Families who can afford private but go public, why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:having recently moved to the area (central mclean)- we had previously been in private schools and loved it and assumed that we would continue in private schools once we moved here. However, we chose public for the following reasons. 1.) our kids are 10, 12 and we wanted their friend base to be as close as possible. I did not want to negotiate 'play dates" in multiple zip codes. related to this- i want them to be able to walk or ride bikes to friends houses- to have some independence and a sense of community. we have most definitely found this. frankly- we were in a very white bubble in their previous school and we really wanted to get out of that and into a diverse community- our kids are going to school with students from all of the world which has been wonderful. their curriculum and academic rigor is comparable to their previous school. both of my kids have benefitted tremendously from having a much bigger population of kids to negotiate- and have finally really started to find their people in a way that they could not in their private school. we still have some private high school options on the radar- but for now- our move to public school has only stretched and enriched them.

I gotta say that you have located the most pain-free way for your children to experience diversity by placing them into a school with students from all over the world but of sufficient family income and education level to afford McLean. That is, your "all over the world" version will be more like children of Nigerian surgeons or Bulgarian World Bankers than children of drywall hangers from El Salvador.

So where are the "painfully" diverse schools?

And why would a painful approach be better, other than a feeling of moral superiority.

Isn’t that what you’re getting now, the moral superiority of attending a racially diverse school, instead a white bubble, but one where everyone is rich so the needs of poor kids don’t compete with those of your privileged kids? Diversity without class diversity isn’t diversity.

NP here. We are not white and used to be at a very diverse school with both racial and economic diversity. I can confidently say that the kids who came from the poorest families did not help my child in any way. There was a year when my well behaved was ignored the entire year because of a few kids who just immigrated to the US. I'm fairly certain this one child had never been to school. The teacher had to spend so much time on that one kid and my kid sat at his desk ignored the entire year. I remember being concerned that my child could not read in 1st grade and the teacher and reading specialist said my kid was fine. Sure, he wasn't the worst in the class so he was deemed fine.

We have since moved to a deemed better school district with low FARMS and much racial diversity. Not everyone is rich but very few kids live in poverty. My child has plenty of friends who live in modest homes. These kids do not have unlimited resources but they are not worrying about food on the table. Parents very involved at the school and school has significantly better academic programs. Peer group is night and day.

I'm glad you moved. There's no point remaining at a school where your child is ignored.

[Anonymous]

Our school system isn't what it was 10 years ago and it continues to grow worse and more over-crowded. People live on 'the myth'.

The HS is getting way too big. The teachers are over-worked. They can't fill teachers in some of the spots so you have teachers with a STEM degree teaching honors English, etc. You have one grade with 3 different lunch periods so it is conceivable to go to school with friends and never see them. The 'teach to the test' is out of control and 'everyone must be doing great because look at those SOL scores'. They can't write and forget about a teacher delving into a topic or getting kids 'to think', not just memorize.

Talk to people with current students. Students currently Freshmen. Don't listen to neighbors who had kids graduate 5 years ago, even 2 years ago. Project what is coming down the pike if it's gotten this bad already imagine what it will be like when the 'bubble' (coming after the current 6th grade class) hits HS. The County is woefully unprepared. Smoke and mirrors with so many community surveys and out reach.

You can find the same level of diversity in many of the private HS that you would find at most of the HS in our county (2 out of 3). Private does not have to equal elite. You do not need to go to a 'big 3' or whatever people like to spout to avoid so many of the pitfalls happening and coming down the pike. But, if you have the $ for HS and you have younger kids that haven't reached HS age yet, it's best to look at all of your options and really listen to what some of the Board members think will solve the 'elephant in the room'---like shift HS, online courses, etc. If getting all As is the only thing you care about, then it is probably fine. But, if you care about the actual 'education' and the 'environment' it might not be the place for your kid.

I went to public all the through HS and my local public HS is very different than it is now. There are many things they brush away or can't do in classes due to lack of resources and the curriculum for sols---in labs, in writing/grading essays, etc. I started seeing and hearing about so many families in our neighborhood leaving the public system for private, especially for HS, just in the past couple of years. So much so, I'm convinced this might be a plan to solve the looming population crisis---get a majority of the population to do private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school system isn't what it was 10 years ago and it continues to grow worse and more over-crowded. People live on 'the myth'.

The HS is getting way too big. The teachers are over-worked. They can't fill teachers in some of the spots so you have teachers with a STEM degree teaching honors English, etc. You have one grade with 3 different lunch periods so it is conceivable to go to school with friends and never see them. The 'teach to the test' is out of control and 'everyone must be doing great because look at those SOL scores'. They can't write and forget about a teacher delving into a topic or getting kids 'to think', not just memorize.

Talk to people with current students. Students currently Freshmen. Don't listen to neighbors who had kids graduate 5 years ago, even 2 years ago. Project what is coming down the pike if it's gotten this bad already imagine what it will be like when the 'bubble' (coming after the current 6th grade class) hits HS. The County is woefully unprepared. Smoke and mirrors with so many community surveys and out reach.

You can find the same level of diversity in many of the private HS that you would find at most of the HS in our county (2 out of 3). Private does not have to equal elite. You do not need to go to a 'big 3' or whatever people like to spout to avoid so many of the pitfalls happening and coming down the pike. But, if you have the $ for HS and you have younger kids that haven't reached HS age yet, it's best to look at all of your options and really listen to what some of the Board members think will solve the 'elephant in the room'---like shift HS, online courses, etc. If getting all As is the only thing you care about, then it is probably fine. But, if you care about the actual 'education' and the 'environment' it might not be the place for your kid.

I went to public all the through HS and my local public HS is very different than it is now. There are many things they brush away or can't do in classes due to lack of resources and the curriculum for sols---in labs, in writing/grading essays, etc. I started seeing and hearing about so many families in our neighborhood leaving the public system for private, especially for HS, just in the past couple of years. So much so, I'm convinced this might be a plan to solve the looming population crisis---get a majority of the population to do private[b].

FCPS?

I do hear that AAP is just general ed from 10 years ago, at least in some schools. A way to escape the lowered standards.

It was reported to the FCPS school board that ELLs are overwhelming the system, clearly some parents feel this way for their particular schools. If this sentiment becomes more widespread there will be an exodus from public for families that can homeschool or go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Because my private school education did not prepare me to face the world, in terms of street smarts and how the average person lives.

I do not want that for my children, and I actually think the public school cluster I bought into is academically a better idea than most privates, particularly in science and math. Writing-based classes, not so much, but we're trying to remedy that.

My daughter seems to need some remedy in writing based courses. How are you resolving that?

[Anonymous]

Because I had a private education and I didn't think it was very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a segregated private school and hated it; I don't want to force my children to go to a private as well.

When they get to high school, why not let them choose for themselves?