Are private school kids returning to public next year?

[Anonymous]

At least one family at Anselms who are underwhelmed and disappointed, however, they stay because of the religious aspect that is very important to the husband because they are quite religious. There are other religious families and that is the greater part of what attracts and keeps many there.

[Anonymous]

We are staying next year. I am one of those who only considered private because of covid, but we are staying because the education is much better than public. I'm not sure if we will stay forever, but definitely one more year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are staying next year. I am one of those who only considered private because of covid, but we are staying because the education is much better than public. I'm not sure if we will stay forever, but definitely one more year.

We thought private would be better and the school has an excellent reputation. Hasn’t been better-more polish and shine than substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who said their private isn’t worth the cost of tuition… would really love to know which ones!

St Anselms.

Some people seem to love it, but I’m also hearing that’s it’s f’d up. What kind of boys fit in there?

Not loving it and would not put son through it again or recommend the school to anyone with a son.

[Anonymous]

Staying but we always intended for DS to attend private school past elementary. Love our school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are many private school kids returning to public next year since they will be fully in person again?

We are returning to public. Our private school is not as academically challenging as it touted itself to be. And also, our observation has been that the kids get away with a lot more (behavior issues and not doing homework) than in our well regarded 'W' zoned school. As a public school parent, I never wondered what it was like "on the other side" but am glad I got to observe for these past couple of years. I'm sure people will say every private school is different and of course that's true. But given the school we are zoned for, I do not think I'd waste money on any school (even a 'top 3') after this experience. My kid is/was easily one of the brightest/top scoring students in his private school class, which was not the case in public. In public he was considered a 'smart' kid but there was definitely a group of kids that outpaced him, which I like to see because that means he has room to grow and healthy competition. I am not knocking private school at all but it's just our own personal experience at this particular private school and in light of the school we are zoned for. And I recognize this is a difficult decision for most parents.

What is a 'W' zoned school? Our family is relocating to the DC area, so I’m not familiar with the local public schools.

Wootton, Winston Churchill, Walt Whitman and sometimes Walter Johnson. Wootton is hyper competitive and is known to be a pressure cooker. The others are also challenging but Wootton has a different vibe.

The four schools are the wealthiest in the county. They all happen to have a W in the name too. So the W relates to the name and the wealth. They tend to have the highest scores despite the same curriculum and funding.

It also stands for "White" - These schools are filled with the kids of rich parents who love to signal how much they love diversity/minorities, then move to the whitest neighborhoods on earth to get away from them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are many private school kids returning to public next year since they will be fully in person again?

We are returning to public. Our private school is not as academically challenging as it touted itself to be. And also, our observation has been that the kids get away with a lot more (behavior issues and not doing homework) than in our well regarded 'W' zoned school. As a public school parent, I never wondered what it was like "on the other side" but am glad I got to observe for these past couple of years. I'm sure people will say every private school is different and of course that's true. But given the school we are zoned for, I do not think I'd waste money on any school (even a 'top 3') after this experience. My kid is/was easily one of the brightest/top scoring students in his private school class, which was not the case in public. In public he was considered a 'smart' kid but there was definitely a group of kids that outpaced him, which I like to see because that means he has room to grow and healthy competition. I am not knocking private school at all but it's just our own personal experience at this particular private school and in light of the school we are zoned for. And I recognize this is a difficult decision for most parents.

What is a 'W' zoned school? Our family is relocating to the DC area, so I’m not familiar with the local public schools.

Wootton, Winston Churchill, Walt Whitman and sometimes Walter Johnson. Wootton is hyper competitive and is known to be a pressure cooker. The others are also challenging but Wootton has a different vibe.

The four schools are the wealthiest in the county. They all happen to have a W in the name too. So the W relates to the name and the wealth. They tend to have the highest scores despite the same curriculum and funding.

It also stands for "White" - These schools are filled with the kids of rich parents who love to signal how much they love diversity/minorities, then move to the whitest neighborhoods on earth to get away from them.

As opposed to private school parents who send their kids to schools where diversity is comprised of families with an extra 40k a year to spend on school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, our private all boys school in DC hasn’t turned out to be worth the full tuition we pay at over 30 grand a year.

Not surprised you didn’t find Gonzaga worth it. Most Catholic schools aren’t good enough academically to differentiate themselves from public. Only reason yo go to one - and it’s a fully legitimate reason / is for religious education and connections.

Not referring to Gonzaga. But you seem bitter that your Joey did not get in there. Public is great!! Really.

Ha ha ha. Idiot. My son goes to STA and every penny of the $50k+ is worth it.

You both have serious issues. Move on with your lives already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who said their private isn’t worth the cost of tuition… would really love to know which ones!

St Anselms.

Some people seem to love it, but I’m also hearing that’s it’s f’d up. What kind of boys fit in there?

Not loving it and would not put son through it again or recommend the school to anyone with a son.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are many private school kids returning to public next year since they will be fully in person again?

We are returning to public. Our private school is not as academically challenging as it touted itself to be. And also, our observation has been that the kids get away with a lot more (behavior issues and not doing homework) than in our well regarded 'W' zoned school. As a public school parent, I never wondered what it was like "on the other side" but am glad I got to observe for these past couple of years. I'm sure people will say every private school is different and of course that's true. But given the school we are zoned for, I do not think I'd waste money on any school (even a 'top 3') after this experience. My kid is/was easily one of the brightest/top scoring students in his private school class, which was not the case in public. In public he was considered a 'smart' kid but there was definitely a group of kids that outpaced him, which I like to see because that means he has room to grow and healthy competition. I am not knocking private school at all but it's just our own personal experience at this particular private school and in light of the school we are zoned for. And I recognize this is a difficult decision for most parents.

What is a 'W' zoned school? Our family is relocating to the DC area, so I’m not familiar with the local public schools.

Wootton, Winston Churchill, Walt Whitman and sometimes Walter Johnson. Wootton is hyper competitive and is known to be a pressure cooker. The others are also challenging but Wootton has a different vibe.

LOL. Wotton was not an original W school.
Walter Johnson has always been a W school.
Wotton is not more hyper competitive than Whitman.

[Anonymous]

You are incorrect. WJ was not considered one of the original "W" schools. Whitman, Winston Churchill and Wootton. From what I am currently seeing, WJ is the lesser of the current "W" schools.

[Anonymous]

You sound silly. You know that, right?

[Anonymous]

This has been a stressful series of conversations for our family. We were fine in a Bethesda public elementary school and moved to a private in 2020-2021 due to covid, expecting to go back as soon as our public was in person and back to normal operations. Now my kids love their private school and we've seen significant differences in their learning and community. I hate to move them back to public when they love their new school, but financially this means we are in for some significant sacrifices for almost a decade, including delaying our retirement by a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been a stressful series of conversations for our family. We were fine in a Bethesda public elementary school and moved to a private in 2020-2021 due to covid, expecting to go back as soon as our public was in person and back to normal operations. Now my kids love their private school and we've seen significant differences in their learning and community. I hate to move them back to public when they love their new school, but financially this means we are in for some significant sacrifices for almost a decade, including delaying our retirement by a few years.

"Can borrow for school but not for retirement"-any decent financial planner will say. Kids are resilient and have short memories. Adults are the problem...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are incorrect. WJ was not considered one of the original "W" schools. Whitman, Winston Churchill and Wootton. From what I am currently seeing, WJ is the lesser of the current "W" schools.

Did you go to a W school? Probably no, but I did.
Wotton is located in Rockville ( even though some still try to believe it's in Potomac) and back then you could not be in Rockville and be a W school. The school had to be in Bethesda or Potomac.