Brooklyn privates right for us?
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Anonymous
| We’re contemplating a move to Brooklyn in the next year or two. We have one kid who is in the fourth grade and we would likely apply to privates for sixth grade. He’s currently in public school. A couple of questions - we make a bit more than 350k and would likely rent first, would we be really out of place at Brooklyn privates? I assume it’s better than ones in Manhattan. Grandparents would be paying most of the tuition. We’re not interested in St. Ann’s or Brooklyn Friends, they’re a bit too out there for us. We would likely apply to Packer and Berkeley Carroll as our top two choices and Poly Prep as a third choice. Looking for a balance between progressive and traditional education that’s not too small. Also want a school with fewer parents in high finance - not sure if one has more doctors, professors, scientists, accountants, etc. Which of these schools would be the best fit? Or should we really focus on publics and that whole process? |
Anonymous
| People with $350k HHI in the nice parts of Brooklyn send their kids to public unless family money is paying the tuition. |
Anonymous
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Difficult to say without knowing everyone net worth. There is a big difference between living paycheck to paycheck on $0 net worth or $10mm net worth.
There is a subset of children with parents of similar income (i.e. faculty, financial aid, employer sponsored, etc…). Due to lackluster college placement, I would prioritize the child graduating college debt free and future inheritance for quality of life. |
Anonymous
| Packer is the most academic and thus has the most in terms of families who are really prioritizing being there. But honestly just buy in PS 321 and get grandparents to pay for summer camps, extracurriculars, college fund etc. Manhattan has way more private schools and it’s more part of the culture for non-celebs and hedge funders there. |
Anonymous
Thanks for the info. Grandparents have already funded college, but it seems like it’s not the norm at our income level to do private. If we end up moving, I guess we can re-evaluate if he has trouble with public school. |
Anonymous
| any Brooklyn private is going to a have fair share of very very wealthy families and no, you cannot avoid the finance families there. maybe a Catholic school is your best best. Depending on where in Brooklyn it can be pretty fast to get into Manhattan so I don’t think you need to limit yourself to Brooklyn. |
Anonymous
+1. Accountants and scientists don’t have money for private schools. |
Anonymous
Most pick the house in the suburbs over renting and private school. |
Anonymous
Buying in the 321 zone doesn't do much if the kid will be in middle school. Those are not zoned, but are assigned by district. We're $350k hhi with kids at 321 and are planning on public for middle school. That said, Berkeley Carroll at least has generous financial aid and from what I've seen you wouldn't feel out of place at your income. |
Anonymous
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Most packer parents are finance types or biglaw. You’ll get a bit more of a mix a BC because they draw more from the crunchy park slopers. Poly is more of a mix of finance and old school Brooklyn families who want their kids to have a “suburban” school experience with a campus. If your kid is sporty it’s fine, otherwise avoid.
There are few “middle class” New York City families at any private. Not a lot of the careers you mention unless their spouse is in a more lucrative career or is a teacher at the school (which is who make up most of the “middle class” families at these schools). You make too much for financial aid, you’re likely not a diversity applicant and you don’t have deep pockets to donate. Your kid won’t necessarily feel out of place but it’s worth considering. And by “middle class” I obviously mean you make way more money than actual middle class but it’s how it translates to Manhattan and Brooklyn col and lifestyle. |
Anonymous
| While I agree that most people with 350k HHI send kids to public school, if grandparents can comfortably pay, I think it’s fine to consider privates too. Packer has a lot of very wealthy families. Berkeley Carroll and Poly are a bit more of a mix. You might feel like you fit in better at one of those. Poly is the most sporty if your kid is athletically inclined. |
Anonymous
+1 You don’t say where you’re moving from, and why Brooklyn specifically… I’m wondering why you don’t look at the suburbs though. Brooklyn is not as different as Manhattan as you think. |
Anonymous
| Thanks everyone! We currently live in a major west coast city. We’re in public now, but we’ve always wanted to consider private starting in middle school. In our current district, public is fine for elementary school, but hear of lots of problems that become really apparent in middle school. I went to a school similar to Poly Prep back in the day, maybe it’s something we should consider more strongly. Are there any Catholic schools in Brooklyn that have a strong percentage of non-Catholics? |
Anonymous
| As an aside - we live in the Upper East Side and always feel thankful about that when we get home from visiting Brooklyn friends (who may feel the same way in reverse). Brooklyn is also enormous - hot neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint aren't convenient to the private schools mentioned and Park Slope can be a bit of a commute to midtown if you work there. If you havent done so, please spend a couple days on the ground making sure you are planting your family in the right spot! |
Anonymous
Ha! I second this, except we live on the Upper Westside. |