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Bethesda/Westland/BCC or private...
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Anonymous
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Any advice would be most appreciated. My husband and I are public school educated and did well for ourselves (both went to Ivy league colleagues and law schools). We feel strongly that a public school can provide a good education if the rest other factors are in place.
That being said, we now have a 4 year old and are about to move to the Bethesda ELementary/Westland/BCC corridor. I hear about Whitman being great - but not beyond that. We are considering private schools - any advice? |
Anonymous
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In the scheme of things, those are great schools (which is to say, they are not perfect, and you may find things you don't like or reasons why your specific kid might do better in a different setting, but those are all very good public schools).
We're not up to HS yet, but my sense is that Whitman is not significantly "better" than BCC (BCC has an IB program, which I think actually starts at Westland?). |
Anonymous
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We are in the same district. All three are great schools, with excellent academics.
When my oldest son (now 14) was 4, I ran into the then-head (a friend of the family) of one of the most popular DC private schools. I asked him the same question - do we go with public, or apply now for private. His answer: if you have good neighborhood public schools, take advantage of it - you'll save money and your kids will be grounded in the neighborhood. If you find later on that the public schools are not a good fit for your particular child, you can change your decision then. That, in fact is what we did. For both kids, they went through elementary in the public school. For different reasons, I didn't think that Westland would be a good fit, so they are now in private middle schools - different schools for each child, as they have different needs. |
Anonymous
| We are in the same district as well. We decided on private because of the lack of diversity and overcrowding in some grades. Overcrowding is really becoming an issue. Budget cuts are running rampant across the state, and many families are opting out of private and moving to public because of the economy. |
Anonymous
As an "insider," the budget is a mess, I agree. The cuts have caused major problems. But you found that private schools were more diverse than public schools? Whitman is definitely not diverse (3.9 AA, 12.2 Asian, 6.8 Hispanic, 77.1 white), and it has only 1.9% FARMS. BCC, on the other hand, is a bit more diverse (16.5 AA, 7.4 Asian, 14.7 Hispanic, 61.2 white) with 8.5% being FARMS. But even those numbers are not impressive. What are the diversity statistics at the private school where your child(ren) is/are enrolled? |
Anonymous
| what impact, in real terms, has the budget cut caused so far? |
Anonymous
| We faced the same decision in an adjacent elementary school district, Somerset, which also feeds into Westland and BCC. Our older child went through Somerset, then we tried Westland for a year and were disappointed, so we switched him to an independent school for middle school and he decided to stay on for high school. Our younger child is now at Somerset, and we think we'll switch her to an independent school at 6th grade. Like several PPs, we found that MCPS offers a strong elementary school education, with excellent teachers. Add to that the advantage of your child having friends in the neighborhood, and the chance to save approximately $150K in tuition, and it's hard to argue against going public for elementary school at least. As far middle school and high school, I wouldn't fret about that now. You'll know much more about your child's learning style, strengths and weaknesses, that you'll be able to make a much better decision when you're farther down the road. If you decide to go the independent school route at that point, you'll have plenty of options then. |
Anonymous
- increased class sizes due to the inability to hire new teachers - the worst effect, especially for regular classes with kids who need extra attention and think of how it impacts the work load of teachers (esp. elementary school teachers who are responsible for teaching more than one subject) - cuts in programs (International Baccalaureate programs, for example, have lost some county funding. At the other end, if there are cuts in the literacy programs, think of the impact on struggling readers.) - Some would claim that cuts in 12-month employee positions (such as staff development) have an impact on training, as there are fewer people in the county to give the training sessions and there are fewer training sessions offered. - an obvious one - stagnant salaries . . . I know people claim teachers are paid enough, but it's really not the case. Most teachers have more education than other employees in the private and government sectors. There are quite a few (and I mean QUITE a few) with PhDs. It's demoralizing. - Special education centers (students who cannot, for the most part, be mainstreamed) are not considered important enough to maintain. Those in charge claim that it's fair to the students to be mainstreamed, but parents and educators at the centers understand that these schools that offer the best programs that fit the needs of these children are being harmed due to budgetary constraints. - cuts in the arts and PE programs - or "specials" (I know an elementary PE teacher who was split among three schools. Is that manageable?) just a "few" areas harmed . . . sad and so unfair |
Anonymous
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And if you can believe it, we still have that guy Robin Ficker with his ballot "initiatives" to limit local government's ability to finance things like schools.
Sorry, lost it for a minute there.... |
Anonymous
I thought those cuts would start in the summer, I had no clue How do you think the economic issue will play into private school operations, other than cuts in financial aid available? |
Anonymous
In general, private schools are their own entities. Now, I do believe that they may (and this is in the back of my mind - not a proven statement) ask for local funding if there's money in the budget, but that's probably rare. The economy - loss of jobs, cuts in pay - will have an impact on just how many people can afford to keep their kids in private schools. Two things will happen: Private schools will lose tuition (most of their funding), which will affect their operating budget. And public schools will feel the impact of additional students. It's all bad however you look at it. My husband works at a high school, and his budget for his departments has been cut tremendously. The cuts affect the number of people who can train in order to prepare for AP and IB courses. So the monetary issues affect the quality of the programs, too. I can't understand where our priorities are. Public school is a right; private school is a privilege. I have no problem with private schools. I am, in fact, a product of them. But I work in the public school system, and when I see children who already come from impoverished surroundings - who want nothing more than to learn - it saddens me to think that we can't provide for them what they need. But who am I? just a cog in a rickety wheel . . . |
Anonymous
Ficker is definitely the enemy! |
Anonymous
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OP here: I feel I am treading in dangerous waters, but who is Ficker?
And, isn't it harder to get kids into private middle schools, than to start now? |
Anonymous
Ficker - He's an anti-tax advocate who's out of touch with reality. So he's definitely not in favor of raising taxes to help schools. Here's his deal: "Whether council opposed it or not, it looks like "question b" will get the votes it needs to change the county charter. Currently seven of nine council members must vote to increase the property tax beyond the rate of inflation. The Ficker Amendment passage now means all nine council members must vote unanimously for an increase. Since 1990, the council has set tax rates that exceeded the limit only four times." This is a good statement from him - "The homeowners who have been treated merely as an ATM and who have been ignored in the political process have finally had their voice heard," said Ficker. interesting that he lives in Boyds, from what I hear, surrounded by 20+ acres . . . You mean if it's harder to start in public and then to switch to private middle? Yes, it's usually more difficult - at least when the economy was strong. Most private schools, for example, take siblings over new students. It's also a bit harder on the student in most cases. There's a cultural shift, which can be hard to embrace for some. |
Anonymous
| 17:26 here -- I think it's easier to apply for middle school in two respects: 1) you have a better sense of your child as a learner and can make better choices about schools that would be a good match for him/her, thus, your child is more likely to get into those schools; and 2) admissions decisions at middle and high school are based on the child's academic record over several years, whereas PK/K admissions are based on a single test, a single playdate/visit, a single parent interview and a single recommendation from preschool. To me, applying for PK/K would have been way more stressful. |