Anyone ever go from private to public?

[Anonymous]

Your kid sounds like an independent thinker. Good for them. (You sound like a typical status-hungry DCUMer, so less good for you. But at least there’s hope in your family!)

[Anonymous]

Yes, from a parochial to FCPS. I have found FCPS a better fit for my kids in every way. I didn't hate the parochial, but didn't find it superior academically, didn't find the teachers to be better (and in some cases, worse), and the small size and lack of a range of different activities was disappointing.

If I could go back in time we would have never done parochial, but at least I know the grass is not always greener.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, from a parochial to FCPS. I have found FCPS a better fit for my kids in every way. I didn't hate the parochial, but didn't find it superior academically, didn't find the teachers to be better (and in some cases, worse), and the small size and lack of a range of different activities was disappointing.

If I could go back in time we would have never done parochial, but at least I know the grass is not always greener.

I'm probably switching DS from parochial to public MS next year for similar reasons, plus inconsistent or unpredictable homework schedule which makes it difficult to plan around travel sports some days. On the other hand, I want DS to have homework so I'm concerned he will have too little in public MS or less rigor. I also consider grading, especially in writing and religion classes, to be subjective (teachers' pets all As) and discipline applied inconsistently to boys, sometimes for very minor infractions..

[Anonymous]

Yep. Left a DC private and ended up at a STEM magnet.

[Anonymous]

Why does your DC want to leave private? What’s the reason for choosing those two schools in particular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We are outliers on this board because we only send one of our kids to a private and it’s for a specific reason. A lot of the criticism of publics isn’t valid imo. Public school teachers are better at classroom management and I found - contrary to what every private says - better at differentiation. We found a great school for one of my kids with ADHD but the accommodations in his private elementary were laughable.

This was EXACTLY our experience. Clearly, though, this varies a lot depending on where you live what schools are being compared.

In the end, the public school did a far superior job meeting the individual needs of a couple of our kids (which was contrary to what we expected) and prepared them exceptionally well for a rigorous university experience. I can say confidently that one of our kids blossomed in a way in public school that would have never happened had he stayed in private. This is not to suggest that's always be the case (not at all), but only to suggest you look closely at the individual needs of your kids and not to make assumptions about the quality of public vs private education.

I started the process with a bias towards private schools and came away with very different conclusions. But I've also lived in different regions of the country and understand that my answer to this question would change based on the region/schools under consideration and the individual learning style of the student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went through a k-8 school and transferred to a public high school back in the 90s. I wanted to switch in 6th grade. The girls weren’t very nice at my school and there were only 40 per grade. The change was great for me. Academically I felt “ahead” in writing but took honors and AP classes at my public which seemed comparable?

We are outliers on this board because we only send one of f our kids to a private and it’s for a specific reason. A lot of the criticism of publics isn’t valid imo. Public school teachers are better at classroom management and I found - contrary to what every private says - better at differentiation. We found a great school for one of my kids with ADHD but the accommodations in his private elementary were laughable.

If your DS wants to attend public I’d let him. I was SO much happier after switching.

I'm really curious about what public schools you are referring to!

[Anonymous]

Our child did pk-8 at DC privates, then moved to a DC public/charter for 9th. There were social issues that were hard to resolve due to the small class sizes and limited number of students...those social issues eventually started impacting academics, so we decided to try something different. The child is much happier at current school due to the larger student population. Having more kids in her class made it easier for her to find "her type of people" and blossom socially.

In terms of academics, she was ahead of the other students, but in a way that was good. Since her academics were solid, she was able to focus on the social adjustment...making new friends, joining clubs, trying out new sports, etc.

From a parental perspective, I was happy that my kid was happy and I was thrilled that she was being forced to be more independent, but there were a lot of things that were unfamiliar to us that bothered me...disruption and discipline issues in the classroom, a few physical fights between students, too much rowdiness, and obvious laxness of some of the kids (strolling to school late, blowing off class, cursing in front of adults, detention, etc). These were things that we didn't encounter in private school so it was a bit unsettling.

My child also started to take on a "laid back" attitude about arriving to school on time (its fine mom, lots of people get to school late), and about being proactive in doing community service hours (I'll get to, its not a big deal). Her grades also slipped...they weren't bad (she went from all A's to a mix of A's and B's). Again, not bad, but I felt like she lost some of her academic competitiveness, so that bothered me.

I think that given the chance for a do over, I wouldnt change anything at all...the benefits of public definitely outweighted the risks for our child.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like several parents just wanted an easier workload for their kids lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like several parents just wanted an easier workload for their kids lol

I have observed that top 10% kids at any school, public or private, work their butt off. Driven kids will be driven anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like several parents just wanted an easier workload for their kids lol

We wanted our DD surrounded by more intelligent peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like several parents just wanted an easier workload for their kids lol

My workload was higher at my public when I transferred . I was science and math focused and the kids at my public were quite competitive. We didn’t have magnets like TJHSST in my district but we had lots of very smart stem focused kids. I had classmates go to Stanford, Harvard, caltech, mit etc from public

[Anonymous]

All the time. My kids went from private elementary to public middle school. We know kids who turned down Sidwell, the National Cathedral School (we did) and others for public.

It turned out well for my kids, who went to magnets. The workload was really intense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like several parents just wanted an easier workload for their kids lol

PP. Not easier just different—less busy work, less subjective grading (teacher’s pets and most girls given straight As on anything they turn in), and less time spent on religious homework (memorizing prayers).