Why am I paying for private when Wilson HS (DCPS) admits are this good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

I doubt it. If they do have to catch up, they'll do it quickly. There's really no difference in intelligence or motivation between Wilson and private students, so it's really just a matter of content.

In answer to OP's question: you're paying more because you believe that it offers something additional to your child that's worth the price. But clearly, that additional thing is not college admissions. Given that research pretty clearly shows that public school kids have the same outcomes as private, it's a good question to ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Deal and we’re about to pay $$ for a big3 school instead of Wilson. However, this week is DCPS spring break and many people I know are taking their kids around to accepted schools to make their college decisions. These kids from Wilson were accepted at Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Vassar, Pomona, Cornell, Brown, Oberlin and Swarthmore. Typical smart white kids. Nothing out of the ordinary. And this is just the handful of kids I know from my block and/or siblings of kids from our DCPS elementary. So why am I paying for private next year again? I’ve found Deal to be uneven at best but it doesn’t seem to make one bit of difference (if college admission is the end game).

This is why. Wilson is a huge school, and your sample size is teeny tiny.

I send my kids to a big-3 school because I want them to be surrounded by a peer group whose families care a lot about educational excellence. I don't want them to cruise through school, getting high marks and never writing an essay longer than 5 pages. I want them to be in classes that are small enough so that they won't easily fall through the cracks. I appreciate that teachers have curricular freedom not to teach to a test or to design tests meant for large classes. I like that the kids' school is small enough that they can't segregate into "Yale or Jail" cohorts. I like having teachers and an administration that responds to my inquiries quickly and sincerely. I consider required athletic participation a good life-skill. I believe--though there are no guarantees--that my kids will get into a decent college, but that is not the primary reason we send our kids to strong independent school.

You think that the kids on the AP track at Wilson don't represent a "peer group whose families care a lot about educational excellence"? My guess is that the Wilson kids families are likely more elite (intellectually) than most private school families. Small class sizes, adminsitrative responsiveness, yes, I'll give you that. But you're fooling yourself if you think pirvate kids are any smarter than Wilson kids at the top. If what you're saying is that you don't want any diversity, then ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

To all: Is there any evidence of this? My kid is much younger, so don't know many kids who've graduated recently. However, I know one neighbor whose kid recently graduated from Wilson, attends a great college, and is doing well, AFAIK.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, OP, why are you?

You wouldn't possibly be a troll, hoping to stir up this tired debate between public/ private schools again, would you? nah.... couldn't be....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Deal and we’re about to pay $$ for a big3 school instead of Wilson. However, this week is DCPS spring break and many people I know are taking their kids around to accepted schools to make their college decisions. These kids from Wilson were accepted at Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Vassar, Pomona, Cornell, Brown, Oberlin and Swarthmore. Typical smart white kids. Nothing out of the ordinary. And this is just the handful of kids I know from my block and/or siblings of kids from our DCPS elementary. So why am I paying for private next year again? I’ve found Deal to be uneven at best but it doesn’t seem to make one bit of difference (if college admission is the end game).

This is why. Wilson is a huge school, and your sample size is teeny tiny.

I send my kids to a big-3 school because I want them to be surrounded by a peer group whose families care a lot about educational excellence. I don't want them to cruise through school, getting high marks and never writing an essay longer than 5 pages. I want them to be in classes that are small enough so that they won't easily fall through the cracks. I appreciate that teachers have curricular freedom not to teach to a test or to design tests meant for large classes. I like that the kids' school is small enough that they can't segregate into "Yale or Jail" cohorts. I like having teachers and an administration that responds to my inquiries quickly and sincerely. I consider required athletic participation a good life-skill. I believe--though there are no guarantees--that my kids will get into a decent college, but that is not the primary reason we send our kids to strong independent school.

You think that the kids on the AP track at Wilson don't represent a "peer group whose families care a lot about educational excellence"? My guess is that the Wilson kids families are likely more elite (intellectually) than most private school families. Small class sizes, adminsitrative responsiveness, yes, I'll give you that. But you're fooling yourself if you think pirvate kids are any smarter than Wilson kids at the top. If what you're saying is that you don't want any diversity, then ok.

Oy, both of you need to ratchet this back a bit. I have one at a "big 3" and another at Wilson. Both of my kids are doing great in a learning environment that suits them best. There are pros can cons to both types of schools and neither is a golden ticket to anywhere.

[Anonymous]

“My guess is that the Wilson kids families are likely more elite (intellectually) than most private school families.“

The arrogance is shocking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“My guess is that the Wilson kids families are likely more elite (intellectually) than most private school families.“

The arrogance is shocking.

Lol. Why? Do you think intelligence and academic achievement are correlated to money? How may Ivy League *professors* do you think went to public v private? The intellectual elite usually don't have the money to send their kids to privates. My public HS was filled to the brim with extremely smart kids of professors and scientists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

Nobody from DC is getting in to a school for geographical diversity. Think South Dakota. This is straight from a test prep owner.

I'm not sure why it's a problem for kids to "struggle" in college. People who want to do well, to make a difference, to stand out struggle to do so. Life is a struggle. Some kids will struggle academically, while others struggle socially, or with being independent. I'm not sure that one is worse than the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

I doubt it. If they do have to catch up, they'll do it quickly. There's really no difference in intelligence or motivation between Wilson and private students, so it's really just a matter of content.

In answer to OP's question: you're paying more because you believe that it offers something additional to your child that's worth the price. But clearly, that additional thing is not college admissions. Given that research pretty clearly shows that public school kids have the same outcomes as private, it's a good question to ask.

How do you define outcomes? Top private schools have better college placement records than virtually all public schools, other than magnets.

In terms of job success, I have no idea. I don't know if anyone's done a study that proves it one way or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

I doubt it. If they do have to catch up, they'll do it quickly. There's really no difference in intelligence or motivation between Wilson and private students, so it's really just a matter of content.

In answer to OP's question: you're paying more because you believe that it offers something additional to your child that's worth the price. But clearly, that additional thing is not college admissions. Given that research pretty clearly shows that public school kids have the same outcomes as private, it's a good question to ask.

How do you define outcomes? Top private schools have better college placement records than virtually all public schools, other than magnets.

In terms of job success, I have no idea. I don't know if anyone's done a study that proves it one way or the other.

what is "better college placement" to you? my overall point is that Wilson should be counted as a very top public school due to the highly intellectual cohort -- and the college placement shows that. I'm sure given the money and influence available at privates, they have better placement rates on the margins (kids pushed up a notch into "better" categories). but this by and large reflects money. if for an essentially average student, you think paying full freight at a SLAC in the 20s is "better" than UMD, that really comes down to money, not the high school.

the difference between public and private is illusory (except to your wallet!) https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/08/27/public-private-school-family-income-study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because only 20% of Wilson students meet basic proficiency standards for reading and math.
Hopefully your private can beat that.

https://www.niche.com/k12/woodrow-wilson-high-school-washington-dc/

If you attend a public high school like this in DC, you may get into an elite college to meet its holistic admissions goals (including geographical diversity), but you're more likely to struggle academically.

I doubt it. If they do have to catch up, they'll do it quickly. There's really no difference in intelligence or motivation between Wilson and private students, so it's really just a matter of content.

In answer to OP's question: you're paying more because you believe that it offers something additional to your child that's worth the price. But clearly, that additional thing is not college admissions. Given that research pretty clearly shows that public school kids have the same outcomes as private, it's a good question to ask.

How do you define outcomes? Top private schools have better college placement records than virtually all public schools, other than magnets.

In terms of job success, I have no idea. I don't know if anyone's done a study that proves it one way or the other.

what is "better college placement" to you? my overall point is that Wilson should be counted as a very top public school due to the highly intellectual cohort -- and the college placement shows that. I'm sure given the money and influence available at privates, they have better placement rates on the margins (kids pushed up a notch into "better" categories). but this by and large reflects money. if for an essentially average student, you think paying full freight at a SLAC in the 20s is "better" than UMD, that really comes down to money, not the high school.

the difference between public and private is illusory (except to your wallet!) https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/08/27/public-private-school-family-income-study

It takes more than an Ivy League education to be successful. Think of how many people you know that went to top schools that have mediocre jobs. You need to be polished, have a certain social ease, and be able to conduct oneself on a sophisticated level overall to be successful. This comes from being in a private school community and you absorb the culture whether you are a wealthy or poor student you still absorb the polished culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Deal and we’re about to pay $$ for a big3 school instead of Wilson. However, this week is DCPS spring break and many people I know are taking their kids around to accepted schools to make their college decisions. These kids from Wilson were accepted at Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Vassar, Pomona, Cornell, Brown, Oberlin and Swarthmore. Typical smart white kids. Nothing out of the ordinary. And this is just the handful of kids I know from my block and/or siblings of kids from our DCPS elementary. So why am I paying for private next year again? I’ve found Deal to be uneven at best but it doesn’t seem to make one bit of difference (if college admission is the end game).

Community, safety, small classes, hands on learning, small advisory groups, few behavioral issues - nothing like in public, beautiful campus and buildings, resources, and reinforcement of our values are what we are looking for in private. Top of the list my child is not worried about being jumped in the bathroom anymore because they posed off the wrong group of kids.

Parent of a Wilson senior here: WTH are you talking about??? Oh wait, now I remember. This is the lie you tell yourself to feel better about dropping tens of thousands of dollars for private.

#GoTigers!

I’m grateful I don’t have to worry about my kid getting jumped by kids in the bathroom yes kids worry about this and my kid also doesn’t need to worry about their peers overdosing while at school and watching the ambulance come. Also our school doesn’t keep kids in the school that were caught on video gang attacking someone on the subway. There’s a video of it and they were allowed to stay in school. Safety first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Deal and we’re about to pay $$ for a big3 school instead of Wilson. However, this week is DCPS spring break and many people I know are taking their kids around to accepted schools to make their college decisions. These kids from Wilson were accepted at Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Vassar, Pomona, Cornell, Brown, Oberlin and Swarthmore. Typical smart white kids. Nothing out of the ordinary. And this is just the handful of kids I know from my block and/or siblings of kids from our DCPS elementary. So why am I paying for private next year again? I’ve found Deal to be uneven at best but it doesn’t seem to make one bit of difference (if college admission is the end game).

Community, safety, small classes, hands on learning, small advisory groups, few behavioral issues - nothing like in public, beautiful campus and buildings, resources, and reinforcement of our values are what we are looking for in private. Top of the list my child is not worried about being jumped in the bathroom anymore because they posed off the wrong group of kids.

Parent of a Wilson senior here: WTH are you talking about??? Oh wait, now I remember. This is the lie you tell yourself to feel better about dropping tens of thousands of dollars for private.

#GoTigers!

I’m grateful I don’t have to worry about my kid getting jumped by kids in the bathroom yes kids worry about this and my kid also doesn’t need to worry about their peers overdosing while at school and watching the ambulance come. Also our school doesn’t keep kids in the school that were caught on video gang attacking someone on the subway. There’s a video of it and they were allowed to stay in school. Safety first.

As a parent of a private school student, this is just embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at Deal and we’re about to pay $$ for a big3 school instead of Wilson. However, this week is DCPS spring break and many people I know are taking their kids around to accepted schools to make their college decisions. These kids from Wilson were accepted at Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Michigan, UCLA, NYU, Vassar, Pomona, Cornell, Brown, Oberlin and Swarthmore. Typical smart white kids. Nothing out of the ordinary. And this is just the handful of kids I know from my block and/or siblings of kids from our DCPS elementary. So why am I paying for private next year again? I’ve found Deal to be uneven at best but it doesn’t seem to make one bit of difference (if college admission is the end game).

Community, safety, small classes, hands on learning, small advisory groups, few behavioral issues - nothing like in public, beautiful campus and buildings, resources, and reinforcement of our values are what we are looking for in private. Top of the list my child is not worried about being jumped in the bathroom anymore because they posed off the wrong group of kids.

Parent of a Wilson senior here: WTH are you talking about??? Oh wait, now I remember. This is the lie you tell yourself to feel better about dropping tens of thousands of dollars for private.

#GoTigers!

I’m grateful I don’t have to worry about my kid getting jumped by kids in the bathroom yes kids worry about this and my kid also doesn’t need to worry about their peers overdosing while at school and watching the ambulance come. Also our school doesn’t keep kids in the school that were caught on video gang attacking someone on the subway. There’s a video of it and they were allowed to stay in school. Safety first.

As a parent of a private school student, this is just embarrassing.

+1.

-a parent who has done public and private