Entry to privates from non-private elementaries

[Anonymous]

My DS will go to private school starting next year (6th). Many people in my neighborhood do that. It is my impression that it is actually easier to get in around middle school than for K. Most schools expand around then, even double in size, but there are not so many applicants.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I was devastated when we were declined at WIS PK4. Lightning struck, and we were admitted at a bilingual charter PK-8. We will not look again until private again until Grade 6, WIS or Grade 9, IB public/charter.

[Anonymous]

Most of the new 7th and 9th graders at Sidwell come from public schools.

[Anonymous]

super easy, for smart kids, because they love the statistic about HOW MANY SCHOOLS the new recruits came from. Thy only get good stats on that if they pull from various public schools.

[Anonymous]

interesting parallels between this thread, and the other thread about whether it's better to do private k-5 vs 6-12

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a risk. We switched privates and the new private said 4th grade is the last year they accept public school kids because after that the kids are too far behind. The new kids in 6th and 9th at both my DCs schools are all from private schools not public.

I know kids who switched from public to private at Sidwell, GDS, and STA, so it's not any of those.

My DC started at one of those schools in 6th, after public, and was actually ahead of the other kids in some areas. Really, there's no worry here.

If this is true, why are so many parents spending $40k per year to send their kids to private schools starting in pre-k or K???? Based on your post, they'd get a better education in public.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the PP, but here's my 2 cents worth: My kids attended a MoCo public for ES, then entered a highly competitive DC private in middle school; oldest has already graduated and youngest is now in MS. The parents of lifers at our school tend to fall into the following categories that might explain why they started their kids in private at such a young age:

-- parents who are alums of the school or of another private school and just can't imagine sending their kids to public;
-- parents who didn't attend private school, but who believe that if they had, their lives would now be perfect;
-- parents who lived in areas where public schools were really in trouble;
-- parents who lived in areas where the public schools were fine, but reputed to be not so fine, and who didn't know anyone in their n-hood well enough to get the real skinny on the schools;
-- parents who thought their kids were too shy and quiet to do well in public school -- sometimes rightfully so;
-- parents who thought their kids were too gifted to be in public school -- and who were deluded as to either their children's abilities or the ability of the schools to meet their needs;
-- parents who bought into the hype about how the school is just too, too fabulous for words and that if you didn't send your kid there at K, he/she would never get into the school later and thus, never go to HYP and end up drinking Woolite in the gutter;
-- parents who are social climbers.

[Anonymous]

My children also did MCPS ES, then private MS/HS. I would add to the above list:

- parents who put a VERY high value on the areas where private ES really does do better than public: more art, science, and social studies, more recess, smaller classes, etc., and who thought those outweighed the benefits of their neighborhood elementaries: being part of the neighborhood gang, learning early to find your place in a larger group, opportunities specific to that school (in our case some amazing teachers, phenomenal music, excellent field trips)

and

- parents who really, really, really wanted that school for their kids for high school and believed that ensuring that access was worth the financial and other tradeoffs. For some of them it worked out well, as their child might not have made it in at 7th or 9th (less-than-stellar students), for some not so well as their children turned out not to be a great fit for the school and were asked to/decided to leave

[Anonymous]

I'd add to the list,

-- Parents who have enough resources that money isn't a major factor, and prefer the "one stop shopping" of a private (sports, arts, foreign langauge, sometimes higher quality aftercare etc . . . all in one place).
-- Parents who prefer faith based education
-- Parents who like having all their kids in one place
-- Parents who prefer more outside time, smaller ratios, less homework, etc . . . in the early grades.
-- Parents who have had a bad experience at public (my child was treated in what I believe was a racist manner by our JKLM principal, who is no longer there, I moved him to charter, but would have moved him to private if no space had opened up at the charter).

[Anonymous]

All private schools, even the most elite, take kids from public schools at all entry years.

My observation is that academically, these kids do just fine.

Socially, however, it can be tough, depending on the school. My direct experience is with NCS/STA, and to be perfectly blunt, I found that the prettier girls did just fine at NCS, as did the very athletic boys at STA. If your DC doesn't fit in either category, it can be very, very rough going for some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a risk. We switched privates and the new private said 4th grade is the last year they accept public school kids because after that the kids are too far behind. The new kids in 6th and 9th at both my DCs schools are all from private schools not public.

I know kids who switched from public to private at Sidwell, GDS, and STA, so it's not any of those.

My DC started at one of those schools in 6th, after public, and was actually ahead of the other kids in some areas. Really, there's no worry here.

If this is true, why are so many parents spending $40k per year to send their kids to private schools starting in pre-k or K???? Based on your post, they'd get a better education in public.

.
Because the fancy private schools at the earliest levels just act as finishing schools. I'm thinking mainly of the likes of Beauvoir/Concord Hill/NPS/St. Pats. You'll see that when these kids land at their next stop school, there is a social polish to them that isn't as often found with their public school grad counterparts.

[Anonymous]

OP,
It is VERY hard to get in, period. Think about it. You're applying with students from privates, where the heads of school do their best to get as many students accepted, as well as students from VA and MD public and private. Yes, tons of students get in but tons are shut out, too. You won't get the full picture here because parents of the students who stayed in public probably don't read this thread~

[Anonymous]

@10:05 - I don’t know if you meant your comment as a sarcastic or not but I can say I can always tell the new public school kids at my DC’s private school because they’re always the ones cussing out the coach or opposing team members during games. I actually think it's entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@10:05 - I don’t know if you meant your comment as a sarcastic or not but I can say I can always tell the new public school kids at my DC’s private school because they’re always the ones cussing out the coach or opposing team members during games. I actually think it's entertaining.

...and you can always tell the kids behind the school smoking pot and drinking..private school lifers! dude...are you serious?

[Anonymous]

My children did DC public for elementary and private for middle and upper school. Our school, Sidwell, takes a lot of public school kids at those levels and the kids do very well there. The public school applicants tend to be a little more independent and adaptable Sidwell looks for those qualities in its applicants.