Does anyone send their child to private school instead WW/WJ/Churchill/Wooton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guys, I think there are some haters and some overgeneralization. People who send their kids to private schools are not necessarily rich and showy. There are many unique things that private schools can offer like small class size, indivualized attention, IB programs, etc. We switched from the public school in MoCo to a private school not because I want to prove to anyone I have money (I am upper middle class not wealthy by any stretch), but I want certain things for my kids' education that are hard to get in the public system.

People have different preferences, and you know what you care about the most. But let's not judge those who send kids to private to justify your own choice of staying in public schools. No better or worse. It is a choice. When you can afford it, then you have two choices in front of you.

I do agree with you and many are pompous which irks people. Did you not see the insufferable posts about doing what the rich do, hence go to private?

I'm the PP who used the Range Rover examples.

I'm not against private schools. Like the PP stated, there could be various reasons to choose private. But, a lot of private school parents seem to be under the impression that the education in private schools is better. People are just pointing out that this isn't necessarily true. I think some kids would do better in smaller settings, but there are definitely some kids who would hate the small settings and not having a wide peer group. Large public schools provide a bigger peer group for higher performing students. My one very high performing kid went to a rich school out west that didn't have anyone at DC's level. In the DC area, my kid is still on the higher performing stratus, but there are more like DC than where we were before. And that has been a big benefit for DC.

There is an element of people needing to justify spending $$$ on K-8 education; there is also an element of it being a badge. Then there is the element of "I don't want my kids surrounded by those people.. I only want them surrounded by my social set".

And then there is the "we're stretching things so my kid can get more individualized attention that they need".

YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

By the way, this isn't true. I know many people who question the sanity of people who send their kids to certain privates. So trust me, there is no status being conferred by sending your kids to just any private. It's actually the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a night and day comparison between top privates and these overcrowded public’s. MoCo public schools have been resting on their laurels for 15 years. If you have the means, and can get into one of the better privates in the area, do that.

We have been at one of the “better privates” and it hasn’t been better. Paying tuition for polish rather than academics that they successfully market to parents like myself who assume private has to be superior to public. Not so. Will return to public after foolishly wasting trusting that private has to be better.

Sorry it took you 2 years to realize that. I went private when MCPS was DL, I was so glad when MCPS announced they would be in-person the following year. I could not get back fast enough to MCPS. It was a waste of money I will never get back.
Not saying that there are not better privates, but not in the DMV.

So your kid has attended all privates in the DMV? Ok...

Weak counter.

Ha, ok. Your argument is ridiculous. You say that no private in the DMV is better than the public schools in the DMV. Based on what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a night and day comparison between top privates and these overcrowded public’s. MoCo public schools have been resting on their laurels for 15 years. If you have the means, and can get into one of the better privates in the area, do that.

We have been at one of the “better privates” and it hasn’t been better. Paying tuition for polish rather than academics that they successfully market to parents like myself who assume private has to be superior to public. Not so. Will return to public after foolishly wasting trusting that private has to be better.

Sorry it took you 2 years to realize that. I went private when MCPS was DL, I was so glad when MCPS announced they would be in-person the following year. I could not get back fast enough to MCPS. It was a waste of money I will never get back.
Not saying that there are not better privates, but not in the DMV.

So your kid has attended all privates in the DMV? Ok...

DC attends one of the highest rated in the area and it’s okay compared to mcps. Don’t think pp you sounded off to needs to attend all to learn this.

We get it, you hate SAAS. Let it go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are zoned for One of these and went private.

Very poor handling of pandemic education.

Poor communication between home and school.

Hard to get on the sports teams unless you are top athlete.

Bureaucratic approaches that lack common sense.

Academics and writing more rigorous so we fell student will be better prepared for college.

We prefer private although college outcomes are probably similar or better at the public due to grade inflation.

Our DC prefers private.

Same here, all of the above reasons. Will stay and graduate from private

No snark but I would really like to know what private has better academics and more specifically writing than public here. That was touted at my child’s school and it is not better and has a reputation of a well-respected private.

This is the only area I have lived in that people actually think publcs are any good. It is shocking to me.

NP. It is a peculiarly DC area thing. I think it’s because there are so many people with government ties here. They are very invested in this belief. Even Massachusetts parents don’t sound like this.

Thank you! You provided an interesting answer. I have lived/traveled all over the US, and while the vast majority of people could never afford private-- they certainly don't brag about their public schools.

It’s definitely a little weird. The odd thing is that many DC area parents persist with this belief even in the face of educational data. The belief in the universal excellence of the public schools in the DC area is not always tethered to reality.

Neither is the belief in the universal excellence of the private schools in the DC area (or other areas)always tethered to reality.

But nobody is saying that. What PP observed is that the DC area is a little weird in the insistence on how good the public schools are. Even in other areas of the country where there are public schools that are good, parents don’t talk the way DC parents do about the public schools. It is a little weird tbh.

I live in a city with very poor public schools that is right next to a city with very good public schools. I also grew up in a city (on the west coast) with very poor public schools that was right next to a city with very good public schools.

In both cases, the cities with poor public schools have a plethora of private schools, and the cities with good public schools have fewer or no private schools.

In DC, you have both good public schools AND a ton of private schools, so I think it makes for more defensive posturing on the part of BOTH sets of parents - those who send their kids to public and those who send their kids to private.

My parents never had to "justify" sending me to private school. No one ever questioned why they did it, because clearly our public schools weren't a good choice. I have also never had anyone question why I send my kids to private, given our local public schools. But on DCUM and probably in the DMV in real life as well, the choice between a good public and a private is a closer call so people are questioned more so they are more defensive.

That's just my two cents. I could be wrong.

This definitely has some merit. I’ve had three kids in privates - one at GDS, one at Sidwell and one at a lesser known private that is rarely discussed on here. I pulled both from Sidwell and GDS. One child was being bullied and so I decided to try both kids at our neighborhood school, hoping that at a minimum if there was anymore bullying, at least my kids would have each other. Honestly, my kids were still challenged and had great teachers. And they weren’t “ahead” in anything by any means but one was behind in one subject. During the pandemic I put my last one in a small private but will be pulling him and returning to MCPS next Fall. The school is pretty and all of the teachers really know the students very well (which I love!) but the academics aren’t better than MCPS and the peers in his class aren’t necessarily smarter or as smart as the kids who were previously in his public school class). I know people don’t like to hear this but it is my experience. Also it’s important to know that some people don’t just go to privates for the academics alone - there are newer and nicer facilities, better field trips, peers with more things in common, better teacher student ratios, etc. So a public school being more challenging/rigorous is not a selling point. What if you have an average kid that doesn’t self advocate and can easily get lost? Private might be perfect and public could end up being a nightmare. Just honor peoples choices - they know their kids best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guys, I think there are some haters and some overgeneralization. People who send their kids to private schools are not necessarily rich and showy. There are many unique things that private schools can offer like small class size, indivualized attention, IB programs, etc. We switched from the public school in MoCo to a private school not because I want to prove to anyone I have money (I am upper middle class not wealthy by any stretch), but I want certain things for my kids' education that are hard to get in the public system.

People have different preferences, and you know what you care about the most. But let's not judge those who send kids to private to justify your own choice of staying in public schools. No better or worse. It is a choice. When you can afford it, then you have two choices in front of you.

I do agree with you and many are pompous which irks people. Did you not see the insufferable posts about doing what the rich do, hence go to private?

I'm the PP who used the Range Rover examples.

I'm not against private schools. Like the PP stated, there could be various reasons to choose private. But, a lot of private school parents seem to be under the impression that the education in private schools is better. People are just pointing out that this isn't necessarily true. I think some kids would do better in smaller settings, but there are definitely some kids who would hate the small settings and not having a wide peer group. Large public schools provide a bigger peer group for higher performing students. My one very high performing kid went to a rich school out west that didn't have anyone at DC's level. In the DC area, my kid is still on the higher performing stratus, but there are more like DC than where we were before. And that has been a big benefit for DC.

There is an element of people needing to justify spending $$$ on K-8 education; there is also an element of it being a badge. Then there is the element of "I don't want my kids surrounded by those people.. I only want them surrounded by my social set".

And then there is the "we're stretching things so my kid can get more individualized attention that they need".

YMMV.

Large public schools provide a bigger peer group for higher performing students. My one very high performing kid went to a rich school out west that didn't have anyone at DC's level. In the DC area, my kid is still on the higher performing stratus, but there are more like DC than where we were before. And that has been a big benefit

This is something important that people are missing. My kid is in a class of 15 and he consistently scores in the top of his class. However at our old public there are 300 kids in his grade. My kid is smart but there is no way he would be at the top of the batch of 300 in public. Still, I prefer he be in public because he has an actual academic peer group and also has something to aspire to. There is a large immigrant population in this area that keeps kids on their toes academically and I like it and why this will be our last year in private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a night and day comparison between top privates and these overcrowded public’s. MoCo public schools have been resting on their laurels for 15 years. If you have the means, and can get into one of the better privates in the area, do that.

We have been at one of the “better privates” and it hasn’t been better. Paying tuition for polish rather than academics that they successfully market to parents like myself who assume private has to be superior to public. Not so. Will return to public after foolishly wasting trusting that private has to be better.

Sorry it took you 2 years to realize that. I went private when MCPS was DL, I was so glad when MCPS announced they would be in-person the following year. I could not get back fast enough to MCPS. It was a waste of money I will never get back.
Not saying that there are not better privates, but not in the DMV.

So your kid has attended all privates in the DMV? Ok...

DC attends one of the highest rated in the area and it’s okay compared to mcps. Don’t think pp you sounded off to needs to attend all to learn this.

We get it, you hate SAAS. Let it go.

Does not attend SAAS, I said it is a highly ranked school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

By the way, this isn't true. I know many people who question the sanity of people who send their kids to certain privates. So trust me, there is no status being conferred by sending your kids to just any private. It's actually the opposite.

Tell that to the ones who most certainly send their children for status. If you think people don’t do that, you’ll believe anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

Poor thing, please don’t brag about being dumb, either rich or poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a night and day comparison between top privates and these overcrowded public’s. MoCo public schools have been resting on their laurels for 15 years. If you have the means, and can get into one of the better privates in the area, do that.

We have been at one of the “better privates” and it hasn’t been better. Paying tuition for polish rather than academics that they successfully market to parents like myself who assume private has to be superior to public. Not so. Will return to public after foolishly wasting trusting that private has to be better.

Sorry it took you 2 years to realize that. I went private when MCPS was DL, I was so glad when MCPS announced they would be in-person the following year. I could not get back fast enough to MCPS. It was a waste of money I will never get back.
Not saying that there are not better privates, but not in the DMV.

So your kid has attended all privates in the DMV? Ok...

DC attends one of the highest rated in the area and it’s okay compared to mcps. Don’t think pp you sounded off to needs to attend all to learn this.

We get it, you hate SAAS. Let it go.

Does not attend SAAS, I said it is a highly ranked school.

I found that amusing, SAAS does not come to mind when one mentions highly ranked privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

You would have to pay your way because I can assure you they don’t want to be around you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

Funny! I am a total snob and thus, I send my child to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

Funny! I am a total snob and thus, I send my child to private.

And?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a word, yes. It is very common for kids in these clusters to attend private schools.

Status is big in this area and private is one way to flaunt that. Even if it’s inferior, so long as it’s private.

You get what you pay for in life….if you want your kids to go to a school with 30+ kids per class, endless testing, central office bureaucracy, and very poor facilities—-your choice.

Yes, I pay for smaller class size and decent facility. That’s about all my tuition pays for. You think there’s no bureaucracy and testing out the wazoo in private? You would be in denial to believe that. You also are a fibber for dismissing the status factor if you are dumb as a box of rocks.

Less bureaucracy at private school, more connections, around more wealth etc.

And I might be "dumb as a box of rocks" but my net worth is in the top 1/10 of 1% for the DMV...so I'm fine being rich and dumb and having kids in expensive private schools with other rich kids.

Poor thing, please don’t brag about being dumb, either rich or poor.

Would much rather be dumb and rich than smart and poor...no apology for that.