What do we get for $30k per year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread answers its own question.

If you have the money, private is a no brainer. If you don't have the money, public is a no brainer.

All private schools are better than all public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Langley person responding. I did mis-speak. Many of my classmates are very close to this day....they sell insurance and Langley was the high point of their lives. They will be friends for life. The kids who had something bigger than HS moved on and never looked back. Sorry, but that is my obersvation.

I know this will be interpreted as snarkey, but its not meant that way. 20 kids out of 550 were special, and raced on. 75 were special, and fell into PS mediocrity. Private would have made the 2nd tier 75 interesting in their lives. For the next 400, public or private makes no difference.

Actually, snarky is not how I'm interpreting this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's all bull shit just move to Virginia or Maryland the schools are better than dc privates

Hear, hear!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you should look at it as "What can I get" so much as "What do I want". Personally, I wanted 100% phonics based reading, a traditional rigorous math curriculum, and basic Latin instruction. I was able to find these things at a reasonably priced Catholic school. If I had wanted student-led learning with small class sizes and lots of field trips I would have ended up in a completely different school.

Know thyself. It's the only way to be happy with your decisions,

I'm looking for a school like the one you've described! Which school is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned for a top elementary but are looking at private school options, just to be thorough. Both DH and I are a little dazed by the whole process. The private schools look pretty, sound good, the kids seem happy, the open houses have been pleasant. But $30,000/year is a hell of a lot of after-tax money. (It's more than I spent for my entire undergraduate education!)

What are we going to get for $30,000 per year that we wouldn't get at our top-ranked DC elementary school? I'm not trying to stir the pot, but we're just feeling a bit paralyzed by the whole thing. If you're speaking from experience, naming your child's school would be helpful, too. Thanks!

Signed,
Dazed and Confused

Simple answer: what HS are you zoned for ? Also, consider: is your DC a leagcy at a DC Private you would like to send your child to for HS. If the answer is , no, you did not attend a DC private then are you happy with public high school ? I ask because the admin rate for private HS is much lower ( and has MUCH less to do with who the parenst are) than does Pre- K admit.

So, that's what you get for 30K : your kid does not have o compete on their own based on their own IQ and gardes as a 13 year old for HS admin to a private school. If you are super confident DC will be 130+ IQ, staright A's and a multiple sport star athlete at 13, heck stay in public. If not, apply now, becuase pubic is where he/she will end up.

Good luck.

We're zoned for Wilson, but I'm not sure our DC has the personality to thrive in a large school, as opposed to just swimming with the current and doing fine but not maximizing potential. But at the kindergarten stage it's really hard to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, it was about smaller classes, differentiation in reading and math starting in K, and small group learning, as well as more art, PE, language, etc. Our oldest is very quiet. Very, very quiet.

I asked the preschool director why I had to try hard to get DC into a private school since we lived in bounds for a JKLMM. The director said, "DC will sit there, do exactly as s/he is told, and they will never know what DC is capable of." That was enough to tip us over the edge to get reading and math in small groups so that they would know what DC was capable of. Many years later, DC is a top (and internally driven) student.

Many other kids could manage to stand out and get what they need in public. Heck, I was one of them. We had a choice for our DCs and did the best we could at trying to determine which of our options were right for them. YMMV.

That is such baloney. There are lots of reasons to chose private, but listening to the hyperbole of a preschool director isn't one of them.

Oh, I'm sorry. Do I know you? How do you know my child? I assume you must know my child very well to argue you know far better than someone who has known my child for three years and observed DC's learning style. I realize reading comprehension is not a highly valued skill here on DCUM, but my remarks were clear that this was a decision about our child and reflected that child's behavior in school and learning style. So please tell me all about my child and how you know we made the wrong decision based on bad advice.

Calm down... The responder was right...the director was over generalizing. Lots of kids start kindergarten way ahead as far as abilities...you really think the public schools have no idea what all those kids are capable of? That those parents just sit back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Connections mean something in college, not high school and certainly not elementary school.

I am the poster right before you. I have no 'connections' extant from either HS or College. The kids my children are close to from HS will be friends for life, and will help each other on their journeys in life. The point is, all the privates are tight communities. They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.

People who go to large public high schools never make friends for life in high school? How about that.

Excuse me, I have to go tell my friends from high school some news they will be surprised to hear.

Langley person responding. I did mis-speak. Many of my classmates are very close to this day....they sell insurance and Langley was the high point of their lives. They will be friends for life. The kids who had something bigger than HS moved on and never looked back. Sorry, but that is my obersvation.

I know this will be interpreted as snarkey, but its not meant that way. 20 kids out of 550 were special, and raced on. 75 were special, and fell into PS mediocrity. Private would have made the 2nd tier 75 interesting in their lives. For the next 400, public or private makes no difference.

Wow. You really are a snob.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It isn't about connections.

It is about developing a love of learning where that is the culture. You don't have to worry about your smart kids being ignored because they are "fine" relative to the other kids (we know many of those in DCPS).

No "teaching to the test"
Small classrooms and student-teacher ratios.

You have to simply weigh the options and see if it is worth it for your child and your family. If you are in a good public school option, then there is no reason not to try it out and see if your kid does well. If so, then great. If not, then there are options that will cost money.

+1 -- and our kids started out in MCPS, where they were also "fine"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread answers its own question.

If you have the money, private is a no brainer. If you don't have the money, public is a no brainer.

All private schools are better than all public schools?

We have the money. Going public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Connections mean something in college, not high school and certainly not elementary school.

I am the poster right before you. I have no 'connections' extant from either HS or College. The kids my children are close to from HS will be friends for life, and will help each other on their journeys in life. The point is, all the privates are tight communities. They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.

People who go to large public high schools never make friends for life in high school? How about that.

Excuse me, I have to go tell my friends from high school some news they will be surprised to hear.

Langley person responding. I did mis-speak. Many of my classmates are very close to this day....they sell insurance and Langley was the high point of their lives. They will be friends for life. The kids who had something bigger than HS moved on and never looked back. Sorry, but that is my obersvation.

I know this will be interpreted as snarkey, but its not meant that way. 20 kids out of 550 were special, and raced on. 75 were special, and fell into PS mediocrity. Private would have made the 2nd tier 75 interesting in their lives. For the next 400, public or private makes no difference.

I am not PP but I agree that in general public school is great for kids at the VERY top as since there are so few of them, the public school has resources that the privates don't for these kids. For a motivated kid, they will have to work harder in the public to get the resources that they need but maybe the extra effort will pay off later in life. For a kid like my very average in some areas to super smart in others DD who is also not particularly motivated, private is a godsend. Every year though I say we will look at the public school and we don't. My younger DS may be a candidate for magnet. If so, it will be hard to say no.

Wow. You really are a snob.

[Anonymous]

I am not PP but I agree that in general public school is great for kids at the VERY top as since there are so few of them, the public school has resources that the privates don't for these kids. For a motivated kid, they will have to work harder in the public to get the resources that they need but maybe the extra effort will pay off later in life. For a kid like my very average in some areas to super smart in others DD who is also not particularly motivated, private is a godsend. Every year though I say we will look at the public school and we don't. My younger DS may be a candidate for magnet. If so, it will be hard to say no.

[Anonymous]

I also think comparing the single sex privates versus the coed privates are apples and oranges. I truly believe that boys and girls learn differently and need different accomodations. I am not convinced that a child who attends a co-ed private will have a much different experience than a child that attends public but I do think that experience will be completely different from a child who attends a single sex school (which you may view as positive or negative.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not PP but I agree that in general public school is great for kids at the VERY top as since there are so few of them, the public school has resources that the privates don't for these kids. For a motivated kid, they will have to work harder in the public to get the resources that they need but maybe the extra effort will pay off later in life. For a kid like my very average in some areas to super smart in others DD who is also not particularly motivated, private is a godsend. Every year though I say we will look at the public school and we don't. My younger DS may be a candidate for magnet. If so, it will be hard to say no.

Really?!?! I'm a PP who has had kids in private and at a "W" school in MoCo. It is just wrong, and funny, to suggest that there are "so few" of the very top students at the top public schools. Couldn't be farther from the truth. Some of these kids are knock-your-socks-off smart. Do you really think the doctors, lawyers, PhD's, lobbyists, journalists, etc. of Bethesda don't have equally smart, qualified kids in the public schools as the doctors, lawyers, etc. who send their kids to private? If you believe that, you are drinking some kind of kool-aid. Public or private, there are many very smart kids in this area.

[Anonymous]

What is the name of the Catholic school with 100% phonics based reading and Latin that a pp mentioned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread answers its own question.

If you have the money, private is a no brainer. If you don't have the money, public is a no brainer.

All private schools are better than all public schools?

We have the money. Going public.

+1. We have the money too. Tried private, moved to public and liked it better for both the education and the cohort. YMMV depending on your local public.