families switching from private to public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Michael,

It will be interesting to see whether your analysis of the data shows that there was a move away from all "tiers" of private schools. One might hypothesize that private schools generally considered in the "top tier" like Sidwell Friends, St Albans, Potomac, GDS, Maret, and National Cathedral might have seen their applications/enrollments hold steady or even increase, while private schools that are more middle/lower tier might have seen a decrease or students transferring to public. Perhaps those parents sending their kids to a more middle/lower tier school (usually schools that are less expensive than a place like Sidwell) do not see enough of a differentiation in value between those schools and public schools, while parents sending their kids to top tier schools still see a significant difference in experience/value for their kids.

Also would be interesting to understand the impact that the Charter schools movement has had on enrollments - perhaps some parents apply to privates and to Charters and then pick the Charters if their kid gets in (perhaps more parents now equating Charter schools to middle tier privates).

Would definitely encourage you to get hard data on admissions/enrollments from these schools as not all private schools are created equal.

Will look forward to your piece.

Agree with a lot of points in this post. Our son is turning 5 so we are facing this issue. I will still apply to at least one of the Big 3, but I will not be applying to other privates bc I don't find it worthwhile to spend $30,000 year for a school without a stellar reputation. I am not interested in spending serious $$$ in this economy for a private just bc it is is private. Instead, we are looking at our Catholic school.

Would be interested in seeing if Catholic school enrollment goes up this year; it has been signficantly declining in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH lost his job today. DD has been told all summer (even though we've been hurting financially) that she'll continue at her private school, but really, I'm not sure we're going to be able to pull this off.

We've been up talking about whether to take DD out of her school now in time for enrollment at the nearby public. It's really painful. Especially since the tuition contract would require her to attend 2 weeks of classes first before withdrawing her. I don't understand that policy. It seems there must be a better way to avoid humiliating a child.

One of my daughter's classmates in HS is doing the 2 week attendance before moving to public school - they changed their mind over the summer. Sad. But at least the private started a week before the public so she only misses a week at the new school.

[Anonymous]

Michael here again (would be simpler if I could somehow more easily trade my anonymity for a user name).

22:28 -- I'm sorry to hear about your husband. Timed, it seems, with the school year. Will you let us know how things go with that call to the financial aid director? I wish you the best of luck. Which public school system would you be sending your daughter to?

Don't know if you'd be willing to speak to me on the phone; I'd be very interested in hearing more about your thinking this summer and in seeing how the process works right now (for what it's worth, a lot of the private schools with whom I've spoken really have emphasized their commitment to supporting their current families in tough times).

Talking to me on the phone doesn't mean being in an article in the paper if that's not what you want; I recognize that these issues are sensitive. But the opportunity to speak to people even whom I don't include in a story always adds depth and context to my own understanding of what's going on. And it's simpler, in many ways, than trading posts on an internet forum.

Again my number is 703-443-6850 and my email is birnbaumm(at)washpost(dot)com, and I wish you the best of luck whether or not you contact me.

The two-week attendance requirement -- that's a wait in order to recoup some of your tuition?

All best,
Michael B.