Private vs. Public School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top rated AAP Center in FCPS, with first DC a TJ finalist. Why would we pay for private? I have yet to find one with the acadamic rigor of DC's MS.

The AAP program in FCPS is like a private school within a public school. There's a reason parents break their necks to get their kids into the program - so they don't have to mix with the Gen Ed population. Many of these same parents then snub their noses at parents who choose private school over FCPS Gen Ed. At least that's been my experience.

[Anonymous]

Two of the MANY reasons we chose private that you cannot say publics provide:

Single sex education
Component of spirituality and morality

PLUS: Public schools are just a group of kids who happen to live in the same town/neighborhood. They (and their parents) are not in a school by choice. Hence the mediocrity that comes along with a public school education. The experience is just ordinary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two of the MANY reasons we chose private that you cannot say publics provide:

Single sex education
Component of spirituality and morality

PLUS: Public schools are just a group of kids who happen to live in the same town/neighborhood. They (and their parents) are not in a school by choice. Hence the mediocrity that comes along with a public school education. The experience is just ordinary.

Say what? Mediocrity = a bunch of people who live in the same town/neighborhood? I didn't know that.

Plus, actually, I not only can, but will, say that public schools provide a component of morality. Do you think that right and wrong never come up in public schools? I don't know how that would even be possible.

[Anonymous]

I switched one of my kids from a small parochial to public school in elementary. It was a fantastic experience for her and I was very impressed by the depth of service projects built into the public school curriculum and integrated into, say, math class and English. (Devising a marketing campaign, figuring out the price to charge, then donating the proceeds to a community charity). I'm sure public schools differ from one to the next, but the only thing we didn't get in the switch was religion class. We did get improved art, playgrounds, and overall academics. Nice kids, nice families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two of the MANY reasons we chose private that you cannot say publics provide:

Single sex education
Component of spirituality and morality

PLUS: Public schools are just a group of kids who happen to live in the same town/neighborhood. They (and their parents) are not in a school by choice. Hence the mediocrity that comes along with a public school education. The experience is just ordinary.

We chose public because of this lady.

[Anonymous]

We spent close to a million dollars on private (~800,000) and I wish we had that money back. Kids made some nice friends and had some good teachers but I think they would have had similar good experiences in public. One child is in public now and we are happy with it. Private is maybe 10% better in some ways but also has drawbacks (too homogenous, less independence, too much stress about college). If I had unlimited funds, maybe, but I don't think it's worth the $ if funds are limited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spent close to a million dollars on private (~800,000) and I wish we had that money back. Kids made some nice friends and had some good teachers but I think they would have had similar good experiences in public. One child is in public now and we are happy with it. Private is maybe 10% better in some ways but also has drawbacks (too homogenous, less independence, too much stress about college). If I had unlimited funds, maybe, but I don't think it's worth the $ if funds are limited.

I'd say $800,00 is close to unlimited funds!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just went through this last year for DS.
The question isn't "private v public" - there are far too many variables.
The question is "of the school choices available to my child which one would be the best for my child."

We toured, interviewed, talked to current and past parents and some students at four schools - our local public, the private where DS was last year, and two other privates.
Almost all of our concerns about public were unfounded. Some of the assumed benefits of the privates weren't really there or were easily replaceable.

Half way through the year at our local public and he is absolutely thriving. Happier than he's even been at school, learning a ton, and it's so great to be part of our neighborhood school community.

But that's all based on my individual kid and the options available within our commuting and financial reach.

Your decision needs to be based on the actual choices you have, not some philosophical agenda

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

Why not? Because taxes are not user fees. You pay taxes for public schools whether or not you have a child in public school.

[Anonymous]

Like other posters, I don't think there is ever a one-size-fits-all answer. I am intrigued by the posters who went to private school but want to stick with public for their kids. I grew up in a different state and did public K-5 and one year of middle school, which was extremely mediocre. Then I went to an amazing private school with smaller classes, kids very interested in learning, beautiful campus, terrific teachers, and I thrived. I have thanked my parents many times over the last three decades for sending me to that private.

As for our kids, we have been in public for five years, but this year one of our DCs is not thriving. Literally bored to tears, and we are seeing some of the negative impact of being not-smart-enough-for HGC program but then remaining in a class where there are not enough peers at DC's level, so DC isn't being challenged (or even engaged). The idea of much smaller classes (13-18 students vs. 26) and more individualized attention in a single-sex environment is, for us, enough to think about jumping ship. What really bothers me about public vs. private is the attitude even some of our friends have about private and how "far superior" it is, when they have never even tried public school. If you don't try it, how can you really know whether it works for your child? That I don't get. Because private is a huge amount of money (even if you have it!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

So you are saying you should get a credit for a service you don't use directly? I drive 1.5 miles to work. My wife walks less than a mile. We put about 200 miles a month on one car and maybe 400 on the other. I seldom use the interstates. Can I get some of my unused transportation tax dollars back?

I don't use the library system. That's more refund for me.

I have lived in Fairfax County 7 years. I have not had to call the police or fire department. There is another I can file.

Nope. It doesn't work that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

Ha! Imagine all the old people asking for their money back because THEY aren't using the school system either!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

its closer to $20,000 per student per year in public spending.