gaining an understanding

[Anonymous]

I have a biased against public schools because I grew up in a place where the public schools were awful and where everyone went to very competitive privates as a result. I went to what is largely considered one of the great private schools in the country. That said, I now live in MD with what everyone says are great public schools. I applied to privates and got my son in but am now thinking that perhaps I should have considered public more openly. My basic question is not a public vs private one but how can you ever really tell what the school is good at and compare it to what another school is good at? It seems so hard to really tell what is going on in the schools and then compare year to year when you only have access to one school year at a time. How have others figured out what is best for their dc in this regard? I have an extremely bright Kindergartener but one who is probably not a self starter, if that helps.

[Anonymous]

It's all about the huge class sizes in public for us. DD would not thrive in that environment, so that's why we've gone private.

[Anonymous]

I went to one of the best, or at least most difficult to get in to, private schools here. My DC goes to MCPS. So do the children of many of my private school classmates. I don't think there are absolute metrics you can use since different kids will thrive in different environments. And MCPS schools also vary widely, despite the standard curriculum, so it really depends where you live. And private schools vary widely. Just because you are paying for it does not make it good. Mine thrived in a small private school early on, but after a while it became too small. Now she is thriving and being challenged in MCPS. But that might not work for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Go to each school and look at the kid, what are they doing, are they engaged, happy, challenged, do they seem proud of their work, when the teacher talks to them are they glad for her attention and eager to please. Look for one who reminds you of your little one, watch their experience, are they talked to gently yet clearly and confidently? Does the teacher seem to genuinely like them?

Kids are much better evaluators of teachers and schools than adults. They know what meets their needs.

[Anonymous]

Go to each school and look at the kid, what are they doing, are they engaged, happy, challenged, do they seem proud of their work, when the teacher talks to them are they glad for her attention and eager to please. Look for one who reminds you of your little one, watch their experience, are they talked to gently yet clearly and confidently? Does the teacher seem to genuinely like them?

Kids are much better evaluators of teachers and schools than adults. They know what meets their needs.Go to each school and look at the kid, what are they doing, are they engaged, happy, challenged, do they seem proud of their work, when the teacher talks to them are they glad for her attention and eager to please. Look for one who reminds you of your little one, watch their experience, are they talked to gently yet clearly and confidently? Does the teacher seem to genuinely like them?

Kids are much better evaluators of teachers and schools than adults. They know what meets their needs.

Kids, the new educational consultants in town

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a biased against public schools because I grew up in a place where the public schools were awful and where everyone went to very competitive privates as a result. I went to what is largely considered one of the great private schools in the country. That said, I now live in MD with what everyone says are great public schools. I applied to privates and got my son in but am now thinking that perhaps I should have considered public more openly. My basic question is not a public vs private one but how can you ever really tell what the school is good at and compare it to what another school is good at? It seems so hard to really tell what is going on in the schools and then compare year to year when you only have access to one school year at a time. How have others figured out what is best for their dc in this regard? I have an extremely bright Kindergartener but one who is probably not a self starter, if that helps.

Rule of thumb. If the high school is west of 270 its pretty good/great. If its east of 270 you are in trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a biased against public schools because I grew up in a place where the public schools were awful and where everyone went to very competitive privates as a result. I went to what is largely considered one of the great private schools in the country. That said, I now live in MD with what everyone says are great public schools. I applied to privates and got my son in but am now thinking that perhaps I should have considered public more openly. My basic question is not a public vs private one but how can you ever really tell what the school is good at and compare it to what another school is good at? It seems so hard to really tell what is going on in the schools and then compare year to year when you only have access to one school year at a time. How have others figured out what is best for their dc in this regard? I have an extremely bright Kindergartener but one who is probably not a self starter, if that helps.

Rule of thumb. If the high school is west of 270 its pretty good/great. If its east of 270 you are in trouble.

Well, that eliminates any school inside the beltway.

OP, look at test scores, talk to neighbors, visit the school yourself. Observe in the kindergarten/first grade classrooms. What is the vibe? Are the kids engaged? What are the teachers like? How long have they been there? Are they experienced? Are the kids engaged, absorbed, active, and under control? What do the classrooms look like? What do the hallways look like? Talk to the principal. Ask on the neighborhood listserv.