How did you think about timing?

[Anonymous]

Our kids are 4 and 7. For a variety of reasons, we'd like our kids to transition to private school sometime in middle school. We're in Arlington and, so far, the oldest has been happy but unchallenged at her public elementary. She loves going to school, her peers seem great, and we've had a good experience with the teachers. We have been underwhelmed by the curriculum. The youngest is still in preschool.

We're trying to decide whether we should apply next year for K for my youngest (ideally at a school that would have an entry year for my oldest), or if he should start at APS and we should wait a few years, recognizing admissions may be harder the older they get. Teachers of both kids say they're super bright/ahead of their peers -- especially the 4 year old -- but who knows how that will shake out.

My question is, for people who seriously considered both public and private, how did people decide when to start their kids in private? Did you wait until problems in public surfaced? Wait for a particular grade? Start in preschool because of the importance of early education? Switch in high school because of college preparedness?

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten. Don't want them starting private behind both academically and socially.

[Anonymous]

OP, you're speaking as if all private schools are the same and interchangeable. Which ones would you be targeting an why are they a good fit for either of your children?

[Anonymous]

I moved my DD for 6th grade. I wish I did it sooner but MCPS wasn't so bad before covid hit and she was doing really well. This all changed for the 5th grade, her grades were beginning to slip and the administration's problems were getting out of hand. I under estimated how competitive the process was and we were lucky that a private school gave her a chance.

[Anonymous]

Do what you can afford.

[Anonymous]

We moved all our kids as soon as we got off the wait list. So check first if you can get in when you need to get in.

[Anonymous]

We moved for Prek4. Our original plan was going to do DCPS (we are in an area of DC where elementary schools are meh) until middle school, or at least until 4th grade because that's an entry point for some privates. However, we began doing research and it gets more competitive every year. We ended up applying and getting our oldest in for prek4, the first year of entry at our top school (a "Big 3" on this board). If you can afford it and you want a top school, I would move the kids ASAP. Our child got into schools, we decided, and then got matched into a great elementary school out of bounds in the DC lottery. We turned down the spot because we didn't want to be in a bad position for 6th grade. Is the education that much better than the private we chose? No. However, we are paying for a spot that we want for middle and high school. For us (and I'm sure others will disagree) that money is well spent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten. Don't want them starting private behind both academically and socially.

They aren’t going to be behind if they move from APS to private. Before the pandemic, a lot of parents moved their kids around 4th or 5th to private. Entry years are different depending on the school for example Holton/Landon starts at 3rd, NCS/St. Albans starts at 4th. Little Langley starts pre-K. Potomac starts K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten. Don't want them starting private behind both academically and socially.

They aren’t going to be behind if they move from APS to private. Before the pandemic, a lot of parents moved their kids around 4th or 5th to private. Entry years are different depending on the school for example Holton/Landon starts at 3rd, NCS/St. Albans starts at 4th. Little Langley starts pre-K. Potomac starts K.

If you want NCS or STA, you should move your kid to Beauvoir. While our kid is having a great experience at Beauvoir, we wouldn't have chosen the school if not for how tough it is to get a child into NCS or STA (we have both a girl and a boy) from outside of Beauvoir. While it isn't an automatic acceptance, it is a much better chance. OP, seriously consider this if NCS/STA is your goal.

[Anonymous]

Personally I would start in MS. ES is such a special time and if you have a good ES (like most Arlington ES) then you're kids will be fine. They'll make lots of friends in the neighborhood and on sports teams/other activities. ES is a hard time if your private is close by because there's so much time you spend in the school, its just a more hectic time.

MS is good b/c truly all MS suck for the most part and its a natural time to change. We waited till HS with our oldest and is was very hard for her to leave her friends. Our other started in MS and its been a really good transition.

We are in Arlington with a good school pyramid FWIW, but too many kids fly under the radar due to the class sizes. DD had 30 in her math class before going to private. We thought she struggled but actually she wasn't being challenged- no teacher had noticed before. (we learned this at her private).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally I would start in MS. ES is such a special time and if you have a good ES (like most Arlington ES) then you're kids will be fine. They'll make lots of friends in the neighborhood and on sports teams/other activities. ES is a hard time if your private is close by because there's so much time you spend in the school, its just a more hectic time.

MS is good b/c truly all MS suck for the most part and its a natural time to change. We waited till HS with our oldest and is was very hard for her to leave her friends. Our other started in MS and its been a really good transition.

We are in Arlington with a good school pyramid FWIW, but too many kids fly under the radar due to the class sizes. DD had 30 in her math class before going to private. We thought she struggled but actually she wasn't being challenged- no teacher had noticed before. (we learned this at her private).

Sorry, I meant if your private ISN'T close by

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved for Prek4. Our original plan was going to do DCPS (we are in an area of DC where elementary schools are meh) until middle school, or at least until 4th grade because that's an entry point for some privates. However, we began doing research and it gets more competitive every year. We ended up applying and getting our oldest in for prek4, the first year of entry at our top school (a "Big 3" on this board). If you can afford it and you want a top school, I would move the kids ASAP. Our child got into schools, we decided, and then got matched into a great elementary school out of bounds in the DC lottery. We turned down the spot because we didn't want to be in a bad position for 6th grade. Is the education that much better than the private we chose? No. However, we are paying for a spot that we want for middle and high school. For us (and I'm sure others will disagree) that money is well spent.

We love living in DC and made the same calculation as this poster to anchor at a top school as soon as we could to gain a spot when it isn’t as competitive. We did not do this because it is “better” at this early stage — in fact we have been at DCPS at a title 1 school for preK3 &4 and loved it. For us the public path is more unreliable for middle and high school; therefore having the consistency in learning throughout our DD educational journey through private is set. And we could always make a change to go to another private or public in the future. Unlikely we could do the reverse as easily.

[Anonymous]

There is no primary curriculum that is challenging, OP. Private or public, it doesn't matter. At that age, schools need to work on kids who have absolutely no academic exposure whatsoever - and believe me, there are plenty of those in wealthy families. As a result, the advanced kids spend their time socializing, acting out, or being bored.

I would spend as little time as possible in private, because honestly, the most expensive privates may not be a good return on investment, and the least expensive ones are not academically worth it. Save and invest for college. Private universities are moving into 100K/yr territory (total cost of attendance, room, board and tuition).

[Anonymous]

Private school tuition has never been an "investment" for us, nor is it for many other parents we know.

[Anonymous]

We moved to private in 5th and 3rd. This allowed kids to form neighborhood public school friendships, several of which they have maintained 4 years later. This wasn’t necessarily our reasoning at the time, but it was a nice benefit.