Tuition in private schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I mentioned the facilities and the qualification of teachers . If you are sophisticated enough check what is the difference in salary between private and public teachers. Can private schools hire more qualified teachers. Why are the salaries on average lower (considering benefits like a good pension). Also, you don’t know which school I visited so not sure that your post is so sophisticated.

Teacher here and very qualified to comment on this subject.

There are many reasons why a highly qualified and successful teacher chooses to teach in a private school instead of a public school:
1. More autonomy
2. More professional respect
3. Fewer students
4. Smaller grading load
5. More administrative support
6. Great professional development
7. Tuition remission for their own kids
8. Less standardized testing and less teaching to the test
9. More input into school-wide decisions (calendar, policies)

There are many private school teachers who transferred in from public schools, and that number continues to grow.

You trade lower pay for better working conditions.

No question. But in a truly socially justified society they need to be paid much more. Also we really need good science teachers.

[Anonymous]

We make 5mil/year. 100k for 2 kids in private it not a problem.


I don’t even think about it when I write the checks. We also donate 50k on top of that to help out the school. The money we donated goes to financial aid for students who need it. Happy to help other families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I mentioned the facilities and the qualification of teachers . If you are sophisticated enough check what is the difference in salary between private and public teachers. Can private schools hire more qualified teachers. Why are the salaries on average lower (considering benefits like a good pension). Also, you don’t know which school I visited so not sure that your post is so sophisticated.

Teacher here and very qualified to comment on this subject.

There are many reasons why a highly qualified and successful teacher chooses to teach in a private school instead of a public school:
1. More autonomy
2. More professional respect
3. Fewer students
4. Smaller grading load
5. More administrative support
6. Great professional development
7. Tuition remission for their own kids
8. Less standardized testing and less teaching to the test
9. More input into school-wide decisions (calendar, policies)

There are many private school teachers who transferred in from public schools, and that number continues to grow.

You trade lower pay for better working conditions.

No question. But in a truly socially justified society they need to be paid much more. Also we really need good science teachers.

No idea what a truly socially justified society is as it must vary greatly from person to person, it's nothing more than belief, not any kind of reality. But find that teachers are fairly compensated. Most kids don't need an amazing education, amazing teachers are wasted on them. Seems like most kids get the teachers that works for them. The only flaw I see in teacher salaries is that honors teachers aren't allowed to be paid more than general teachers. And I'd support it but good luck getting unions and the left to agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I mentioned the facilities and the qualification of teachers . If you are sophisticated enough check what is the difference in salary between private and public teachers. Can private schools hire more qualified teachers. Why are the salaries on average lower (considering benefits like a good pension). Also, you don’t know which school I visited so not sure that your post is so sophisticated.

Teacher here and very qualified to comment on this subject.

There are many reasons why a highly qualified and successful teacher chooses to teach in a private school instead of a public school:
1. More autonomy
2. More professional respect
3. Fewer students
4. Smaller grading load
5. More administrative support
6. Great professional development
7. Tuition remission for their own kids
8. Less standardized testing and less teaching to the test
9. More input into school-wide decisions (calendar, policies)

There are many private school teachers who transferred in from public schools, and that number continues to grow.

You trade lower pay for better working conditions.

No question. But in a truly socially justified society they need to be paid much more. Also we really need good science teachers.

No idea what a truly socially justified society is as it must vary greatly from person to person, it's nothing more than belief, not any kind of reality. But find that teachers are fairly compensated. Most kids don't need an amazing education, amazing teachers are wasted on them. Seems like most kids get the teachers that works for them. The only flaw I see in teacher salaries is that honors teachers aren't allowed to be paid more than general teachers. And I'd support it but good luck getting unions and the left to agree.

No socially justified society would pay their teachers 60k a year while charging a tuition for each student of 60k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I mentioned the facilities and the qualification of teachers . If you are sophisticated enough check what is the difference in salary between private and public teachers. Can private schools hire more qualified teachers. Why are the salaries on average lower (considering benefits like a good pension). Also, you don’t know which school I visited so not sure that your post is so sophisticated.

Teacher here and very qualified to comment on this subject.

There are many reasons why a highly qualified and successful teacher chooses to teach in a private school instead of a public school:
1. More autonomy
2. More professional respect
3. Fewer students
4. Smaller grading load
5. More administrative support
6. Great professional development
7. Tuition remission for their own kids
8. Less standardized testing and less teaching to the test
9. More input into school-wide decisions (calendar, policies)

There are many private school teachers who transferred in from public schools, and that number continues to grow.

You trade lower pay for better working conditions.

No question. But in a truly socially justified society they need to be paid much more. Also we really need good science teachers.

No idea what a truly socially justified society is as it must vary greatly from person to person, it's nothing more than belief, not any kind of reality. But find that teachers are fairly compensated. Most kids don't need an amazing education, amazing teachers are wasted on them. Seems like most kids get the teachers that works for them. The only flaw I see in teacher salaries is that honors teachers aren't allowed to be paid more than general teachers. And I'd support it but good luck getting unions and the left to agree.

No socially justified society would pay their teachers 60k a year while charging a tuition for each student of 60k.

In other words, that is your belief. Not reality, which is 60k salaries at 60k schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production.

I think this is the fundamental big school/small school fight, which isn't really the same as public/private: if you have someone seriously interested and talented in a subject, a big school can be better because you are more likely to have a critical mass of talented kids with whom he can work. But if your kid has multiple interests or a mere modicum of talent, he's never going to be on the stage, not going to be practicing with the basketball team, never going to a science olympiad tournament, not heading to the music festival, because those slots are reserved for the very talented and very determined. There's little room for dilettantes, or jacks-of-all-trades.

Local athletic family members, who managed to scrape their way onto less competitive high school teams at one of our public mega-schools, were always envious of a probably similarly athletic cousin, who played baseball, football, and basketball for his cow town high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m just wondering how parents with two or more kids manage to sleep well at night knowing how expensive it is to send them to private school for 12 years, especially when that cost means having less money for college. I’m genuinely curious if others worry about this too, or if most people just don’t feel the weight of it.

I don’t think this is happening to the extent you think it is. Some kids *need* private school so you just do it. But many more than you think have enough money for both private and college. They do not have to choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just wondering how parents with two or more kids manage to sleep well at night knowing how expensive it is to send them to private school for 12 years, especially when that cost means having less money for college. I’m genuinely curious if others worry about this too, or if most people just don’t feel the weight of it.

I don’t think this is happening to the extent you think it is. Some kids *need* private school so you just do it. But many more than you think have enough money for both private and college. They do not have to choose.

Might not happen to you, but it might happen to other parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

I wonder why people put up with the underwhelming education, especially in science and math, for the price tag. Just to be part of an elite group? To play sports? I do admit the world language education is one area private school really has an edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

I wonder why people put up with the underwhelming education, especially in science and math, for the price tag. Just to be part of an elite group? To play sports? I do admit the world language education is one area private school really has an edge.

To be honest, high school science and math are the easiest to get for free. This is about the only thing public schools do well but you can also take high quality courses online for free. If all you care about is science and math, that is not the point of private school. Go public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

I do no think so. Good education means motivation of curiosity and interests in science and technology could start very early age.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

I wonder why people put up with the underwhelming education, especially in science and math, for the price tag. Just to be part of an elite group? To play sports? I do admit the world language education is one area private school really has an edge.

To be honest, high school science and math are the easiest to get for free. This is about the only thing public schools do well but you can also take high quality courses online for free. If all you care about is science and math, that is not the point of private school. Go public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

I wonder why people put up with the underwhelming education, especially in science and math, for the price tag. Just to be part of an elite group? To play sports? I do admit the world language education is one area private school really has an edge.

To be honest, high school science and math are the easiest to get for free. This is about the only thing public schools do well but you can also take high quality courses online for free. If all you care about is science and math, that is not the point of private school. Go public.

About the only thing? Why can’t the 56k school have higher bars? Always compare with public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do stress about the cost of tuition. However, I sleep better knowing my kids have been in a smaller, nurturing environment, have made great connections with teachers who really care, rarely come across a bad teacher, are exposed only to kids who work hard and are ambitious, have learned to think critically, not just take tests, have gotten tons of writing practice, are regularly exposed to the arts, don’t walk through metal detectors or have safety concerns at school. In pretty much every aspect, I think my kids have had a better experience K-12 than they would have had in public school and that has been one of my top priorities for them.

Just chiming in to say that other than the smaller, nurturing environment, my kids have gotten every single one of these priorities at public. We don’t have metal detectors! The teachers, with the exception of one, have been top notch. Our arts programs are outstanding because we have a critical mass of students for things like a marching band or high level theatrical production. It is not perfect, but as far as the things you specifically care about, I think your perception of public doesn’t match reality.

Yes! There are lots of great public schools in the area with a vast variety of opportunities, academic and extracurricular, if your child is motivated enough to take advantage. The cost of private in this area is so high, you really have to wonder if the tuition is worth it.

Anything above 30k is not worth it.

If you are poor, save your money for essentials like retirement and college tuition.

If you have the money like we do, we would be willing to pay a lot more for what we are getting out of private school. Worth every penny.

I visited a 60k school today and really couldn’t tell the difference with my public school in terms of facilities and teachers. It’s good that is worth it for you, but not for me.

How unsophisticated of you, if you think families are paying for better looking teachers and landscaping. Public school sounds like a good fit for you anyway.

I think there are absolutely a large number of families who trade functionality for aesthetics. Granted, part of that is that education can be opaque, and assessments shoddy, so they look for proxies.

I just care about the quality of education and in several open houses I couldn’t really see the value of a private school. In the elite schools maybe ncs and st. Albans i saw some value not in the other private schools. I do have money to pay for private school, but don’t feel like giving it away to a random school, I prefer to invest it in high quality education. I am not going to pay 60k for a mediocre education.

I wonder why people put up with the underwhelming education, especially in science and math, for the price tag. Just to be part of an elite group? To play sports? I do admit the world language education is one area private school really has an edge.

To be honest, high school science and math are the easiest to get for free. This is about the only thing public schools do well but you can also take high quality courses online for free. If all you care about is science and math, that is not the point of private school. Go public.

About the only thing? Why can’t the 56k school have higher bars? Always compare with public schools?

Public school is the default free option for everyone, so every family in private school is rejecting that. The science and math at our private are excellent and has an extensive college-level course selection, however virtually every public would let you dual enroll or take online credits if you want. Our private is a level ahead but that isn’t a good enough reason to go private.


Science and math tends to be the focus of immigrant families as that is how they got into the country or became middle class. Then they make their kids accelerate in these subjects as a path to middle class careers. Public school tends to be a lot of these kids focused on acceleration in these subjects.

Public schools create a skilled workforce that the families in private and their kids will likely end up hiring. Private schools create the managers and executives while the public school grads are the low level workforce that lack skills beyond just math and science.


The priority in private is just different because they focus on the big picture rather than a narrow focus on technical entry level job skills you get from public.