Private school curriculum - elementary school

[Anonymous]

We need more data in current state of GT since last year all depends on lottery, even Nest+m (I know a couple of kids who are there either through lottery or younger siblings or admitted students who were tested in).

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard anecdotally Nest will counsel families out if kids aren’t able to perform?

Of course the same can be said for privates. Continued admission is never guaranteed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why our school consultant told us to do public for elementary. There are several kids in my kids class working 1-2 grade levels ahead in math in small groups with the teacher. I don't know why our public school is so good at differentiating but the privates aren't. We've heard they teach to the middle.

Good to know. Are you in a citywide GT, district GT or zoned school?

Does anyone know if a lot of PS6 kids end up applying to private school for middle school, and if so, how are exmissions/

Zoned school. I should also clarify that for elementary, it was important to us to be close to our school and not have a 30+ minute commute. So we were not comparing against all private elementary schools - it was a handful of specific privates versus a handful of publics in our district, so your mileage may vary.

I have not heard great things about the state of GT unless it happens to be your local school. Except for nest+m.

NP: G&T has been totally diluted. And even before it was, I think that top neighborhood Gen Ed schools were just as good.

I agree with the other poster that a good neighborhood Gen Ed is a good way to go. The primary reason to go to a private for K is the peace of mind that your kid is in and you don't have to go through the process later, when it could potentially be harder. At a public you just have to advocate for yourself and your child. Many teachers are good at differentiated learning and pushing academically strong kids. But not all will do this. I am a strong opponent of Russian Math and supplements like that as I don't think they accomplish much, but you do need to make sure your child is being pushed.

Sixth grade is a less common entry point for privates than 9th. It definitely happens, but if you go public for K, you need to be open to the fairly high likelihood you will stay public for middle school. Most of the areas that have good Gen Ed public elementary schools also have good middle schools, though you don't always have full control over the process (i.e. random lotteries that don't factor in academic performance). But if you are just looking at elementary now, that process could change several times between now and when you are considering middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Sixth grade is a less common entry point for privates than 9th. It definitely happens, but if you go public for K, you need to be open to the fairly high likelihood you will stay public for middle school. Most of the areas that have good Gen Ed public elementary schools also have good middle schools, though you don't always have full control over the process (i.e. random lotteries that don't factor in academic performance). But if you are just looking at elementary now, that process could change several times between now and when you are considering middle schools.

My 12yo attends a zoned District 2 middle school with a screened program, something I think they added largely to console families with bad lottery numbers, and while it's not exactly *super* rigorous - 2/3 of the 6th grade is in it and the remaining 1/3 has the chance to test into it at the end of the year - it does at least prevent the scenario where one or two struggling kids occupy an inordinate portion of the teacher's time. And the kids are pretty smart, I think like 1/4 of her class qualified to take the Hunter test (though none got in), compared to roughly 5% of kids citywide.

Teachers / facilities are a mixed bag but I'd say 3 out of her 4 core teachers were solid and the theater program is very big and ambitious - 2 full musicals a year, more than most private middle schools manage, and several 8th graders are going to LaGuardia for drama next year.

But basically, the worst-case scenario for public middle school in a nice district is not bad, certainly not bad enough to be worth paying for 6 years of unnecessary private school to avoid it.

[Anonymous]

If you're really into math, and really into your kid being advanced in math, you must tackle the problem yourself. Same for piano, violin, religion instruction, tennis, gymnastics, literature, second language, etc. No school is going to care at the level a parent will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're really into math, and really into your kid being advanced in math, you must tackle the problem yourself. Same for piano, violin, religion instruction, tennis, gymnastics, literature, second language, etc. No school is going to care at the level a parent will.

My child went to a good but not overly rigorous gen ed public middle after going to a very good Gen Ed public elementary. We were a bit concerned they weren't learning much in middle school but we didn't supplement, other than a tutor for SHSAT and ISEE. They are a very good student but not an off the charts type. They got a 99 on 8th grade algebra regents, did extremely well on SHSAT and ISEE, and have been a top math student (as well as doing well in other classes) at a very good but not TT private HS. While other kids were stressing out in middle school they had a more relaxed experience and came out doing fine (haven't applied to college yet but aiming for TT schools). For level setting, I went to a top suburban public and an Ivy so my bar is very high. People just need to chill out.