If you send your child to private school, do you live in a good public school district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Fairfax County. I am CONSTANTLY questioned by family/friends why we would even think to send kids to private schools. Small class sizes, access to teachers and administration, moral teachings, and strong community at privates makes me want privates all the way through high school.

I have a 4 year old and I am thinking about sending her to private school. The reason is my DC is a little wild and generally seems disinterested in school. All she wants to do is play and she generally drives her preschool teacher crazy by not following directions. Our preschool director thought a play based curriculum would be better and small classes with more attention would as well. She thought the public schools had too much pressure to get the kids up to speed for the VA SOLs by first grade and that my DC would rebel on certain types of teaching and may fall behind. She warned that some teachers would spend extra time with her and give her individualized attention to suit her, but many would not.

I'm torn because I did public school and thought it was fine and the public schools here have such good reputations. I did the private school WISP-III testing for DC and the tester thought my child really needed a hands on progressive school that wasn't so rigid. Sometimes I just don't know and think I'm being sold the private school route by people who are part of its infrastructure (most of the preschool kids at my DC's school go to privates). But I would hate for DC to fall behind and tear DC from the private if DC like it.

My husband is skeptical, saying that's how kids are and the DC will adjust.


One response: GDS

Money is a concern, but it's not like it is that more expensive than preschool/daycare, and aftercare now. So it is manageable for us right now unless we have more kids.

Check your figures on the difference between private and preschool. Unless you are in a top notch preschool that is at a private school then it should be less than your private. Just remember that your private school's tuition does not include the summer and vs. your preschool might. I know people who looked at the monthly rate and said that there was not a difference but they were looking at the private school annual tuition and coming up with a monthly figure. They completely forgot about the summer program and before/after care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Check your figures on the difference between private and preschool. Unless you are in a top notch preschool that is at a private school then it should be less than your private. Just remember that your private school's tuition does not include the summer and vs. your preschool might. I know people who looked at the monthly rate and said that there was not a difference but they were looking at the private school annual tuition and coming up with a monthly figure. They completely forgot about the summer program and before/after care.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that private school and preschool are the same or similar prices. It's more, probably another $13K-15K more if you include summer and aftercare at the schools we were applying to. It's just friends of ours are making like it is a $32K+ whollop, when it really is only $13K to $15K more than what we already pay for preschool. Squeezing out another $15K isn't that much of a hardship for us right now because we have a modest mortgage. It won't be easy, but finding another $15K is a lot easier than finding another $32K+. Plus, you still have to pay for summer camps and aftercare in public school.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Langley HS cluster and currently in private K-8. Same reasons as many of the pp's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in Arlington and have a great elementary school (public) but aren't thrilled about the public high school, so are private.

PP, we feel about the same, but it's still in the future for us.... Did you go private all the way, or use the public elementary? Is your private now in DC, VA or MD? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Fairfax County. I am CONSTANTLY questioned by family/friends why we would even think to send kids to private schools. Small class sizes, access to teachers and administration, moral teachings, and strong community at privates makes me want privates all the way through high school.

I have a 4 year old and I am thinking about sending her to private school. The reason is my DC is a little wild and generally seems disinterested in school. All she wants to do is play and she generally drives her preschool teacher crazy by not following directions. Our preschool director thought a play based curriculum would be better and small classes with more attention would as well. She thought the public schools had too much pressure to get the kids up to speed for the VA SOLs by first grade and that my DC would rebel on certain types of teaching and may fall behind. She warned that some teachers would spend extra time with her and give her individualized attention to suit her, but many would not.

I'm torn because I did public school and thought it was fine and the public schools here have such good reputations. I did the private school WISP-III testing for DC and the tester thought my child really needed a hands on progressive school that wasn't so rigid. Sometimes I just don't know and think I'm being sold the private school route by people who are part of its infrastructure (most of the preschool kids at my DC's school go to privates). But I would hate for DC to fall behind and tear DC from the private if DC like it.

My husband is skeptical, saying that's how kids are and the DC will adjust.

Money is a concern, but it's not like it is that more expensive than preschool/daycare, and aftercare now. So it is manageable for us right now unless we have more kids.

PP, your DD sounds a lot like my DS. We were also advised by his preschool that he'd do better in a private school. We reluctantly agreed to visit a few private schools to compare them to our very well-regarded public ES and immediately understood the differences and why our DS would do better at a private. The private schools have the ability to be creative in their approach and incorporate more "fun" and play time into their early years vs. the public schools which have to immediately gear up for testing. Not all kids are ready to sit at a table/desk for most of the day and learn. My DS is more willing to sit down and focus after he's had the chance to run around and play a bit, which he wouldn't be able to do at public school. Private schools incorporate a couple of recesses, PE, art/music throughout the day. Class sizes are much smaller and the kids get a lot of individual attention. The teachers are really able to get to know each child and their strengths/weaknesses so that they can tailor how to present the material to each child vs. having one standard approach for the whole class.

I do think that there are certain kids that would do well in any type of school environment and public school can work really well for these kids. However, other kids need a more individualized approach than public schools can offer. Also, keep in mind that you DD is only 4 and will likely change a lot over the next few years. She could start out in private school where they can accommodate her in the early years, then she could be perfectly capable of excelling in public school later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Montogomery County with excellent public high schools, but the public Kindergarten is full of kids from poor familities that does not speak english.

Ha! We live in Mo Co in one of the W clusters (not Wootton). Our elementary school has a principal that is despised and has resulted in the attrition of most of the excellent teachers (since 2003). The building is falling down around their ears, they paint every once and while to make it look better (lipstick on a pig). The kids stay indoors for recess when there is a slight sprinkle or the wind is blowing the wrong the way. One DC went all the way through and is a junior in high school now. His counselor is an idiot and the college counselor ( 1 person for all 500+ seniors not to mention the 500+ juniors) is jaded, overworked, bitter, and not unexpectedly, useless. So just because we have all the supposed advantages doesn't make any of this a cakewalk. I agree that in poor areas it will be more difficult for families to advocate for their children.

[Anonymous]

My wiggly 5 year old son is at private (pretty sad public school in PG is other option) and I felt the money was worth it the other day. Talking to the guidance counselor about my kid who hates to sit still and "work" but loves to learn, and the counselor sort of shrugged and said "Lets try a standing desk. The learning is the point, not the sitting."