If you DON'T live in DC, why did you ultimately decide to go private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To make the switch from public to private you have to be dissatisfied with the Public schools.

We found the MCPS --- specifically the Carderock - Pyle - Whitman cluster --- to be a three-ring circus of "edu-speak", political correctness and a lack of discipline because of their abject fear that someone might complain or might sue. And "resource teams" and counselors put in place by a huge bureaucracy looking for something to do.

One of the final straws was our 4th grader complaining that he wasn't allowed to go to recess that day and instead had to go to the school counselor. I had broken my arm. The school had heard about it and had taken it on themselves to provide special counselling services.

In retrospect, once the boys were in an all boys environment, we could look back and see just how "girl-friendly" the public schools were. Boys learn differently at different speeds. An all boys environment takes that into account and as a result is a much better experience.

Private schools aren't Nirvana. But our only regret is not getting the boys out of the public schools sooner than we did.

Where is your son now?

Mater Dei

[Anonymous]

We live in a good school district. However, there are 50% more kids in a K public class than in the private K we chose. But mainly, I do not want my kids to be subject to the stupid "Standards of Learning" that require teachers to teach to the test. Not my idea of education, at all.

[Anonymous]

I only skimmed the responses so far, so maybe this has been said, but a main reason we chose private is so that we would know what values our kids would be exposed to on a daily basis. We chose a school that reflects the values that are important to our family. It is so important to feel like you are entrusting your kids each day to people who will help them grow into the kind of people you are raising them to become. This is not to say that there aren't wonderful people at public schools, but private schools, by their nature, can have a more specific mission and focus. They have very distinct identities. So if/when you look at privates, I would think less about the "prestige" of the school and more about whether you feel in sync with the people who are running it, the teachers, and the parents you meet.

[Anonymous]

pp excellent response

[Anonymous]

looking for:
prestige
connections
exclusiveness
sports
smaller size and defined culture

[Anonymous]

Do public school teachers like teaching to the test, drilling kids, and encouraging memorization over imagination? Our kids are in an independent largely because of NCLB. I don't blame the publics that they have had to drain the fun out of learning in order to comply with NCLB guidelines. Such control, however, is nothing new - one of my elementary school teachers (probably the best I had in my 13 years as a public school student) was placed on leave because of insubordination. Why was he insubordinate? Because he refused to teach to the test. In fact, he refused to offer the test for one cycle. Drove the school system bonkers. This was a Title 1 school and he was compelled to inspire a thirst of learning in my more disadvantaged classmates and he knew that would not happen if he spent most of the day drilling us as opposed to allowing us to be free to learn. His focus was on the long term, not just the stats at the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP you are referencing, but at least it's an honest response. Some people do choose certain schools, neighborhoods, country clubs or whatever exactly for the social or business connections they can provide.

For me, I have the alternate worry. We aren't, and don't strive to be, part of the social set and therefore worry that our child will not fit in. We are upper middle class, but not nearly the wealth of some on these boards. We also live in Virginia (horrors!), so my fear is that parents like the PP will shun us and our child precisely because we can't contribute to their circles.

Don't worry about it. There are a few name-dropping jerks like that at every school, sure, but they aren't going to bother you anyway -- they're too busy hanging on to the folks they think will provide them with an "in". And there are lots more nice, down-to-earth and friendly people, including some who are fabulousely wealthy and well-connected.

[Anonymous]

OP, we live in Mclean, but send our children to private schools until they're old enough (third grade) to test into the advanced curriculum in Fairfax County. I didn't want them to be turned off of school at an early age by large class sizes (32 in kindergarten?) and I wanted a longer day than the half-day kindergarten in our local school. Also, I like the play-based curriculum of our private in the early grades.

Thanks to some remarkable teachers, my kids love school, and have a solid foundation. They're ready to make the most of a great public school system, and we'll be using the tuition money for family travel, summer enrichment, and paying down the mortgage faster. And, even though Langley is hardly the "real world," I do think that my children will benefit from a bigger pool of kids and a little less pressure. I have high achieving kids, and am convinced they'll bloom wherever planted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Small class sizes, rigorous academics [beyond classes that are test prep for AP's], faculty intellectually involved with students, academic peers in athletics, participation in arts plus athletics, better preparation for academic success in college, students are more independent, allowed to have Christmas , broader national/world view, diversity, etc.

Many FCPS students use public for k-6 or k-8 then go private.

We did K-3 in FCPS. If I had it to do over, I definitely would have left prior to 3rd grade. DC gave a FCPS high school a shot. That I wish we had never attempted.

[Anonymous]

OP,
How old are your children/is your child?

[Anonymous]

I was brought up to believe only those who can't afford private use the safety net of public. However, my DC's private schools can't offer what the public schools do in the fields my children are the strongest in. DC's are bored out of their minds, class sizes are growing and kids are invisible unless you helicopter. We have to pay for music lessons already. Art is touted as amazing but, when the same medium comes home over and over for years? They aren't challenged and I wish we could just "rewind" and put them in public. We have to pay for tutors, music, character building organizations, transportation, the arts etc. anyway. May as well go public.

[Anonymous]

OP -- I always thought it was weird when folks live in the suburbs and send their kids to private. Why not just live in DC then?

In the words of my spouse, who grew up in South Africa: "I grew up in a country where the majority of the population did not have voting rights. I'm certainly not going to voluntarily put myself in the position of having no representation."

[Anonymous]

We live in NOVA in one of the better (not best, but better) school districts and use private. Three main reasons:
1. Writing
2. Specials
3. Class size

The public schools do not and cannot compete in these areas. The writing programs in the lower grades at many North Arlington publics are abyssmal. The schools are turning out poor writers and I believe it affects the kids long after high school.
DH and I went to private schools with rigorous writing programs and we appreciate it every day in our jobs, even now, as we both are strong writers and can do it relatively easily. We did not come from wealthy families and our parents made significant sacrifices to send us to private. And we are extremely grateful. We both have jobs that we love and that we chose -- and the fact that we had so many choices is related, directly, to our early preparation.
I would give up many, many things before I gave up the option to pick the school that is best for my kids regardless of cost. Ultimately, there is nothing more important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We simply do not like FCPS. We are zoned for schools with excellent reputations. We even spent a couple of years in the system and did not like it.

This is us too....School board/system is corrupt - don't even follow their own policies or change them after a situation to meet their needs. Add this to the fact that our DS was totally turned off from school and actually regressing. He was too bored. Moved to a private school that allows for a lot of differentation/acceleration - thriving.

- Signed a FCPS (K-12) graduate

[Anonymous]

Simply looking for better educational opportunities: the ability to subject and/or grade accelerate in appropriate areas of strength...math, reading and science.