Private versus Great Public

[Anonymous]

We live in Arlington and we have heard great things about our local public school from all of our neighbors, which of course is a little biased, because no parent wants to say that they chose a bad school for their child. That being said, we do genuinely believe that the local public school is excellent as far as public schools go. The pros to the local public school are (1) it has a good reputation (2) it saves an exorbitant amount of $$, (3)is five-minute commute each day, and (4) my child would have friends in the neighborhood and our neighborhood is truly family orientated and very down to earth.

However, we are also about 20-30 minutes from the Potomac School and Langley, as well as other DC privates that can be accessed by Chain Bridge. We could also do public school for elementary and switch for middle and high school or some other combination.

I want my children to have the best education experience possible. This means to me that they are happy, challenged, and have great friends. While I know that ultimately these things can be found in public school, I guess I wonder if my kids will be missing out by not going to private? Will it be hard for them to switch to private at a later time?

Any parents here have any advice?

[Anonymous]

Have you visited this public school? Your definition of great and your neighbors' may not be the same. How do you feel about state testing? If you take a look at the school, talk to current parents and ask the principal whatever questions you have and still like it, go for it. If it isn't what you thought or it doesn't work well for your child, you can always apply for private school at a later time.

[Anonymous]

My kid has been to private and is now in public.

Here's the big difference:

In private school, the parents are the customers. You pay the bills, you need to be satisfied (although the really exclusive privates can always find new customers, so you might not have as much say there.)

In public school, the state (and county) are the clients. The state (and county) pay the bills. The state has a mandate to educate the public and it does so, according to whatever laws have been put in place that year. The state requires schools show progress on goals the state has set out for it.

Parents can influence the county and more remotely, the state, and of course ultimately everyone is accountable to the taxpayers. But you the parent going into the principal's office to conference about your child-- you aren't the client. The school does not exist to serve your child. The school exists to educate all children in the jurisdiction, and your child is one "product" out of many that the school is churning out to meet state specifications.

How happy you will be with this process depends upon how well your child fits in with the product specifications, or if you can find a school where your child fits in better. I might sound like a bitter public school parent but I'm not -- my kid is in a great public school and thriving -- but you need to understand that in public school, the parent is NOT the client (nor is the child.)

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with PP ... that was a very accurate and spot on comparison of the two systems. The teachers in both public and private schools work very hard to help your child learn and thrive, but IF your child encounters problems ... how the situation is addressed is very different.

The resources available to those two sets of teachers is also fairly different ... not just fancy buildings and manicured grounds, but books, art supplies, specials teachers, and TIME. Teachers in private generally have much more time with each child as they have smaller classes, more breaks in the day when kids go off to specials, and parents who generally volunteer a lot and are very involved with their child's education (for better and for worse from the teacher's perspective!!) So IF there is a problem, you the parent are likely to find out about it sooner and have it addressed much sooner in private. But that is a big generalization ... it is true when comparing the two large groups but may not be true in individual cases ... hence anecdotes that negate it.

As always, it really comes down to understanding your own child and how s/he will do in various settings.

[Anonymous]

If you have a great public option, try it. If it doesn't work out, switch to private. Private school classes often start out at 24 in PreK and end up at 125 by 12th grade so, obviously, lots (the vast majority) of kids enter somewhere in between. And, if you do decide to switch, the fact that your child's friends from the first school live near you means it's much easier to keep up those relationships if they are important to your DC.

FWIW, I disagree with the PP re problems discovered/addressed sooner in privates. When it comes to, for example, special ed resources, public schools really have the advantage -- not only because of federal mandates but because those resources can be sharedand developed systemwide rather than at the level of the individual school. The same is true of gifted programs.

That said, small class size can mean that fewer problems arise -- instruction is individualized enough that kids who are struggling can get extra help and kids who are coasting can be provided with extra challenges. This is probably especially important/valuable for kids who excel in one area and struggle in another.

[Anonymous]

So IF there is a problem, you the parent are likely to find out about it sooner and have it addressed much sooner in private.

Sometimes. But there are issues/problems that privates (unless they are a special needs focused school) are not euipped to address. And a student who is considered too far outside the norm of the private school may simply be counseled out. So privates are also often teaching to a narrower range of student abilities than a public. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your child and their needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree with PP ... that was a very accurate and spot on comparison of the two systems. The teachers in both public and private schools work very hard to help your child learn and thrive, but IF your child encounters problems ... how the situation is addressed is very different.

The resources available to those two sets of teachers is also fairly different ... not just fancy buildings and manicured grounds, but books, art supplies, specials teachers, and TIME. Teachers in private generally have much more time with each child as they have smaller classes, more breaks in the day when kids go off to specials, and parents who generally volunteer a lot and are very involved with their child's education (for better and for worse from the teacher's perspective!!) So IF there is a problem, you the parent are likely to find out about it sooner and have it addressed much sooner in private. But that is a big generalization ... it is true when comparing the two large groups but may not be true in individual cases ... hence anecdotes that negate it.

As always, it really comes down to understanding your own child and how s/he will do in various settings.

I'm the PP you were commenting on (at 5:59) I don't think pritave schools are necessarily equipped to notice problems earlier than public schools. If private schools do notice a problem or feel your child has a need they cannot meet, they will tell the parents that they cannot serve your child -- and ask you to move to a different school.

As for resources, it depends completely on the school. Aside from the very expensive elite private schools, many privates are scraping by, and do not have the resources of the publics. I have been amazed at the resources my kid now has in public school.

Depending on the schools, many public school teachers have more training than their private school counterparts.

If your child fits well in public school, I think he can be very well served; the same is true if you child fits into the group the private school is aiming for. The big difference between the two I have found is attitude. In private schools, the parent is the client. In public schools, not so much. As long as you can adapt to that mentality -- and if your child happens to be in a group that is being focused on by the state -- public school can be a great option.

[Anonymous]

We go to Langley, and therefore I'm biased obviously. I think if you can afford private, both Potomac and Langley are great options, as are many of the DC privates. Now I'm all for public school, and in a way I wish we'd saved our money and sent our kid there, because once you start private, its hard to switch to public. So if you are really concerned about the money, then start public and see how it goes. If money isn't the issue, then private is a great place to learn.

What I love most is the creativity that the teachers have, as well as the teamwork between different classes. Right now they are doing a spiral unit in the preschool through Kindergarten classes. So the classes got together and made Olympic rings, one for each class or something like that, and talked about different country's flag colors. They are learning about the torch, about different countries, and obviously about winter sports. They are doing Olympic stuff in art class (making snowboarders with pipe cleaners), learning about Canada and Vancouver, writing about the Olympics in their journals. The preschoolers learned how to spell Canada in a song in music class - it was pretty cute to hear it. They've been reading books about sports at the library too. At the end of the month we have parents visiting day, and apparently they are going to put on a show for the parents about the Olympics, or do their own Olympics or something. I love the way the parents are all so involved in the class. I know all the other parents, not just the SAHMs who volunteer. This is the stuff I don't feel like they would get in public school. I may be mistaken.

A 20-30 minute commute isn't unusual. I know many Great Falls families have that. Know that you will be driving for playdates. But you will also have neighborhood friends, so you will have a couple different groups to pull from. Several kids do after-school classes like ice skating or soccer together, or carpool, or have set playdates. Others just go home after school and relax because its a long day for younger kids. The schools have on-site after-school classes and after-care too. You definitely have to work a little harder for playdates.

[Anonymous]

OP -- Arlington in general is a great school district. If you have local parents happy with their public schools I would give it serious consideration.

[Anonymous]

We are also in Arlington and our older son will go to K next year. We are planning on sending him to the local public school and will re-evaluate after the first year. I am not sure if we could even get into a private school for 1st grade, but that is what we are planning to do. After spending $$ for a full time nanny for several years, we are very hopeful that the public schools will be great and will allow us to save some of that money we were spending on childcare.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of the great responses. It is a good point that a lot of private school kids do switch in at different times. And it makes a lot of sense to do the public school route until it doesn't seem to fit our needs. I'm hoping that school tours will help make these decisions easier.

I also wonder if I'm going to know if my school is meeting my kid's needs. For example, I went to public school and was a straight A student and wasn't challenged enough. If your school is all you know, then it's hard to know what you are missing out on. I also was not impressed with the gifted school system at all when I was growing up. So there are definitely some complaints here about public schools that I completely understand and share.

Along the same lines, there is always that question of whether spending so much money on private school is truly prudent when you have a good public option. 50,000 after tax dollars/year could be spent on many other beneficial things. We want to be able to support our children through grad school and contribute to our grandchildrens' education as well.

[Anonymous]

My kids went to public for elementary and switched to private for middle school. We're glad we did it that way and would do it again. They had no trouble getting into several schools and seem to have been well prepared for the work in private school. And we saved a bunch of $$!

[Anonymous]

OP, we go back on forth on what you are talking about every year, but I had to accept that I am NOT okay with the curriculum and testing in public schools. I do not like the cookie cutter mentality (even though the public school teachers work their asses off to individualize) and do not think that my kid's unique talents and personalities would be seen (exceptionally shy). I feel like the testing puts cuffs on the teachers and allows no latitude for change.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

OP, I went to mediocre public schools, and got all A's there. I also was not challenged, except in the AP classes I took in high school, but even then I got all As. I was also worried that maybe public school would not challenge our DD. We live in Arlington, DD goes to Taylor Elementary, and we are extremely pleased with the school and teachers. DD is most definitely challenged and instruction is very much differentiated. She has specials each day, time for recess, and is in an advanced groups for academic subjects. Her education is far better than what I received. Arlington is known nationally for the quality of its education, and b/c it has a lot of affluent residents, children tend to have very involved parents. It's nothing like the public schools I remember. Good luck in whatever you decide!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Her education is far better than what I received. Arlington is known nationally for the quality of its education, and b/c it has a lot of affluent residents, children tend to have very involved parents. It's nothing like the public schools I remember. Good luck in whatever you decide!

I agree with eth PP... don't compare private schools with the public education you received as a child -- actually go see what is being offered in the schools. And, if you were in Montgomery County, I'd be more wary. But you live in Arlington -- they really do have good schools.