My impression on Mont Co public v. private school

[Anonymous]

Feel free to comment/critique: I have the following impression of the strong clusters in Montgomery County (BCC, Ws, etc.): privates tend to better, on average, for the lower grades (smaller classes, more enrichment, more time for play, focus on social skills). But for high school, the public IB/AP programs are much stronger than all but a handful of the very best privates. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to comment/critique: I have the following impression of the strong clusters in Montgomery County (BCC, Ws, etc.): privates tend to better, on average, for the lower grades (smaller classes, more enrichment, more time for play, focus on social skills). But for high school, the public IB/AP programs are much stronger than all but a handful of the very best privates. Thoughts?

I agree private are generally better than public for kids in elementary and middle schools. However, I think the top private schools (Sidwell, NCS, St Albans, GDS, Maret, Holton Arms, etc.) generally have higher academic standards/expections in high school than most of the public high school in this area; they are probably more similar (in terms of academic achievement) to the Magnet programs (such as Blair, Richard Montgomery, Thomas Jefferson).

[Anonymous]

The differences between public and private are as much in the intangibles as anything else. Our son was in private and now is in a "W" high school. He says the kids are just at smart, the teachers he has are comparable, however there's a climate of constant testing that pervades the public school that he didn't experience at his private. In private school, he found there was more of an emphasis on writing papers and class discussion. In public, not as much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The differences between public and private are as much in the intangibles as anything else. Our son was in private and now is in a "W" high school. He says the kids are just at smart, the teachers he has are comparable, however there's a climate of constant testing that pervades the public school that he didn't experience at his private. In private school, he found there was more of an emphasis on writing papers and class discussion. In public, not as much.

Was your son in both for HS? We also have a DC in a W school and a DC in a private school, and I think testing just ramps up in HS period. They both seem to have tests and quizzes frequently. The difference is at AP time since my public school DC takes many more APs - no question there is an emphasis on AP test prep come May.

Class discussion is an interesting one. Class sizes are about double in MCPS. My DCs experience is that there is a lot of class discussion, especially in AP classes, but because the classes are large people can opt out if they want and it won't be that noticeable (nor does it really influence grades, although the teachers have a little leeway). I think it tends to favor the outgoing kids, the meeker ones apparently don't say much. Some teachers deal with that creatively through "hot seats" etc.

The other intangible is extra currics, especially sports. A talented athlete can have a great experience at public school, but a mediocre one is more likely to get cut from the competitive sports. There is just less competition in many private schools because there are fewer kids (obviously there are exceptions to this). And in the private schools juniors and even seniors can be on JV teams, that's not the case in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to comment/critique: I have the following impression of the strong clusters in Montgomery County (BCC, Ws, etc.): privates tend to better, on average, for the lower grades (smaller classes, more enrichment, more time for play, focus on social skills). But for high school, the public IB/AP programs are much stronger than all but a handful of the very best privates. Thoughts?

That's the conclusion I came to for "my" kid. Plus we can't afford the big 3 types of private schools for high school. Maybe Catholic like Good Counsel if we need to stay private for some reason. We are in the Wootton cluster and just needed something smaller for my child in these early years. So we picked a small private school instead. We will reevaluate as we go along. I have followed a bunch of former daycare kids from my child's daycare, who have gone to about 10 different elementary schools around the county this year for kindergarten. Interestingly, the ones in lower-performing clusters have had the best experiences in kindergarten. Much smaller classes seems to be their common strength. All anecdotal of course, but I find it interesting.

[Anonymous]

Fwiw, I attended privates (HR in Kensington and Holy Cross for HS) and my kids are in MCPS. My two cents: Holy Cross HS was tougher than law school, and from what I understand the academics are even more rigorous now than they were then (even in the basic classes). I think private elementary schools are hit or miss. Actually, each grade level could be hit or miss depending on the teacher. Remember: you need not be certified to teach at a private (and while some are, lots of those teachers ended up at privates bc they couldn't get a job with MCPS). There are many things I liked about CMOS before 2.0. Now, I'm concerned about the education my children are receiving in MCPS. I am particularly concerned that MCPS does not appear to teach basic study skills. Kids don't have textbooks and aren't provided with any content they are responsible for learning/studying in preparation for any tests (aside from the basic assessments). I guess I prefer the old fashioned approach to instruction employed in private school where students are regularly tasked with preparing for unit tests in social studies, science, etc. MCPS doesn't do this in elementary school....and then kids are simply expected to have these skills once they start middle school. It's very worrisome. Sadly, I cannot afford private school tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree private are generally better than public for kids in elementary and middle schools. However, I think the top private schools (Sidwell, NCS, St Albans, GDS, Maret, Holton Arms, etc.) generally have higher academic standards/expections in high school than most of the public high school in this area; they are probably more similar (in terms of academic achievement) to the Magnet programs (such as Blair, Richard Montgomery, Thomas Jefferson).

I would put the magnet programs at the top of the heap - that's just an impression.

I will buck the trend and say that publics offer a solid education in elementary, which does a good job covering basics like grammar, etc - sometimes more than privates do. I think that privates really earn their keep in middle school, when they ramp up the level of challenge and prepare students well for high school.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in a wonderful non-Big x private. What we hear consistently from families who transfer in from MCPS or (who have one child in each) is that it is easier for a bright kid to sail through middle school and the early HS years without being challenged in public school. When we toured BCC a few years ago the guide told us in the IB program they really work on writing, but that doesn't kick into high gear until 11th grade, whereas in our independent private they demand the kids write a good deal in middle school and early in HS. The small classes do make it harder for a kid to hide in class, although there still are some students who by nature participate relatively more or relatively less in class. Public school kids on average tend to be more accelerated in math in lower grades, but that seems to even out by high school except for the the very brightest magnet school kids, who can continue that pace to do amazing things in high school math. Ultimately, what you get at a good fit private is a community of teachers who look at for the kids more closely. I attended public schools and had some wonderful teachers, but very few with the time or inclination to mentor me. I think my kids feel most of their teachers play that role, and that is one of the great intangibles of a good fit private as kids get past the early grades.

[Anonymous]

DD switched from a really good DC private to BCC. She says it is a LOT easier. She doesn't work nearly as hard and she has a 4.0 now. In private she had a lot of B's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in a wonderful non-Big x private. What we hear consistently from families who transfer in from MCPS or (who have one child in each) is that it is easier for a bright kid to sail through middle school and the early HS years without being challenged in public school. When we toured BCC a few years ago the guide told us in the IB program they really work on writing, but that doesn't kick into high gear until 11th grade, whereas in our independent private they demand the kids write a good deal in middle school and early in HS. The small classes do make it harder for a kid to hide in class, although there still are some students who by nature participate relatively more or relatively less in class. Public school kids on average tend to be more accelerated in math in lower grades, but that seems to even out by high school except for the the very brightest magnet school kids, who can continue that pace to do amazing things in high school math. Ultimately, what you get at a good fit private is a community of teachers who look at for the kids more closely. I attended public schools and had some wonderful teachers, but very few with the time or inclination to mentor me. I think my kids feel most of their teachers play that role, and that is one of the great intangibles of a good fit private as kids get past the early grades.

This post reflects our experience with kids who attended an MCPS elementary school and had a great experience. On that basis we decided to give our local MCPS middle school a shot with our oldest. The MS magnets didn't appeal to us due to the specialization on either math/science or humanities/social studies, the long bus ride and the fact that most of his friends were going to the local school. We were, however, disappointed in the local MS and switched to private. Our 2 younger children went directly to private from public elementary school. They have all benefited greatly from the emphasis on writing and critical thinking, as well as the opportunities for close relationships with teachers.

[Anonymous]

DC was in MCPS GT ES, and currently in MS magnet. DC attended private in early ES, so we are close friends with some families with kids in regular privates and top privates.

From what I see, MCPS's GT and Magnet programs are generally way better than the regular private schools. Due to the relatively large population of the programs in MCPS, kids are (and can be) divided in groups tune to their levels. It is impossible for many smaller regular private schools which have only one classroom per grade to do so. I don't mean to offend anyone, I see more kids have slight disabilities or mild ADHD attend regular privates. Parents seem to feel more comfortable to send their kids to privates than to public due to bully or personal attention concerns.

When compare the ES GT/MS Magnet programs with the top private, I found GT/Magnet does a better job in Math (2.0 is not a concern in these programs), while top private is better in reading, writing, public speaking, presentations, and the big plus is offering foreign language at an early age. For us, DC is a "nerd" so the GT/Magnet is a better fit.

Cannot contribute in the HS portion. It is yet to come. We hope DC can get in HS Magnet or IB. After all, these are tax-payer-funded programs. We already paid for it.

[Anonymous]

I have a fifth grader and a second grader in a solid MCPS elem. school. Most staff are highly trained and highly motivated. Some are average. A very few should disappear. I strongly disagree with some experiences voiced here regarding rigor, skills, content depth, etc. The curriculum and assignments are content rich and project-based (as in multidisciplinary platforms vs. math in math class, writing in language arts, etc.). Creativity is encouraged and recognized. Resources are excellent. Class sizes were about 16 in K and slowly rise each year. We highly value diversity of thought and demographics. Can't buy that. We're in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

I think this thread shows there is no "average" comparison between all public and all private schools, and that in any case these averages would be irrelevant to OP. What OP needs to consider is the different public and private schools that are actually available to her. OP may be districted for a great public school or a not so great one, but that's the only public she needs to consider unless she's going for magnets. And I'm sure OP has a great, smart kid, but even these kids cannot assume entry to the best (read "most challenging") private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to comment/critique: I have the following impression of the strong clusters in Montgomery County (BCC, Ws, etc.): privates tend to better, on average, for the lower grades (smaller classes, more enrichment, more time for play, focus on social skills). But for high school, the public IB/AP programs are much stronger than all but a handful of the very best privates. Thoughts?

We turned down a "top 3" private for a magnet. We don't know how things would have gone in the private school, but we certainly haven't regretted turning down the private school. We know several other families that have made the same choice - for example, we know a total of 3-4 families who have turned down Sidwell for a top public programs. So I guess I'd say the IB/magnet/AP programs are, in some cases, equal to or better than the top privates.