Want to Hear from Parents Who Live In Excellent Public School Districts But Chose Private Instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langley HS pyramid. Sent our children to private school from K-12.

Langley pyramid is way overrated.

- Left public after 6th grade

+1000

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are struggling with whether to enroll our DD in K in our school district (FCC) or bus her to "top tier" private school she was just accepted at. I would love to hear from parents who live in great public school districts but chose to send their kids to private anyways.

My concern stems mainly from the really high student-teacher ratios at many of the "great" publics and the fact that many of these pyramids are over capacity to begin with and expecting large additional future growth. I don't want my kid caught up in an rapidly overcrowding school district, but it seems irrational on its face to consider private when you pay FCC taxes. More importantly, there's a social component. All our friends and DD's friends live in FCC. We'd have help with pick-up and drop-off if we need it. Playdates would be close by. We are unlikely to develop a great social network at the private considering how far it would be away.

Would really appreciate hearing from other parents who made this decision. TIA!

On the flip side of public schools having larger class sizes, private schools have teachers who are uncertified and earn far less than public school teachers.

Please show me stats on this for this area.

This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

[Anonymous]

There will always be excellent teachers who happily take the trade-off with the lower salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

Interesting that the trade-off is 10-15k. That is a much lower salary, but as you point out, there are multiple reasons a teacher might decide the trade is worthwhile.

That being the case, I wonder if teachers at area private schools are "less qualified" or simply "making the choices that are right for them." If I could afford to make 10 less, but I enjoyed my job more, I'd tempted!

[Anonymous]

*be tempted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There will always be excellent teachers who happily take the trade-off with the lower salary.

Absolutely! Am the PP and don't get me wrong, I don't mean it as a knock against private...the opposite. They don't HAVE to offer the same salary because the job is less stressful. You want teachers who aren't stressed out. I don't think the salary discrepancy corresponds to teacher quality. But "show me stats" poster seemed to think the salary difference wasn't real. It is! That's all.

[Anonymous]

There is good or bad teacher in private or public. But I heard for kids in average range, private is better for them. That's our case and that's why we have very excellent public school, we choose private for our Kindergartener. We might re-evaluate our situation and go back to public later, but happy that we have a choice and going back to public is always available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

Interesting that the trade-off is 10-15k. That is a much lower salary, but as you point out, there are multiple reasons a teacher might decide the trade is worthwhile.

That being the case, I wonder if teachers at area private schools are "less qualified" or simply "making the choices that are right for them." If I could afford to make 10 less, but I enjoyed my job more, I'd tempted!

Privates don't have the same educational requirements for teachers. It doesn't mean the teachers are 'worse,' but it's a fact. I went to a big 3 in the 90s and one teacher was a fellow graduate who had a random undergrad degree and no graduate one (I'm sure this standard has since changed).

Also, PP who asked for stats, it's very common knowledge that publics pay better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

Interesting that the trade-off is 10-15k. That is a much lower salary, but as you point out, there are multiple reasons a teacher might decide the trade is worthwhile.

That being the case, I wonder if teachers at area private schools are "less qualified" or simply "making the choices that are right for them." If I could afford to make 10 less, but I enjoyed my job more, I'd tempted!

And I know a few GREAT teachers who would love to make the switch but can't right now bc that 10k makes a difference. Paying daycare, college tuition, etc. Private schools are not hurting for excellent applicants because teachers know what's up. In some cases it's just a matter of whether they can swing it. Not that many aren't committed to public! But many recognize the non-monetary benefits of private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a top Ivy. The kids who really excelled there tended to be public school graduates. The private school graduates were more sophisticated as entering freshmen, but had less drive and a weaker work ethic.

I went to Harvard & totally disagree with this generalization.

[Anonymous]

To put it another way, many private school teachers are tightening their belts to work there for some of the same reasons you're tightening your belts to send your kids there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are struggling with whether to enroll our DD in K in our school district (FCC) or bus her to "top tier" private school she was just accepted at. I would love to hear from parents who live in great public school districts but chose to send their kids to private anyways.

My concern stems mainly from the really high student-teacher ratios at many of the "great" publics and the fact that many of these pyramids are over capacity to begin with and expecting large additional future growth. I don't want my kid caught up in an rapidly overcrowding school district, but it seems irrational on its face to consider private when you pay FCC taxes. More importantly, there's a social component. All our friends and DD's friends live in FCC. We'd have help with pick-up and drop-off if we need it. Playdates would be close by. We are unlikely to develop a great social network at the private considering how far it would be away.

Would really appreciate hearing from other parents who made this decision. TIA!

On the flip side of public schools having larger class sizes, private schools have teachers who are uncertified and earn far less than public school teachers.

Please show me stats on this for this area.

This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

In private high schools, it's not just smaller class sizes, it's also the total number of students taught -- at a top private teachers might only teach say 4 sections of 12-17 kids, with free periods to meet with students, meet with colleagues, plan curriculum, and grade papers. Teachers are still working very hard but fewer papers to grade, more ability to give personalized attention, nicer pace. And at selective schools there may be fewer discipline issues and high achieving/aptitude students, which could also be appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is good or bad teacher in private or public. But I heard for kids in average range, private is better for them. That's our case and that's why we have very excellent public school, we choose private for our Kindergartener. We might re-evaluate our situation and go back to public later, but happy that we have a choice and going back to public is always available.

But is it worth spending over 500k to send your kid to private school??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are struggling with whether to enroll our DD in K in our school district (FCC) or bus her to "top tier" private school she was just accepted at. I would love to hear from parents who live in great public school districts but chose to send their kids to private anyways.

My concern stems mainly from the really high student-teacher ratios at many of the "great" publics and the fact that many of these pyramids are over capacity to begin with and expecting large additional future growth. I don't want my kid caught up in an rapidly overcrowding school district, but it seems irrational on its face to consider private when you pay FCC taxes. More importantly, there's a social component. All our friends and DD's friends live in FCC. We'd have help with pick-up and drop-off if we need it. Playdates would be close by. We are unlikely to develop a great social network at the private considering how far it would be away.

Would really appreciate hearing from other parents who made this decision. TIA!

On the flip side of public schools having larger class sizes, private schools have teachers who are uncertified and earn far less than public school teachers.

Please show me stats on this for this area.

This is 100% true! I've worked in both, and my salaries in private were about $10-15k lower. I literally have had multiple heads of school give me the same spiel "I can't offer you a public school salary, of course, but what I can offer you are smaller class sizes, less paperwork, tuition remission, 401k matching, you won't take work home.." I promise you, if this isn't universal, it's close to it, at least at the elementary level. Ask ANY teacher. People go private for many good reasons but the trade off is that salaries are lower. Hard to produce stats because private schools don't publish salary scales. No one goes from public to private and expects to make the same salary.

In private high schools, it's not just smaller class sizes, it's also the total number of students taught -- at a top private teachers might only teach say 4 sections of 12-17 kids, with free periods to meet with students, meet with colleagues, plan curriculum, and grade papers. Teachers are still working very hard but fewer papers to grade, more ability to give personalized attention, nicer pace. And at selective schools there may be fewer discipline issues and high achieving/aptitude students, which could also be appealing.

Yes, exactly this, teachers still working hard in private but on things that matter, not paperwork to prove to bureaucrats that they're doing their jobs. Not expected to be martyrs because if you really cared about the kids you would work around the clock...how dare you ask to complete this paperwork or lesson plan during planning time instead of at home? Planning time is for meetings so we can show you spreadsheets of data! Do this other paperwork (even if you don't think it makes sense as a way to track student growth) on your own time, it's due Friday so I can present it to the district office, don't you care about student achievement?

Et cetera.

Private school teaching comes with its own headaches, but normalized martyrdom isn't one of them. Feeling selfish for wanting work/life balance isn't one of them.

10k-15k seems like a lot (and is a high percentage of a teacher salary) until you realize you're basically working two jobs...one as a teacher, one proving what you're doing as a teacher...for only that much more. It's worth a lot to teachers to be trusted to make decisions for their classes, use their brains, and do their jobs. To be held accountable in a way that is reasonable, not in a way that is designed to justify seven layers of bureaucratic oversight.

(Sorry, this touched a nerve, obviously!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a top Ivy. The kids who really excelled there tended to be public school graduates. The private school graduates were more sophisticated as entering freshmen, but had less drive and a weaker work ethic.

I went to Harvard & totally disagree with this generalization.

+1 I went to a top 5 school and I was very impressed with the private school kids. They already were strong writers and were able to coast a bit because of their strong backgrounds, solid study skills and AP classes. They worked smarter not harder, whereas I went to a public school and had a much harder first year keeping up. Of course, many of the publics in this area would be just as good a stepping stone as the private schools. I wouldn't send my kid to private school just to ensure them a spot at Harvard or similar. There are other things kids get from private, such as emotional support, a safety net of teachers, arts and music, less emphasis on testing, sports for everyone.