I never understood the difference between public and private until today

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid all I cared about were the other kids and the teachers. That's what I take away all these years later. It's school, not Disney World.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you are in the South, private schools in the South were founded to avoid desegregation. I would be uncomfortable with that. Where are you?

Not south.
For what it’s worth, this school is very diverse. Much more so than the uniformly white public we would be zoned. Also more diverse than the almost 80% poor school we were zoned to in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When I was a kid all I cared about were the other kids and the teachers. That's what I take away all these years later. It's school, not Disney World.

So you attended a school with similar facilities to one one described above?

[Anonymous]

TRUE STORY GUYS: Went to FCPS public and JMU. Every freshman dorm building had one tiny room that used to be a closet/ storage room that had been converted to a double and was in the lobby. All the other rooms were triples off suites with living rooms.

One of the girls who was assigned the Mop Room showed up the first day and was literally in hysterics begging to have her room changed. A girl who was in a triple offered to switch with her but she refused once she saw how small the triple rooms were. Then she was freaking out that there was no air conditioning. This girl was miserable for weeks and every time I saw her, she was complaining about the room, the heat, the bathrooms, etc. Turns out she went to a swanky boarding school in CA and never actually toured JMU, it was her backup school. The rooms must be SO nice at those schools. She was disgusted by everything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TRUE STORY GUYS: Went to FCPS public and JMU. Every freshman dorm building had one tiny room that used to be a closet/ storage room that had been converted to a double and was in the lobby. All the other rooms were triples off suites with living rooms.

One of the girls who was assigned the Mop Room showed up the first day and was literally in hysterics begging to have her room changed. A girl who was in a triple offered to switch with her but she refused once she saw how small the triple rooms were. Then she was freaking out that there was no air conditioning. This girl was miserable for weeks and every time I saw her, she was complaining about the room, the heat, the bathrooms, etc. Turns out she went to a swanky boarding school in CA and never actually toured JMU, it was her backup school. The rooms must be SO nice at those schools. She was disgusted by everything!

Op here:
Hilarious coincidence- I too went to JMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

*Obviously,* dahling.

[Anonymous]

My sister's kids go to a very fancy, very expensive private school in another state. The facilities may not be quite so fancy as yours, but they have a private garden/farm and the kids work the farm, harvest the veggies, they cook the food on site from the garden, etc.

I've seen some of the work the kids do. Some of it includes interesting projects, the sort of math drills that parents around here lament the lack of, etc. But really, whether 1st grade is luxurious or middle-of-the-road, it's 1st grade. Or 4th grade, or whatever. The kids complain about the schoolwork and have issues with cliques. And the cohort is important -- my nieces and nephews only know fellow rich kids (besides us, UMC in FCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

*Obviously,* dahling.

Yeah, I didn’t get why this was supposed to be obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

*Obviously,* dahling.

Yeah, I didn’t get why this was supposed to be obvious.

Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’ve only toured one of these bad boys, and I can only assume it’s the same deal at the “big 3” people talk about here. Or maybe not, what do I know?

[Anonymous]

The free public school is not as nice as the pricey private school? Shocker.

It’s like driving an Audi when you can only afford a Ford Fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The free public school is not as nice as the pricey private school? Shocker.

It’s like driving an Audi when you can only afford a Ford Fit.

Deep insight. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The free public school is not as nice as the pricey private school? Shocker.

It’s like driving an Audi when you can only afford a Ford Fit.

If you're only talking about buildings, your analogy might work. It's much deeper than that, though. There's the difference in cohort (SES and diversity), hand-holding, clout from parents, etc.

A school isn't made by the building. It's nice if the building is clean, hasn't working electricity and water. Beyond that, it's the students and teachers. And administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The free public school is not as nice as the pricey private school? Shocker.

It’s like driving an Audi when you can only afford a Ford Fit.

If you're only talking about buildings, your analogy might work. It's much deeper than that, though. There's the difference in cohort (SES and diversity), hand-holding, clout from parents, etc.

A school isn't made by the building. It's nice if the building is clean, hasn't working electricity and water. Beyond that, it's the students and teachers. And administration.

5 : 1 student teacher ratio in high school

K class maxes out at 18 with 2 teachers. Not teacher and aide. Two teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its not so much the schools (ie, the building), but the teachers, parents and students. I had DS at a MD public elementary school for two years, which felt like a lifetime.

How is their special education program?

[Anonymous]

Is it hard to get in? Are you in New England?