If you are Wealthy and in MCPS, what made you decide to stay in public school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We wanted out kids to engage in the bus stop experience and meet their neighbors. Besides private high school is the one that really matters and if there is a problem we can go from there before then.

A minor point but as a MCPS parent living in a wealthy neighborhood, we find that most of our neighbors do not use the public schools. So going to MCPS was not the way to meet the neighborhood kids.

Of course, the same is true for any particular private school -- most neighborhood kids will not be going to that school.

I guess the best way to meet neighborhood kids is to join the right swim club.

This is very true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We wanted out kids to engage in the bus stop experience and meet their neighbors. Besides private high school is the one that really matters and if there is a problem we can go from there before then.

A minor point but as a MCPS parent living in a wealthy neighborhood, we find that most of our neighbors do not use the public schools. So going to MCPS was not the way to meet the neighborhood kids.

Of course, the same is true for any particular private school -- most neighborhood kids will not be going to that school.

I guess the best way to meet neighborhood kids is to join the right swim club.

Or for our neighborhood, just go outside on a nice day, like today. Our kid had an impromptu play date with a neighbor this morning and then this afternoon played with at least a dozen neighborhood kids at the playground down the street. The kids there ranged in age from about 3-maybe 12. Everyone played together, with kids coming and going, for at least 3 hours until it was dinner time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

Really depends on the private school. I have just as powerful of a network from my private HS as I do from college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

Really?

Oh boy. Where did YOU go to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

Really depends on the private school. I have just as powerful of a network from my private HS as I do from college.

The “Rolodex” is more of a graduate school/professional school thing. However, lifelong friendships are more likely from HS than college. However, most of those HS friendships don’t translate into opportunities for anyone. It’s just that you get to have the pleasure of hanging out with Chad showing off his new boat or whatever. It’s markedly different than people developing a professional network for career advancement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

Disagree,

I got my kids into top private schools completely on my Rolodex.

My substantial net worth comes from hard work + benefiting from a great Rolodex… I was a C student in high school and a poor student at a 3rd rate college.



/quote]

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

Rolodex ain't what it used to be, my friend. Strong Math/STEM education will beat it any day of the week. Make sure your kid has more than just a premium Linkedin access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because my kids thrive in our public school which is - gasp! - downcounty. The range of programs, the STEM offerings, and the diversity of the school community (racial, ethnic, and SES) is not something any private school could match. And while I do sometimes envy the smaller class sizes of privates or the lush campuses - literally worlds apart from our DCs’ public schools - I think the benefits of public for my children far outweigh those things.

Lastly, to what another poster noted, to send all three of my kids through private would total big money and I’d rather use that money for other things. The ROI on private school isn’t there for us.

You are wealthy and you live downcounty?

Yup!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We wanted out kids to engage in the bus stop experience and meet their neighbors. Besides private high school is the one that really matters and if there is a problem we can go from there before then.

A minor point but as a MCPS parent living in a wealthy neighborhood, we find that most of our neighbors do not use the public schools. So going to MCPS was not the way to meet the neighborhood kids.

Of course, the same is true for any particular private school -- most neighborhood kids will not be going to that school.

I guess the best way to meet neighborhood kids is to join the right swim club.

This is very true.

Oh yes, only the BEST people can join Grand Oaks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because my kids thrive in our public school which is - gasp! - downcounty. The range of programs, the STEM offerings, and the diversity of the school community (racial, ethnic, and SES) is not something any private school could match. And while I do sometimes envy the smaller class sizes of privates or the lush campuses - literally worlds apart from our DCs’ public schools - I think the benefits of public for my children far outweigh those things.

Lastly, to what another poster noted, to send all three of my kids through private would total big money and I’d rather use that money for other things. The ROI on private school isn’t there for us.

You are wealthy and you live downcounty?

Yup!

Me too. Both of my kids did CES, and the older did TPMS magnet and is in the Blair STEM magnet. Younger will be in middle school next year, but had no luck with the magnet lotteries. We liked the STEM opportunities in the public schools, and we needed to be centrally located for one parent commuting into downtown DC and the other to Columbia, MD.

We considered moving the younger to private for middle school, but decided that the local school's outcomes are good enough if our child makes the most of it, and we don't want to overload them if they're not actually motivated or as brilliant as we think they are. If necessary, we could hire a private tutor for less than the $35k+ private school cost. We'll save that money for grad school (college is already funded through 529 plans with the money we didn't have to spend for private school so far.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

Really?

Oh boy. Where did YOU go to college?

MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I went to Sidwell and the “Rolodex” is not a thing. The kids of rich people don’t have to over achieve and they are teachers and professors and writers and volunteers, etc. and the parental wealth there was from lawyers and lobbyists and doctors and media people, not CEOs. I have wonderful friends from high school but none are professionally useful. My professionally useful contacts come from my MBA classmates (not their parents).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I definitely agree with you about the Rolodex building. Where I differ from you is that I think this happens better at college than at school. College brings together people with a similar set of values much more so than school.

Really depends on the private school. I have just as powerful of a network from my private HS as I do from college.

The “Rolodex” is more of a graduate school/professional school thing. However, lifelong friendships are more likely from HS than college. However, most of those HS friendships don’t translate into opportunities for anyone. It’s just that you get to have the pleasure of hanging out with Chad showing off his new boat or whatever. It’s markedly different than people developing a professional network for career advancement.

My private HS has provided both of those things.

[Anonymous]

We could afford to send our kids to private school, but we started them in our neighborhood elementary and they really like it here. My husband and I have spoken a lot about possible private, and I might send our kids there if we knew for sure there was some better outcome for them, but there are no guarantees. Also, and this is important, any time we mention private schools, our kids vociferously object and say they want to stay in public. If that changes and any of our kids want to go private, I will support it. Until then, we’re doing what we refer to as “public plus” — we use our extra money for tutors, camps,
and other enrichments, plus nice vacations and investing money that will be used for the kids in one way or another down the line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is not an issue, what factors caused you to keep your child in MCPS?

The higher-quality of education that's available to those who seek it out mainly. DC is taking complex analysis, cellular physiology, macroeconomics, and Spanish lit. These varied offerings just aren't available at privates.

That’s impressive, it really is.

My kid is smart, but not like yours. What he has gotten from private is a Rolodex and friendships that will follow him for life—think families who are close to billionaire status, Fortune 500 CEOs, high profile entrepreneurs…if you believe America is a pure meritocracy and contacts don’t mean much, I would beg to differ.

It’s not just what you know but who you know that is very important in determining your success in life. And the right private school gives you a Rolodex that is far superior to the best public schools.

I went to Sidwell and the “Rolodex” is not a thing. The kids of rich people don’t have to over achieve and they are teachers and professors and writers and volunteers, etc. and the parental wealth there was from lawyers and lobbyists and doctors and media people, not CEOs. I have wonderful friends from high school but none are professionally useful. My professionally useful contacts come from my MBA classmates (not their parents).

X100 My experience too (different school).