Can't commit. Tuition is scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very disappointed tonight. Just spoke with a family who put their ds through a local private school. When they transitioned him in 9th grade, he nearly failed two classes, and was far behind. They said it was a complete waste of money.

Any other factors at play? Was he behind at the private school? Was the transition tough for him socially or emotionally (meaning was he okay leaving the private school/friends, did he easily make friends at the public school, any sort of rebellion streak going on)? Was he moving from a progressive type school to a more traditional type school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a mom who started off in private school. Actually, catholic parish schools. We could not have been more disappointed. We transitioned our kids over to public school and could not be happier Our kids have friends who are much kinder and their parents are open and caring. My husband and I never attended public schools, so we were a bit phobic. It is not perfect but a lot better than our experience in catholic schools. Our kids need to be prepared to live in a much more diverse world than we ever knew as children and we feel we are giving them insight.

I hear that alot -- the notion of public school providing more diversity. Actually, it all depends on where you live and what public school your child will be attending. The better public schools tend not to be in areas where there is economic or racial diversity. Our Montgomery County public school has 16 Hispanic Americans and 12 African Americans in the entire school of over 300 kids. Only 7 kids have free/reduced lunch. Perhaps this is a hyper exception.

[Anonymous]

Interesting results from a study of K-5th math scores that concludes:

Public schools > Catholic schools
Public schools = non-Catholic private schools

http://www.livescience.com/health/080527-public-schools.html

Not saying that I, you, or anyone else should send their kids to public over private. As the researchers who conducted this study state, they "personally see private schools as an integral part of the American system of education" and "there are many valid reasons why parents choose private schools and why policymakers may push for school choice." I think that for my child, I can't say that I would definitely go one way or the other. There are some private schools that I prefer over our public school, but there are also some private schools for which I would prefer our public school. It all depends.

[Anonymous]

Studies like this are definitely not one size fits all (in terms of "educational markets", and I tend to discount any studies that make sweaping generalizations without exception. Definitely in this area Public is not necessarily > Catholic (for example, if you happen to have a low-performing DC public school and consider schools like Georgetown Prep or Visitation). We're also fortunate to have some of the best private schools in the country right here in the DC area. Many make the top 50 lists that are often published. Definitely, Public does not = Private when you throw some of our area privates in the mix.

[Anonymous]

To 16:11. The study did say that conservative Christian schools ranked dead last (even behind Catholic). But the conservative Christian schools were in the study. That would imply that if those were taken out, the average for private schools would be higher. There are not too many conservative Christian schools around here.
That said, I do believe that they have a point.
To 16:39. The study implies that if you compare the area public schools to private, there would be no difference in outcome after controlling for socioeconomics. I think that if we look at upper middle class kids in DC public schools, and compare to Visitation or GT Prep, there might be similar outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Back to OP's post: HAS anyone actually made a firm decision to back out and told the school? I am not asking so that I can know where spots might open up... I am just wondering with all of the second-guessing if there is anyone who made the decision and acted upon it.

We are still on the fence but the absolute deadline is drawing near.

[Anonymous]

We might be backing out tomorrow. Just need to speak to one more person, then we will decide.

[Anonymous]

Tomorrow is our final date to make up our mind, as well. I can find a thousand reasons for not backing out and a thousand more for backing out. It's pretty maddening. I am still not sure what is going to tip us at the final hour.

In any event, I will be relieved once the decision is made, because being in limbo and constantly having the decision on our minds is draining. I haven't been able to focus on much else.

I having been driving all of my friends/family crazy, too. I am sure they will be even MORE pleased when all of this is over.

[Anonymous]

We sent our check in today for the second year. Although it is quite a large check and represents almost 20 percent of our income, I actually feel good. I am pleased that my child will have the chance for at least one more year at a good independent school. He enjoyed this past year and seemed to grow and learn so much. We don't view this as a path to the Ivy League or the way into some social club. Truthfully, our neighborhood school is fine, if not stellar. We just love how much art, music, foreign language and outside play time our child has had. No school is perfect, but our DC is happy and thriving, and again, that makes me feel happy too.

[Anonymous]

Whew! That makes me feel good. My husband just said, "Let's just send in the check and be done with it! Move on." We liked the private school for many of the same reasons 17:46 mentioned, although our local school wasn't an option as hers/his was.

I am glad to hear that you had a good 1st year and are happy (despite the $).

Thanks for that little nudge of confidence.

[Anonymous]

We decided to pull out of it. The savings will buy us college tuition for a year. It is too much when we add in the fees...
Good luck everyone.

[Anonymous]

22:02 where did you pull out of?

[Anonymous]

Well, we did it. Sent in the check.

At the final hour I think we just couldn't deal with the public school's student:teacher ratio, the possibility of teaching to the test (and, sure NCLB might be gone with a new administration...but even if it is, the newer teachers are so used to this way of teaching that it is going to take a while for a positive shift to happen and for curriculum to be re-worked), etc.

We feel OK about it, and relieved that the decision is finally made. We also talked about how NOTHING is set in stone. It is much easier to pull out of private and go public, knowing that the school has to take you if you are w/i bounds. And we plan to work hard to keep playmates in the neighborhood so if that happens our child will go into the classroom already knowing other kids.

But the real reason I am posting: I am wondering what the OP decided after getting all of this input. Did you do it or not?!

[Anonymous]

OP here: Did it, but low threshold for leaving next year if not happy.
Good luck everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP, just curious: What were the factors that finally tipped you to that decision?