Why Private High School?

[Anonymous]

Why are families still choosing a private high school education for their students when it appears from many posting in this board, other listservs and our own research that the academics at many public high schools, magnets and IB programs especially, are as good if not better than even the top private schools and that admissions at top colleges may prefer students who don't attend elite private schools? Besides the issues of class size, sports and desiring a certain community (religious), are what the other reasons?

[Anonymous]

Only the wealthy, connected students get into the top public school programs. No choice for public school...stuck with your neighborhood cluster. Not enough gifted magnets to meet the demand of the gifted students in the DC, MD, VA areas. Many magnets in MD are simply designed to redistribute students, NOT to focus on academics...test scores are in the tank.

[Anonymous]

Also: Some public school options are unsafe; teachers and counselors can't devote much time to individual student needs; emphasis on meeting benchmarks instead of reaching for personal best; excessive and stupid standardized testing (HSAs etc.); large class sizes; not as much opportunity to participate in sports/musicals etc. because of the competition factor; enrichment programs getting cut; among other reasons.

[Anonymous]

there is also great value to the independent upper school experience where all students have strong relationships with teachers both in and out of the classroom. Administrators get to know all students which helps with character formation in addition to academic preparation. Class size is smaller.

[Anonymous]

Privates generally don't employ the "one size fits all" approach to students, no matter how nonsensical in terms of disciplinary and administrative issues, just read about some of the events in the Fairfax County Public Schools regarding 7-12 week suspensions, delays in hearings and eventual transfer to other schools for kids with single offenses ie the girl with an antibiotic for acne in her locker, or the tragic suicide of the football player caught with a single pill.
Also the close relationships with teachers, incredible focus on writing in at least many of the private upper schools, with graduates reporting back from colleges to say that they are immeasurably better prepared regarding that aspect compared to most of the public school graduates, even from the best magnets and surburban high schools, where teachers with 120 students or more per semester simply can't be spending a huge amount of time going through and helping students edit multiple drafts of essays and research papers. I don't feel that the math/science education is necessarily stronger and in fact may be weaker in some privates than magnets and big strong suburban publics, simply because of numbers and diffculty offering a breadth of levels of instruction, but in the humanities the privates really do seem to have an advantage. Then there are the arts which are being increasingly underfunded and whittled away in terms of time at most publics.

[Anonymous]

Ditto what 9:19 said. I love the small size classes, where students can feel comfortable expressing their opinions, speaking with their teachers and getting to know them. I love that the teachers actually know who my kid is - even the bad parts of my kid. I couldn't pay enough money for the fact that these teachers are accessible almost 24/7 and want my child to succeed. I love the fact that there is art, music and team sports for anybody interested. While my kid is not destined for the Ivies, and I really could care less about that, I know that when it's time for the horrid college search she'll have a counselor that will actually help her make appropriate selections and help her through the process. I also feel she'll be well prepared for college.

[Anonymous]

Ditto what 9:15 and 9:35 have shared. My child started high school at a well-regarded FCPS high school and was literally known as a number. We transferred to a private and the quality of education, respect for humanity and total experience is far more positive.

[Anonymous]

DD has been accepted to a suburban magnet program. But we are seriously weighing a boarding school acceptance. Why? School of 2000+ vs 350. Small classes 30+ vs ave. class size of 11. Individual attention. Faculty who truly know and care about the student. Rich extracurricular opportunities. Basically what previous posters said.

[Anonymous]

Are all the positive attributes stated here about private schools (small classes, closeness to teachers, extra-curriculars -- although many public schools offer as many if not more than private schools fo, etc.) worth almost $30,000 a year?

[Anonymous]

Much better college counseling. If you're going to spend $200K for 4 years of college, and college is your entry point to graduate/professional school, yes, I would spend $30K/year for high school, if I could afford to.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

In terms of is it worth $30,000/year, I guess the question is whether it is a means to an end (ie college) or an "end" all on its own. The intellectual and social experience my DD has had in her private high school is just light years beyond anything I had in my own very highly rated public suburban high school in terms of engagement with teachers and peers, real classroom discussion and engagement, and development of her writing and reasoning powers. I truly think it is actually better than I got in my HYPS college experience. So almost no matter where she goes to college or what she does, I believe her particular high school experience has been worth it. She loves going to school every day. She will carry the knowledge and lessons learned the rest of her life. If college is worth $50,000 or more a year, for classes where one might see an actual professor once or twice a week in many classes, I think the quality high school experience is worth it. Plus, for college she is getting lots of merit scholarship offers, if we choose to take one, that will make the college experience cheaper and it may be that she never would have gottne those offers if she had not learned to write and reason so well in high school.

[Anonymous]

reply to 14:49 - Sounds like your child is getting a great stimulating education! What school are you talking about? We have visited several private schools in the DC, MD area and have not seen the level of classroom engagement you describe.

[Anonymous]

Kid was at Ellington which had a wonderful department in her particular art but the students weren't so interested in the academic side of Ellington. She was not a real motivated student either so she didn't much rise above her peers in her dedication to her studies. She talked us into sending her private and it helped a lot to be around students who were more interested in their studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only the wealthy, connected students get into the top public school programs. No choice for public school...stuck with your neighborhood cluster. Not enough gifted magnets to meet the demand of the gifted students in the DC, MD, VA areas. Many magnets in MD are simply designed to redistribute students, NOT to focus on academics...test scores are in the tank.

This is the most BS I've read in one place in a long time. First, connections and wealth have nothing to do with admissions to magnet programs. At all. Ever. Magnet acceptances in MoCo are based on scores from a test that MD administers every December to magnet applicants, plus teacher recommendations and student essays. Seriously, have you ever heard of parents offering to make large donations to public schools with magnet programs?

Also, the magnets in MD are not "simply designed to redistribute students, NOT to focus on academics ... test scores are in the tank." Where did you get this, or are you making it up? In 7th grade, my magnet DC did linear regression (I kid you not), had to solve a Rubiks cube in under 5 minutes, wrote computer programs, and dissected a frog. I'm guessing some private HS don't do some of these things. The only part of your post I agree with is that there aren't enough magnet slots for the gifted students in the area.

Which is why, when it was time for another DC to move on from the private ES, we chose a magnet over a so-called big 3 to which that DC was also accepted. We know 5 other families from different grades who made the same choice, turning down Sidwell (I know 2 families who turned Sidwell down) and the cathedral schools for MD magnets. In part, as a poster said, it's because money matters to those of us who are not super-rich, and whatever additional things you get in a private school (small classes, better counselors) may not be worth an extra $30K to these families. But from talking to these other families, I have the sense that all of them think the quality of academics in the magnets is just as good or better.

I totally agree, the college counselors at private schools must be better than the ones at MD publics. Ours stink. I hear that many college counselors have close links to top schools, whereas ours are pushing the 3rd tier schools.

I disagree that public school teachers don't recognize your kid. Yes, kids do have a number on their ID, and they have to write this number at the top of certain forms and standardized tests. But my DC's teachers all know DC. Granted, this is a magnet. But when we talk to DC's teachers at school open houses and fairs and the like, they immediately start talking about what DC is up to.