Has anyone switched from private to public elementary school (esp. JKLM)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

I'd suggest reading the whole thread. There's not much evidence to support the OP's conclusion based on her one kid (or even the anecdotal account of a few peers).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

Yeah, and that was one person's view. I personally know at least 10 kids who have made the move to the "big 3" in the last 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

Short version (initial post, edited, instead of 9 pages):

Subject: applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on


We just applied for private middle school from DCPS.
I had hoped my child would get in but he/she did not get in to any of the schools we applied. ...

My kids attends one of the JKLMM schools, 99% PARCC scores (98% at her/his school), excellent SSAT score, great grades, elite level athlete (on the top level
travel team in the DMV and has competed at regional level events).
Lots of varied extracurriculars (music lessons for years, student council, math club, musical,) etc. Years of language lessons.
Blah, blah--the whole package. Great teacher recs, great essays, great interview. We even had families at the private schools
who know our child well write on our behalf.

Nothing.

It's a harsh reality. It is NOT easy to to go from DCPS to one of the prominent privates despite what everyone on here says "well, we could always switch my child to private
school". I'm here to say, if this is your plan or desire---do it early!! Apply for PK or K or 3rd or 4th (or whenever the earliest entry years are). It gets harder as the kids get older
and middle school is particularly difficult.

You may say to yourself, "well my kid is special! He or she will get in!" Well, I know (and I've learned further) that there are a ton of AMAZING kids in this area and these schools have
so few spots. As a DCPS applicant, your are simply (in the minds of the privates) a "public school applicant" and are competing against kids coming from the magnet and gifted programs
in Montgomery and Fairfax, etc. The kids who have been doing math 2 years above grade level (in the classroom) for years. It's difficult to compete from DCPS and honestly I don't
get the feeling that the privates have any allegiance to DCPS and pretty much view it as a dysfunctional system.

Middle and high school applicants have to take either the SSAT or ISEE test. These are knowledge based (and not intelligence) tests. My kids (who loves math and is at the top of her/his
DCPS class) started taking practice tests and getting around 30% (after a 99% PARCC) We studied for that test for 6 months and got her/his score up to 80-90%. It was a long and painful slog. Every other DCPS applicant
we know did the same thing---I can think of 15 kids off the top of my head. We were the only one who didn't get a tutor for months. The rest spent a lot of money to get their kid up to speed on the material.

There is another window of admission (9th grade) and some DCPS kids (from Deal etc) do get into the top private schools for high school because it's a bigger expansion year.
But again, it's a small number. And some (not all) of the successful applicants at any point are legacy kids or under represented minorities (both are "hooks" for admission that we didn't have).


Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. This is not a brag on my kid's accomplishments at all (and again, this kid didn't get in). It's meant simply as an "FYI" to others who may be going down this road in the future.

Lastly, we applied because we thought the smaller class sizes in private (among other things) would be a better fit for THIS child than our DCPS middle school. We have one child in DCPS middle and now this kid
will attend as well. Ultimately we're fine with that but I wanted to share this to other families.



That's a lot of JKLM kids spending a lot of money for tutors, and feeling like failures when they don't get into their dream schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

Short version (initial post, edited, instead of 9 pages):

Subject: applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on


We just applied for private middle school from DCPS.
I had hoped my child would get in but he/she did not get in to any of the schools we applied. ...

My kids attends one of the JKLMM schools, 99% PARCC scores (98% at her/his school), excellent SSAT score, great grades, elite level athlete (on the top level
travel team in the DMV and has competed at regional level events).
Lots of varied extracurriculars (music lessons for years, student council, math club, musical,) etc. Years of language lessons.
Blah, blah--the whole package. Great teacher recs, great essays, great interview. We even had families at the private schools
who know our child well write on our behalf.

Nothing.

It's a harsh reality. It is NOT easy to to go from DCPS to one of the prominent privates despite what everyone on here says "well, we could always switch my child to private
school". I'm here to say, if this is your plan or desire---do it early!! Apply for PK or K or 3rd or 4th (or whenever the earliest entry years are). It gets harder as the kids get older
and middle school is particularly difficult.

You may say to yourself, "well my kid is special! He or she will get in!" Well, I know (and I've learned further) that there are a ton of AMAZING kids in this area and these schools have
so few spots. As a DCPS applicant, your are simply (in the minds of the privates) a "public school applicant" and are competing against kids coming from the magnet and gifted programs
in Montgomery and Fairfax, etc. The kids who have been doing math 2 years above grade level (in the classroom) for years. It's difficult to compete from DCPS and honestly I don't
get the feeling that the privates have any allegiance to DCPS and pretty much view it as a dysfunctional system.

Middle and high school applicants have to take either the SSAT or ISEE test. These are knowledge based (and not intelligence) tests. My kids (who loves math and is at the top of her/his
DCPS class) started taking practice tests and getting around 30% (after a 99% PARCC) We studied for that test for 6 months and got her/his score up to 80-90%. It was a long and painful slog. Every other DCPS applicant
we know did the same thing---I can think of 15 kids off the top of my head. We were the only one who didn't get a tutor for months. The rest spent a lot of money to get their kid up to speed on the material.

There is another window of admission (9th grade) and some DCPS kids (from Deal etc) do get into the top private schools for high school because it's a bigger expansion year.
But again, it's a small number. And some (not all) of the successful applicants at any point are legacy kids or under represented minorities (both are "hooks" for admission that we didn't have).


Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. This is not a brag on my kid's accomplishments at all (and again, this kid didn't get in). It's meant simply as an "FYI" to others who may be going down this road in the future.

Lastly, we applied because we thought the smaller class sizes in private (among other things) would be a better fit for THIS child than our DCPS middle school. We have one child in DCPS middle and now this kid
will attend as well. Ultimately we're fine with that but I wanted to share this to other families.



That's a lot of JKLM kids spending a lot of money for tutors, and feeling like failures when they don't get into their dream schools.

If you are going to believe everything you read on DCUM as gospel, well, I don't know what to tell you. Good luck out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

Not Big 3 they don't. Read the link upthread.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709133.page

"applying to private school from DCPS isn't easy; my advice: if you want to move, do it early on"

Yeah, and that was one person's view. I personally know at least 10 kids who have made the move to the "big 3" in the last 2 years.

I thought it was a pretty interesting report. Don't worry though, your child is totally on track. It's only the other parents who are going crazy. (By way of example, I have a friend in McLean who is a Harvard alum - undergrad and grad - who has her math wunderkind competing to get into the Big 3. She is SO STRESSED. Yet we all know the local privates care about this right? Because John WILL get accepted to Harvard, and Sidwell, St. A, and GDS each want to make sure it's from their school...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The cost is worth it in MS or HS, not elementary school. We went from public JKLM to private MS.

True, but you can't expect to go from JKLM to private in one jump at MS. Maybe an independent that isn't "Big 3" or parochial but there's just nothing to make even a great kid stand out. They're almost better off coming from EOTP with anything that gives the admissions committee a reason for a second look.

Huh? Dozens of kids do this every year...

You are so ignorant.
There are only a few dozen spots TOTAL at the Big 3 for 6th grade entry each year. (Having just gone through this). Some of them have 5 spots total (e.g. STA) and 3 or 4 of these 5 will go to siblings or legacy kids.
Sidwell takes about 10 (but 1/2 girls, 1/2 boys)
GDS has more (15-20?) but it's still not easy to get into these schools. I know many kids who were shut out this year.

[Anonymous]

OP, just note that private independent schools have long memories. You shouldn't have applied if you knew that you could not afford it now. When you are applying for middle school, they will remember your child's name. Best wishes, JKLM schools are great but middle and high schools will pose a problem for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, just note that private independent schools have long memories. You shouldn't have applied if you knew that you could not afford it now. When you are applying for middle school, they will remember your child's name. Best wishes, JKLM schools are great but middle and high schools will pose a problem for you.

+1 if you can afford it you should take the spot

[Anonymous]

OP here. I understand that concern but I'm not worried. We made it very clear that we could only attend if we received financial aid because we could not afford it otherwise. We received something but not enough. We also only applied to two schools and so even if we are "blacklisted" we still have tons of other private options if we want to go down that route later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I understand that concern but I'm not worried. We made it very clear that we could only attend if we received financial aid because we could not afford it otherwise. We received something but not enough. We also only applied to two schools and so even if we are "blacklisted" we still have tons of other private options if we want to go down that route later on.

Yeah, not something I'd worry about. Declining because of no/insufficient financial aid is something these schools understand, and you can just not apply to the same schools again down the road.

While I agree that you can't count on private for middle or high school, that doesn't mean that it's the best choice for your family to go to private when doing so would cause financial hardship, even if you can "technically" afford it. You have to consider all of your circumstances. Most people I know have been happy with their children's education at a JKLM-level elementary school. There are things that a good private can offer that a public can't, but there are things that a good public can offer that a private school can't, and different kids need different things--the benefits of a private might make more of a difference for some kids than for others. Your family's financial stability is important. Your ability to save for college and retirement is important. Being able to afford to pay for enrichment activities and foster extracurricular talents is important. Your kid is quite likely to get a good education and be prepared to attend college if s/he attends a good public school. The question is just what works for your family, which is a choice you should make based on where you are now, not out of fear and anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

So you left Sidwell, GDS or Beauvoir to go back to Janney or Mann before 5th grade? really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

So you left Sidwell, GDS or Beauvoir to go back to Janney or Mann before 5th grade? really?

Multiple kids, different schools. And two others on this thread have said the same, including a teacher who taught at both. If you have friends at the other schools with kids in the same grade, ask them.

[Anonymous]

People go to K-12 privates in elementary largely for planning ahead for middle and high school. I know folks who loved their DCPS elementary but made the switch for the long-term.

In the end, you should do whatever works best for your family and your finances. There is no one best way to go about any of this.

[Anonymous]

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

So you left Sidwell, GDS or Beauvoir to go back to Janney or Mann before 5th grade? really?

Multiple kids, different schools. And two others on this thread have said the same, including a teacher who taught at both. If you have friends at the other schools with kids in the same grade, ask them.

Ah. I was confused, because the post you're responding to, and the title of this thread, is about families who 'switched from private to public elementary'

I have yet to meet a family in my neighborhood who affirmatively *left* GDS, Sidwell or Beauvoir to attend Janney/Murch/Layfayette (I'm equidistant to all three) but I assume it has happened. Probably due to money