If private school were an option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

I don't think you have kids in MCPS.
Even in areas where you would think that private schools are better i.e. writing and public speaking, MCPS schools dominate these competitions, C-Span for example.

My comment was pretty mild, but sure, my kids don’t even go here. 🙄

I’m a public school product and parent through and through, but your string of argumentative replies just screams insecurity.

Anything you say, troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had kids at private school and in mcps. It really boils down to the specific schools that are being compared. Not all mcps are the same, not all private are the same, sometimes there are very different experiences in same private between two different grades. Sure, if we had unlimited money and acceptance at any private school we want, we’d go private.

What we found is it really comes down to the specific teacher vs. school. We've had great MCPS teachers, meh MCPS teachers, really bad MCPS teachers and the same in private. The math private class teacher was the worst we ever had. The school was completely unresponsive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

It's the Intel lady... don't bother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OO no one can answer this question for you

Each child is different

Public is almost always better than private.

We did a mix mostly public MCPS because my children math was their best subject and private isn’t no where near as good as public

Two of mine did boarding Phillips Exeter and Andover.

Teenager...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

I don't think you have kids in MCPS.
Even in areas where you would think that private schools are better i.e. writing and public speaking, MCPS schools dominate these competitions, C-Span for example.

I don't think you have any comprehension of private schools. Like I said before, Intel lady, competitions are not a priority for small private schools (although a few do Model UN or economics competitions, and once in awhile math competitions). The day is extremely full for these kids, with 3 hours of sports required after school, then whatever arts or debate activities, etc. then hours of homework. My DS at a Big 3 usually got home at 9:30 p.m. (big into the arts) and then started his homework. Weekends had lots of sports competitions and arts performances. No time for travel to competitions. It just isn't a focus for them. But anyway, comparing "C-Span" with a school of 2500 kids vs. a school with 360 kids, yeah, there aren't going to be as many people who want to spend their time there.

That is not a way to compare the quality of education and experience. Why are you so invested in this? We know your kids went to magnets, but I'm sure that they also did outside activities to help them win math competitions.

I also don't think you have any comprehension of what is going on in public school classrooms right now, even in AP classrooms. I do, because I'm an AP teacher.

[Anonymous]

We only go to W schools or TJ on DCUM or Private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

I don't think you have kids in MCPS.
Even in areas where you would think that private schools are better i.e. writing and public speaking, MCPS schools dominate these competitions, C-Span for example.

I don't think you have any comprehension of private schools. Like I said before, Intel lady, competitions are not a priority for small private schools (although a few do Model UN or economics competitions, and once in awhile math competitions). The day is extremely full for these kids, with 3 hours of sports required after school, then whatever arts or debate activities, etc. then hours of homework. My DS at a Big 3 usually got home at 9:30 p.m. (big into the arts) and then started his homework. Weekends had lots of sports competitions and arts performances. No time for travel to competitions. It just isn't a focus for them. But anyway, comparing "C-Span" with a school of 2500 kids vs. a school with 360 kids, yeah, there aren't going to be as many people who want to spend their time there.

That is not a way to compare the quality of education and experience. Why are you so invested in this? We know your kids went to magnets, but I'm sure that they also did outside activities to help them win math competitions.

I also don't think you have any comprehension of what is going on in public school classrooms right now, even in AP classrooms. I do, because I'm an AP teacher.

Oh honey, it’s no different in mcps. Sometimes my kid gets home later than that with arts and sports as they do it with school and outside school. You can act like it’s different but the big differences are class size and family income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

I don't think you have kids in MCPS.
Even in areas where you would think that private schools are better i.e. writing and public speaking, MCPS schools dominate these competitions, C-Span for example.

I don't think you have any comprehension of private schools. Like I said before, Intel lady, competitions are not a priority for small private schools (although a few do Model UN or economics competitions, and once in awhile math competitions). The day is extremely full for these kids, with 3 hours of sports required after school, then whatever arts or debate activities, etc. then hours of homework. My DS at a Big 3 usually got home at 9:30 p.m. (big into the arts) and then started his homework. Weekends had lots of sports competitions and arts performances. No time for travel to competitions. It just isn't a focus for them. But anyway, comparing "C-Span" with a school of 2500 kids vs. a school with 360 kids, yeah, there aren't going to be as many people who want to spend their time there.

That is not a way to compare the quality of education and experience. Why are you so invested in this? We know your kids went to magnets, but I'm sure that they also did outside activities to help them win math competitions.

I also don't think you have any comprehension of what is going on in public school classrooms right now, even in AP classrooms. I do, because I'm an AP teacher.

Oh honey, it’s no different in mcps. Sometimes my kid gets home later than that with arts and sports as they do it with school and outside school. You can act like it’s different but the big differences are class size and family income.

The difference is that it is REQUIRED for all students. That's the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only if I were rich enough not to feel it, and only if my child were accepted to one of a handful of top private schools in the DMV.

That is, I think GDS or SFS are probably better than the education my child is getting in an MCPS magnet, but not by enough to sacrifice college tuition or retirement.

Most other privates, though? No, I think my kids are better served in MCPS.

The achievements of students in programs like Blair's SMCS are so much higher than privates like GDS or Sidwell that I can't see the value.

DP but are we only looking at this in terms of achievements? My kids attend MCPS, but I definitely envy private education for what I perceive as the superior training in writing and public speaking.

I don't think you have kids in MCPS.
Even in areas where you would think that private schools are better i.e. writing and public speaking, MCPS schools dominate these competitions, C-Span for example.

I don't think you have any comprehension of private schools. Like I said before, Intel lady, competitions are not a priority for small private schools (although a few do Model UN or economics competitions, and once in awhile math competitions). The day is extremely full for these kids, with 3 hours of sports required after school, then whatever arts or debate activities, etc. then hours of homework. My DS at a Big 3 usually got home at 9:30 p.m. (big into the arts) and then started his homework. Weekends had lots of sports competitions and arts performances. No time for travel to competitions. It just isn't a focus for them. But anyway, comparing "C-Span" with a school of 2500 kids vs. a school with 360 kids, yeah, there aren't going to be as many people who want to spend their time there.

That is not a way to compare the quality of education and experience. Why are you so invested in this? We know your kids went to magnets, but I'm sure that they also did outside activities to help them win math competitions.

I also don't think you have any comprehension of what is going on in public school classrooms right now, even in AP classrooms. I do, because I'm an AP teacher.

Oh honey, it’s no different in mcps. Sometimes my kid gets home later than that with arts and sports as they do it with school and outside school. You can act like it’s different but the big differences are class size and family income.

The difference is that it is REQUIRED for all students. That's the difference.

Not the PP, but why is that such a big difference? If PP's child is doing those things (high level arts and sports) because they want to, why would it be better to be doing them alongside kids who are being forced to be there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If private school were an option for your family, would you consider it? Trying to understand the landscape of this area with good public and private schools. No trolls please, just looking to learn from your experiences/thoughts. Thanks

Private school was an economic option for us. We are financially well-off. We are Asian-Americans - first gen legal immigrant. We considered it because we had low ranked public schools. However, we figured out that the quality of instruction is worse in private school, especially for STEM subjects. So, we pretty much remained in our school pyramid, my kids went to magnets, and we also enriched and accelerated them at home.

So, my 2 cents is that if you are trying to go to private school to get a good education then forget it. The STEM sucks in private school. However, if you want to use the private school because of other soft skills and enviornment of privilege, go for it.

As they say - YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Public is better than private provided you're willing to put in an effort, but if you want to be spponfed and have no ambition, private may be a better option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're just finishing out K in Mcps in a "top ranked" school. We applied to and committed to a private for next year for 1st.

Dd needed smaller classes, more enrichment, and like many pps stated, a push to "do her best" that private will offer.

I wasn't impressed by anything in Mcps - teachers, admin, facilities, peer group, curriculum. I could go on.

Omg it’s kindergarten

Agree. Kids don’t learn much vastly different K-3 in public or private because you have to ensure the base level foundation for all kids. People are often surprised to discover this later on.

Not many privates have to teach kids how to hold a book or a pencil, what an elephant is, or how to speak English. Privates absolutely have the advantage here. Schools can move on and focus on teaching writing, spelling, foreign language, etc. in the young ages because they have a well supported student body.

True.

[Anonymous]

I'm a PP whose kids have done a mix of public and private. Something I love about private is the kids not being on Chromebooks. They have a computer class so are learning computer literacy, but all schoolwork is done with books.

Actual papers, worksheets, projects come home in the backpack and we can look through them together. I absolutely despise all the app based / Chromebook learning in our local public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a PP whose kids have done a mix of public and private. Something I love about private is the kids not being on Chromebooks. They have a computer class so are learning computer literacy, but all schoolwork is done with books.

Actual papers, worksheets, projects come home in the backpack and we can look through them together. I absolutely despise all the app based / Chromebook learning in our local public.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a PP whose kids have done a mix of public and private. Something I love about private is the kids not being on Chromebooks. They have a computer class so are learning computer literacy, but all schoolwork is done with books.

Actual papers, worksheets, projects come home in the backpack and we can look through them together. I absolutely despise all the app based / Chromebook learning in our local public.

You are clearly talking about elementary school. And plenty of papers/ worksheets / projects come home from public school each week. It’s like others have said it’s down to school and teacher.