Stay in Private or Switch to Strong In-Bounds DCPS? Looking for Experiences

[Anonymous]

I think the earlier years are so important OP. In my opinion they are more important than high school. Kids decide who they are and what they can do in elementary school. Also, keep in mind that if you leave one school you may have a harder time getting your kids admitted again even if the oldest sibling is still there.

We have 3 kids as well and I get your point. We have enough to be full pay, but not enough for it not be a huge amount of money. We don’t foresee income volatility (though you can never be sure), but no meaningful increase either. We decided to keep all kids in private. They are in 7th, 5th and 2nd and all thriving. They would likely do great in public too, but the education they are getting is really great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you on track to fully pay for undergrad even if your kid goes to private ES? If so, then stay private.

This is our priority list:

1. Fully paid undergraduate
2. Private High School
3. 50% contribution towards graduate school
4. Private middle
5. Private ES

We think our kids are going to be more thankful about getting a big contribution to graduate school than being glad they went to a private ES. But that’s our belief, not everyone. Private ES when you have a good public is for the benefit of the parents not the kids. Maybe you could justify it if you wanted to attend the high school. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

I'm thinking through all of this now with a 2 and 4 year old. The above points reflect a 2010 world where the assumption is that the pipeline leads to degrees. In a world that's rapidly shifting, should we treat K-12 like college?

Fair point. That line of thought leads to using good enough public schools for as long as possible and investing the saved tuition money in homesteads and AI companies.

If you are in a private you like then stay. The longer you wait to try to make the switch to from public to private the harder it gets to be admitted…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are in early elementary at a well-regarded independent school that we really like. We feel fortunate to be there but are questioning whether the cost is the right long-term choice.

We can afford tuition now, but we’re high earners with some income volatility and no family support for tuition. We’re mindful that committing to private school for the next 15–20 years could limit career flexibility—and that investing those funds elsewhere could meaningfully impact our long-term financial picture.

At the same time, we place a high value on education and are open to making tradeoffs for our kids.

Since enrolling, we’ve moved in-bounds for a highly regarded DCPS elementary and are seriously considering switching our two younger children for elementary school, with the possibility of returning to independent school for middle school.

A few factors we’re weighing:

School experience: We’ve been happy with our current school but have also heard strong things about our in-bounds option. One child in particular benefits from a more attentive environment, and we’re unsure how they’d do in a larger setting.
Future plans: We’re not certain we’d stay on our current school’s full K–12 path and would likely explore other independent options later regardless. That makes the value of staying now less clear.
Logistics: Our oldest would remain in private school, so we’d be managing different schedules and school experiences.

For those who’ve made similar decisions, I’d especially appreciate hearing what actually happened for your family (vs. general advice):

- If you did public for elementary and private later, how did your child adjust—academically and socially? Anything they were behind on or especially well-prepared for?
- For kids who benefit from more attention or have some anxiety, how did they do in a larger public elementary setting?
- Looking back, do you feel private elementary was worth it—or not? What ended up mattering more or less than you expected?
- For anyone who made a similar decision: what do you wish you had known or prioritized beforehand?

We know there’s no single right answer but would really value others’ lived experiences as we think this through. I am especially interested in those for whom private school tuition was feasible but involved real consequence in terms of long-term career flexibility. We can pull this off but the trade-off is very real.

Stay in private. Friends that were in public did not last a year in public. Literally.

[Anonymous]

We intended to use DC IB public school. But we had to send younger child to private after DC changed the rules on holding kids back a year before starting kindergarten. We will switch to public as soon as we can. Our older child already goes to public school. Obviously there are differences but nothing that justifies the price tag. I’d happily pay about 18/20k for our current private school, slightly more attention and more music, but not 45k.

The teacher is luck of the draw at public or private. And we have had disruptive kids in private too. And seriously bullying too. I’m told one kid is being counseled out so next year will be better, but we will see if that actually happens.

As to my career. I don’t feel I can take any risks when it comes to my career right now because of the tuition. Yes we can afford it but I’d love to pursue opportunities at a different company but I refuse to take the risk of switching jobs with this tuition bill. Might not have taken the risk anyway in this economy but I do wonder what the long term repercussions are of this tuition bill.

Really though, what school would you be leaving behind? Because some private schools are not worth the tuition full stop. Others, I’d consider.

[Anonymous]

If you have to ask, your particular school for your particular kid is not worth it.

You should be so in love with your current school that you are obnoxiously posting on this board and chatting on the playground about your amazing school. At this price you should be thrilled and if it’s a question of being worth it, look somewhere else.

Public, charter, other private, micro school, homeschool, hybrid. You should feel totally confident in your choice or make another choice. Maybe too late to leave this year but apply elsewhere for next year. And then be the poster who is so happy they switched.