I never understood the difference between public and private until today

[Anonymous]

And, most of the private schools there were founded after desegregation, and are also over 95%+ white. Now that I'm an adult I see how crazy it was for my parents to pay money to send me to a worse school with fewer resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TRUE STORY GUYS: Went to FCPS public and JMU. Every freshman dorm building had one tiny room that used to be a closet/ storage room that had been converted to a double and was in the lobby. All the other rooms were triples off suites with living rooms.

One of the girls who was assigned the Mop Room showed up the first day and was literally in hysterics begging to have her room changed. A girl who was in a triple offered to switch with her but she refused once she saw how small the triple rooms were. Then she was freaking out that there was no air conditioning. This girl was miserable for weeks and every time I saw her, she was complaining about the room, the heat, the bathrooms, etc. Turns out she went to a swanky boarding school in CA and never actually toured JMU, it was her backup school. The rooms must be SO nice at those schools. She was disgusted by everything!

I don’t know if anyone else has seen Foxcroft’s (swanky boarding school in va) dorm rooms but they are nothing special at all. Just cinderblock walls and two beds in a room.

Boarding school to JMU? Very bizarre trajectory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What left you awestruck?

The facility for starters.
I just toured the lower campus for preschool through 8th. It had 2 gymnasiums, a pool, amazing art and music studios. All children take up an instrument. The science lab space is amazing, and they are expanding to a new innovative stem center. There is crazy fabrication shop. All kids take Spanish and Mandarin. The library has fireplaces.
It was magical
I toured Hogwarts.

Don't forget that Hogwarts had a giant snake in the basement that tried to kill children, parents who were Death Eaters, and all of Slytherin. After the first feast, it was pretty much down hill at Hogwarts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not so much the schools (ie, the building), but the teachers, parents and students. I had DS at a MD public elementary school for two years, which felt like a lifetime.

How is their special education program?

For the special ed kids, it looked great. For my ADHD kid, having the special ed kids was one more unneeded distraction. (There were 4 autistic kids in his small 32 person classroom.)

Really? How entitled of you.
I’ll bet that your kid was the distraction to everyone !

He was! So we adjusted his meds so he wouldn’t impede the education of the children of other taxpayers.

But entitled? Well, I pay over $70k per year in Maryland taxes, so I should be able to send junior to a decent public school where his education — and not half-assed social engineering — is the top priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in NY that pretty much had all these things. When schools are town-based, in wealthy areas, and funded by local property taxes, the local community can do this. The small number of disadvantaged kids in the zone get the benefits, too.

None of the VA “good” districts are all that because of the county funding models.

Same here, except the fireplaces. We had an Olympic sized pool. We were not a wealthy district but it was the norm. Forcing all kids to play an instrument would not be a benefit for me. I did not enjoy having to play piano and violin as a child. DS is playing an instrument at school now and counting the days until the end of the year because he does not enjoy it and is not going to continue next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

OP, I don't get it. You've always been a proponent of public education; then you toured a fancy, expensive private school; you saw that it has fancy, expensive stuff; and now you're no longer a proponent of public education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

OP, I don't get it. You've always been a proponent of public education; then you toured a fancy, expensive private school; you saw that it has fancy, expensive stuff; and now you're no longer a proponent of public education?

I’m not against public education. In fact I’m still not sure what I’m going to do. What I toured is such a protected and elite experience. It’s so extreme. The resources are miraculous to be sure, but I’m not sure it’s for the best. Kids maybe need to deal with difficult peers and teachers that aren’t 100% focused on them and their needs. I’m not enthused for an entirely wealthy peer group ( although this school gives a tremendous amount scholarship every year) The curriculum is very tailored to each specific child. I’ve written mostly about the facility because it’s just a very obvious comparison. When I’ve read what graduates say about their time at school, they speak frankly about the rigor of the high school years, and how college was comparatively easy.
I was not sad to leave the pressure cooker aspect of the D.C school experience behind. I really want my child to enjoy school. I want them to love learning. I could do without the pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not so much the schools (ie, the building), but the teachers, parents and students. I had DS at a MD public elementary school for two years, which felt like a lifetime.

How is their special education program?

For the special ed kids, it looked great. For my ADHD kid, having the special ed kids was one more unneeded distraction. (There were 4 autistic kids in his small 32 person classroom.)

I'm sorry. I meant, how was the special education program at the private school? Any insight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not so much the schools (ie, the building), but the teachers, parents and students. I had DS at a MD public elementary school for two years, which felt like a lifetime.

How is their special education program?

For the special ed kids, it looked great. For my ADHD kid, having the special ed kids was one more unneeded distraction. (There were 4 autistic kids in his small 32 person classroom.)

Really? How entitled of you.
I’ll bet that your kid was the distraction to everyone !

He was! So we adjusted his meds so he wouldn’t impede the education of the children of other taxpayers.

But entitled? Well, I pay over $70k per year in Maryland taxes, so I should be able to send junior to a decent public school where his education — and not half-assed social engineering — is the top priority.

It's a common misconception -- particularly among people who pay a lot in taxes, apparently -- that taxes are user fees. But they're not.

Also, what you call social engineering, I call the expectation that ALL children, including children with disabilities, have an equal right to a decent public school where their education is the top priority.

[Anonymous]

First, congrats on leaving, I guess, south Arlington or Alexandria. Second, thanks for sounding like a parody of an entitled white person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did private for a while in DMV area, what you don't see in a tour of the facilities is that the schools, necessarily really, listen to and seek out, big donor parents. How you get on the board of trustees is a function of the money you give or bring in to the school. This is so different from public that those who only know public can't begin to understand how it perverts relationships throughout the school community. It takes some years at a school to see how true this is.

+1. I went to a private school in a smaller town. If your parents were rich, you got away with whatever. If your parents were regular tuition paying parents, you had to follow the rules. When you are a kid, you aren't really savvy enough to recognize this, particularly if you are not "in the know." It was gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have always been a proponent of public education, but now that I have to means and opportunity to send my child to a top tier private school, I am changing my tune.
I toured a school today and my world has really been rocked. I just had no idea, it’s a completely different planet. Anyone else experience this? We just left the DC area. It is obviously a nationally recognized school, but not one of the schools discussed here.
For a bit of perspective, my family was zoned to public school with a very low “ score” in a much maligned close in part of Va before we left.
The public schools in our new commmnity are very well regarded. I never thought I would consider private.
Now I can’t unsee this.

OP, I don't get it. You've always been a proponent of public education; then you toured a fancy, expensive private school; you saw that it has fancy, expensive stuff; and now you're no longer a proponent of public education?

There are lots of folk who talk about the virtues of public education, in the abstract, but send their kids to private schools. Reasons may vary, certainly, but the calculation of “winning” a competition and getting a significant advantage for elite college admissions is always a consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in NY that pretty much had all these things. When schools are town-based, in wealthy areas, and funded by local property taxes, the local community can do this. The small number of disadvantaged kids in the zone get the benefits, too.

None of the VA “good” districts are all that because of the county funding models.

Exactly. Our Nursery - 8 school reminds me of the public schools I attended in affluent and not-so-affluent New Jersey towns and townships. Yes, there are better facilities at our school - I’m still shocked to see the outside basketball courts with 6 hoops, so more can practice shooting...But the real difference is th that the teachers love teaching, the administration is responsive, and my children have truly blossomed there. As for the story that these schools are less diverse, this school is much more diverse than my local public in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a public school in NY that pretty much had all these things. When schools are town-based, in wealthy areas, and funded by local property taxes, the local community can do this. The small number of disadvantaged kids in the zone get the benefits, too.

None of the VA “good” districts are all that because of the county funding models.

Exactly. Our Nursery - 8 school reminds me of the public schools I attended in affluent and not-so-affluent New Jersey towns and townships. Yes, there are better facilities at our school - I’m still shocked to see the outside basketball courts with 6 hoops, so more can practice shooting...But the real difference is th that the teachers love teaching, the administration is responsive, and my children have truly blossomed there. As for the story that these schools are less diverse, this school is much more diverse than my local public in MCPS.

More economically diverse? More African American and Latino students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its not so much the schools (ie, the building), but the teachers, parents and students. I had DS at a MD public elementary school for two years, which felt like a lifetime.

How is their special education program?

For the special ed kids, it looked great. For my ADHD kid, having the special ed kids was one more unneeded distraction. (There were 4 autistic kids in his small 32 person classroom.)

Really? How entitled of you.
I’ll bet that your kid was the distraction to everyone !

He was! So we adjusted his meds so he wouldn’t impede the education of the children of other taxpayers.

But entitled? Well, I pay over $70k per year in Maryland taxes, so I should be able to send junior to a decent public school where his education — and not half-assed social engineering — is the top priority.

Agree. The younger kids do not understand the concept of special needs, and it is not explained to them. All they know is that Child X hit someone and got away with it, or that Child Y and Z called out in an assembly, making it impossible for my child to hear.