Has anyone switched from private to public elementary school (esp. JKLM)?

[Anonymous]

My DD was admitted into several independent schools including a few very competitive ones. For a variety of reasons, mostly financially driven, we are strongly leaning toward declining the acceptances and putting her in JKLM instead.

I know this is ridiculous, but part of me feels guilty that I'm somehow depriving her of a fantastic opportunity to go to a top private school. When I attended the welcome events at the private schools, everyone was going on and on about how lucky their child was to get into X, Y school.

Has anyone started out in private and then switched to public elementary, and can compare the two experiences? Will my child be missing out by going the public route? Have you seen benefits to a public education, compared to private? Help me assuage my guilt.

[Anonymous]

No advice except to stop sh***ing on the families who send their kids to public school. Seems obvious, and yet...

[Anonymous]

Have you gone to open houses at your JKLM? You can warm fuzzies there too.

[Anonymous]

We didn't personally, but a number of kids in my JKLMers classes have migrated from private. Some did it for financial reasons, some because they wanted the neighborhood school experience and a few because they were dissatisfied with the private experience. They all say they are happy with their choice.

We have very close family friends whose older siblings attended Maret and Sidwell, but whose younger siblings are in our school with no plans to move. They feel like they are making the right choice for the right kid; there's no perfect school.

One other thing to keep in mind, as you know that tuition is going to jump over time, make sure you don't put yourself in a position where you start your kid there for a few years then need to pull her out mid-way. Or, you know, you have a second kid!

[Anonymous]

If you cannot afford a private you would be doing a dis-service to your kid and family paying for it. Save for college, retirement, tutors, camps, extra curricular etc. JKLMs are great for your average bright child without any particular special ed needs. Yes, the class size is larger and yes, they will not have gym and recess as frequently. But - those things don’t warrant 40K in my book.

Plus having a neighborhood school and neighborhood friends is pretty terrific.

[Anonymous]

We switched to public ES, not the only ones to do this fyi. The advantages of a neighborhood school can't be overstated imho. Playdates, informal connections with other families in the area, all build a usable community. Yes, there was strong community at our private, but the distance required to make it useful was an ever present drain on our energies. The class size is bigger, but the teachers are paid more and, again imho, better qualified in many respects. Also, parents, and their views, matter less. The school listens to the parents, but really is weighing more whatever it is they see in the children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We switched to public ES, not the only ones to do this fyi. The advantages of a neighborhood school can't be overstated imho. Playdates, informal connections with other families in the area, all build a usable community. Yes, there was strong community at our private, but the distance required to make it useful was an ever present drain on our energies. The class size is bigger, but the teachers are paid more and, again imho, better qualified in many respects. Also, parents, and their views, matter less. The school listens to the parents, but really is weighing more whatever it is they see in the children.

I agree with this. Sometimes I feel like we're living in the 1970s in my 'hood. Kids running around without parents, walking over and playing with friends independently, a full village of parents who all help each other out an (importantly) spend some serious cocktail time together. No key parties, though. Sad.

[Anonymous]

I think once you go to the public school, you will probably feel silly about this post.

[Anonymous]

No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

[Anonymous]

If it makes you feel better, plenty of families would feel lucky to have a spot at a JKLM. So if you send your kid there, you aren't depriving her of a private school experience but giving her a desirable public school experience.

And if you pick private schools, well, thank you for your property tax dollars and for giving more room to everybody else at your DCPS.

Honestly the choice between JKLM and fancy private is not going to be the determining factor in how your kid turns out.

[Anonymous]

I’ve have had multiple kids in JKLM, Deal and Wilson, who applied to several privates for high school, considered Walls, we know people at all the privates, etc. We are still considering switching to private for kids currently at Wilson and Deal.

FWIW, my opinion is that there’s not a lot of difference in the elementary school between public and private for average kid. Privates are a little more focused on the whole child and often do a better job teaching writing. Math and reading are more similar.

The difference is bigger in middle school. Deal is a machine which is managed reasonably well and has a very good average teacher quality. A kid who is self-motivated will do fine. A kid who is struggling will get a lot of attention. In the middle is the problem— undermotivated kids can easily skate by and not be challenged.

Wilson is a more of a tossup. While JKLM and Deal compare well to their suburban counterparts, Wilson does not. Ninth grade is not challenging at all. The other grades have some very strong teachers but there is a lack of uniformity. The leadership (AP level) is unorganized and bureaucratic. Class sizes can be huge and too many are hijacked by bad behavior. That being said, a strong student can find their way and get a quality education.

In my mind, high school is where it may be worth investing in private school tuition. The challenge is that acceptance rates appear to be falling so you may have to look for earlier windows (3rd or 4th grade) if you absolutely are sure you want to take that route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

Same, as in literally studying the same unit literature in ELA. All wonderful schools. Great choices to have. You can't go wrong, OP, you can only go broke.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids at a JKLM (combined 18 years of instruction--yikes!)
Strengths:
-90% of teachers have been very good. I'd say 50% are as good as a teacher can get, 40% are very good and 10% have been bad (playing on their phone all day, not giving a crap bad).
-extracurriculars including PE/recess are great. I've never felt that my kids need more active time.
-curriculum is good; straight up common core for math and ELA. The "specials" classes have a lot of well-thought out projects, etc. Writing classes are okay. Again, some teachers great, some not as great.
If there's one thing that the kids and their friends (in the upper grades) are weak in it's writing.
-engaged, smart peers. By-in-large all the kids are very bright and want to learn. They've all been doing extracurriculars since birth like the rest of NW DC
-community, community, community. One million playdates and everyone within walking distance.
-parents are great. Pretty much interchangeable with all our private school friends: many doctors, law partners, some famous people, etc. Just minus the extreme wealth: We don't have people with private jets. lol

Weaknesses:
-no real acceleration at all for kids who are ahead or want to be challenged. I think the basic level of instruction is pretty fast (the cohort is bright) but there is no compacted math (accelerated math that Mont. Co does) and
certainly no gifted and talented program.
-it's not a service industry like the private school world. There is a subtle feeling that your kid is just 1 out of hundreds. Kids' own talents/interests aren't fostered or encouraged. The class is taught as a pack. Teachers
are nice but generally distant. If you want to feel like your child is a super unique and special child and have this feeling fostered and catered to you won't get this feeling at all (especially if your child is a good student---I don't have
experience with kids who are behind--perhaps they feel a bit more invested in). If your child is doing well you are definitely just a bit of a interchangeable number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No personal experience with this, but we are in the same boat and plan to put our child in JKLM. I'm sure my child would have had a great private school experience but I remain unconvinced that the cost can be justified. But I understand how it's hard not to feel guilty when you go to those welcome events and parents seem OVER THE MOON their child got into that school. Seriously, some people act like they won the lottery or something.

We are looking forward to our child attending our neighborhood school right down the street. We may revisit for middle school, but I am really excited about our decision and look forward to the fall. To the OP, your child will be great.

We've had kids in both JKLM and Big 3 private. I know it's shocking to some, but there isn't that much of a difference. Certainly not a $40k difference. And the neighborhood school experience has been wonderful for our whole family.

Same, as in literally studying the same unit literature in ELA. All wonderful schools. Great choices to have. You can't go wrong, OP, you can only go broke.

I 100% agree, after having worked in both a big 3 and a JKLM. Very similar. All great.

--A teacher