Choosing public even if private is within your budget

[Anonymous]

DH and I are trying to decide if we want to go with a private school or public.

We both went to public and feel like we had a quality education and real life experience. I’m ignorant to private school culture, but I fear it’s pretty WASPy and privileged? We want our DC to have classmates from various backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

What school are you zoned for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we want to go with a private school or public.

We both went to public and feel like we had a quality education and real life experience. I’m ignorant to private school culture, but I fear it’s pretty WASPy and privileged? We want our DC to have classmates from various backgrounds.

Where do you live? Does your zoned elementary have at least some diversity?

Not sure there's a simple answer. One of us did public all the way, and the other did private/boarding schools. We bought in a diverse neighborhood with decently regarded schools (although some poverty, which brings the scores down a bit). Our child was there for several years and we had a good experience, although we eventually moved to private for a specific curriculum not available in our public. Also, the private is FAR from WASPy, and is in fact pretty diverse as far as privates go.

tl;dr: Assuming your public is good, I'd start in public and only move private later if warranted.

[Anonymous]

You fail to list what is making you ask this question.

[Anonymous]

I too got a solid public education but I am very sad to say that things have changed and not for the better. I could go on and on but if you can afford private, go ahead and do it. We are in a 10 out of 10 school according to great schools and the education is very weak. We are going private next year. We don't know where yet because applications are in but we haven't heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I too got a solid public education but I am very sad to say that things have changed and not for the better. I could go on and on but if you can afford private, go ahead and do it. We are in a 10 out of 10 school according to great schools and the education is very weak. We are going private next year. We don't know where yet because applications are in but we haven't heard.

I got a solid public education, and my children are too. My children are not at a GS 10 school -- maybe that's the problem with your child's school?

[Anonymous]

Totally depends on your inbounds school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I too got a solid public education but I am very sad to say that things have changed and not for the better. I could go on and on but if you can afford private, go ahead and do it. We are in a 10 out of 10 school according to great schools and the education is very weak. We are going private next year. We don't know where yet because applications are in but we haven't heard.

I got a solid public education, and my children are too. My children are not at a GS 10 school -- maybe that's the problem with your child's school?

I wrote what you quoted and I wonder the same. I do think the school scores well on standardized tests but the work they do in school and the homework is terrible. Although it is anecdotal, parents with older kids in the same school who also have younger kids have noticed a significant change in the school in the last 5 years or so. Roughly coincides with the arrival of the current principal. And the classes are 30 plus for most grades above kindergarten. So, for OP, I just offer the "great schools" comment because the fact that kids can pass the SOLs doesn't really mean a lot. The SOLs are really the most basic things. For me, I want more for my kids and at my current public, for whatever reason, they are happy to do the bare minimum. And now, after two years at the school, we are done and moving to private next year.

OP, if you are on the fence, spend a day at public and then tour privates. One thing that I am struck by over and over is the difference that the class size makes in the entire experience. We have visited many privates and none have classes bigger than 18 and most are closer to 15. That is half the size of what my kids are in. Curriculums work better, transitions are better, classes seem much more spacious, etc. when there are only 15. And kids are kids so from time to time, they have disruptive or bad days. In large classes with several chronically disruptive kids, the chaos is non-stop. So when I toured and interviewed, I found the language arts curriculums were described the same at private as at public. But as I watched, it is just completely different. The My Daily Five works well with 15 kids. It falls apart with 30. As for math, there is simply no contest. In our public, first graders are only doing single digit addition with a sum less than 10. In private they are way beyond that. Doesn't even compare.

[Anonymous]

My kids went to both. The education at our MCPS high school was fabulous, but it is not diverse. There was more racial diversity (and in one case ethnic diversity) at the private schools they attended, but of course not very much economic diversity. this will vary significantly among public schools and among private schools so it's impossible to draw broad conclusions. Look at your specific public school, and the specific private schools you are interested in, and make an informed decision.

[Anonymous]

Default is public, private if issues crop up.

[Anonymous]

OP, I worried about the same issues, but the vast majority of families at my kids’ private aren’t the generational wealth stereotype. Visit some schools, public and private, and base your decision on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Default is public, private if issues crop up.

+1


Same here. We started with public, with the plan to switch if needed. We can afford private, but it would mean losing a lot of disposable income. With public, we can afford enrichment activities, tutoring if necessary, travel to see family and to visit other countries, and more for college.

It also depends on your local public. If it's terrible, then go for private. But there are plenty of public schools that provide a good education.

[Anonymous]

We're at DCPS for kindergarten and I am very impressed, so far. I honestly believe the curriculum is as good, if not better, than private schools. The parents are active, the principal is very organized, the specials are fun, and it's a diverse group of kids too. Class size is 21, and the school has aides in the classroom all the way up to 5th grade (thanks to PTA fundraising). It's TOTALLY different from what I expected -- I dreaded the whole "kindergarten is the new 1st grade thing" -- but it turns out my kid is thriving and loves the instructional methods.

I might feel differently if the class had 30 kids and no aide, like I've heard about at some MCPS schools. I also have an open mind for jr high and high school, although at this point, I'm anticipating that we'll stay in DCPS the whole way through.

The added benefit of the convenience and community of a neighborhood school is wonderful. Makes our morning routine a dream, and playdates easy to organize.

[Anonymous]

Vast majority of people I know in N. Arlington who could easily afford private go to private. However, there’s so much wealth and parental support in some of those schools that they may as well be privates.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, who could easily afford private go to PUBLIC.