Private schools - for which grades does it matter the most?

[Anonymous]

My DD is just an infant now, but after reading the posts on here, I would like to know how people decide on public vs. private education at various grades of schooling?

What I mean is, is there any research or anecdote concerning which type of schooling is better for elementary school, middle school and high school? I don't think we can afford private for her entire schooling, but can swing it for parts of it, and wanted to know which level is most crucial with regards to this.

[Anonymous]

I think high school matters the most.

[Anonymous]

People have differing opinions on this.

[Anonymous]

Pre-K through 1st.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People have differing opinions on this.

OP here

Can you expand - differing opinions based on what? This is what I am looking for..

[Anonymous]

A lot will depend on your kid, OP. But I did the same as you -- started researching different types of education, public vs. private, different types of curricula, etc.

A good book on the subject is "The Good School" by Peg Tyre. It goes through different aspects of education that have impact on your child and shows measurable outcomes. The point of the book is to get the best education for your child regardless of setting -- public, private, charter, etc.

One of the things the book points out is that class size does matter, but not as much as people think. There are better outcomes when class size is under 17, but this matters almost exclusively for kids in 3rd grade and under. The point of this chapter was to show it's not worth paying for private just to reduce your child's class from 30 to 25, and it's definitely not worth it if your kid is in 9th grade.


Long story short, I am choosing private for K-8 for a variety of reasons. I think it is of huge benefit to my child in these early grades in particular. K-3. Small classes. Differentiated instruction. Focus on friendship building and character building. Lots of physical activity (two recesses a day, phys ed daily, lots of movement in classroom). More focus on specials like art, music, Spanish, etc. No standardized testing.

I also think in this area, public high schools offer a LOT that many private high schools often cannot. Especially in math and science. Again, a lot depends on your child's needs and strengths. Don't be afraid to reassess as needed.

[Anonymous]

Good advice, PP. Thanks for contributing.

[Anonymous]

Depends a lot on what your public school system is like, and your kid. Having almost completed two decades of private schooling, with a spouse who has on and off taught in public MS and HS, I would say that if your school system is at least pretty functional (which would include most-all elementary schools in Mont County, close in VA, and NW DC) and your child has no particular learning or behavioral issues, and gets plenty of reading time and parental attention at home, then if had to choose I believe the biggest difference in richness of content and attention to the child BY FAR was in high school. I went to a large and supposedly excellent public HS in a very upper middle class area, and what my kids have learned and been exposed to in their respective private upper schools has been incredible, in terms of teaching, feedback and individual attention to writing, ability to make their points orally, etc. If you live in Fairfax or MC and can get into a public magnet like Blair or TJ, then particularly for a math/science directed kid, then probably no reason to go to private US, but compared to a standard even very good public high school, there was no comparison (frankly even to what my kids are now doing in highly-touted colleges in some classes! They learned more in some 11th and 12th grade humanities and science classes). REally what a kid needs to get out of ES is a love of reading and learning, social skills, and numeracy, and hopefully for most kids can happen in a good public ES.

[Anonymous]

We chose private for k-8 and MoCo public for HS (not for financial reasons). It is the right combination for this particular kid, who is thriving in the large public high school. In fact we could have moved DC for middle school as well. We wanted smaller classes in the youngest grades. Frankly there was a convenience factor too - our private school was good for working parents - on site after care, early enough start to get to work, lots of enrichment opportunities through the classroom and after care that took the pressure off the weekends, lots of 2 working parent families so many kids went to aftercare, etc.

[Anonymous]

High school. DH and I both went to private from k-12 but will only be sending DC to private (boarding) for high school.

[Anonymous]

11:20 -- If you don't mind sharing, what private K-8 did your child attend?

[Anonymous]

Pre-K through fifth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot will depend on your kid, OP. But I did the same as you -- started researching different types of education, public vs. private, different types of curricula, etc.

A good book on the subject is "The Good School" by Peg Tyre. It goes through different aspects of education that have impact on your child and shows measurable outcomes. The point of the book is to get the best education for your child regardless of setting -- public, private, charter, etc.

One of the things the book points out is that class size does matter, but not as much as people think. There are better outcomes when class size is under 17, but this matters almost exclusively for kids in 3rd grade and under. The point of this chapter was to show it's not worth paying for private just to reduce your child's class from 30 to 25, and it's definitely not worth it if your kid is in 9th grade.


Long story short, I am choosing private for K-8 for a variety of reasons. I think it is of huge benefit to my child in these early grades in particular. K-3. Small classes. Differentiated instruction. Focus on friendship building and character building. Lots of physical activity (two recesses a day, phys ed daily, lots of movement in classroom). More focus on specials like art, music, Spanish, etc. No standardized testing.

I also think in this area, public high schools offer a LOT that many private high schools often cannot. Especially in math and science. Again, a lot depends on your child's needs and strengths. Don't be afraid to reassess as needed.

I hadn't read this before I posted Pre-K through fifth. I agree with the foregoing. Private pre-K through 8 schools have about twelve students in a class with two teachers, (some like Beauvoir, I've read on here have slightly more), and they supposedly create a joy of learning. Studies show (and they are pretty easily findable on google) that smaller class sizes matter for the younger kids. Couple that with tons of outdoor time and gardening and super involved parents and it stands to reason private for the younger ones is the best.

By high school it's more of an identity thing - do you want to affiliate with mop-headed preps etc.? Personally, I think my boy would love the likes of STA, Prep, or Landon, but we will be clear - it's not so much for the better education but for the "experience" of a prep school. Only so many kids from each private school will get into certain select universities, and they are competing against all of the elite public schools in the area (and apparently the DC high schools have great college admissions but will allow the Wilson lovers to chime in).

That's my reasoning.

[Anonymous]

Op, if you can get into a K-8 for grades 4-8, it would be nice. The public schools seem to break down then. Also, even though the class sizes are smaller in private school, the teachers are not as well qualified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, if you can get into a K-8 for grades 4-8, it would be nice. The public schools seem to break down then. Also, even though the class sizes are smaller in private school, the teachers are not as well qualified.

OP here - do you mean go with public for K-8 and then move to private? Thanks!