Any benefit of private elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? At least compared with our current private school, I could not see any major advantage.

The science class in public school meets 45 mins a week and is a joke at least in the one we went. Never heard math was taught by a different teacher. Which grade!

I also want to know which school has different subject teachers. Although if the kids aren't grouped by ability, I don't know if that would make much difference in elementary. All elementary teachers learn how to teach all the basic subjects.

I'm not PP, but WIS primary does foreign language study particularly well -- full immersion nursery, pre-k, and k; then every other day alternating fully with English and target language through grade 5, with a big dual-language project to end the primary years curriculum. It also has specialized teachers for several STEAM subjects, separate from homeroom teachers. There isn't much formal tracking within each classroom, but my children have found plenty to learn, given the breadth of subjects taught. Very different from public (or even most private) elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? At least compared with our current private school, I could not see any major advantage.

The science class in public school meets 45 mins a week and is a joke at least in the one we went. Never heard math was taught by a different teacher. Which grade!

I also want to know which school has different subject teachers. Although if the kids aren't grouped by ability, I don't know if that would make much difference in elementary. All elementary teachers learn how to teach all the basic subjects.

I'm not PP, but WIS primary does foreign language study particularly well -- full immersion nursery, pre-k, and k; then every other day alternating fully with English and target language through grade 5, with a big dual-language project to end the primary years curriculum. It also has specialized teachers for several STEAM subjects, separate from homeroom teachers. There isn't much formal tracking within each classroom, but my children have found plenty to learn, given the breadth of subjects taught. Very different from public (or even most private) elementary schools.

+1 I was one of the PP (the one who +1 immersion school and added that it opened up global schools) and I completely agree with this entire take!

Also the idea of running the kids around all weekend for additional classes sounds exhausting!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? At least compared with our current private school, I could not see any major advantage.

Yes e building blocks and foundations for so many things. Love of learning. Behavior. Etc…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We send our children to a parochial school, so not an expensive private school. Aside from the religious instruction, the school's decision not to use any EdTech is a huge draw. We get a full 9 years to build their attention spans and ability to read difficult texts without the distraction of a laptop or tablet before they get to high school. The very high behavioral standards are also great.

The kids don't use Chromebooks or iPads at all during K-8, except maybe computer lab for typing? That is great. Our parochial uses tech much much less than the local public, but they still allow iPads occasionally even in grade 3. DD reports getting to do MathFactsLab for 10 minutes a couple of times after finishing her classwork. We began looking at non-religious privates and I was shocked that many of them proudly report having lots of tech use starting in lower elementary. I guess parents paying 40-50K per year want that money to go toward something flashy or expensive, or at least admin seems to think so.

That's right: in the elementary years it's limited to standardized testing. As much as I wish we could all go back to pencil-and-paper standardized tests, I recognize that my kids will have to take the ACT/SAT using a computer, so it's good that they're getting the practice with computer-administered standardized tests now. They do eventually learn to type, but they stripped out their computer lab and it sounds like they've got a single cart of laptops for that purpose. To illustrate how well they've de-tech'ed the school, last weekend we were at a school-wide party. I saw only one single middle school child with her own cell phone. One boy from the middle school wanted to take a picture of something, so he had to go borrow his dad's cell phone! They've asked all the parents to pledge not to give their children cell phones, and it seems to be working.

I'm okay with some limited computer use at home. To incentivize my kindergartener to work a year ahead in math, I promised her "Math Blaster" privileges if she learned how to add and subtract up to 20. Now occasionally she'll play math blaster (the computer game from the 90s) to practice her math facts. It's the only thing she does on the computer, and it's rare. For the most part I have her working with base 10 blocks, coins, and board games when she does math at home. And we read real books--no reading apps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? Compared with our current private school, I don't see any major advantage.

You should know that the school environment is only one factor. Even elite private schools, like Sidwell and GDS, cater to the mean. For example, world language and math are not tracked at all. Yes, they pay close attention, kids are happier, and students with issues receive counseling. Yes, we pay $60 a year for maybe an improvement in their education. But as an immigrant, I realized much of learning happened outside school. Want to have solid Math? Join RSM. Want to master a second language? Join weekend school. Want to learn an instrument? go to Levine.

The only things private schools really excel at are writing instructions and PE every day. And yes, your kid might meet some VIP/fancy kids early on.

This is correct. We opted for a "cheap" religious private for that reason. I have public parent friends asking me if the classes are accelerated or if they are working a grade above in math, or if there's school orchestra, and that's not really what I think private school is for us. We just want a normal, back-to-basics, low tech + levels/tracking + behavior standards elementary experience for young kids. Publics (at least in our neighborhood) have gone way off the deep end in terms of going socially/politically radically left and prioritizing events, celebrations, inclusion and SEL over everything else.

Totally agree with this. What I want out of my kids' parochial school is strong behavioral standards and strong fundamentals. We can supplement the rest.

On the school orchestra point, I've played violin for more that 30 years and studied with a number of prominent musicians in college, so I definitely know what I'm talking about when it comes to musical education. If you want to do music, you really just need to get your kids into private lessons and eventually a real youth orchestra. Our parochial school does have a school orchestra program, but it's run by a former marching band percussionist who somehow teaches all of the instruments. Needless to say, the string instrument players sound horrible and can't even hold their instruments correctly! We're sending our kids to a top-quality private instructor and skipping the school orchestra. I appreciate that they're offering this program, but it definitely wasn't a factor for us in selecting the school. At some point I'd like to volunteer a few hours of my time to try to help improve it, and when the my kids are older I'd like to try to put together a chamber music group with some of the other kids at the school who are also in private lessons.

On the math front, I do wish our school offered geometry in the 8th grade, but I'm prepared to work around this with Johns Hopkins CTY or another option when we get to that point. That's a long ways away, and for the time being I'm just working my kindergartener ahead in math at home. We're about a grade ahead at this point, and this is not difficult to do. We just have 15 minutes of dedicated math time each night--and I appreciate that they really limit homework in the early years so we can use the evening for more advanced learning instead of filling out worksheets for school. The third grade teacher has spent some time during aftercare working with our daughter on her math as well, so it seems like the school is receptive to advanced learners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? At least compared with our current private school, I could not see any major advantage.

I think another big advantage of a small private school is that you can really influence aspects of the school in positive ways. For example, we started a math club in our school, and the teachers are very supportive. So interested kids can take math contests (e.g., Noetic Learning, Math Counts) at the school. Teachers can also adjust content to a particular student's talents and adjust the teaching materials. It has been really different from public school, where everyone has to follow the strict curriculum. So the kids love going to school and love learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? At least compared with our current private school, I could not see any major advantage.

Less one size fits all curriculum. If your kid is smart, a lot of places will accelerate the curriculum for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? Compared with our current private school, I don't see any major advantage.

You should know that the school environment is only one factor. Even elite private schools, like Sidwell and GDS, cater to the mean. For example, world language and math are not tracked at all. Yes, they pay close attention, kids are happier, and students with issues receive counseling. Yes, we pay $60 a year for maybe an improvement in their education. But as an immigrant, I realized much of learning happened outside school. Want to have solid Math? Join RSM. Want to master a second language? Join weekend school. Want to learn an instrument? go to Levine.

The only things private schools really excel at are writing instructions and PE every day. And yes, your kid might meet some VIP/fancy kids early on.

This is correct. We opted for a "cheap" religious private for that reason. I have public parent friends asking me if the classes are accelerated or if they are working a grade above in math, or if there's school orchestra, and that's not really what I think private school is for us. We just want a normal, back-to-basics, low tech + levels/tracking + behavior standards elementary experience for young kids. Publics (at least in our neighborhood) have gone way off the deep end in terms of going socially/politically radically left and prioritizing events, celebrations, inclusion and SEL over everything else.

Totally agree with this. What I want out of my kids' parochial school is strong behavioral standards and strong fundamentals. We can supplement the rest.

On the school orchestra point, I've played violin for more that 30 years and studied with a number of prominent musicians in college, so I definitely know what I'm talking about when it comes to musical education. If you want to do music, you really just need to get your kids into private lessons and eventually a real youth orchestra. Our parochial school does have a school orchestra program, but it's run by a former marching band percussionist who somehow teaches all of the instruments. Needless to say, the string instrument players sound horrible and can't even hold their instruments correctly! We're sending our kids to a top-quality private instructor and skipping the school orchestra. I appreciate that they're offering this program, but it definitely wasn't a factor for us in selecting the school. At some point I'd like to volunteer a few hours of my time to try to help improve it, and when the my kids are older I'd like to try to put together a chamber music group with some of the other kids at the school who are also in private lessons.

On the math front, I do wish our school offered geometry in the 8th grade, but I'm prepared to work around this with Johns Hopkins CTY or another option when we get to that point. That's a long ways away, and for the time being I'm just working my kindergartener ahead in math at home. We're about a grade ahead at this point, and this is not difficult to do. We just have 15 minutes of dedicated math time each night--and I appreciate that they really limit homework in the early years so we can use the evening for more advanced learning instead of filling out worksheets for school. The third grade teacher has spent some time during aftercare working with our daughter on her math as well, so it seems like the school is receptive to advanced learners.

No school music program can come anywhere near to competing with private instruction outside of school. It's sad, but that's just the way it is. Don't pick any school with the expectation that it will teach your child how to play an instrument properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today I visited a good public elementary school in DC. While I understand that kids in public high schools may have some behavioral issues, what I saw at the elementary level was that this public school is much better than my current private school.

To begin with, it has four different teachers specialized in math, science, social studies, and English. At our current private school, which is considered “elite,” the homeroom teacher teaches all of those subjects, and not especially well to begin with.

Yes, class sizes are slightly bigger in the public school, but are there really any meaningful benefits to a private elementary school? Compared with our current private school, I don't see any major advantage.

You should know that the school environment is only one factor. Even elite private schools, like Sidwell and GDS, cater to the mean. For example, world language and math are not tracked at all. Yes, they pay close attention, kids are happier, and students with issues receive counseling. Yes, we pay $60 a year for maybe an improvement in their education. But as an immigrant, I realized much of learning happened outside school. Want to have solid Math? Join RSM. Want to master a second language? Join weekend school. Want to learn an instrument? go to Levine.

The only things private schools really excel at are writing instructions and PE every day. And yes, your kid might meet some VIP/fancy kids early on.

This is correct. We opted for a "cheap" religious private for that reason. I have public parent friends asking me if the classes are accelerated or if they are working a grade above in math, or if there's school orchestra, and that's not really what I think private school is for us. We just want a normal, back-to-basics, low tech + levels/tracking + behavior standards elementary experience for young kids. Publics (at least in our neighborhood) have gone way off the deep end in terms of going socially/politically radically left and prioritizing events, celebrations, inclusion and SEL over everything else.

Totally agree with this. What I want out of my kids' parochial school is strong behavioral standards and strong fundamentals. We can supplement the rest.

On the school orchestra point, I've played violin for more that 30 years and studied with a number of prominent musicians in college, so I definitely know what I'm talking about when it comes to musical education. If you want to do music, you really just need to get your kids into private lessons and eventually a real youth orchestra. Our parochial school does have a school orchestra program, but it's run by a former marching band percussionist who somehow teaches all of the instruments. Needless to say, the string instrument players sound horrible and can't even hold their instruments correctly! We're sending our kids to a top-quality private instructor and skipping the school orchestra. I appreciate that they're offering this program, but it definitely wasn't a factor for us in selecting the school. At some point I'd like to volunteer a few hours of my time to try to help improve it, and when the my kids are older I'd like to try to put together a chamber music group with some of the other kids at the school who are also in private lessons.

On the math front, I do wish our school offered geometry in the 8th grade, but I'm prepared to work around this with Johns Hopkins CTY or another option when we get to that point. That's a long ways away, and for the time being I'm just working my kindergartener ahead in math at home. We're about a grade ahead at this point, and this is not difficult to do. We just have 15 minutes of dedicated math time each night--and I appreciate that they really limit homework in the early years so we can use the evening for more advanced learning instead of filling out worksheets for school. The third grade teacher has spent some time during aftercare working with our daughter on her math as well, so it seems like the school is receptive to advanced learners.

No school music program can come anywhere near to competing with private instruction outside of school. It's sad, but that's just the way it is. Don't pick any school with the expectation that it will teach your child how to play an instrument properly.

The only real advantage of a school music program is that kids who wouldn’t otherwise enroll in private lessons might be exposed to instrumental music and then decide to pursue private lessons. But yeah, if the goal is to have your kids play music from the beginning then you can skip school orchestra.