardized tests issue, but there needs to be a better balance than what the public schools are providing.

-Diversity. Our private school is more economically and racially diverse than the public school would be. Obviously that isn't true across the board, but it would be for us.

There are many more, but overall, I think we feel like there is no better way to spend money other than on education for kids, so we are willing to make the sacrifices (old cars, little travel/vacation etc) to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3. A lot of the hype about MCPS being a stress factory and teaching to the test is overblown. My very active little boy thoroughly enjoyed K in MCPS --- he said all they did was play (which obviously isn't true). He was placed in 1st grade math. Ditto for the hype about lack of recess, PE, art, music, etc. My kid had each class weekly (which is the same way it was at the private school I went to).

There's not enough complaining about the testing and lack of PE, art, and music in MCPS elementary schools. I often read posts here from parents of Kindergartners or 1st or 2nd graders that there is no test prep in MCPS. That is because the real test-focus doesn't start until 3rd grade when the MSAs begin. Just you wait. My DC loved school until 3rd grade and then it was all downhill. Also, the amount of "teaching to the test" really varies by school and teacher.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good points made.

The extras vary but in DS private school, PE is every day, music, art, science, language and computers are 3x per week. When I went to the local public to look at, PE once a week, specials once a week, science taught by main teacher, science lab closing due to funding cuts vs a dedicated science teacher and room in the private school.

The biggest difference I see is that the smaller classes gives the teacher a better opportunity to know your child, their strengths and weaknesses, and communicate any issues to you quickly and regularly. The extra support is really good for a child who is shy, has mild learning issues or lacks self confidence. It can really help them grow.

You have to decide if your child really needs it or you really want the extras that private school provides.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks to all the PPs for the great responses - this is very helpful.

To clarify, part of my issue is that I just don't know what my child will need in 3 years when she starts school, but we may need to make the housing decision in the next few months, so I'm trying to make the best decision possible with our current information. To compound the situation, we already have a #2 (infant) and may have a #3 - so I'm trying to make decisions for children where I have even less / no insight into what they may need from a schooling perspective.

My current thinking is that I would love to send our children to Public elementary for the walk-to-school factor, neighborhood friends, community elements, etc. However, it is also important to me that our children have the opportunity to enjoy going to school and to (hopefully) learn to love learning itself, and I worry about the impact that the focus on testing has had on a Public schools ability to provide that type of environment. So I'd love insight into how to figure that out about a public school, particularly if we're trying to research this primarily online.

Also am curious what role the parent community places in influencing this within the school. From what I've seen online, the neighborhood / public school we are most seriously considering has a very active and involved parent base. But does that really matter if the teachers are so seriously constrained by the testing requirements?

An additional question based off of 10:54s post - how does the emphasis on testing play out across the years? Is it common for things to be good in K-2, and then go downhill in 3rd?

Oh - am also curious at what age folks felt they knew enough about their children to be able to assess what learning environment would best suit their needs. At 2.5 we're certainly getting a real sense of who our child is, but I don't feel that I can tell from that what kind of school would best suit her. (Of course, this may be due to the fact that I don't have a good sense of the differences between the schooling options.)

Thanks again for all the helpful insights!

[Anonymous]

I can't answer all your questions, but for me, it became apparent what my child's learning style/needs were somewhere between 3.5 and 4.

[Anonymous]

My kid did MCPS for 3rd through 6th, and I think the "teaching to the test" thing is over-hyped, too. Yes, they lose a week to taking tests. But my other kid did private, and she lost a full week to ERBs. It was similar in both schools: a week without serious teaching or any homework in both schools.

Neither school had weeks of (or any) test-prep worksheets, either.

[Anonymous]

Children's needs can change over time. It is very hard to predict at 2.5 what kind of student they will be especially as they get to MS and HS. I would give yourself options and choose a house in a school district where you like the es/ms/hs so that you have the public option if you want it.

[Anonymous]

I also think that if you limit your discussion to the difference between public and private, you will miss some of the differences between schools. We went private because we live in DC and our local elementary could not offer all that we needed/wanted from school for her. BUT if I lived in different neighborhood and our DD had not gotten accepted where she did, our choice may have been different. In my view, there are a number of DC private schools that are 'better' (using my criteria) than any of the publics - perhaps about 4 or 5 - but then some of the publics might rank next (maybe 3 of them), then 1 or 2 other private schools, then a few more publics, then other private schools.....

[Anonymous]

OP,
We started with public, a neighborhood school, moved to private for Middle School. DC is continuing with private for high school, but may switch over. I am really glad DC has seen both worlds. Our president and Michelle Rhee have not! (They are mainly products of private schools Though President Obama went to a public school in Indonesia. Which means he still never attended a US public school.)

[Anonymous]

9:41 here again. You should probably buy into a neighborhood in the best school district you can afford so that you can keep your options open (public or private). I think how active the parents are at any school plays a huge factor. I think you should ideally find a neighborhood with a good mix of SAHMs and working moms -- b/c the SAHMs tend to volunteer at the school, run fundraisers, etc. and it's a blessing to the entire school (and the other working moms make me feel less guilty that I can't volunteer since I work FT downtown). FWIW, one of my sisters (and most of her friends) have their kids in private schools and the sweeping generalization I can make is that the girls tend to love it and the boys don't -- and I have to wonder if that's sort of universal as kids age (ie: girls still love school while boys think it's a drag). I saw my parents struggle to put 4 kids through private school K-12, and while I appreciate it, I don't think it was necessary. I would have been fine in public school. We're doing public with our kids and so far, so good. We know lots of families in our neighborhood whose kids went through the local schools and both the parents and the kids were pleased. Do your research on the privates now --- and good luck with that b/c they don't have to report their test scores --- and their teachers don't need to have degrees in education --- so it's kind of hard to judge some of the privates. Many private schools pay their teachers lower salaries than MCPS, so you have to wonder why a person would opt to teach at a private instead of a public school --- is it b/c they don't have a degree? Is it b/c they weren't hired by MCPS so they went the private route? I don't buy into the PE/art/music argument at all --- do kids really need PE daily or several times a week? Why isn't daily recess and weekly PE enough? That's what I had at my private elementary school and that's what my kid has at MCPS.