In recent weeks some kids have dropped out of our private school

[Anonymous]

Responding to 21:05: No, the 2nd grade teacher at my kids' former private was not married. Although the other second grade teacher (there are 2 classes in each grade) also left at the end of last year. She is married, but not to another teacher at the school.

The teachers who have been at the school for a while tend to be highly qualifed; e.g., my son's 2nd grade teacher had just earned her masters degree in teaching. However, recent hires made by the Head of School have been moms of kids at the school (50% tuition discount for faculty) with no teaching degree and minimal if any teaching experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is an interesting point that I have considered. I sometimes wonder if the rigor in these schools is lacking because there might be a push back from the privileged families who have no intention of working their kids too hard. They have vacations and so on, so too much work could be a problem.

Are you on muscle relaxants?

I guess it varies among schools, but the big DC privates don't lack rigor. Your St. Albans, your GDSs turn out accomplished teens with load of acquired knowledge despite big ass summer vacations and long spring breaks.

Those same accomplished teens from the "big DC privates" are still light years behind the descendants of our Chinese bond-holding sugar daddies.

Please don't glamorize the education system in mainland China. The socialization that a Chinese youth gets is certainly not what you would wish for your teen. You would surely decry it as un-American. You couldn't import the education system of mainland China without importing the ideologies of intellectual freedom that underly it and that you would find abhorrent.

Our children may be "light years behind" the Chinese in math and the number of hours in school, but I would rather my child have the benefit of vacation time to explore interests other than academic ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"But I will not sugarcoat the less than positive aspects of paying $60K for two kids plus another $7K for summer camps and other options...."

I always suspected that the extension of the school year at public schools had more to do with parents not wanting to pay for child care than academics. Thanks for confirming this.

Who am I to confirm why an entire school system chooses to end school. Don't twist my words to fit your self-serving needs to have your kids "relax" and "daydream" all summer. And the problem with an extra three or four weeks of school would be what? Dolt!!!

[Anonymous]

Yes the 2 month dcps summer break has really done wonders to raise the proficiency of it's students vs. Private school kids. You really can tell how much smarter and more proficient in math and reading they are. I am sure the dcps kids will go on to much greater things than the private school kids because of that extra month of school every year.

Obviously I am sarcastic. Dcps starts when it does to get teenagers off the streets not to fulfill some kind of educational rigor.

[Anonymous]

Private school students should be smarter than public school children since most of them only take the children that have test scores that put them in the top 5-10% of the population. Anyone can teach the smart children. But private schools now have to reach deeper into the pool and out pops learning problems and behavior problems and this is when you need some really good teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
"But I will not sugarcoat the less than positive aspects of paying $60K for two kids plus another $7K for summer camps and other options...."

I always suspected that the extension of the school year at public schools had more to do with parents not wanting to pay for child care than academics. Thanks for confirming this.


"Who am I to confirm why an entire school system chooses to end school. Don't twist my words to fit your self-serving needs to have your kids "relax" and "daydream" all summer. And the problem with an extra three or four weeks of school would be what? Dolt!!!"

Angry much? You do realize that an ad hominem attack, not to mention childish name-calling, is just confirmation that you've lost the argument. Yes, I do believe that it serves my child's interest to spend time away from school relaxing and learning first-hand about other geographical areas, nature, swimming, playing in the sunshine, and just spending time with family. Further, I am defending the status quo. So, I believe it is up to you to present some actual evidence that the extra three weeks would benefit my child academically, which you have, so far, failed to do. There are lots of reasons that European teenagers (actually US *children* tend to score higher) appear to score higher on tests, including apples-to-apples comparison issues, pedagogical approach, and many others. (On this point, please note the number one reason that people tend to cite on this board for sending children to private school is to avoid the "teaching to the test" mentality of post-NCLB public schools) Number of days spent in school is waaaay down the list. I also believe that the US continues to lead the world in scientific and technical innovation, which in part can be credited to the fact that our schools do not simply focus on rote memorization (which I am a supporter of, in moderation).

The studies I am aware of indicate that children who are from educationally advantaged families (which is, by definition, every family that would go to the trouble to apply to private school), continue to advance academically during the summer break. The children who benefit are those educationally disadvantaged kids who will not get academic stimulation at home over the summer. My dc's private, as do most, offers summertime academic enrichment programs for those who feel their child would benefit from such a program. Oh, yes, but you don't want to *pay* for that.

You do realize that, if the school year was extended, your $60,000 tuition would go up commensurately?

[Anonymous]

I like vacation also, but I do think that there is a growing body of research to suggest that the 3 month vacation (a vestige of our agricultural past) is problematic. Interesting discussion of this in one chapter of the book "Outliers".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
"But I will not sugarcoat the less than positive aspects of paying $60K for two kids plus another $7K for summer camps and other options...."

I always suspected that the extension of the school year at public schools had more to do with parents not wanting to pay for child care than academics. Thanks for confirming this.


"Who am I to confirm why an entire school system chooses to end school. Don't twist my words to fit your self-serving needs to have your kids "relax" and "daydream" all summer. And the problem with an extra three or four weeks of school would be what? Dolt!!!"

Angry much? You do realize that an ad hominem attack, not to mention childish name-calling, is just confirmation that you've lost the argument. Yes, I do believe that it serves my child's interest to spend time away from school relaxing and learning first-hand about other geographical areas, nature, swimming, playing in the sunshine, and just spending time with family. Further, I am defending the status quo. So, I believe it is up to you to present some actual evidence that the extra three weeks would benefit my child academically, which you have, so far, failed to do. There are lots of reasons that European teenagers (actually US *children* tend to score higher) appear to score higher on tests, including apples-to-apples comparison issues, pedagogical approach, and many others. (On this point, please note the number one reason that people tend to cite on this board for sending children to private school is to avoid the "teaching to the test" mentality of post-NCLB public schools) Number of days spent in school is waaaay down the list. I also believe that the US continues to lead the world in scientific and technical innovation, which in part can be credited to the fact that our schools do not simply focus on rote memorization (which I am a supporter of, in moderation).

The studies I am aware of indicate that children who are from educationally advantaged families (which is, by definition, every family that would go to the trouble to apply to private school), continue to advance academically during the summer break. The children who benefit are those educationally disadvantaged kids who will not get academic stimulation at home over the summer. My dc's private, as do most, offers summertime academic enrichment programs for those who feel their child would benefit from such a program. Oh, yes, but you don't want to *pay* for that.

You do realize that, if the school year was extended, your $60,000 tuition would go up commensurately?

Is that rhetorical? I wouldn't know because I lost the argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 21:05: No, the 2nd grade teacher at my kids' former private was not married. Although the other second grade teacher (there are 2 classes in each grade) also left at the end of last year. She is married, but not to another teacher at the school.

The teachers who have been at the school for a while tend to be highly qualifed; e.g., my son's 2nd grade teacher had just earned her masters degree in teaching. However, recent hires made by the Head of School have been moms of kids at the school (50% tuition discount for faculty) with no teaching degree and minimal if any teaching experience.

Are you sure you are in VA? Sounds like a school in upper NW DC. If so I thought the JK teacher was great...

[Anonymous]

Alrighty, so who gives a 50% discount for "families"? And just how much family does this cover? Or should I check the other thread?

[Anonymous]

Lowell gives 50% off to faculty and staff

[Anonymous]

Actually, the discussion in "Outliers" made the case that the school year needed to be extended for the disadvantaged children -- because the summertime was where they fell behind, and the cumulative effect of those "lost months" explained why children who started out pretty much equal in K ended up diverging so much by high school. There is a chart that shows relatively "advantaged" kids on a continuous upward curve (even during the summer vacation), and the "disadvantaged" kids flattening out in the summers, and falling further and further behind. There is also an interesting discussion of why Chinese students do better at math, and it makes the case that it is deeply rooted in both language and culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand. These families have dropped out in recent weeks? Surely this is well beyond the binding date. Aren't they on the hook for the tuition? I don't understand.

I don't get it either. They have tuition insurance and still have to pay a portion of it, but that is less than all of it.

If you can't pay, you can't pay. The school can come after you, but if you are broke, so what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand. These families have dropped out in recent weeks? Surely this is well beyond the binding date. Aren't they on the hook for the tuition? I don't understand.

I don't get it either. They have tuition insurance and still have to pay a portion of it, but that is less than all of it.

If you can't pay, you can't pay. The school can come after you, but if you are broke, so what?

Schools can put a lien on your house and other more drastic steps. I would not take a contract lightly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes the 2 month dcps summer break has really done wonders to raise the proficiency of it's students vs. Private school kids. You really can tell how much smarter and more proficient in math and reading they are. I am sure the dcps kids will go on to much greater things than the private school kids because of that extra month of school every year.

Obviously I am sarcastic. Dcps starts when it does to get teenagers off the streets not to fulfill some kind of educational rigor.

Where to start.... Maybe I'll just call this post "disgusting" and not waste my time.