Why do so many folks pay for private school in this area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s money. People in this areas have a ton of it. Why do they buy their kids $1200 sneakers? Same answer. They can.

Many can, and don't. Because they are secure in themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many folks pay for private in this area? Because they can.

I think it must be deeper than that! Most smart and financially astute folks don’t do something just because they can. Lots of folks struggle to pay for it, and lots spend son much time and energy striving for it. It’s got to be deeper than, the blanket statement that the eduction is better? Is it $100k+ better? Why can’t their child strive in publics? Or do parents just think their kids can’t navigate an environment that simulates the real world?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s money. People in this areas have a ton of it. Why do they buy their kids $1200 sneakers? Same answer. They can.

Yeah, but even that is some cover for some insecurity. Otherwise, why would anyone spend that normally on such an item (unless they were collecting and could return value, etc). I really do find this fascinating amongst this very smart group.

[Anonymous]

Because they can afford it and it’s a status thing. Notice how many of them also go to country clubs.

Also, the public schools are not that good.

[Anonymous]

We don't have tons of money and it is a huge stretch (we do not get FA). But, when covid hit, our W school turned into a sh*tshow like all of MCPS. Our HS child has been in school all of last year and all of this year, class size is capped at 15 (over 30 in evwry class in MCPS), and their education is better. If covid never happened, we wouldn't be in private, but it did and we are.

Especially with what is going on right now in MCPS, I am beyond happy with our choice, even though it makes for serious belt tightening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't have tons of money and it is a huge stretch (we do not get FA). But, when covid hit, our W school turned into a sh*tshow like all of MCPS. Our HS child has been in school all of last year and all of this year, class size is capped at 15 (over 30 in evwry class in MCPS), and their education is better. If covid never happened, we wouldn't be in private, but it did and we are.

Especially with what is going on right now in MCPS, I am beyond happy with our choice, even though it makes for serious belt tightening.

Didn’t GC in MoCo close for the year too? Wasn’t that bad, regardless…and would have hated to pay private tuition to sit at home

[Anonymous]

I taught in public schools for 15 years. Now I send my own children to a private school and I transferred to a private. I appreciate the autonomy and how I have the flexibility to meet my students’ needs. I’m thankful my children’s teachers can do the same. It works for us and we think it’s worth the sacrifices we have to make to afford tuition. I’m sure it’s not for everybody, but we’ve found our homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school in this area are really not that good. I have 2 in private. One because they were not challenged at all by the public school education. The other one has learning disabilities and needed a smaller school setting to get the attention they needed. Public school (Arlington) is abysmal with learning disabilities.

DC publics are decent relative to other publics in the u.s., but that's not saying a ton generally, and it's saying nothing relative to the great privates we have here. There's a lot of wealth in the DMV, and those great privates are pretty accessible to many. So they pick the relatively better privates.

I agree with this mostly. For some its perceived status, for some it really is about providing a smaller environment for at least a period of time so kids can grow. For others its perceived advantage.

[Anonymous]

I used to be very pro-public school but I’m starting to change my mind after the last 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught in public schools for 15 years. Now I send my own children to a private school and I transferred to a private. I appreciate the autonomy and how I have the flexibility to meet my students’ needs. I’m thankful my children’s teachers can do the same. It works for us and we think it’s worth the sacrifices we have to make to afford tuition. I’m sure it’s not for everybody, but we’ve found our homes.

OP here: I love this! Opens my eyes to a credible perspective. No ego, no deflecting, no denying. Refreshing - Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have tons of money and it is a huge stretch (we do not get FA). But, when covid hit, our W school turned into a sh*tshow like all of MCPS. Our HS child has been in school all of last year and all of this year, class size is capped at 15 (over 30 in evwry class in MCPS), and their education is better. If covid never happened, we wouldn't be in private, but it did and we are.

Especially with what is going on right now in MCPS, I am beyond happy with our choice, even though it makes for serious belt tightening.

Didn’t GC in MoCo close for the year too? Wasn’t that bad, regardless…and would have hated to pay private tuition to sit at home

Good Counsel? They were open in some type of hybrid mode most of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have tons of money and it is a huge stretch (we do not get FA). But, when covid hit, our W school turned into a sh*tshow like all of MCPS. Our HS child has been in school all of last year and all of this year, class size is capped at 15 (over 30 in evwry class in MCPS), and their education is better. If covid never happened, we wouldn't be in private, but it did and we are.

Especially with what is going on right now in MCPS, I am beyond happy with our choice, even though it makes for serious belt tightening.

Didn’t GC in MoCo close for the year too? Wasn’t that bad, regardless…and would have hated to pay private tuition to sit at home

Good Counsel? They were open in some type of hybrid mode most of the year.

Yeah, but it was hybrid. Did they reduce the tuition?

[Anonymous]

Reduce tuition? Our school made lots of modifications, upgrades and structural improvements due to covid. Even the high tech cameras in every room come at a price. No, tuition was not reduced. But anyone was free to enroll in public school and then have zero instruction.

[Anonymous]

For me, public school classes are too big. You can't get a great education when the teachers are stretched so thin. My kids' public school teachers were great, but I preferred them to get the sense of community and connection that comes with a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reduce tuition? Our school made lots of modifications, upgrades and structural improvements due to covid. Even the high tech cameras in every room come at a price. No, tuition was not reduced. But anyone was free to enroll in public school and then have zero instruction.

Disagree about publics - maybe remote, but using the money saved for her first semester at T15. Cameras