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Has anyone chosen Bethesda Elementary over Sidwell for K?
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Anonymous
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I agree with a PP's point that the real question is how much better Sidwell (or another top private) is than Bethesda ES (or another high quality public school, not just a OK public school). For it to be $30,000 better, it really has to provide alot of benefits. There are definitely advantages that you will have with smaller class sizes, better facilities, perhaps even more diverse offerings in the arts, sciences, music and pe. But ultimately, that's what you are paying for in terms of the tangibles.
If you saved $30,000 a year, you could also spend that amount paying for extra-curricular classes so that the kids are well rounded and have the grounding to be creative, etc. (think Daniel Pink). You could also take alot of cool, educational vacations, learn foreign languages, and be the multinational, global citizen that our children will need to be in the future to really succeed. Many of the private school parents both pay $30,000 and do all of the extras, so you can argue that it is optimal to do both! For some families, this is not an issue. But for others that are constrained by financial factors, it is necessary to weigh objectively the trade-offs. The intangible benefit with some of the private schools is the connection factor, potentially for both the child and the family, if that's what someone cares about. Enjoy having the choice and spend wisely! |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but I find it hard to believe Sidwell is $30K per year better than KEY. If my DC was inbounds for Key we'd absolutely be there. |
Anonymous
I think that may well be true for the PK or K through 12th schools, aka on this board only as the "Big Three," but not true for the schools that focus ONLY on the younger years such as Beauvoir or St Pats, etc... Bethesda Elem. and Key and Mann are all decent public schools, and would perhaps even be great, except for the NCLB factor and need to teach to the test so the focus is always going to be on the lowest common denominator. Also, one aspect that is lacking in publics, all publics, regardless of NCLB, is the teaching of morals and values and good manners, or at least the re-enforcing of what should be taught at home. Yes, we know kids who have gotten in to StA, NCS, Sidwell, etc... from the publics, everyone in DC knows that happens with some regularity. But, and I take this straight from several of those kids' mouths, the quality of the experience at one of the aforementioned publics from a social standpoint was deplorable... kids with no manners, no politeness, no character.... ugh... no thanks. |
Anonymous
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So much depends on specific culture of the school. I have a kindergartner at a different MoCo public school and am impressed with the sorts of caring, polite behavior I see in the kids there. It was a delight to see the Halloween parade--at the end, the kindergartners walked by the rooms of the 4th and 5th graders, who sat in the hallway cheering them on very sweetly.
Teachers and staff seem to take very seriously their jobs of teaching values and morals--signs describing "I Care" language and how to "de-bug" situations with bullies are all over. I'm very pleased. Some of this sort of information is available from surveys of both parents and children done in all the Montgomery County schools: http://sharedaccountability.mcpsprimetime.org/SurveyResults/ Latest info on Bethesda ES is from 2006-2007. Notable results from the parents' survey: fewer parents say the principal "takes actions to resolve my concerns" compared to the average of all MoCo elementary school parents. Volunteering by parents is very high. In the kids' survey, Bethesda Elementary scores very positively (compared to all MoCo elementaries) in items like the following: I have opportunities to share my ideas in class; Students care about each other in this school; In this school, students respect others; Students in this school are well-behaved; Students teasing other students in a hurtful way is not a problem in this school; I like going to this school. |
Anonymous
| If money is not an issue, I would sent to Sidwell in a second, as you will be set for school until 12th grade if you choose. Sidwell is so amazingly difficult to get into these years that even faculty and siblings don't get in, so if you got in, I would take the opportunity. You may not have another chance of getting in. However, if you can't afford it, which is understandable, then I have heard that the Bethesda elementary is great. Congrats on getting into Sidwell! Good luck with your decision. |
Anonymous
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I'm curious about this statement : "Also, one aspect that is lacking in publics, all publics, regardless of NCLB, is the teaching of morals and values and good manners, or at least the re-enforcing of what should be taught at home. Yes, we know kids who have gotten in to StA, NCS, Sidwell, etc... from the publics, everyone in DC knows that happens with some regularity. But, and I take this straight from several of those kids' mouths, the quality of the experience at one of the aforementioned publics from a social standpoint was deplorable... kids with no manners, no politeness, no character.... ugh... no thanks." The social standpoint is deplorable at good NW elementary schools? I am one year away from deciding on schools for my child and haven't yet made a decision--but is this sentiment widespread? |
Anonymous
| not the PP, but while I would guess that disruptive behavior is more present in public schools, I would think (hope?) that rudeness/politeness and respect would be omnipresent. |
Anonymous
| 9:28 I wouldn't take that statement made by a pp about manners seriously at all. That is a pretty sweeping generalization to make. I absolutely would not make any decisions based on some of the ridiculous statements that are made on this board. Go see the schools for yourself and talk to parents who have enrolled children also make sure to visit classes in the upper grades - be your own judge - don't rely on hearsay statements - some folks have an axe to grind and like getting peeple riled up on this topic of public vs. private. |
Anonymous
I'm laughing at the suggestion that all the children at those three aforementioned publics were without manners, politeness, and character - from a woman who is comfortably making such sweeping hyperbolic generalizations in an anonymous forum. Talk about no character... goodness! Obviously someone who believes character is something that only be purchased from an expensive private school and not modeled at home and ingrained in one's life isn't the kind of parent I'd like to see for my children's best friends... Ugh, no thanks indeed! |
Anonymous
I am 20:07 and I truly have no axe to grind. I absolutely see the value in using good publics for lower school. In fact, I just advised a very upset friend, who's child was waitlisted at privates, to calm down and really consider using her NWDC public (Mann). From all accounts Mann is very good and has extra teachers and academic programs and supplies funded through the parent's association. But, and yes I am sorry but there is a but  , public schools can not offend anyone and therefore can not go very far in teaching values and manners. In general, I do think the kids in these schools learn good values and manners at home but, these things need to be reinforced in school, IMO. Publics just by the nature of being public and the fear of lawsuits are very limited in what they can do beyond academics. And, of course, wit NCLB, academics are also limited because the schools HAVE TO teach to the lowest common denominator.
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Anonymous
You might be surprised by the atmosphere in the better NWDC schools and the Bethesda/Chevy Chase public elementaries (and the specific question was about Bethesda Elementary). They spend a HUGE amount of time on character education, morals, values, and behavior. My DCs MCPS elementary had assemblies focused on making good choices, staff education, a peer mediation program, schoolwide values education, etc. Heck, even the book reports included a question on how the main character did or did not exemplify the value of the month! Testing is a bigger issue, but for schools with populations who are generally functioning above average, they do offer higher level instruction. Testing basically took over for a couple of weeks, which was annoying, but the teaching was not to the lowest common denominator (the kids who scored poorly got special after-school enrichment) and the test prep was not extensive. |
Anonymous
And private schools CAN afford to offend the parents who are spending thousands of dollars and might not want to hear that their children are being bullies, or queen bees, or whatever? |
Anonymous
To the extent that charter schools are public schools, this is absolutely not true. Charter schools can and do have expectations for manners, ethics, and behavior (in other words "character") and they are often modeled by the teachers and staff and even explicitly written into the student handbooks. I don't know if Mann can do that, but I'm positive that E.L. Haynes and Washington Yu Ying can. |
Anonymous
Hmm, let me guess. You are religious and send your kids to a religious school? There are many problems with your comments. First, you don't send your kids to public schoosl, so you can't make any informed judgments about the children's social behavior. Second, it is the obligation of the parents to teach morals and values, and not the educational institution's. If you have delegated that task to your children's private school teachers, shame on you. Third, I think you choose to focus only on the unfortunate reality of public schools in S.E. or N.E. You have no idea what the facilities are like at Montgomery County public schools or certain N.W. public schools. You also have no idea that parents at such public schools are very involved, and raise funds for extra supplies/programs that go far beyond what would be offered even in private schools. It's a shame that people like you spread unfortunate and catty rumors about all public schools based on sheer ignorance. You should practice what you preach and demonstrate some manner and values. |
Anonymous
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I was actually hoping that post on the good manners was satire.
All I can say is that from a social perspective, I would much rather my kid go to public school than grow up in the private school bubble of privilege. That's not to say I didn't think hard about sending my kid to private school, it's just that I think this point favors public schools. |