If you DON'T live in DC, why did you ultimately decide to go private?

[Anonymous]

honestly, we wanted to go public with DS. However, it became apparent that DS need much more structure than MOCO provides for K (this year he has 9 kids and 2 teachers and next year he will have 12 kids and 2 teachers). DS is doing so well. Hopefully we can switch back to public at some point, but right now a smaller classroom and more structure is the best decision.

Plus, I honestly do not think it matters where you live. Some ppl do not like public as a rule. Some people want a more intimate environment. Some people cannot afford to live in the neighborhood for the public they would prefer etc....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To make the switch from public to private you have to be dissatisfied with the Public schools.

We found the MCPS --- specifically the Carderock - Pyle - Whitman cluster --- to be a three-ring circus of "edu-speak", political correctness and a lack of discipline because of their abject fear that someone might complain or might sue. And "resource teams" and counselors put in place by a huge bureaucracy looking for something to do.

One of the final straws was our 4th grader complaining that he wasn't allowed to go to recess that day and instead had to go to the school counselor. I had broken my arm. The school had heard about it and had taken it on themselves to provide special counselling services.

In retrospect, once the boys were in an all boys environment, we could look back and see just how "girl-friendly" the public schools were. Boys learn differently at different speeds. An all boys environment takes that into account and as a result is a much better experience.

Private schools aren't Nirvana. But our only regret is not getting the boys out of the public schools sooner than we did.

Where is your son now?

[Anonymous]

too much testing, lack of hands-on education, schools too big, classes too big, creative education for "average" kids (MoCo has interesting programs for kids who can test into them, but I doubt if my son would be able to get in)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public schools: teach to the test, worksheets, standardized tests, one-size-fits all, don't think, memorize, test, test, test. We have been in two excellent public school systems, and both were hamstrung by the incessant testing and inability to individualize anything. My kids are bright, well ahead of grade level in everything, and ended up bored, even in gifted programs, which were not creative or interesting for them. In private school, the teachers have much more freedom to teach well, challenge kids in ways that go far beyond reading and math. My children have a much more interesting education that's much more enjoyable for them in our private school.

I am not a private school person, in that I would never send them to private school to get them away from the hoi polloi as many private school parents seem to do. I wish public schools taught kids to think and do and create, but they teach children to be passive and boring, in our experience at two "excellent" public schools.

This is exactly what I wanted to say. We gave MCPS a try but quickly found out that it is a one-size-fits all system that is mainly focused on teaching kids to be compliant.

[Anonymous]

We are part of the Chesterbrook school area and we are deciding to go private..and agonizing over it. Why? I think it's a great school but am concerned about difficulities of getting into private later as well as looming large class sizes. This has been a dificult decision and one that will go down to the wire. Why? I know so many people who are sending their kids there and I like everyone and think their kids are really smart so the idea of "meeting a better group of people" falls on deaf ears to me. Actually one negative of private schools is that I worry about a snob factor-we aren't snobs.

[Anonymous]

I agree with poster 13:44 in that the public schools (ours is FCPS) teach to a test, one size fits all, memorization etc. This year's class size is 30. My child has spent most of the year complaining about being bored or that someone in class got the whole class in trouble so they didn't have recess etc. We are hopeful that a smaller class size and not being bound to a test will help bring the fun and maybe even some excitement back to her school day. Yes, it's expensive, but worth it (to us) if she's happy to go every day.

[Anonymous]

We thought we were moving to the close-in 'burbs for better schools, but once our DCs were school aged, we realized that the public school methods were fairly inflexible, and that provate schools were a better fit for our kids. With the benefit of hindsight, we might have stayed in DC had we known this.

[Anonymous]

We chose our private school nine years ago for its diversity -- ethnic, racial and economic certainly -- but also diversity of experiences, points of view, backgrounds, talents, and interests.

Having myself received a good education in a traditional, midwestern town, I nevertheless felt that a diverse school community would be more supportive and accepting of the inherent differences in one another. No one prevailing standard of what is accepted, cool or popular.

My children's confidence, friendships, involvement and general happiness and acceptance in their school, has never made me doubt my decision.

[Anonymous]

Small class sizes, rigorous academics [beyond classes that are test prep for AP's], faculty intellectually involved with students, academic peers in athletics, participation in arts plus athletics, better preparation for academic success in college, students are more independent, allowed to have Christmas , broader national/world view, diversity, etc.

Many FCPS students use public for k-6 or k-8 then go private.

[Anonymous]

Great discussion; I am in Southern Prince Georges in a starter home I got right after graduating from law school but am now able to spend much more on the next home and move to a county with better schools. I love being able to drive into the city in 15 minutes or by subway but living in DC is not an option for the reasons posted above by someone else. We have been contemplating moving to Arlington/Falls Church/McLean and just spending triple on the next mortgage to get better schools, I wonder if because of all the factors folks have mentioned above if I still would prefer private schools for the same reasons and fill like a sap for moving in the first place. We actually like a lot about the area we live in, excluding the schools, the way our prop value doesn't go up much because of schools mainly and the negative perception of the county as a whole when you tell non-residents where you live. So we often consider just getting a dream home here (at half to a third of what it would cost in a better school district) and using the mortgage money saved on private school. It seems like such a waste to move to the best district in a smaller less appealing home with triple the mortgage only to send our child to private anyway.
I have found that many of my colleagues at work (all high income lawyers) live in great school clusters and it always baffled me as to why they (and most of their neighbors so they tell me) chose to do private school. Though as I learn more about some of the methods/amenities/benefits that private can offer that public cannot I am beginning to understand.

[Anonymous]

Live in Arlington. Going private for 4th in the fall. Decided that since we both work in DC, instead of rushing to pickup, get home, go to school events, etc, everything will be all in the city, very close to where we work, and then only a short drive home.

Also, smaller class sizes, little to no focus on standardized tests, individualized attention, smaller community, commitment to the arts, creative thinking, and fostering school/home relationships.

And, when all is said and done, our neighborhood in Arlington is filled with wonderful people, kids playing freely with friends on the street, and a functioning local government that provides amenities with lower taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I wanted to be part of the social set and have my kids meet people who will eventually run this town and country. No snark.

"No snark"? Nice try but that's still incredibly offensive. Would you like a list of political leaders who have attended public schools? Or, better yet, a list of date rapists, white-collar thieves, murderers, con artists, drug addicts, and domestic abusers who went to private school? I'd be happy to provide them.

It's that kind of attitude that keep folks fleeing to the "safety" of the private schools, leaving our public schools filled only with the kids who have no way out.

The fact that you're saying that about MD or VA public schools, not even DCPS, is even more shocking. How white bread does a PS have to be for you to consider it a good enough "social set"? Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Not the PP you are referencing, but at least it's an honest response. Some people do choose certain schools, neighborhoods, country clubs or whatever exactly for the social or business connections they can provide.

For me, I have the alternate worry. We aren't, and don't strive to be, part of the social set and therefore worry that our child will not fit in. We are upper middle class, but not nearly the wealth of some on these boards. We also live in Virginia (horrors!), so my fear is that parents like the PP will shun us and our child precisely because we can't contribute to their circles.

[Anonymous]

To poster 16:18.

Private schools are not the homogenous/country club/power set/only-the-wealthy need apply, institutions that you fear. The families I know from DC private schools are nice people who do not uniformly fall into stereotypes.

Our local public school probably has a more wealthy, less-diverse mix of families than the private school our children do attend, which has good socioeconomic and cultural representation.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PP. Your experience is ours exactly.