Budgeting for Private School -- Convince my spouse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

So you have a few choices. Schools you don't like, private school that is beyond your current means, private school and sacrifice retirement savings/college savings, or schools you like and a longer commute.

I would stay were you are and send the kids to public. I also would talk to people whose kids are on the IB track at W-L, many people enjoy the program. I would guess that the kids planning on taking the IB program are taking different classes then the kids not interested in IB and that those classes are challenging.

IF I really felt like something had to change, I would move to a school that is further out but close to one of the new metro stations and take the longer commute. Use that time for reading or some type of pleasurable activity as your decompression time. One of you goes in early and one comes home later so there is someone at home for the kids. Save money on a less expensive hour and not having to pay for private school. Put that money into retirement and college funds. Retire earlier with that extra money. Yes, the commute would suck but you can find ways to use that to your benefit. And the extra burden is on the adults and not the kids. I suspect your kids will be fine at a solid Public School and would probably prefer not to take on college debt or be worried about helping you in retirement. So if you think something has to change, the burden from that change should all on the adults. That means a longer commute. If you are not willing to do that, then don't screw over your kids by increasing their college debt or having to support you into retirement.

The majority of kids in this area attend public schools. Many of those public school kids go to college and have a good deal of success in college. A percentage of those go onto top programs and have success. Something seems to be bothering you about public schools. Last year was a mess and this year is a different type of mess. Kids are going to catch up or end up on different pathways. The kids in honors or the AP/IB track are going to be moving at their regular pace because they have to in order to meet the AP/IB programs requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

So you have a few choices. Schools you don't like, private school that is beyond your current means, private school and sacrifice retirement savings/college savings, or schools you like and a longer commute.

I would stay were you are and send the kids to public. I also would talk to people whose kids are on the IB track at W-L, many people enjoy the program. I would guess that the kids planning on taking the IB program are taking different classes then the kids not interested in IB and that those classes are challenging.

IF I really felt like something had to change, I would move to a school that is further out but close to one of the new metro stations and take the longer commute. Use that time for reading or some type of pleasurable activity as your decompression time. One of you goes in early and one comes home later so there is someone at home for the kids. Save money on a less expensive hour and not having to pay for private school. Put that money into retirement and college funds. Retire earlier with that extra money. Yes, the commute would suck but you can find ways to use that to your benefit. And the extra burden is on the adults and not the kids. I suspect your kids will be fine at a solid Public School and would probably prefer not to take on college debt or be worried about helping you in retirement. So if you think something has to change, the burden from that change should all on the adults. That means a longer commute. If you are not willing to do that, then don't screw over your kids by increasing their college debt or having to support you into retirement.

The majority of kids in this area attend public schools. Many of those public school kids go to college and have a good deal of success in college. A percentage of those go onto top programs and have success. Something seems to be bothering you about public schools. Last year was a mess and this year is a different type of mess. Kids are going to catch up or end up on different pathways. The kids in honors or the AP/IB track are going to be moving at their regular pace because they have to in order to meet the AP/IB programs requirements.

That's the thing we have talked to as many people as we can about the IB program. Here's the breakdown of surveying about 20 people: most of our gifted cohort as moved to FFX or gone private; most of our neighbors who have school age kid have gone private; we have two neighbors who have kids in high school and their only comment about why their kids took IB: because their friends were signed up for it -- had no comment about how the program was other than their kid rarely did any homework and had time for their multiple travel sports. There's even one neighbor who I spoke to years ago who said they could never imagine spending money on private school, they themselves went to APS and they are sending their kid to private -- this actually disturbed me the most, they were very very much against private and so into APS. I haven't had a chance to ask them why they made the switch.

So yeah, I would love to hear some welcome stories of people whose kids have been engaged the whole time in their APS high school years and not just vegging for 5 hrs a day with easy As.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to chill out a little. You must save for college.
My kids are in DCPS. I’m sure you would find the schools unacceptable.
We have had ups and downs but the kids are learning and we also try to do a little enrichment.
My oldest is now at an Ivy and got all As her first year. I don’t think the schools are as bad as you think.
I’m sure privates are better but we could not pay for private and save a ton for college.

I would like to hear more about your experience. Readiness for college is my biggest concern and you seemed to take what you are reporting is a lackluster public education and fill in the gaps. And got accepted to an Ivy (which is not our goal — I’m an Ivy alum and have no love for them) which is impressive and means your DD had options. What do you think was her hook to stand out? Did she start a non profit or something?

No, she did not start a non-profit. We are not even legacy. Took a ton of APs at a DCPS Highschool. It was a huge amount of stress junior and senior year even though 9th and 10th grade were pretty easy for her.
I would say the top 50 kids out of a class of 450 were Uber competitive. She did some school clubs and was able to get a leadership role in one. Teachers wrote strong recommendations. Found a summer internship. It was not an easy path. First year at Ivy was not easy for her but she did well.

[Anonymous]

You could move to a townhouse in a different school district. Or rent out your house and rent a 3 bedroom apartment in a better school district for a few years.

IB is usually a rigorous set of courses. Does the HS offer the IB diploma?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

So you have a few choices. Schools you don't like, private school that is beyond your current means, private school and sacrifice retirement savings/college savings, or schools you like and a longer commute.

I would stay were you are and send the kids to public. I also would talk to people whose kids are on the IB track at W-L, many people enjoy the program. I would guess that the kids planning on taking the IB program are taking different classes then the kids not interested in IB and that those classes are challenging.

IF I really felt like something had to change, I would move to a school that is further out but close to one of the new metro stations and take the longer commute. Use that time for reading or some type of pleasurable activity as your decompression time. One of you goes in early and one comes home later so there is someone at home for the kids. Save money on a less expensive hour and not having to pay for private school. Put that money into retirement and college funds. Retire earlier with that extra money. Yes, the commute would suck but you can find ways to use that to your benefit. And the extra burden is on the adults and not the kids. I suspect your kids will be fine at a solid Public School and would probably prefer not to take on college debt or be worried about helping you in retirement. So if you think something has to change, the burden from that change should all on the adults. That means a longer commute. If you are not willing to do that, then don't screw over your kids by increasing their college debt or having to support you into retirement.

The majority of kids in this area attend public schools. Many of those public school kids go to college and have a good deal of success in college. A percentage of those go onto top programs and have success. Something seems to be bothering you about public schools. Last year was a mess and this year is a different type of mess. Kids are going to catch up or end up on different pathways. The kids in honors or the AP/IB track are going to be moving at their regular pace because they have to in order to meet the AP/IB programs requirements.

That's the thing we have talked to as many people as we can about the IB program. Here's the breakdown of surveying about 20 people: most of our gifted cohort as moved to FFX or gone private; most of our neighbors who have school age kid have gone private; we have two neighbors who have kids in high school and their only comment about why their kids took IB: because their friends were signed up for it -- had no comment about how the program was other than their kid rarely did any homework and had time for their multiple travel sports. There's even one neighbor who I spoke to years ago who said they could never imagine spending money on private school, they themselves went to APS and they are sending their kid to private -- this actually disturbed me the most, they were very very much against private and so into APS. I haven't had a chance to ask them why they made the switch.

So yeah, I would love to hear some welcome stories of people whose kids have been engaged the whole time in their APS high school years and not just vegging for 5 hrs a day with easy As.

Did those kids go on to college and do reasonably well? If so, why is this a bad thing? I'd love a high school program that gives kids a solid preparation while also taking off some of pressure and burnout risk.

The bottom line is that I'm guessing most of the kids from your public school's IB track are getting solid preparation and going on to college and doing reasonably well, or it wouldn't be considered a good school. Maybe keep your eyes on that big picture, rather than hyper focusing on the day to day and how many hours of homework they have and how many minutes of instruction v work time they have and such. Isn't that the goal - kids who are well prepared for a good college? (Preferably without burnout along the way). If the school is producing that, maybe it's okay that their not maximizing every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to chill out a little. You must save for college.
My kids are in DCPS. I’m sure you would find the schools unacceptable.
We have had ups and downs but the kids are learning and we also try to do a little enrichment.
My oldest is now at an Ivy and got all As her first year. I don’t think the schools are as bad as you think.
I’m sure privates are better but we could not pay for private and save a ton for college.

I would like to hear more about your experience. Readiness for college is my biggest concern and you seemed to take what you are reporting is a lackluster public education and fill in the gaps. And got accepted to an Ivy (which is not our goal — I’m an Ivy alum and have no love for them) which is impressive and means your DD had options. What do you think was her hook to stand out? Did she start a non profit or something?

No, she did not start a non-profit. We are not even legacy. Took a ton of APs at a DCPS Highschool. It was a huge amount of stress junior and senior year even though 9th and 10th grade were pretty easy for her.
I would say the top 50 kids out of a class of 450 were Uber competitive. She did some school clubs and was able to get a leadership role in one. Teachers wrote strong recommendations. Found a summer internship. It was not an easy path. First year at Ivy was not easy for her but she did well.

That is pretty atypical acceptance, congrats. What is her major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

So you have a few choices. Schools you don't like, private school that is beyond your current means, private school and sacrifice retirement savings/college savings, or schools you like and a longer commute.

I would stay were you are and send the kids to public. I also would talk to people whose kids are on the IB track at W-L, many people enjoy the program. I would guess that the kids planning on taking the IB program are taking different classes then the kids not interested in IB and that those classes are challenging.

IF I really felt like something had to change, I would move to a school that is further out but close to one of the new metro stations and take the longer commute. Use that time for reading or some type of pleasurable activity as your decompression time. One of you goes in early and one comes home later so there is someone at home for the kids. Save money on a less expensive hour and not having to pay for private school. Put that money into retirement and college funds. Retire earlier with that extra money. Yes, the commute would suck but you can find ways to use that to your benefit. And the extra burden is on the adults and not the kids. I suspect your kids will be fine at a solid Public School and would probably prefer not to take on college debt or be worried about helping you in retirement. So if you think something has to change, the burden from that change should all on the adults. That means a longer commute. If you are not willing to do that, then don't screw over your kids by increasing their college debt or having to support you into retirement.

The majority of kids in this area attend public schools. Many of those public school kids go to college and have a good deal of success in college. A percentage of those go onto top programs and have success. Something seems to be bothering you about public schools. Last year was a mess and this year is a different type of mess. Kids are going to catch up or end up on different pathways. The kids in honors or the AP/IB track are going to be moving at their regular pace because they have to in order to meet the AP/IB programs requirements.

That's the thing we have talked to as many people as we can about the IB program. Here's the breakdown of surveying about 20 people: most of our gifted cohort as moved to FFX or gone private; most of our neighbors who have school age kid have gone private; we have two neighbors who have kids in high school and their only comment about why their kids took IB: because their friends were signed up for it -- had no comment about how the program was other than their kid rarely did any homework and had time for their multiple travel sports. There's even one neighbor who I spoke to years ago who said they could never imagine spending money on private school, they themselves went to APS and they are sending their kid to private -- this actually disturbed me the most, they were very very much against private and so into APS. I haven't had a chance to ask them why they made the switch.

So yeah, I would love to hear some welcome stories of people whose kids have been engaged the whole time in their APS high school years and not just vegging for 5 hrs a day with easy As.

Did those kids go on to college and do reasonably well? If so, why is this a bad thing? I'd love a high school program that gives kids a solid preparation while also taking off some of pressure and burnout risk.

The bottom line is that I'm guessing most of the kids from your public school's IB track are getting solid preparation and going on to college and doing reasonably well, or it wouldn't be considered a good school. Maybe keep your eyes on that big picture, rather than hyper focusing on the day to day and how many hours of homework they have and how many minutes of instruction v work time they have and such. Isn't that the goal - kids who are well prepared for a good college? (Preferably without burnout along the way). If the school is producing that, maybe it's okay that their not maximizing every day.

Kids are still in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could move to a townhouse in a different school district. Or rent out your house and rent a 3 bedroom apartment in a better school district for a few years.

IB is usually a rigorous set of courses. Does the HS offer the IB diploma?

Yes, the 11th and 12 grade are the IB diploma; 9th and 10th are more of the general ed which has been a waste of time and crushed enthusiasm for school. Spending 4 hours a day basically twiddling thumbs is torture -- homeschooling actually doesn't sound half bad, but I know that would be very isolating in our situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to chill out a little. You must save for college.
My kids are in DCPS. I’m sure you would find the schools unacceptable.
We have had ups and downs but the kids are learning and we also try to do a little enrichment.
My oldest is now at an Ivy and got all As her first year. I don’t think the schools are as bad as you think.
I’m sure privates are better but we could not pay for private and save a ton for college.

I would like to hear more about your experience. Readiness for college is my biggest concern and you seemed to take what you are reporting is a lackluster public education and fill in the gaps. And got accepted to an Ivy (which is not our goal — I’m an Ivy alum and have no love for them) which is impressive and means your DD had options. What do you think was her hook to stand out? Did she start a non profit or something?

No, she did not start a non-profit. We are not even legacy. Took a ton of APs at a DCPS Highschool. It was a huge amount of stress junior and senior year even though 9th and 10th grade were pretty easy for her.
I would say the top 50 kids out of a class of 450 were Uber competitive. She did some school clubs and was able to get a leadership role in one. Teachers wrote strong recommendations. Found a summer internship. It was not an easy path. First year at Ivy was not easy for her but she did well.

That is pretty atypical acceptance, congrats. What is her major?

Going to a high minority or rural high school with few Ivy acceptances is well known path, as long as you know your kid will stay on track this makes sense for PP. That's great she rose to the challenge of a difficult Freshman year, that is the hard part of that route.

[Anonymous]

Seriously OP, alot of advice here already and your husband is correct. Unless you are already made up your mind regardless. Move to FCPS. McLean or Langley Pyramid will be very sufficient. Most schools that feeds to that HS is decent, it might not perfect for every child but so does Privates. Alot of big wealth in that area as well if you are concerned about social status. House price maybe high, but the value will always remain higher in the desireable school zone, always! Longfellow MS is excellent, tons of high achievers and variety of elective choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

It really doesn’t sound right to me that your high school “doesn’t differentiate” until 11th grade. Aren’t there honors classes and on- grade-level classes? Even at our MCPS school that it sounds like wouldn’t impress you at all, my 10th grader has found honors and pre-IB classes challenging, plus one AP in 9th and one in 10th. What grade is your oldest actually in? It sounds like you have anxiety about a problem that is not a problem yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

It really doesn’t sound right to me that your high school “doesn’t differentiate” until 11th grade. Aren’t there honors classes and on- grade-level classes? Even at our MCPS school that it sounds like wouldn’t impress you at all, my 10th grader has found honors and pre-IB classes challenging, plus one AP in 9th and one in 10th. What grade is your oldest actually in? It sounds like you have anxiety about a problem that is not a problem yet.

I've been quite curious about OP's claim there is no differentiation before the IB program starts in 11th grade, so I just looked up the APS high school course options at W-L. "Intensified" English is an option in both ninth and tenth grades, which specifically notes it is "designed for the needs of gifted and advanced students" with higher expectations as preparation for the IB curriculum. so they have accelerated/honors classes but call them something different. There are also "intensified" options in math, science, and social studies. There are also AP classes offered for freshmen in social studies. OP's claim that there isn't any differentiation before the IB program simply isn't accurate. If OP is genuinely confused about this (v. deliberate misrepresenting the public option), I'd suggest looking at the actual course planning documents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP all your comments seem to trash ALL the area public school systems without a lot of direct knowledge of any of them. Sure there's tons of complaining on DCUM about MCPS, FCPS, and the rest, and the class sizes are definitely larger than private. But there are great public schools in this area with tons of smart, motivated kids who get good educations and go on to very competitive colleges.

You also don't seem to understand that your kids won't have the option of paying for school with loans - there are strict limits on loans that undergrads can take out nowadays (somewhere around $5500/yr.) And at your income, your kids won't be eligible for financial aid. They can hunt for merit aid, but the top schools don't give merit. So what are you going to tell them when it's time to apply for college?

Agreed, there are a lot of FCPS/MCPS schools, unfortunately the ones we can afford and have the programs we are interested in are untenable commutes.

It really doesn’t sound right to me that your high school “doesn’t differentiate” until 11th grade. Aren’t there honors classes and on- grade-level classes? Even at our MCPS school that it sounds like wouldn’t impress you at all, my 10th grader has found honors and pre-IB classes challenging, plus one AP in 9th and one in 10th. What grade is your oldest actually in? It sounds like you have anxiety about a problem that is not a problem yet.

I've been quite curious about OP's claim there is no differentiation before the IB program starts in 11th grade, so I just looked up the APS high school course options at W-L. "Intensified" English is an option in both ninth and tenth grades, which specifically notes it is "designed for the needs of gifted and advanced students" with higher expectations as preparation for the IB curriculum. so they have accelerated/honors classes but call them something different. There are also "intensified" options in math, science, and social studies. There are also AP classes offered for freshmen in social studies. OP's claim that there isn't any differentiation before the IB program simply isn't accurate. If OP is genuinely confused about this (v. deliberate misrepresenting the public option), I'd suggest looking at the actual course planning documents.

Yeah, once she mentioned W-L I figured she had not done a lot of research. I would guess that many of the people moving to private in the last few years moved because of COVID . We all know last year was a mess and this year has different issues. I have seen reports in FCPS about kids taking classes that they were not capable of, especially in math, because of the way things were graded last year and needing to drop from AP or Honors to the next level down. I can see some honors level classes having a higher then average number of kids struggling and Teachers doing more to help those kids then they would in a normal year. That could pose a problem for kids who stayed on track last year. I know families whose kids graduated from W-L and they were very happy with their education and they landed at some really good colleges.

I think that there is more angst right now because of the COVID gap in areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Blair magnet is highly selective and the admissions cycle is complete for next fall. You'd be better going to Richard Montgomery where you can take Honors classes starting in 9th grade and choose to enter the IB program in 11th if you qualify. In truth, your kid can get a great education at any FCPS or MCPS school. I'm confused about where you live, though. If you are in DC, then you have school choice. If you are near to DC, APS, FCPS, MCPS, with a short commute to Capitol Hill, your home school is fine. Not perfect, but neither is a private school. I mean sure, we'd all like our kids to be in small classes with great teachers from K-12, but that's not always realistic. Middle school at public is pretty bad IMO, which is why we did private for K-8 and then switched to public in 9th. That might be a good compromise for you. Seriously, though, what district close to Capitol Hill has you living in a place where your zoned high school is truly awful? Are you in PG County?

I haven't provided the details because I fear my spouse will find this thread if someone recognizes me, but we are in APS zoned for Swanson and W-L. Swanson was a train wreck for my kids; they basically were only engaged for 30 minutes a day, spent the rest of class time reading, drawing, sometimes napping -- and that was before the pandemic, and then everything went out the window and it was "no new learning" spring, followed by a year of "won't anyone turn on their camera" or "so-so, are you there" virtual schooling. we left for private and it was night and day, as did almost all of the kids who were in our elementary gifted cohort.

now swanson is apparently undergoing with fights, vandelism in the bathrooms, some kid running around with a taser? and i'm sure the teachers are 100% focused on catching the kids up and readying for SOLs, rather than ensuring children who are on track are engaged and actually spending the day learning. its just a numbers and incentive game; though they may enjoy teaching the interested kids, there are no rewards for pushing them further than required by the standards, but there are penalities if the kids who are struggling don't improve on the SOLs, and there are many more of those struggling students these days. on top of that, APS is going to standards based learning: no grades, re-take tests, continue no homework.

we had planned to return for IB at WL, but once we started digging into it, we realized IB starts at 11th grade, and basically 9th and 10th will be just like our experience in swanson. except the school will now be nearly 3000 kids because they built an addition on the 2000 student school, and even though no high schools were still over crowded after the great exodus, they are still moving over 200 kids/year for the next 3 years to justify spending $30M converting office space to classrooms. so they are making WL an unreasonable size, and the differentiation and rigor we were hoping would finally be starting got kicked down the road until 11th grade.
$7
as for cost, here's how we see it: we are going private for mostly high school (other kids are different and I think will be okay at Swanson as long as the disturbances subside), so $60k * 4 * 3 -> $720k. Let's say we just bought a house $720k more than our $1.2M house -- $1.92M that would not get a similar 4 bedroom SFH in any highly ranked close in FCPS or MCPS high school, even before you consider additional interest costs. House prices have gone up that much, its insane. I wish we had moved to McLean 10 years ago, we thought that APS would be a good school district, but realize now that parents are happy here because anyone who is concerned for academic rigor leaves for FCPS early, despite the longer commutes. APS parents are just way more chill, for better or for worse, but doesn't fit our family.

Real estate agent here. Yes prices have gone up, but there’s 4+ bedroom homes on the market this moment in McLean for less than $1.92. If that’s your measure, you are fine.

I see two houses on incredibly busy roads and a super shady flip. That's it. Just a different bad investment than private school.

You just don’t want to see options. No idea what your criteria are, but there are *many* great options that aren’t flips or on busy streets, and even more if you include Vienna, West Falls Church, Merrifield, and Arlington.

You very clearly are willing to make no compromises and are only looking for someone to take your side in a disagreement with your spouse in which you are clearly wrong.