Why are private school applications still at an all time high?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.

There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools

Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.

PP. Only the Catholic schools. Which is not what most of us think of when we say the words “private school”.

You cannot name an independent school in DC/MD that hands out true merit money to smart applicants as an enticement. It’s flat out not allowed in AISGW.

Really?

Why is that?

Because most of the public would label these “catholic schools” or “parochial schools.” In the DMV. “Going private” in actual parlance with your DMV neighbor does not include “going to St. Bernadette parish school k-8.”

They have an entirely different mission than independent private schools. A different funding structure aided in most cases by a diocese.

But yes, technically catholic schools are a subset of “private” schools in that there is no by-right attendance like a public school. Technically. But the not-religious crowd doesn’t think of them that way.

So is a Quaker school with Quaker values/mission a private school? An Episcopal school situated on the grounds of a cathedral? How about a Catholic school that does not receive diocesan support?

Excellent questions!

My kids go to a private high school in the DMV. It happens to be Catholic. I don’t know a single person who would refer to it as anything other than “private.”

NP. The person you are responding to is just the anti-Catholic bigoted nutcase that haunts these boards and often derails threads. If this thread gets out of control, Jeff will just delete the bigot’s posts. Of course Catholic schools are private and when people say “private” they are referring to schools that are not public. No normal person uses the definition that the bigot is trying to push.

In any case, don’t feed the known bigot. She will derail endlessly. And before she slithers back to defend herself by attacking me personally, I’m not Catholic and don’t have a stake in this definition personally. I’m just a longtime DCUM reader who recognizes a known anti-Catholic bigot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.

There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools

Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.

PP. Only the Catholic schools. Which is not what most of us think of when we say the words “private school”.

You cannot name an independent school in DC/MD that hands out true merit money to smart applicants as an enticement. It’s flat out not allowed in AISGW.

Really?

Why is that?

Because most of the public would label these “catholic schools” or “parochial schools.” In the DMV. “Going private” in actual parlance with your DMV neighbor does not include “going to St. Bernadette parish school k-8.”

They have an entirely different mission than independent private schools. A different funding structure aided in most cases by a diocese.

But yes, technically catholic schools are a subset of “private” schools in that there is no by-right attendance like a public school. Technically. But the not-religious crowd doesn’t think of them that way.

So is a Quaker school with Quaker values/mission a private school? An Episcopal school situated on the grounds of a cathedral? How about a Catholic school that does not receive diocesan support?

Excellent questions!

My kids go to a private high school in the DMV. It happens to be Catholic. I don’t know a single person who would refer to it as anything other than “private.”

Really? There is a huge contingent of DC / MD families who would neutrally call that a Catholic school. There is also an enormous cohort of private school parents who wouldn’t apply their kids to DeMatha or Visi or GP. Because Catholic indoctrination is not a feature they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.

There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools

Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.

PP. Only the Catholic schools. Which is not what most of us think of when we say the words “private school”.

You cannot name an independent school in DC/MD that hands out true merit money to smart applicants as an enticement. It’s flat out not allowed in AISGW.

Really?

Why is that?

Because most of the public would label these “catholic schools” or “parochial schools.” In the DMV. “Going private” in actual parlance with your DMV neighbor does not include “going to St. Bernadette parish school k-8.”

They have an entirely different mission than independent private schools. A different funding structure aided in most cases by a diocese.

But yes, technically catholic schools are a subset of “private” schools in that there is no by-right attendance like a public school. Technically. But the not-religious crowd doesn’t think of them that way.

So is a Quaker school with Quaker values/mission a private school? An Episcopal school situated on the grounds of a cathedral? How about a Catholic school that does not receive diocesan support?

Excellent questions!

My kids go to a private high school in the DMV. It happens to be Catholic. I don’t know a single person who would refer to it as anything other than “private.”

Really? There is a huge contingent of DC / MD families who would neutrally call that a Catholic school. There is also an enormous cohort of private school parents who wouldn’t apply their kids to DeMatha or Visi or GP. Because Catholic indoctrination is not a feature they want.

Please slither away, bigot. You are so exhausting and you continually derail threads on private schools with your relentless anti-Catholicism. We all know and recognize you at this point. You are delusional and bigoted, and you don’t stand for anything other than your own horrendous values. You certainly don’t speak for any MD / DC families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am already planning to help my kids send their kids to private. My kids are mid/late 20s now, and went to a combination of DMV public and private schools and I was fans of both. But times have changed. My oldest iis getting married next year to the daughter of a public school teacher in what used to be considered a top VA district (Charlottesville). The stories are real. Public school needs major reform - and it pains me to say that. Point being, I'm probably not alone wanting my grandkids to have a great education and I'm willing to help.

+1
Also setting aside funds for privacy for my grandkids. I had to fund it with zero help and it’s been difficult but worth it.

[Anonymous]

Because the public schools are a mess, that’s why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.

There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools

Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.

PP. Only the Catholic schools. Which is not what most of us think of when we say the words “private school”.

You cannot name an independent school in DC/MD that hands out true merit money to smart applicants as an enticement. It’s flat out not allowed in AISGW.

Really?

Why is that?

Because most of the public would label these “catholic schools” or “parochial schools.” In the DMV. “Going private” in actual parlance with your DMV neighbor does not include “going to St. Bernadette parish school k-8.”

They have an entirely different mission than independent private schools. A different funding structure aided in most cases by a diocese.

But yes, technically catholic schools are a subset of “private” schools in that there is no by-right attendance like a public school. Technically. But the not-religious crowd doesn’t think of them that way.

So is a Quaker school with Quaker values/mission a private school? An Episcopal school situated on the grounds of a cathedral? How about a Catholic school that does not receive diocesan support?

Agree. Not all catholic schools are equal. In my non-dC area there are 4 too tier Catholics, 3 top tier episcopal, 1 top tier Jewish school, and 2 top tier schools with zero religion (one is an international school). Most catholic schools are considered parish schools, those are not top tier but what we call ‘catholic schools’. The top tier catholic are referred to by name, not group, that’s the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.

This right here...my kids in Catholic school have homework every night that they write down in a planner. They read novels. They do math with a pencil. They have spelling and grammar as subjects in school. They know their times tables.
Our class sizes are getting huge though. When we started the average class size was 14 and now it's 22. The weirdest part is that the increase is almost completely girls.

The push to lower rigor has mostly come from the parents of boys who argue that their sons are not ready for the same challenges as the girls are easily handling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.

This right here...my kids in Catholic school have homework every night that they write down in a planner. They read novels. They do math with a pencil. They have spelling and grammar as subjects in school. They know their times tables.
Our class sizes are getting huge though. When we started the average class size was 14 and now it's 22. The weirdest part is that the increase is almost completely girls.

The push to lower rigor has mostly come from the parents of boys who argue that their sons are not ready for the same challenges as the girls are easily handling.

No, not at all. Wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.

This right here...my kids in Catholic school have homework every night that they write down in a planner. They read novels. They do math with a pencil. They have spelling and grammar as subjects in school. They know their times tables.
Our class sizes are getting huge though. When we started the average class size was 14 and now it's 22. The weirdest part is that the increase is almost completely girls.

The push to lower rigor has mostly come from the parents of boys who argue that their sons are not ready for the same challenges as the girls are easily handling.

Weird fantasy world but okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things that bother me about public school are the overworked teachers, worries about political influences distracting from the classroom, class sizes, half-asses differentiation, not enough funding for all of the regulatory requirements, etc. so we moved our kid to private because we can afford it. I suspect a lot of people who choose private are similar to us. My husband and I graduated from FCPS and were big proponents of public school, until we weren’t.

I’d love to see a study with facts on class size. Our two kids did a DC elementary, Deal and now JR. Aside from one elementary year and electives like art/music at JR, neither has had more than 22 kids in a class. We can’t just be lucky. I’m always curious about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public school parent here - sorry to intrude. I just saw this under "recent topics."

I beg your indulgence. FWIW, I can definitely afford private school for my kids! For better or worse, I choose not to.

If OP's facts are correct, I find the increasing demand for privates school curious, too. I'm not certain the college outcomes are that much better when you account for family wealth and education. In fact, private school outcomes might be worse when you make those accounts.

It's true that class sizes are too big in public school. There are also some unpleasant and weird kids. But tough situations teach resilience that can be useful later in life.

Just saying I'm surprised we're not at an equilibrium, and instead we are in an era of dramatically increasing demand for private school. I guess I would chalk it up to the wealthy getting wealthier.

It is all very interesting and as someone said it’s all anecdotal - but my anecdote is a good friend of mine is a teacher at a top private and said she would never send her kids there because it’s such a bubble that when they get out into the real world they don’t know how to deal with anything. To your point about the benefit of exposing your kids to tougher situations or situations where they have to navigate them and figure them out without too much hand holding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.

There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools

Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.

PP. Only the Catholic schools. Which is not what most of us think of when we say the words “private school”.

You cannot name an independent school in DC/MD that hands out true merit money to smart applicants as an enticement. It’s flat out not allowed in AISGW.

Really?

Why is that?

Because most of the public would label these “catholic schools” or “parochial schools.” In the DMV. “Going private” in actual parlance with your DMV neighbor does not include “going to St. Bernadette parish school k-8.”

They have an entirely different mission than independent private schools. A different funding structure aided in most cases by a diocese.

But yes, technically catholic schools are a subset of “private” schools in that there is no by-right attendance like a public school. Technically. But the not-religious crowd doesn’t think of them that way.

So is a Quaker school with Quaker values/mission a private school? An Episcopal school situated on the grounds of a cathedral? How about a Catholic school that does not receive diocesan support?

If there’s a distinguishing factor, it’s the question of how independent a given school is from a central authority that can call the shots and assign revenue.

Stone Ridge and GP and I think Visi have been argued on DCUM to be independent. Blessed Sacrament is parochial.

The PP’s distinguishing factor is that a school is Catholic, and if it is, it isn’t private. Because…?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public school parent here - sorry to intrude. I just saw this under "recent topics."

I beg your indulgence. FWIW, I can definitely afford private school for my kids! For better or worse, I choose not to.

If OP's facts are correct, I find the increasing demand for privates school curious, too. I'm not certain the college outcomes are that much better when you account for family wealth and education. In fact, private school outcomes might be worse when you make those accounts.

It's true that class sizes are too big in public school. There are also some unpleasant and weird kids. But tough situations teach resilience that can be useful later in life.

Just saying I'm surprised we're not at an equilibrium, and instead we are in an era of dramatically increasing demand for private school. I guess I would chalk it up to the wealthy getting wealthier.

It is all very interesting and as someone said it’s all anecdotal - but my anecdote is a good friend of mine is a teacher at a top private and said she would never send her kids there because it’s such a bubble that when they get out into the real world they don’t know how to deal with anything. To your point about the benefit of exposing your kids to tougher situations or situations where they have to navigate them and figure them out without too much hand holding.

What a crazy claim to make. I can assure you that kids that go to private schools do just fine in life. There are thousands of adults in the DMV who went to private school who are successful in the “real world.”

[Anonymous]

My kid is at an area catholic high school whose applications have exploded.

At back to school night, a religion teacher commented that the demographics have shifted so much that the student body will soon be majority non-Catholic.

That speaks volumes imho.

MCPS went down the tubes and people are scrambling to get their kids into private school. A lot of parents stuck with public through middle school and are praying they can get into the usual suspect privates (mostly catholic high schools), but there simply isn’t enough space.

Pro tip: move your kids to catholic grade school if you want a shot at high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things that bother me about public school are the overworked teachers, worries about political influences distracting from the classroom, class sizes, half-asses differentiation, not enough funding for all of the regulatory requirements, etc. so we moved our kid to private because we can afford it. I suspect a lot of people who choose private are similar to us. My husband and I graduated from FCPS and were big proponents of public school, until we weren’t.

I’d love to see a study with facts on class size. Our two kids did a DC elementary, Deal and now JR. Aside from one elementary year and electives like art/music at JR, neither has had more than 22 kids in a class. We can’t just be lucky. I’m always curious about this.

We got pretty lucky at our FCPS school, actually. Never had a "full" class, usually 22-24 kids.

I grew up with 38-40 in most of my classes in an overcrowded area during a population boom.