Stay in Private or Switch to Strong In-Bounds DCPS? Looking for Experiences

[Anonymous]

When they are younger, I think you can usually keep up with private-school level work via working with them afterschool and during the summer. Math and writing have to be taught, reading/history can be done as read-tos at bedtime and through strict anti-screen policies.

But as children get older, it becomes more and more difficult to get even a very light version of homeschooling done during non-school times.

Could you compromise and send them to a cheaper private school? The student body is not going to be as strong, but that doesn't mean the education is going to be worse -- the correlation between curricula and price is tenuous. You need a lot of money to implement the truly bad ideas, and capable enough students that they will not be too obviously impacted.

[Anonymous]

Which DC Public do you think is good enough for your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you on track to fully pay for undergrad even if your kid goes to private ES? If so, then stay private.

This is our priority list:

1. Fully paid undergraduate
2. Private High School
3. 50% contribution towards graduate school
4. Private middle
5. Private ES

We think our kids are going to be more thankful about getting a big contribution to graduate school than being glad they went to a private ES. But that’s our belief, not everyone. Private ES when you have a good public is for the benefit of the parents not the kids. Maybe you could justify it if you wanted to attend the high school. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

I'm thinking through all of this now with a 2 and 4 year old. The above points reflect a 2010 world where the assumption is that the pipeline leads to degrees. In a world that's rapidly shifting, should we treat K-12 like college?

Yes, I would avoid any school that uses the screen and AI to replace the teachers, especially in lower grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So your oldest would stay in private and you’re only considering moving the child who benefits from the smaller, more attentive environment of a private? I’m confused.

+1

I definitely can see future resentment if you send your oldest to private and move the younger ones to public school. I would do all in private or all in public based on what financially works for your family.

[Anonymous]

I personally have had good experiences with private and public. My kids switched from public to private purely bc our public was hanging on to virtual way too long during covid and learning to read virtually did not work.

I would also factor in leaving a school and group of friends, going somewhere for a few years, and then doing it again. The social experience is equally important. I would not pull my kid out of a school, public or private, that was working well academically and socially. I think kids really benefit from that consistency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids both did public ES and one switched to private in 7th but I will say the public school and private school spring break are almost never the same week and that is definitely annoying.

Can you talk about the process of applying in 7th? We are not overjoyed with our DCPS option but don't want to apply to a charter. We will give it a chance. I am wondering what is the timeline if we want to switch to pvt in 7th, how do I start to research schools, how do I know which schools realistically will let a kid in at 7th when 6th is the normal entry point, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like PP, we did DCPS and pulled our kids at different years for varying reasons. One we went through 6th grade, and the other through 3rd. Our kids have excelled at math and science and have absolutely had an uphill battle in writing and language arts. To the point I would consider them deficient when they started at their new schools. I never saw any work come home from our DCPS elementary or middle school, only the report cards and standardized testing that indicated our kids were well above grade level in whatever they were testing. However, my then 7th grader could barely compose a paragraph.

Pay attention to this. I found my DC, who transferred to private in 5th grade to be deficient when it came to language arts/writing. It was actually embarrassing. She was coming from public and they had never written more than a paragraph and at her new private school, she was required to write essays and journal on a daily basis. The writing thing is very hard to make up for later on down the road. My DD is now in a competitive private school but is still not a very strong writer (she understands the mechanics of writing and grammar, spelling but actual writing and organization is just average). I don’t know if we will ever overcome that that poor start.

We’re also on the fence between private and public. For now, we’re keeping our son in MCPS. Math is strong but agree re: writing. Keep in mind you can always supplement with a writing tutor, which is what we do.

For us, although we've been tempted to go private, having well-funded 529s, inheritance to pass down, affording great family trips each year, and feeling less family stress in general without big tuitions has kept us in public. Our kid is happy though and we are in a strong ES.

This may change in MS or HS, but I honestly think public vs. private trends will change over the next few years. As tuitions continue to creep up about 5% each year, many of these schools will top 70k/year by the time my kids reach that age and I just don’t agree with that value proposition (and I attended one of the top area private schools myself).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both did public ES and one switched to private in 7th but I will say the public school and private school spring break are almost never the same week and that is definitely annoying.

Can you talk about the process of applying in 7th? We are not overjoyed with our DCPS option but don't want to apply to a charter. We will give it a chance. I am wondering what is the timeline if we want to switch to pvt in 7th, how do I start to research schools, how do I know which schools realistically will let a kid in at 7th when 6th is the normal entry point, etc.

Open houses start pretty early in the fall with application deadlines around January. I think you have to start looking before you really decide how you feel about your public school, but you can apply and then decide not to go in March/April if you’re happy with the public at that point.

Applying for MS requires somewhat less work for the kid than applying for 9th. Some schools have 7th grade as an “expansion” year. I think both Burke and Maret described 7th grade as an “expansion” year when we applied. We did it around Covid times so it was a little different. I researched the schools and didn’t involve my kid that much - it was all virtual and no in-person tours. Once kid was admitted they went to an admitted students event and were enthusiastic about the switch. They have had a great experience at Burke. We only applied to 2 schools as those were the only 2 I thought offered benefits over staying public.

[Anonymous]

We were in a well regarded DCPS school (Key) but ended up leaving because we were concerned about the quality of instruction. After a lot of consideration, we moved to a strong school pyramid in VA and the difference was night and day. The leadership at our current school is so much better. The school has much better resources. And we now realize how terrible some of the teachers at Key were! It makes me sad because it was such a warm school in so many ways. Having no comparison point made it feel totally fine but now that we have something to compare it to, we cannot imagine going back. Not the same as your private vs. DCPS question but hopefully helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both did public ES and one switched to private in 7th but I will say the public school and private school spring break are almost never the same week and that is definitely annoying.

Can you talk about the process of applying in 7th? We are not overjoyed with our DCPS option but don't want to apply to a charter. We will give it a chance. I am wondering what is the timeline if we want to switch to pvt in 7th, how do I start to research schools, how do I know which schools realistically will let a kid in at 7th when 6th is the normal entry point, etc.

Open houses start pretty early in the fall with application deadlines around January. I think you have to start looking before you really decide how you feel about your public school, but you can apply and then decide not to go in March/April if you’re happy with the public at that point.

Applying for MS requires somewhat less work for the kid than applying for 9th. Some schools have 7th grade as an “expansion” year. I think both Burke and Maret described 7th grade as an “expansion” year when we applied. We did it around Covid times so it was a little different. I researched the schools and didn’t involve my kid that much - it was all virtual and no in-person tours. Once kid was admitted they went to an admitted students event and were enthusiastic about the switch. They have had a great experience at Burke. We only applied to 2 schools as those were the only 2 I thought offered benefits over staying public.

Thanks for this kind and helpful response. Yes, I have heard good things about both schools and the commute would not be terrible. One follow up: Has anyone heard anything about Green Acres School?

[Anonymous]

Because you will be keeping the older child in private, do not wait until April 30 to tell your current school you are thinking of leaving. I understand the temptation to wait in case you decide to stay. But you should send an email now saying you are reviewing the financial commitment and you are not sure all your children will be able to attend next year. Do not blindside the admissions team. At least give them a heads up now and try to tell them your final decision before April 30.

The admissions team completely understands the massive financial commitment and the shifting sands of this economy. They will not resent you for enrolling one or more of your kids in public. They will resent you if you don’t tell them anything until April 30 and then they have trouble pulling from waitlist because all the WL people are contracted with other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both did public ES and one switched to private in 7th but I will say the public school and private school spring break are almost never the same week and that is definitely annoying.

Can you talk about the process of applying in 7th? We are not overjoyed with our DCPS option but don't want to apply to a charter. We will give it a chance. I am wondering what is the timeline if we want to switch to pvt in 7th, how do I start to research schools, how do I know which schools realistically will let a kid in at 7th when 6th is the normal entry point, etc.

Open houses start pretty early in the fall with application deadlines around January. I think you have to start looking before you really decide how you feel about your public school, but you can apply and then decide not to go in March/April if you’re happy with the public at that point.

Applying for MS requires somewhat less work for the kid than applying for 9th. Some schools have 7th grade as an “expansion” year. I think both Burke and Maret described 7th grade as an “expansion” year when we applied. We did it around Covid times so it was a little different. I researched the schools and didn’t involve my kid that much - it was all virtual and no in-person tours. Once kid was admitted they went to an admitted students event and were enthusiastic about the switch. They have had a great experience at Burke. We only applied to 2 schools as those were the only 2 I thought offered benefits over staying public.

Thanks for this kind and helpful response. Yes, I have heard good things about both schools and the commute would not be terrible. One follow up: Has anyone heard anything about Green Acres School?

All the schools I looked at for 7th went through 12th. I don’t think Green Acres has a HS, at least it didn’t used to. I wanted a place my kid could stay through 12th if we wanted to (which we did).

And when I said there were only 2 schools I felt like were better than public I meant for our family based on what we were looking for at that time and not to throw shade on other schools. For example, we were not interested in schools with religious affiliation and my kid was not willing to wear a uniform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you on track to fully pay for undergrad even if your kid goes to private ES? If so, then stay private.

This is our priority list:

1. Fully paid undergraduate
2. Private High School
3. 50% contribution towards graduate school
4. Private middle
5. Private ES

We think our kids are going to be more thankful about getting a big contribution to graduate school than being glad they went to a private ES. But that’s our belief, not everyone. Private ES when you have a good public is for the benefit of the parents not the kids. Maybe you could justify it if you wanted to attend the high school. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

I'm thinking through all of this now with a 2 and 4 year old. The above points reflect a 2010 world where the assumption is that the pipeline leads to degrees. In a world that's rapidly shifting, should we treat K-12 like college?

Yes! Foundation is more important

[Anonymous]

Original poster: what did you decide?

[Anonymous]

Considering this switch for HS!