Help solve family debate: teachers’ kids?

[Anonymous]

FIL went to elite DC private because his father was a teacher there in the 70s.

He insists that teachers’ kids still get admission in DC elite privates. My DH and I are arguing that just can’t be the case… right? Maybe the 70s, sure, but not today.

Who’s right? And please ref schools/details if you know them.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP. I’ll add: the reason my husband and I are so hesitant to believe this is that we did a quick scan of a few websites and it’s not listed on their hiring sections… unless this is a back room benefit that’s not discussed openly?

[Anonymous]

Yes teachers kids will typically get in if they are neurotypical or don’t need significant learning support. There is typically a steep discount but only free at a few select schools. It’s not on any of the websites but rather employee handbook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the PP. I’ll add: the reason my husband and I are so hesitant to believe this is that we did a quick scan of a few websites and it’s not listed on their hiring sections… unless this is a back room benefit that’s not discussed openly?

A back room benefit? Or not your business?

[Anonymous]

It wouldn’t be on the website. But it isn’t very common. There are usually like 100 teachers and 30 spots a year, so they don’t want four spots a year going to teachers kids (teachers can’t afford to donate much).

[Anonymous]

At one of our kids’ privates, teachers kids have preferential admission but not a lot of aid. At the other two privates, a lot of aid.

[Anonymous]

I’d be concerned if teachers children were generally not accepted or chose not to attend. Shows a lack of community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d be concerned if teachers children were generally not accepted or chose not to attend. Shows a lack of community.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It wouldn’t be on the website. But it isn’t very common. There are usually like 100 teachers and 30 spots a year, so they don’t want four spots a year going to teachers kids (teachers can’t afford to donate much).

What school has 100 teachers and 30 spots a year?

[Anonymous]

I teach at a top 3 and I know of more than five colleagues whose DCs were not admitted to our school.

[Anonymous]

At the private schools we have attended, most of the teachers' children (and some administrators' children) seem to attend public school.

We figured that it was a matter of cost.

[Anonymous]

At our children’s dc private several teachers have students at the school. I’m not sure if all get in, some are not admitted or others choose to attend elsewhere. I have no idea about financial aid but I hope the school offers it. My close friend is a Dean at a top three Ivy and she says a benefit to employees is financial aid that can be used at other universities and colleges. Basically they are saying don’t count on getting your kids in here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d be concerned if teachers children were generally not accepted or chose not to attend. Shows a lack of community.

PP here who have experienced 3 privates, 2 with good teacher aid and 1 without. The community is definitely impacted. Where teachers have their kids, there is much more understanding between teachers and parents. To me, this makes sense, since there is a large group of people who are both, who are able to share perspectives as both. There is very little animosity between teachers and parents.

At the same time, it can also get challenging because of how personal issues become. For example, if your child has conflict with the principal’s child and the principal is the boss or colleague or is genuinely friends with every school administrator, discussing that conflict can be challenging.

At one school, many of the faculty-parents recuse themselves from parent social events. This is highly understandable but also negatively impacts the class dynamic. There’s a whole group of kids for whom social events is literally work.

At another school, faculty-parents are integrated into a close-knit community. The benefits of the community is that it is close-knit. The downside is there is no privacy. Most schools have rules about child confidentiality, but these can be loosely interpreted for different reasons. Marital problems at home? At this school, everyone will know, whether the marriage is a faculty one or parent one.

Personally I prefer to have many faculty parents, because I think it’s best for kids when there’s very little fighting between teachers and parents, and when there’s a lot of shared understanding.

[Anonymous]

At our private you get half off tuition but your school income is also excluded from financial aid calcs. We have a lot of students where both parents work at the school. The same calculation applies to all full time employees, not just teachers. The students go through the same admissions process. They have priority the same way an alum child or sibling would have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FIL went to elite DC private because his father was a teacher there in the 70s.

He insists that teachers’ kids still get admission in DC elite privates. My DH and I are arguing that just can’t be the case… right? Maybe the 70s, sure, but not today.

Who’s right? And please ref schools/details if you know them.

No. Kids have to apply, they have to be selected within their demographic, they have to pay for it. None of those steps are guaranteed just because you teach at that same private school.

We’ve seen teachers leave even when their kid gets in but they don’t like their fin aid package.