Anyone thinking of leaving privates next year?

[Anonymous]

I have a middle schooler and often kick myself for not having gone public, at least through 2nd grade to see if he could be in the GT program that friends rave about. But now that DS is accustomed to the intimacy of a small private, I think it would be very hard to send him off to a big public school. Although I rather doubt that the academics at our school are vastly superior (if at all) to our public, the mentoring relationships that my son has with his teachers, who have gotten to know him well over the years, is I think so valuable, especially as kids enter their teen years and are looking for role models outside their family. So I'm kind of hoping he will stay.

[Anonymous]

Whether private school ends up being a waste of money in retrospect depends, for many parents, on (1) which private school the child attended, by which I mean that some private schools may not offer much over public schools, and (2) how the child did in school and in college acceptances, by which I mean many parents will not turn on a school until the disappointment of college rejections makes them wish they had saved the money and sent the child to a public school where the child would, the parent speculates, have done just as well.

[Anonymous]

I would like to hear if those who are switching are in DC or MD or VA. I am in DC and would like to switch for financial reasons, but do not have the confidence in DCPS or the option to attend a good DCPS school. We were shut out of charters (and continue to be shut out) and choosing an up and coming OOB school did not seem like a better choice than private.

If I were in MCPS in a good district I would have chosen to at least try public elementary.

[Anonymous]

I used to think that private school would be a big waste but my child would suffer in a large classroom and it would have been more costly in the long run in terms of tutors, extra activities, hating/arguing about school, etc.

I discovered that there is a lot more to choosing a private school for a child than just the cost and the name.

I think there are some kids who will be fine in either, some who will thrive in a public school, some who will thrive in a private school and it's just a matter of figuring out which one your child is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to think that private school would be a big waste but my child would suffer in a large classroom and it would have been more costly in the long run in terms of tutors, extra activities, hating/arguing about school, etc.

I discovered that there is a lot more to choosing a private school for a child than just the cost and the name.

I think there are some kids who will be fine in either, some who will thrive in a public school, some who will thrive in a private school and it's just a matter of figuring out which one your child is.

And the hard part is, you make a decision and then watch your kid change and wonder "hmmm, is this still right?" I put my highly anxious DS in a great private and he has thrived and grown leaps and bounds, but would that have happened in my local great DCPS? Is it BECAUSE of the private? Is it b/c I worked with him on the anxiety? Who knows, and it is damn frustrating to think about it for all the money being spent.

Now I am looking at his little sister, who could go to Janney in a couple of years, and thinking...should I try her there before just taking the private route? Will she resent it later? Sigh. Everyone makes the best decisions they can, for that moment...

[Anonymous]

Ha ha. Yes, that's just what it's like being a parent.

[Anonymous]

I went to public school and I think looking back that I would have done a lot better in a smaller environment. Yes I turned out fine but I noticed the difference in what I knew compared to some of my friends from college who went to private school. I too am not thrilled about the cost of private school but am definitely going this route esp. now that fairfax country is talking huge class size. I think my kids would not thrive in that environment esp. in the young years where I think they need that extra attention to get them really excited for school.

[Anonymous]

Not all private schools are created equal.

[Anonymous]

We are in MCPS, with a DC going into K in the fall. We only considered private in passing b/c we have a great ES in our neighborhood. That said, I found out yesterday that we are looking at ratios of 26/1 or 27/1 because the school is getting far more registrations for kindergarten than they expected. They might even have to put the kids in a portable if they have to open a 4th classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to think that private school would be a big waste but my child would suffer in a large classroom and it would have been more costly in the long run in terms of tutors, extra activities, hating/arguing about school, etc.

I discovered that there is a lot more to choosing a private school for a child than just the cost and the name.

I think there are some kids who will be fine in either, some who will thrive in a public school, some who will thrive in a private school and it's just a matter of figuring out which one your child is.

And the hard part is, you make a decision and then watch your kid change and wonder "hmmm, is this still right?" I put my highly anxious DS in a great private and he has thrived and grown leaps and bounds, but would that have happened in my local great DCPS? Is it BECAUSE of the private? Is it b/c I worked with him on the anxiety? Who knows, and it is damn frustrating to think about it for all the money being spent.

Now I am looking at his little sister, who could go to Janney in a couple of years, and thinking...should I try her there before just taking the private route? Will she resent it later? Sigh. Everyone makes the best decisions they can, for that moment...

Yes and no. Because its private there are smaller class sizes and more teacher attention which leads to great confidence in the children and a better ability to focus and learn and absorb. They can then turn that into other qualities such as leadership, etc. If public schools maintained smaller class sizes and could allow this same kind of growth and development for kids, then I would not likely pick a private school.

[Anonymous]

We are in DC and are not switching out of private. We are considering a move to MoCo and still would not switch. It bothers me a bit when I hear people say that, looking back, it was a waste of money. In some cases, I think that comment is based on what happened with the kids' grades and college acceptances. To me, the education my children are getting now is the point of sending them to private schools. I believe in a well-rounded liberal arts education that emphasizes the arts. I am not sending them to juice their chances at getting into some certain set of colleges. I went to public all the way through and was bored out of my mind despite being G&T tracked from 5th grade on. I begged my parents to send me to private, but they didn't. I don't want them to have that school experience, and I do want them to consider the arts and physical activity as part of a well-rounded life, not an add-on if the budget permits it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in DC and are not switching out of private. We are considering a move to MoCo and still would not switch. It bothers me a bit when I hear people say that, looking back, it was a waste of money. In some cases, I think that comment is based on what happened with the kids' grades and college acceptances. To me, the education my children are getting now is the point of sending them to private schools. I believe in a well-rounded liberal arts education that emphasizes the arts. I am not sending them to juice their chances at getting into some certain set of colleges. I went to public all the way through and was bored out of my mind despite being G&T tracked from 5th grade on. I begged my parents to send me to private, but they didn't. I don't want them to have that school experience, and I do want them to consider the arts and physical activity as part of a well-rounded life, not an add-on if the budget permits it.

I agree. If a parent does not believe that the education at a private school is not inherently worthwhile, then he or she should choose an alternative such as public. What I hate to hear is parents condemn the private schools as being a waste of money after DC does not get into the colleges at which they thought the private school would give DC a better chance -- or a guarantee, even!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in DC and are not switching out of private. We are considering a move to MoCo and still would not switch. It bothers me a bit when I hear people say that, looking back, it was a waste of money. In some cases, I think that comment is based on what happened with the kids' grades and college acceptances. To me, the education my children are getting now is the point of sending them to private schools. I believe in a well-rounded liberal arts education that emphasizes the arts. I am not sending them to juice their chances at getting into some certain set of colleges. I went to public all the way through and was bored out of my mind despite being G&T tracked from 5th grade on. I begged my parents to send me to private, but they didn't. I don't want them to have that school experience, and I do want them to consider the arts and physical activity as part of a well-rounded life, not an add-on if the budget permits it.

I agree. If a parent does not believe that the education at a private school is not inherently worthwhile, then he or she should choose an alternative such as public. What I hate to hear is parents condemn the private schools as being a waste of money after DC does not get into the colleges at which they thought the private school would give DC a better chance -- or a guarantee, even!

Oops -- double negative where only one was intended. Meant, "If a parent does not believe that a private school is inherently worthwhile, . . . ."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to think that private school would be a big waste but my child would suffer in a large classroom and it would have been more costly in the long run in terms of tutors, extra activities, hating/arguing about school, etc.

I discovered that there is a lot more to choosing a private school for a child than just the cost and the name.

I think there are some kids who will be fine in either, some who will thrive in a public school, some who will thrive in a private school and it's just a matter of figuring out which one your child is.

And the hard part is, you make a decision and then watch your kid change and wonder "hmmm, is this still right?" I put my highly anxious DS in a great private and he has thrived and grown leaps and bounds, but would that have happened in my local great DCPS? Is it BECAUSE of the private? Is it b/c I worked with him on the anxiety? Who knows, and it is damn frustrating to think about it for all the money being spent.

Now I am looking at his little sister, who could go to Janney in a couple of years, and thinking...should I try her there before just taking the private route? Will she resent it later? Sigh. Everyone makes the best decisions they can, for that moment...

Good question.

[Anonymous]

I am just curious...you said that private can offer the extras that public can't. What extras are you talking about? When we looked into private vs. public, we were very impressed with the public. Our public offers a strategies lab for higher level thinking for all students, it owns the rights to Rosetta Stone so the kids have access to 25 different languages, and it is a GT center. I can't wait to start in the fall.