Things to consider in deciding on Public or Private for ES?

[Anonymous]

Just because a teacher doesn't have an education degree doesn't mean they are not good teachers. They may have a degree in their field (ie science) which is much more important to me than the education degree.

As far as the teachers at our school, they chose to go private instead of MCPS. They don't want the limitations that teaching in MCPS puts on them and they like the fact that they get interact with their students to a greater degree.

As far as art/music/pe, I have seen a huge benefit in my DS confidence and development. If you don't that's fine.

Music instruction has been show to have a great influence on kids in math. If you can expose your kids to as much as possible, I don't see why that is a bad thing. You never know where it will lead.

[Anonymous]

A big consideration for me is the fact that I work outside the home so I am not able to be as involved in my child's education as I would if I stayed at home. So I chose a small private school where I feel confident that my DS will be well known by teachers and administrators and will get more attention. I feel like that will offset the fact that I can't be there volunteering at school frequently as many SAHMs that I know do. I volunteer as much as I can for school activities and events, but I feel like on a day-to-day basis my child will be better looked after at a small private than at a large public school.

[Anonymous]

To clarify, I never said that all teachers without degrees in education are poor teachers. And I agree that a teacher with a degree in biology would likely make an excellent HS biology teacher -- but I'm not so sure he/she would make for an excellent elementary school teacher responsible for math, reading, etc. Teachers with degrees in education are taught how to teach math, how to teach reading, how to teach social studies, etc. Just because I know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide doesn't necessarily mean that I know an effective way to teach those skills to my child. And teachers with degrees in education are taught how to teach concepts in multiple ways to reach students with different learning styles and with special needs. You typically don't find that in private schools (I went to private K-12 and I have friends and family who send their kids to private --- in fact, I have a sister who teaches for MCPS who yanked her kid out of one private for another one after her kid went through the same grade level at the private that she teaches in MCPS and couldn't deny that the MCPS curriculum and instruction was superior).

[Anonymous]

We got lucky in that we got into excellent charter schools. We felt they offered a lot of the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, you can't be sure you'll get lucky in this regard so it doesn't help where you buy a house. OTOH, if you hold off on buying a house and happen to get lucky in a lottery you can make your decision then and live anywhere you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, I never said that all teachers without degrees in education are poor teachers. And I agree that a teacher with a degree in biology would likely make an excellent HS biology teacher -- but I'm not so sure he/she would make for an excellent elementary school teacher responsible for math, reading, etc. Teachers with degrees in education are taught how to teach math, how to teach reading, how to teach social studies, etc. Just because I know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide doesn't necessarily mean that I know an effective way to teach those skills to my child. And teachers with degrees in education are taught how to teach concepts in multiple ways to reach students with different learning styles and with special needs. You typically don't find that in private schools (I went to private K-12 and I have friends and family who send their kids to private --- in fact, I have a sister who teaches for MCPS who yanked her kid out of one private for another one after her kid went through the same grade level at the private that she teaches in MCPS and couldn't deny that the MCPS curriculum and instruction was superior).

I read a great article in a mathematics journal recently about how even seemingly basic concepts in math are best taught by someone with ADVANCED math knowledge because s/he understands how these foundational skills and concepts are used further along. Most elementary school math teachers don't have math degrees, and so while they can teach math skills at a basic level, they do so without understanding how and why addition ties into multiplication, or why carrying over works, or the theory behind negative numbers, etc. Those who have math degrees, on the other hand, have figured out why numbers work the way they do and are oftentimes better at explaining the concepts behind addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

It's easier to teach someone with a math degree how to teach (usually via mentoring), than to teach advanced math theory to teachers.

[Anonymous]

I agree when you are talking about HS math. But I certainly wouldn't want a person with a math degree teaching my elementary school kid reading, social studies, etc.

Teaching is a profession -- a calling. Unfortunately there are a lot of folks who burnt out as lawyers, mathematicians, real estate agents, etc. who try out the teaching gig as a second career under the theory that it's an easy 9-3 gig (not true) with summers off (not entirely true --- at least not if you teach for MCPS). I had some great teachers in private school, but I also had some nut-jobs as well as some former SAHMs returning to the workforce for some extra cash and an easy schedule.

My sister's Parent-Teacher conference for her kids at a local private school lasted all of 10 minutes and essentially boiled down to "Jane is a great kid and doing well." My kid's P-T conference in MCPS was nearly 20 minutes and the teacher busted out a comprehensive file showing me exactly how my kid had been assessed, samples of his work, where he was developmentally/socially/emotionally, what we could work on with him, etc. When comparing notes with my sis and her husband on P-T conferences, my BIL said, "we paid $11k and all we got was "you have a great kid" and her kid goes to school for free and she got a detailed report."

I'm not saying that all private school teachers are sub-par and all MCPS teachers are awesome. Rather, I think you need to fully research the private schools to figure out exactly what you are getting --- and that can be tough since they don't have to disclose info the way public schools do.

And FWIW, MCPS teachers at the MS and HS levels tend to have degrees in their specific subject area along with degrees in how to teach the information.

[Anonymous]

With all due respect, none of the elementary teachers at my child's private school were ever real estate agents, lawyers, or even mathematicians ... burnt out or otherwise. They are all professionally trained teachers, most with master's degrees. And the school's web site clearly posts each faculty member's years of teaching and professional educational backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

The responses to this thread have veered off in a different direction than maybe OP intended ... I THINK she was asking how to evaluate different public elementary schools, rather than asking whether private schools are better than publics.

Obviously looking at class sizes and the condition of the facilities is a good idea. Trailers are not the end of the world, but they indicate whether a school's cafeteria and gym are likely to be adequate for the number of children attending the school ... trailers indicate "not." Children are cycled through the cafeteria at a rapid pace and frequently do not have enough time to eat all their food, which has quite an impact on their ability to learn in the afternoons. Overcrowded schools can be quite chaotic for some children OR children are forced to endure intense management rules to maintain order ... lots of "no talking" "everyone line up" sort of stuff that turns school into a military drill much of the time. This doesn't bother some kids at all, so consider your own child carefully.

Another useful and often overlooked statistic is the turnover rate of students. At my child's base elementary school, the turnover rate is almost 40 percent each year for the students ... this means that a child who thrives on having one or two close friends will likely face the emotional disruption of having those friends disappear often throughout the elementary years. My child is a "generalist" who likes to play with anyone and everyone, thus this is not an issue for us, but again, know your own child.

Finally, you might want to chat with the PTA chair at those schools you are most interested in to get a sense of how involved parents tend to be in each community. Is there wide involvement or do a small group of parents pull most of the weight? A high level of involvement across a wide portion of the parent community has always been shown to improve children's performance and love of school.

[Anonymous]

PP has good points, esp. with respect to class size, school condition and parent participation.

OP, you'd asked what good is parent participation when teachers are bound by curriculum constraints? The PTA at our public school does a lot of fundraising in order to bring supplemental arts/extra-curriculars/language to the school. They pay to extend some of the extra teacher's hours who've had their days officially shortened. They rally the ranks to speak at public meetings to support school renovations. PTA's can do a LOT - especially during budget cuts!

You may be thinking to yourself, 'ugh - I don't want to have to work that hard to make sure my kids get all of those extras' - but if you think you'll avoid fundraising at a private, think again! After paying $$$$ for tuition, you'll still be plagued with requests to donate more throughout the year. Been there, done that. Financially, it is a lot more feasible for us to donate to fill out the curriculum at our public, vs. paying top dollar & then some for a private.

Also, the sense of community was important to us. At private, it was hard to get young kids together after school - families were really spread out (not especially diverse, mind you, just physically spread out) across NW DC & inner burbs = a ton of driving. At our local public, everyone is within walking distance and knows each other.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're really on the fence it's worth keeping in mind that if you are ever going to do public school, elementary is a good time to do it. Schools tend to be smaller, more approachable, more welcoming, etc. Most elementaries, public or private, are sweet, joyous places. And you can switch over to private at some point if it's not working for you. It's much harder to take your kid out of private school after years of private elementary and plop them into a big public middle school.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 21:26. Start in public, move to private later if necessary or desired.

[Anonymous]

OP here -

thanks to all for the helpful advice, especially the posters who addressed the questions of how to actually assess the individual schools, and the discussion of specifics of how parent involvement can impact things at the school. In many ways I feel like I have my parenting sea legs under me, but when I start thinking about schooling, I'm a total newbie, so I really appreciate the feedback.