Is starting a small private school in Alexandria a good idea?
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Anonymous
| I would check out "The Well Trained Mind" forums, OP. They are mostly homeschoolers there but not entirely and may understand where you're coming from a bit more. |
Anonymous
| 38 moms in agreement about how things should be run??? Not likely if they are from this forum. You can find a school in the price range you suggest. It just won't be a Big something school. Hiring teachers for the arts and sports is expensive. A Head of School and Guidance deaprtment really tip things over the edge. The requirements by the fire department and health department along with salaries and the cost of accreditation is beyond belief. I think you might be more interested in getting involved with home school families. Not my cup of tea but works for some. |
Anonymous
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call me judgemental if you want, but 99% of the people in my situation either send their kids to private school or move. and since you are on this forum then you are probably the type of parent who would do the same. My experience reading this forum is that it is not a predominantly low SES forum. Most of you probably live in good school districts or send your kids to private school or both!
Also back to the "naughty" kid comment. The reason I used the word naughty is because when i originally used the term "troubled kids" people thought I was talking about learning disabilities or problems at home etc.. I was talking about deliberate naught acts like hitting another child. I can assure you there are a lot more deliberate naughty asks at JH than there are at private schools. |
Anonymous
I live in ACPS, am mid-SES, and intend to give my local elementary school a try. If it doesn't meet our expectations, we'll try something else the following year. We know plenty of parents who are happy with the school, and it seems to have a pretty good mix in terms of SES - lots of parents who are clearly much higher SES than us send their kids there, so people aren't going there only because they can't afford something else. |
Anonymous
That's possibly the case, I don't know. But the point is, you seem to have an idyllic view that behavioral problems don't exist at privates, and this simply isn't correct. |
Anonymous
| It's not that ai have an idyllic view of behavioral problems at private schools. However I do have a realistic view of behavioral problems at JH |
Anonymous
And that you and the other "good" parents will be able to blackball the "deliberately naughty" child. Good luck with that. You still haven't offered up how you could possibly do this. |
Anonymous
| One more thing: what teacher in her right mind would work for micro-managing parents like your group? This sounds like a teaching nightmare. A good teacher will never take a job like this, especially since you will be paying less than what she could make elsewhere. |
Anonymous
OP again. Yes that's right. We are going to stone the deliberately naughty kids. No exceptions. This will be voted on unanimously by all the parents. All parents will have to stone the troubled, I mean deliberately naughty kids since it is a co-op. The only reason we are starting this school is so we can punish and then kick out naughty kids. You have it all figured out |
Anonymous
| Thank you to those who listed other small start-up privates schools that I can research and to those who gave info on the homeschool co-ops. I appreciate the help and info. |
Anonymous
What do you know about running a school? It's not easy. I am a teacher certified in administration, and I would NEVER think of opening a school. Think about these items: - What curriculum would you use? What resources will you be providing? You do realize that we teach multiple books in English, for example. - Who's paying for the technology? - food? Are you asking them to bring bag lunches, or will you be providing lunch? Where's your food sanitation certificate? - discipline? LOL! What methods will you be using? what philosophy? Discipline is not an "add on." It stems from good teaching - instruction that's engaging. - So you're ready to kick out kids? Do you realize that's a lawsuit waiting to happen? What are your interventions? - How will you observe teachers? In MCPS we have a protocol that took YEARS to develop, and only those in administrative positions are trained in this protocol. - With $7-10K per student, you'll be paying your teachers shit once you factor in rent and other expenses. Honestly, OP, what teachers will you successfully recruit? - What schedule will you follow? yours? the county's? what about religious holidays? - You'll need to provide before and after care if you're interested in an elementary. - what about a dress code? Or will you use uniforms? - Will this be an interdisciplinary approach to instruction? If so, how will you set up a schedule to accommodate collaborative planning? - What are your grading standards? There are so many ways to grade when you factor in weighted scores. Unless you're a trained administrator, OP, I'd leave this pipe dream alone. |
Anonymous
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"BTW we looked into homeschooling many years ago. There's a lot of administrative work involved."
Don't be afraid... there is NOT a lot of administrative work involved in VA. When I (a homeschooler) decide I've had enough and decide to enroll my kids in school, I take one look at the public school forms I'd have to fill out and continue on with the homeschooling. From what I understand OP, you can have a group of up to 15 kids without getting all sorts of permits and things. You might have to have them register as homeschoolers, but that's very easy in VA. I would see if the people from some of the new schools in Loudoun would discuss this with you. The Ideal School and their middle school come to mind. Not to model your school on, just to discuss the logistics. Angelus Academy in Springfield was started by a group of parents. I would check them out too. http://www.compassclasses.com/ in Oakton/Vienna is a new homeschool co-op that's not religious. You could models yours on that. Lots of Christian homeschoolers use Classical Conversations, but that doesn't sound like your thing. From what I've seen, it's the regulations are what tend to stop these kind of efforts, but if you kept it small and/or did it as a homeschool co-op, you might be able to get things going more easily. |
Anonymous
| It seems that even the schools are moving toward the "reversed school day" (or whatever fancy term they're using) where the kids watch their lessons on-line, and then get together to discuss things and work on their homework. The teachers say this gives them more one-on-one time with students, and more ability to differentiate within their classrooms. You might want to consider how you could incorporate this, especially for the older kids. Then the teacher could be more of a tutor. There are plenty of former teachers who have stopped working to have kids, and might want to go back part-time at a lower-stress environment such as the one you described without having to work for people like 18:08. Sheesh! It's time to start thinking about how we can school our children more effectively and efficiently. Don't listen to anyone who is in the system if they think it's working for everyone. If I had, my kids wouldn't have the great education, busy social life, and amazing sports/music skills they do today thanks to all the benefits of homeschooling. |
Anonymous
Well not yet but I am guessing that your kids are all infants and toddlers and maybe a few young preschoolers thrown in. So right now, you really have no idea what these kids or their parents will be like when they are school age or how their parenting ideas and ideals will evolve and change because they will. You also don't know if your kid OP will end up being one of those "trouble maker" kids because my experience has been that there are certainly very white (be honest, there is no discussion of low SES in Alex City w/o race entering the conversation), very high SES children who have real challenges in the classroom and their very well off, educated parents choose to not get them help, pretend the problems don't exist, say their child is "bored" bc they are gifted or do seek all the help they can, yet their child is still a challenge. A parent's values and morals can not rid a child of ADD/ADHD, OCD, ODD, dyslexia, learning disabilities, speech delays, motor delays, etc. Many of these issues aren't fully known and diagnosed until a child is school age. So are you willing to remove your child from the school for the good of the school and students yet still be a big supporter of the school and involved? I have found that the vast majority of parents want to be involved in the very early years right up until preschool and are delighted to drill their kids and impart all kinds of wisdom. You will also see lots of participation in school. But you will also see that participation fall off sharply once 1st grade hits. Many moms will return to work - and yes, moms will be the bulk of those who volunteer - and not have the time or energy to devote, then the realization that kids learn at different rates, that learning is up to the kid no matter how much you want drill them, and that some kids simply are not as "gifted" once the reality of tests and real measurements of achievement start being used. Then parents no longer have the desire to do the boring, routine work and practice that kids may need and they begin to realize that "education" is actually going to take real effort and that homework isn't always as fun or productive as they envisioned. Also, the school would have to be approved by the City Council which is and historically has been very liberal. Any attempt to set up a school to expressly ensure low SES children do not attend would fall flat from the get go. If you are really that scared of the elementary schools, look for the lower cost privates in the area (they exist in both Alexandria and Arlington but many are religiously affiliated) or plan to move to Arlington Co (you already said you are not interested in moving down the Parkway to Fairfax). I think its very likely that as the time to send your kids to school many of your friends will begin to feel that the private schools are not that bad - maybe even the public school - and will abandon the quest in favor of an established school with a track record. |
Anonymous
I get the feeling that if $35K/year was easy for you, then you'd just apply to all the area privates without trying to create a cheaper, coopy alternative. Instead, you're looking to make a one-time investment of $20K - which is less than the cost of one year at a top private - and then ongoing tuition of $7-10K/year. Therefore, I would suggest that you're in an SES group that by no means sends 99% of its kids to private school; instead, if this group is really unhappy with the local public options, they move. I know moving could be extremely disruptive, but in the end it might be a cheaper alternative, allowing you to save for retirement and college while building equity in the new house which is presumably in a somewhat more expensive area. Moving might also be more practical - given the barriers various people have pointed out here. I know moving probably sounds awful now, but perhaps it's worth a second thought to all the pros vs. cons? That, or home schooling. |