In retrospect would you have spent so much for elemntary education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we mostly purchased a nice experience for him rather than better academics. The campus was nicer, the small community was nurturing and cozy, the specials and field trips were nicer, and so on.[/b] But the actual learning was fine but not anything he wouldn't have gotten at the neighborhood school. So we are pleased that he had such a nice experience that he will look back on fondly, but if I knew then what I know now, I probably would not have paid over $130,000 for it.

THIS exactly. however I would have still paid the money for the experience but only if you can comfortably afford to do so. In my experience the private school academics are nothing spectacular nothing you can't get from a public school.

We are moving our children from public to private school for their middle school years (our oldest starts next year) and then back to public for high school (we hope). And the experience is a major reason why. We are sending them to a beautiful campus where they will spend a lot of time outdoors, will have small class sizes, awesome field trips, opportunities to play on sports teams, enriching arts, an emphasis on learning independence and stewardship, and great academics. Are the academics better than in our public middle school? No, I don't think so. But I think my child will do just as well academically in private or public. So, a large part of why we are sending her is the experience and the small community. She will still have lots of close neighborhood friends when she transitions to back to our public high school.

And yes, I badly need to remodel our ugly kitchen and horrible/gross bathrooms, but I think this is worth it, so I'll wait...

OP, McLean schools are known to be very good. I don't think you can go wrong sending them to public, but each child is different so it's hard to tell. I believe class sizes can be big (my sister told me there were about 30 kids in her child's elementary class in McLean) but I don't think it's been a problem for them. Annoying, but not a real issue. The McLean privates bring in kids from all over the area so I don't think it's a reflection on the McLean schools which are considered to be some of the best public schools in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sent three to private for many years. Our youngest started private in PreK. If I had it to do over again I'd probably wait until middle school to start private. IMO up until grades 5 or 6 there just isn't that much difference between public and private in terms of education. Yes, the smaller classes are a benefit, as are the wider opportunities for art, music, etc. But it isn't enough of a difference to merit the huge cost unless you're so wealthy that you won't really miss the money.

If we had done this we could have saved a huge amount. Instead we stuck it out in private and ran up a lot of debt. We are slowly digging out but I'd do it differently knowing what I know now.

Yeah, I would do it if it means living lean, but not if it means going into debt.

Are public schools are horrible, though, so the calculus is different. If private school meant going into debt, we'd look harder at moving to someplace with better public schools.

[Anonymous]

Our, not are! Thanks, Siri.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think kids generally at elementary age are so impressionable that you really want them in the best environment. I'd rather choose to teach my kids how to avoid "snobs" than hooligans.

I've also found that my peers who have kids in private schools are more involved in their kids education than my friends with kids in public school. This behavior filters down to the kids too generally speaking.

As a PP mentioned though sending kids to private school involves trade-offs. I wouldn't trade sending my kids to private school if we would be broke all of the time. However we would definitely choose private school over most luxuries (redone kitchen, luxury cars, eating out, cleaning services, mcmansion etc).

Yes, this, a thousand times over.

We were at an Alexandria City public that has quite a few upper middle class families, SAHMs, well educated themselves but the lack of interest in anything related to actual education, teacher quality, curriculum quality was really sad to me. One mom was praising my child for being at the top of her class in Math and when my child was out of ear shot, I said "you realize that my child is basically just a little bit above grade level in Math and that all the other kids are behind grade level. She really isn't advanced, it's just all the other students are behind and haven't made it even to grade level average". It shocked me that she was so unaware of the basic curriculum and what children should be learning at a certain grade. We are way too type A about ensuring our child has the best education possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think kids generally at elementary age are so impressionable that you really want them in the best environment. I'd rather choose to teach my kids how to avoid "snobs" than hooligans.

I've also found that my peers who have kids in private schools are more involved in their kids education than my friends with kids in public school. This behavior filters down to the kids too generally speaking.

As a PP mentioned though sending kids to private school involves trade-offs. I wouldn't trade sending my kids to private school if we would be broke all of the time. However we would definitely choose private school over most luxuries (redone kitchen, luxury cars, eating out, cleaning services, mcmansion etc).

Yes, this, a thousand times over.

We were at an Alexandria City public that has quite a few upper middle class families, SAHMs, well educated themselves but the lack of interest in anything related to actual education, teacher quality, curriculum quality was really sad to me. One mom was praising my child for being at the top of her class in Math and when my child was out of ear shot, I said "you realize that my child is basically just a little bit above grade level in Math and that all the other kids are behind grade level. She really isn't advanced, it's just all the other students are behind and haven't made it even to grade level average". It shocked me that she was so unaware of the basic curriculum and what children should be learning at a certain grade. We are way too type A about ensuring our child has the best education possible.

I know lots of very engaged public school families.

[Anonymous]

NP but with a similar experience as this PP. Child went to a top Ivy. And since I'm not specifying the college, I can tell you, yup, am a Holton mom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my child really benefited from private. She did "average" on her early elementary school tests. Thanks to great private schooling, she ended up at Princeton.

Holton mom? But was that college outcome from great schooling or crew? Couldn't she have done athletic recruiting from any school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get parents who won't at least try public schools in their area if they are supposed to be good. We moved to MCPS from another state where we were in a small private. I have learned that one of my kids absolutely thrives in a large public school environment. The other we're not sure about but so far so good. We are open to private for her but how can you not give it a try.

I had planned on public but went private on preschool teacher's recommendation to do so. And even that took awhile to convince me we shouldn't just try it out first...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can say with certainty that the public school parents who answer questions about private schools are the most insecure and defensive of the lot.

Maybe true, but completely off-point. Which makes me wonder about your insecurity and defensiveness.

Nope, not insecure. I just shake my head at how many public school parents jump at the chance to tell everyone that public schools are superior.

Ditto. OP - in case you didn't realize it, this question is loaded and you simply won't get an honest answer without people freaking out. Here is my experience - we chose a top tier private. We were in a great DCPS elementary zone, but overcrowded and it all falls apart at middle in our opinion. For our top tier private absolutely worth it. For a second or third tier private vs. Fairfax county schools - maybe not. There is simply no way to get an accurate, across the board answer to this question. Oh, and God forbid I say this - here come the public shcool moms with an inferiority complex ready to pounce all over me.

Yes, God forbid someone should have a different experience or opinion than you. This could only be due to insecurity!

You are a tool. Not because you have a child in private school or because you think that's the way to go. You are just a tool.

[Anonymous]

Way to go, 23:03. You make public school parents look bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pp - yes, I do. She would have been lumped in the "average" group for her entire schooling. Public schools are so big that especially for girls...if they're nice and keep quiet, no one will ever bother to notice them.

Honest question though -- would that have affected her outcome? I was a nice, quiet girl who studied hard and got good grades. So I got into Ivies too, from totally average public school. Granted, that was longer ago and easier to get in back then. But my test scores and grades were top level. Are you saying your daughter would have gotten lower grades and test scores had she been in public? Because a quiet girl with great scores/grades can do very well from anywhere.

I believe it is what the student does with their education, not so much public vs private. There are children in public schools who excel and children in private who could care less and vice versa. You just need to find the right fit for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can say with certainty that the public school parents who answer questions about private schools are the most insecure and defensive of the lot.

Maybe true, but completely off-point. Which makes me wonder about your insecurity and defensiveness.

Nope, not insecure. I just shake my head at how many public school parents jump at the chance to tell everyone that public schools are superior.

Ditto. OP - in case you didn't realize it, this question is loaded and you simply won't get an honest answer without people freaking out. Here is my experience - we chose a top tier private. We were in a great DCPS elementary zone, but overcrowded and it all falls apart at middle in our opinion. For our top tier private absolutely worth it. For a second or third tier private vs. Fairfax county schools - maybe not. There is simply no way to get an accurate, across the board answer to this question. Oh, and God forbid I say this - here come the public shcool moms with an inferiority complex ready to pounce all over me.

Yes, God forbid someone should have a different experience or opinion than you. This could only be due to insecurity!

You are a tool. Not because you have a child in private school or because you think that's the way to go. You are just a tool.

Who calls other people "tools"?? Obviously a person of great intellect.

Hahahahahahaha!