If money was no object for you, would you do private instead of public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, I would bet (admittedly with some insider knowledge) that the large majority of kids at Horace Mann (in boundary) have parents who can *easily* afford private but choose Horace Mann. Of course, most of them then go to private afterward.

OP here. Unfortunately, a majority of the DCPS are not on the same level as Mann, Murch, Key, etc. And because of that, private school is becoming the only option. I live in Ward 7, very close to Capitol Hill, & even the so called 'good public schools in Capitol Hill don't come close to the above mentioned schools. I will apply to these schools, but am pretty sure it's near impossible for out-of-bound folks in these schools.

Out of boundary folks seem to do better if they apply in a later grade (1st and above) and remain persistent with the principals.

[Anonymous]

Which of the Catholic schools in DC have good academic reputations? I've always wondered about St. Ann's in
AU Park. Any others?

[Anonymous]

Yes - in a heartbeat, if it was a good private school that suited by child's personality. This is a no-brainer for me.

[Anonymous]

If money were no object? I'd buy a great house in Chevy Chase and send my kids to the local MoCo schools there. Why?

First -- our child is several grades ahead of age peers in reading and math. After looking at many private schools it seemed pretty clear that the schools don't do much differentiation of curriculum, and that the selective admissions process still wouldn't necessarily result in a sufficiently large group of peers at DC's academic level. In fact, in the early years, the age requirements meant DC would have had to stay back a year, which would have been a disaster. MCPS, and the schools in that area specifically, have a commitment to differentiation, and there is access to admission only Highly Gifted Centers.

Second, in general I believe public schools can offer as much opportunity as private, depending upon which private/public you are comparing. I believe in public education as long as it is rigorous. I am not so interested in the supposed "social" advantages that private school might offer.

Third, since public schools offer a larger pool of kids, I think there are also more likely to be peers similar to my DC (both in terms of interests and academic abilities) while still exposing DC to diverse racial and socioeconomic groups. The large size of many public schools also offers better opportunities (IMO) for sports and extracurricular activities, particularly in the high school years, and since both my DCs are pretty outgoing, I don't believe that large class size would be to their detriment.

To the poster who crowed about their support of public schools -- I too support public schools (and am a product of them), but not at the expense of my child's school day experience. I can supplement DCs at home and do provide an atmosphere that emphasizes education, but I don't want their day at school to become a wasteland of boredom, with a result that they focus exclusively on the social aspects of school. If my local public school had a poor curriculum, poor teaching, or negative peer behavior, I would move (and did).

I was fortunate that when I decided to dump our local public school and move our kids to something more suitable for them, I had many family members promise to pitch in and cover the cost of their education anywhere. So in a sense money was no object, and my choice after looking around hard was the Chevy Chase/Somerset area.

Ultimately, after settling on this area, money did become a consideration in the sense that I didn't want to accept family help to buy a house. Instead, I found a relatively moderate rental home, and hope to save my pennies and increase my income and buy one day, perhaps when the kids are older and the wider school district boundary permits us to buy in a more reasonably priced neighborhood.

If a private school had offered a particularly good academic match or offered some special option that DC was really interested in, then I might have chosen that, but in the end, I found some public schools that I thought were a better fit for academic reasons.

[Anonymous]

Good question. Our local DCPS is a top 10 but we didn't want to send DC there. I wanted to go private and DH wanted to move to Fairfax. Fortunately, we got into a charter which we like so we're staying put.

[Anonymous]

Out of boundary folks seem to do better if they apply in a later grade (1st and above) and remain persistent with the principals.


Remain persistent with the principals? Does this mean there is more to it than meets the eye? Do the principals have influence over the lottery or discretion to admit others outside of it???javascript:emoticon('');

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Out of boundary folks seem to do better if they apply in a later grade (1st and above) and remain persistent with the principals.


Remain persistent with the principals? Does this mean there is more to it than meets the eye? Do the principals have influence over the lottery or discretion to admit others outside of it???javascript:emoticon('');

This was an eyebrow-raiser for me as well. That may have worked in the bad old days pre-Rhee, but I'll bet circumventing the rules is a great way for a principal to get fired under the new administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which of the Catholic schools in DC have good academic reputations? I've always wondered about St. Ann's in
AU Park. Any others?

I'm not Catholic so I can't comment from personal experience. However, I do know that my OB sends her two sons to Our Lady of Victory. Based on the diplomas on her wall I can tell you her educational background is Georgetown undergrad and medical. FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If money were no object? I'd buy a great house in Chevy Chase and send my kids to the local MoCo schools there. Why? . . . .
Third, since public schools offer a larger pool of kids, I think there are also more likely to be peers similar to my DC (both in terms of interests and academic abilities) while still exposing DC to diverse racial and socioeconomic groups. The large size of many public schools also offers better opportunities (IMO) for sports and extracurricular activities, particularly in the high school years, and since both my DCs are pretty outgoing, I don't believe that large class size would be to their detriment. . . .

I was fortunate that when I decided to dump our local public school and move our kids to something more suitable for them, I had many family members promise to pitch in and cover the cost of their education anywhere. So in a sense money was no object, and my choice after looking around hard was the Chevy Chase/Somerset area.

In Chevy Chase you have found diverse racial and socioeconomic groups? Really? I have not found that to be the case at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is in a top Pre-K program that we can afford. But we're also rethinking it, and not for financial reasons. I don't really like the older children at this school -- and I don't want my child to become one of them.

Could you explain this -- what don't you like about the older children, and why do you fear your child may become one of them? And by older, what age group are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We can afford private but chose DCPS. We're fortunate that we could afford a home in boundary for a fantastic school. But also, like one of the previous posters, I believe that our family's focus on learning, and the way that we value intellectual curiosity, will provide a strong foundation for our daughter. My daughter's school is both diverse-- majority minority-- and excellent-- among top 10 in DC for advanced test scores. School is walkable from home, which is walkable and metro-able to everywhere else. I value this very highly.

I don't think that it's a "duh" question at all. We could have had any educational opportunity in the area, and we chose DCPS.

Please, which school? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: In Chevy Chase you have found diverse racial and socioeconomic groups? Really? I have not found that to be the case at all.

BCC is actually fairly diverse. More so than some of the other Bethesda/Potomac high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: In Chevy Chase you have found diverse racial and socioeconomic groups? Really? I have not found that to be the case at all.

BCC is actually fairly diverse. More so than some of the other Bethesda/Potomac high schools.

I used to think this was super-important (super-diverse schools), but since our family and our friends are very diverse ethnically/educationally/economically, I'm hoping that it helps instill tolerance and appreciation in my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: In Chevy Chase you have found diverse racial and socioeconomic groups? Really? I have not found that to be the case at all.

BCC is actually fairly diverse. More so than some of the other Bethesda/Potomac high schools.

Yes, BCC is fairly diverse as a school. But I haven't found Chevy Chase proper to be diverse racially or socioeconomically. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We can afford private but chose DCPS. We're fortunate that we could afford a home in boundary for a fantastic school. But also, like one of the previous posters, I believe that our family's focus on learning, and the way that we value intellectual curiosity, will provide a strong foundation for our daughter. My daughter's school is both diverse-- majority minority-- and excellent-- among top 10 in DC for advanced test scores. School is walkable from home, which is walkable and metro-able to everywhere else. I value this very highly.

I don't think that it's a "duh" question at all. We could have had any educational opportunity in the area, and we chose DCPS.

Please, which school? Thanks.

PP here-- the school is Oyster.