Are private schools really that special or just overpriced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are remotely familiar with public schools, and understand how to raise children beyond just test scores and college admissions, then you understand what a terrible environment school can be even for the public school "success" stories.

Totally, 90 percent of American kids are being tortured in those “schools”.

No one said "tortured" so there's no need to be dramatic. I went to private school growing up, my husband went to public (MCPS). He insisted our kids go to private because he hated his MCPS school. And he got into a T20 college and went to a top grad school so I imagine he's a success story.

[Anonymous]

Why wouldn't you ask the same thing about anything - how about cars - is a BMW overpriced? To some people, sure, they would be perfectly happy with a cheaper car if it did the job of getting them from A to B. Others enjoy what BMW has to offer in terms of driving experience. Others wouldn't deign to drive a BMW because it's nothing compared to a Maserati. There's no right answer, just a right answer for you or, in this case, your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every parent in DC is convinced private school is the only path to a good education, but I am wondering how much of that is perception versus reality. Between tuition that rivals college and the pressure to get in, are we truly paying for better academics or just smaller classes, nicer facilities, and the right peer group? If you strip away the brand names, are the results such as college placement, student well being, and critical thinking skills really that different from the top public and charter options? What do you think?

I think it is a legitimate question a human parent had. I am a human and have the same question.

There have been many, many threads discussing this question in the past. Try using the search button in this form.

Hint - In those discussions public school parents say private isn’t worth it because private school doesn’t offer an advantage in college admissions. Most private school parents answer that they didn’t choose private for a college admissions advantage. Rather, they chose private school
because it provides a superior environment for kids/learning (safety, values, peers,etc.).

In the same threads parents from private schools also put a lot of effort to justify spending 55k in private education. I send my kids to private schools and I don’t really care if other parents say if it’s high or low value for them.

I also send my kids to private school and I couldn't care less what someone on DCUM thinks of that choice. However, it's a been disingenuous to criticize someone for responding to a post that literally asks them to justify spending tuition on private school. Surely you can see that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's trolling because you are making strawman claims.

Not really. It’s trolling, in your view, because I am saying things that you don’t like to hear.

No, you are mischaracterizing what other people are saying and putting words in their mouth.

Not really. I am describing what they are saying, that public schools are inferior to private schools (in their view) and that parents from those schools are not allowed to comment on private schools. But in fact many parents from private schools find them a bit overpriced. You can read the classist comments in previous posts.

What would a public school parent have to say about a private school their kids don't attend? Similar, what would a private school parent have to say about a public school their kids don't attend? It goes both ways. If your kid isn't at a private school, why would I listen to your opinion of them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think that some parents are a bit snob, and tend to think that under no circumstances there is a chance that public schools can provide a good education to their kids.

In my experience, most parents who send their kids to private school don’t spend a whole lot of time and energy thinking about public schools that their kids don’t attend. DCUM message boards are not real life.

But somehow they get offended when someone says that private schools are a bit overpriced. At Least they don’t want someone to write that comment.

Show me where someone was offended. Responding to why they don't think their school is overpriced is not the same thing as being offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every parent in DC is convinced private school is the only path to a good education, but I am wondering how much of that is perception versus reality. Between tuition that rivals college and the pressure to get in, are we truly paying for better academics or just smaller classes, nicer facilities, and the right peer group? If you strip away the brand names, are the results such as college placement, student well being, and critical thinking skills really that different from the top public and charter options? What do you think?

I think it is a legitimate question a human parent had. I am a human and have the same question.

It is really sad nobody care to answer this question. I think for vast majority of private schools, it isn’t really worth it. For selective few, it might be a try. At the end it also depends on the school, the kid and the specific teachers. But they are definitely over priced. It is unbelievable how hard it is to get a good education in this country.

Oh please, people have answered this question a thousand times on DCUM.

Not all private schools are created equal. If you want to find out about a specific school and whether it's a fit for your kid I suggest you ask parents at that school, not some anonymous internet forum.

Of course, pay attention to what the anonymous poster is saying, don’t post questions in an anonymous forum. Totally makes sense.

Can you read? I said ask parents at that school, not an anonymous poster. I'm sorry this is so difficult for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like every parent in DC is convinced private school is the only path to a good education, but I am wondering how much of that is perception versus reality. Between tuition that rivals college and the pressure to get in, are we truly paying for better academics or just smaller classes, nicer facilities, and the right peer group? If you strip away the brand names, are the results such as college placement, student well being, and critical thinking skills really that different from the top public and charter options? What do you think?

I think it is a legitimate question a human parent had. I am a human and have the same question.

It is really sad nobody care to answer this question. I think for vast majority of private schools, it isn’t really worth it. For selective few, it might be a try. At the end it also depends on the school, the kid and the specific teachers. But they are definitely over priced. It is unbelievable how hard it is to get a good education in this country.

Oh please, people have answered this question a thousand times on DCUM.

Not all private schools are created equal. If you want to find out about a specific school and whether it's a fit for your kid I suggest you ask parents at that school, not some anonymous internet forum.

Of course, pay attention to what the anonymous poster is saying, don’t post questions in an anonymous forum. Totally makes sense.

Can you read? I said ask parents at that school, not an anonymous poster. I'm sorry this is so difficult for you.

Yes, very good advise from anonymous poster….. don’t ask my fellow anonymous posters.

[Anonymous]

Why do you think posted opinions of anonymous posters are a more credible source than those of actual parents from certain schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's trolling because you are making strawman claims.

Not really. It’s trolling, in your view, because I am saying things that you don’t like to hear.

No, you are mischaracterizing what other people are saying and putting words in their mouth.

Not really. I am describing what they are saying, that public schools are inferior to private schools (in their view) and that parents from those schools are not allowed to comment on private schools. But in fact many parents from private schools find them a bit overpriced. You can read the classist comments in previous posts.

Curious - can private school parents comment on public schools?

It’s well established that there are tons of families with kids in both public and private, or switched between public and private (or vice versa). Which part of that is hard for you to understand?

The most declarative, emphatic statements come from people who clearly have no experience with public schools. For example, "Public school is never a consideration for people who can truly afford private."

You have no proof that they "have no experience with public schools."

If they had experience with public schools, they would know that of course many people who "can truly afford private" do consider public school, because they would know people who fit that description.

The people with experience at both public and private say more moderated, insightful things than "never a consideration" for any of a whole swath of poeple

Funny how the public school parents are convinced their peers in public school can easily afford private school tuition.

So if private school was free, they would still be in public school?

Being able to easily afford private school is the same as being free. The money doesn't matter.

We paid for a so-called "top ivy" out of pocket, so yes, we could have afforded private school. That kid turned down NCS for a public magnet (you can see the college outcome was still pretty great). We know several other families on our kid's soccer team who made the same decision. One or two, like us, tried private for a few years and decided it wasn't worth it.

If you can easily afford tuition, you just go to the best school for your kid. You aren't deciding if the tuition is worth it or not. It sounds like you really couldn't afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think posted opinions of anonymous posters are a more credible source than those of actual parents from certain schools?

Why do you think parents ask questions about schools on this forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids in elementary -- one in public, one in private. Public school child will eventually go with sibling, but they are happy so we aren't having them apply yet. Will revisit next year.

Today the kid in public came home and told me that one of her classmates bit a kid and then body slammed him to the floor. Last week, our PT conference consisted of sitting down with their teacher for 6 (6!) minutes of the teacher presenting child's I-ready and other scores. I basically had to beg for personal information about how my kid is doing in the class. In DCPS at least, if your kid is performing fine on standardized tests, they are generally ignored.

Contrast that with kid in private who reports zero behavioral issues (typical social issues sure but no disruptive behavior) and whose PT conference is 30 minutes long with detailed observations about my kid specifically. Robust security with essentially a gates campus. Significant classroom involvement and a list of on-campus extracurriculars a mile long.

At the end of the day, both kids are happy and doing well and if we couldn't afford it, our local DCPS would be just fine at least through elementary. But there is a reason that the majority of families who live in DC that can afford private choose that route...

I wouldn’t say that at all. The majority of DCPS parents I know can afford private (some do break off for private in middle or high school)… however, everyone loves the neighborhood school dynamic and are very happy with the elementary and middle schools. I’ve noticed with all my kids that the youngest had the most kids from their elementary go to the public middle school than the previous years before.

I don’t know anyone who can easily afford private that is in public. If it involves any sort of sacrifice or strain on finances, they think they are getting a deal by at least using their public elementary. However the money matters to them and they are just waiting and planning their exit to private.

The neighborhood school dynamic sounds great until you hear about the insane behavioral problems, class sizes, and limited resources. Experiencing it with your own kid makes you want to leave the neighborhood entirely, by moving or going to private school.

I think this really varies depending on the public school and kid at issue. We know lots of families in our neighborhood who could easily afford private for multiple kids for k-12 and chose our highly rated public instead. Our family definitely could have afforded it and chose public k-8 and private HS for our oldest and plan to do the same for our current middle schooler. Our youngest is in elementary and we don’t have any plans to consider private until middle. We might switch her to private then, for HS, or not ever. We’ll see what seems to be the best fit at that point.

We love our public elementary where our kids had between 17-23 kids per class, developed friendships with lots of kids in the neighborhood, and have had amazing teachers. At some point in MS, it seemed that private would be a better option for our older two for different reasons and specific to them. But, things aren’t as black and white as all privates are better than public, private is better for every kid, etc.

I'm curious which private school your older one attends that you are so sure you can get your two younger admitted to whenever you feel like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think posted opinions of anonymous posters are a more credible source than those of actual parents from certain schools?

Why do you think parents ask questions about schools on this forum?

Facts and news (even if posted anonymously) are potentially useful and verifiable. Anonymous opinions (easily posted by anyone pretending to be someone they’re not), on the other hand, are not. Surely you understand the difference between facts and opinion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think posted opinions of anonymous posters are a more credible source than those of actual parents from certain schools?

Why do you think parents ask questions about schools on this forum?

Facts and news (even if posted anonymously) are potentially useful and verifiable. Anonymous opinions (easily posted by anyone pretending to be someone they’re not), on the other hand, are not. Surely you understand the difference between facts and opinion?

Sure, so I guess I’m allowed to ask for parents’ opinions on DCUM, right?

[Anonymous]

If you’re really wondering if these 50-60K schools are overpriced, go check out what their teachers are making on the other thread. Then you’ll really be scratching your head! Whether you can afford it or not, I’d think you’d want to know where all that money is going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re really wondering if these 50-60K schools are overpriced, go check out what their teachers are making on the other thread. Then you’ll really be scratching your head! Whether you can afford it or not, I’d think you’d want to know where all that money is going.

That would indeed be a sign that they are overpriced.