Debating private or public

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one in both. There are pros and cons to both public and private. A lot depends on the kid and his needs. Some kids need a smaller environment to thrive. Others don’t and benefit from the broader course selection in public. Only you and your child can answer which is the better fit.

I’ve never heard of a broader course selection in public. The private school where your DC is must be a very small school if it has fewer courses than public. Our private has many more courses to choose from than any public school in the county.

Be careful when you think that. When we toured SFS with your older kid for 9th grade we asked the tour guide about all these cool Math / STEM classes that were posted online. His response was most of the classes we referenced are only offered if enough kids want them and that many had not been actually been offered in many years.

Our older kid...sorry.

[Anonymous]

Also for all the course offerings, remember that after your student satisfies the core requirements a college expects to see, there really isn’t much room in the schedule for all the electives that may look interesting, even in small private schools. Especially true in large schools where kids don’t always get assigned to the schedule they hoped for.

Obviously wherever you choose, your child will get a strong college preparatory education.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP who mentioned that scheduling and availability become big issues at public as well as private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one in both. There are pros and cons to both public and private. A lot depends on the kid and his needs. Some kids need a smaller environment to thrive. Others don’t and benefit from the broader course selection in public. Only you and your child can answer which is the better fit.

I’ve never heard of a broader course selection in public. The private school where your DC is must be a very small school if it has fewer courses than public. Our private has many more courses to choose from than any public school in the county.

Be careful when you think that. When we toured SFS with your older kid for 9th grade we asked the tour guide about all these cool Math / STEM classes that were posted online. His response was most of the classes we referenced are only offered if enough kids want them and that many had not been actually been offered in many years.

Our older kid...sorry.

We had a similar experience at our private and also the music offerings looked amazing as did the stem but you had to make a choice between them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one in both. There are pros and cons to both public and private. A lot depends on the kid and his needs. Some kids need a smaller environment to thrive. Others don’t and benefit from the broader course selection in public. Only you and your child can answer which is the better fit.

I’ve never heard of a broader course selection in public. The private school where your DC is must be a very small school if it has fewer courses than public. Our private has many more courses to choose from than any public school in the county.

You're either very ill informed about the choices at the area public schools, or you aren't in the DC area.
I have one in private and one in public - they are both at the school that's right for them. But the public school has many more courses to choose from than any private school I know of. There are simply so many more kids, so they are able to offer many more choices.

OP, it really comes down to your kid - my DD In public is having a wonderful experience and is thriving. My DS in private is thriving in his small school in a way that he wouldn't have in our local public.
You know your kid best, but don't automatically write off the public school. (And whatever you do, don't believe the DCUM private school board for an accurate assessment of the public school)