What would be better about private school - a question for public school parents

[Anonymous]

1. Smaller class size (which is especially important in MS when public MS classes are huge).
2. Allowed to use prayer/God in curriculum/daily lessons (if that is your thing).
3. Better discipline since public schools hand's are tied a lot of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I feel biased so I didn't answer your question. But I do want to suggest picking up a copy if "The Goid School," by Peg Tyre. It's about how to get your child the best education possible, regardless of the type if school - public, private, parochial, charter, home school, etc.

One of the things it mentions is class size. Statistically, it doesn't matter much at all, other than for kids K-3rd grade, when it is better to have smaller class sizes. But the author warns against paying for private school to get the ratio down. Apparently the class has to be as small as 12-17 kids to be helpful. And I'm not sure if the "top" privates around here have such small classes. In other words, don't pay $30,000 to reduce class size from 28 to 20.

My son had 12 kids in his class and we don't pay anywhere clost to $30,000.

That's great. But that's not what I'm warning against. Many of the top private schools around DC have large class sizes in the younger grades. I was pretty shocked to see posts on here stating Sidwell Friends has 25 in a kindergarten class. I have no clue if it's true or not, but if it is, I'd think twice before choosing it over an MCPS elementary.

So if that's your primary motiviation for going private, it may not be worth the $$ to get a slightly smaller class size. The real difference, statistically, doesn't really show up unless there are fewer than 17 in a class. It's just one thing of many to take into consideration when trying to get the best education for your child. It's not the only thing.

Most of the private schools in the area that we looked at have 18 or fewer students per class with two teachers. More importantly, most of these schools group the kids into smaller classes (ours is 5-8 students) for reading and math. Our MoCo elementary school currently has 27-28 kids per K class with 1 teacher and do not get special grouping for any lessons.

I don't know anything specific about Sidwell, but even if they have classes of 25, I'm sure they have 2 teachers and in the very least, break the class into groups of 12/13 for core subjects, so you are effectively getting smaller classes. At least that's what the one school we looked at with classes over 18 does.

That's great. I'm not picking on your school. I was just trying to illustrate one of several points in a book I find very valuable. Many people will pay to get the ratio down a bit, and it may not be worth it. It's a cost/benefit analysis that each family has to do based on its needs and the particular school in question. I was just trying to provide what I consider to be a valuable resource to the OP -- the book itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's great. But that's not what I'm warning against. Many of the top private schools around DC have large class sizes in the younger grades. I was pretty shocked to see posts on here stating Sidwell Friends has 25 in a kindergarten class. I have no clue if it's true or not, but if it is, I'd think twice before choosing it over an MCPS elementary.

So if that's your primary motiviation for going private, it may not be worth the $$ to get a slightly smaller class size. The real difference, statistically, doesn't really show up unless there are fewer than 17 in a class. It's just one thing of many to take into consideration when trying to get the best education for your child. It's not the only thing.

The teacher:student ratio in Sidwell's K is 1:12. Please don't post or repeat rumors if you don't have the facts. This is as crazy as the PP who said the majority of kids leaving public for private have "special needs".

[Anonymous]

I am also in the BCC cluster. If I had the money I would not hesitate to send my kid to private.

It really depends on the school. In our W school in Bethesda we were stuck with a really bad principal. I cannot imagine private school parents putting up with somebody like that. After all they pay a lot of money for their education and have every right to demand better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also in the BCC cluster. If I had the money I would not hesitate to send my kid to private.

It really depends on the school. In our W school in Bethesda we were stuck with a really bad principal. I cannot imagine private school parents putting up with somebody like that. After all they pay a lot of money for their education and have every right to demand better.

you would be surprised. It can be pretty hard at a private to get rid of a bad teacher or head. Usually it is the board members or large donors that have the pull. Unless a teacher or head does something pretty despicable, it can take a lot to get rid of someone.