Are you jumping ship to private and why?

[Anonymous]

Thinking about jumping ship. My daughter loved K and now in 1st she hates school. She is at a high farms title 1 school which in itself is not a big deal but it is a school with almost zero PTA which means almost no school events, a not so good after care program with kids that have discipline issues, almost no clubs or activities after school. My DD is above average but nothing crazy. She is being pulled for enrichment. Which I guess is nice but it wouldn't happen at any other school. She tells me that many of the special teachers are grumpy and yell. My DD is a rule follower and this upsets her because she listens. Also, lots of screen time at school. If this is what elementary is like, I don't want to stick around for middle and high school. I am just not sure as a single mom that I can afford private. I am a product of the public schools and my mom was a teacher so I am feeling a bit disheartened.

[Anonymous]

If you think it’s that specific elementary, would it be worth renting in a different school catchment area? I imagine that still would be cheaper than an independent school for the next 12 years.

[Anonymous]

We are very happy at our MCPS school. Would I change a thing or two? Sure, but I’m 99% thrilled with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about jumping ship. My daughter loved K and now in 1st she hates school. She is at a high farms title 1 school which in itself is not a big deal but it is a school with almost zero PTA which means almost no school events, a not so good after care program with kids that have discipline issues, almost no clubs or activities after school. My DD is above average but nothing crazy. She is being pulled for enrichment. Which I guess is nice but it wouldn't happen at any other school. She tells me that many of the special teachers are grumpy and yell. My DD is a rule follower and this upsets her because she listens. Also, lots of screen time at school. If this is what elementary is like, I don't want to stick around for middle and high school. I am just not sure as a single mom that I can afford private. I am a product of the public schools and my mom was a teacher so I am feeling a bit disheartened.

Curious, are you on the PTA board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Personally, no, even though I know some parents have complained about BCC, our cluster's high school. Our budget is planned for college tuition for several kids, not private K-12 for any of them, and honestly, I feel my middle schooler will be able to navigate BCC decently.

You don't need to share here if you don't want to, but I think you need to examine carefully whether the issues present in your cluster's high school are likely to impact YOUR child particularly - not every issue impacts every child, some kids are more vulnerable than others to various things. And then there's the financial planning aspect. My oldest is in a private university that costs 85K a year (with merit aid, thankfully), so you need to factor in the costs of college.

Your kids can go to a state school and/or you can move to a cheaper house.

I'm the poster you replied to. Why???? I don't want to do either. I LOVE my house and my neighborhood. The private university my oldest goes to is a GREAT fit for him. Perhaps you misunderstood. We are willing to put up with the BCC cluster, which has annoyances which we believe don't impact our kids too much, to keep the rest.

[Anonymous]

Is this the bi-monthly private recruitment thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are very happy at our MCPS school. Would I change a thing or two? Sure, but I’m 99% thrilled with it.

Me too. The people with lots of problems tend to be the ones who want the state to raise their kids.

[Anonymous]

We switched to private mainly because of Covid. DD is in 5th grade now at a K-8. She loves it and we are happy with the small classes, nurturing teachers, and we are happy with the academics, science every week for the entire school year for example. MCPS does it on a block schedule in elem.she will stay there through 8th but then we fully intend to go back to public HS.
Our home school is PBHS and we have heard a lot of good things about the teachers, programs etc. They have their share of issues but no more than other MCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are very happy at our MCPS school. Would I change a thing or two? Sure, but I’m 99% thrilled with it.

Me too. The people with lots of problems tend to be the ones who want the state to raise their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are very happy at our MCPS school. Would I change a thing or two? Sure, but I’m 99% thrilled with it.

Me too. The people with lots of problems tend to be the ones who want the state to raise their kids.

Many of the people I know with problems are those who have outlier kids (learning disabled, neuro-atypical, minorities in schools with limited diversity, gifted, etc.). They don't need the state to raise their kids, but they do need the school system to teach to more than just "the middle".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering a move to private for 7th grade next year for my son. My other son hits middle school in 3 more years and he'll likely head to private then too. I'm in the DCC and throught about moving East but while the problems there are different, they still aren't what we want for our kids.

Surprised to hear this in the DCC. Went to TPMS so don’t know about other middle schools, but the DCC high schools are great and the college results are fantastic. I don’t know many who went private, and the money is here to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this the bi-monthly private recruitment thread?

Yes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are very happy at our MCPS school. Would I change a thing or two? Sure, but I’m 99% thrilled with it.

Me too. The people with lots of problems tend to be the ones who want the state to raise their kids.

The same people who felt the deadly global pandemic was an inconvenience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering a move to private for 7th grade next year for my son. My other son hits middle school in 3 more years and he'll likely head to private then too. I'm in the DCC and throught about moving East but while the problems there are different, they still aren't what we want for our kids.

Surprised to hear this in the DCC. Went to TPMS so don’t know about other middle schools, but the DCC high schools are great and the college results are fantastic. I don’t know many who went private, and the money is here to do it.

LOL Really? Have you seen the test results for Kennedy? Have you seen how many kids actually graduate from Kennedy's IB Diploma program with a diploma? I'll give you a hint: It's abysmal.

Within the DCC, Blair is great, Wheaton and Einstein are ok, Northwood and Kennedy are struggling.

It is by no means all roses in the DCC high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering a move to private for 7th grade next year for my son. My other son hits middle school in 3 more years and he'll likely head to private then too. I'm in the DCC and throught about moving East but while the problems there are different, they still aren't what we want for our kids.

Surprised to hear this in the DCC. Went to TPMS so don’t know about other middle schools, but the DCC high schools are great and the college results are fantastic. I don’t know many who went private, and the money is here to do it.

LOL Really? Have you seen the test results for Kennedy? Have you seen how many kids actually graduate from Kennedy's IB Diploma program with a diploma? I'll give you a hint: It's abysmal.

Within the DCC, Blair is great, Wheaton and Einstein are ok, Northwood and Kennedy are struggling.

It is by no means all roses in the DCC high schools.

Kennedy is an outlier, the other schools really are surprisingly great (and Wheaton is fantastic, along with Blair). Kids matriculate really well and of those I know are doing very well at Ivys and similar.