FCPS AAP equivalent to Nysmith/Basis

[sunshine237]

My DD is in 4th grade AAP in FCPS. My younger DD is starting 1st grade in private school this fall and we were wondering if it is worth moving our 4th grader too. Does FCPS AAP curriculum match Nysmith or Basis program? Is it worth spending 35K if DD is already in AAP?

[Anonymous]

That's not really an answerable question because it depends on preferences. Some people think private school is always worth 35k no matter what but think spending 100k on a car every three years is a waste of money. I prefer to spend 100k on a car every three years and view private school as almost always "not worth it." Certainly not if your child is in AAP. Schooling has almost no effect on adult outcomes... just read the education literature - one of the biggest puzzles in the literature is that they can't get any variables to load in predicting adult outcomes (other than school spending per pupil, which is mostly just capturing affluence in the county).

[Anonymous]

Each FCPS is run different. Depends on the principal, the teachers, and other things

[sunshine237]

Anonymous wrote:Each FCPS is run different. Depends on the principal, the teachers, and other things

That's fair. We are at Springhill in Mclean.

[Anonymous]

I know people who left privates for AAP and were happy, and some who left for AAP and came back. It depends on the teacher and student grade. Also this was at Spring Hill.

[Anonymous]

Steer clear of McNair in Herndon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not really an answerable question because it depends on preferences. Some people think private school is always worth 35k no matter what but think spending 100k on a car every three years is a waste of money. I prefer to spend 100k on a car every three years and view private school as almost always "not worth it." Certainly not if your child is in AAP. Schooling has almost no effect on adult outcomes... just read the education literature - one of the biggest puzzles in the literature is that they can't get any variables to load in predicting adult outcomes (other than school spending per pupil, which is mostly just capturing affluence in the county).

It’s hard for me to imagine a bigger waste of money than $100k on a new car every 3 years. We can argue whether private school is better than public or not, or whether it is waste of money or not, but a car literally sites idle 22-23 hours a day most days. That’s 92-96% of its life. I get that people want to be comfortable, some may even enjoy driving, maybe there is some status associated with it. I’m not one of those people. My car costs barely 1/4 of that and I get one every 6 or 7 years. I much prefer experiences to material. I send my kids to private school because I want them to learn to invest in themselves and value experiences more than trinkets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not really an answerable question because it depends on preferences. Some people think private school is always worth 35k no matter what but think spending 100k on a car every three years is a waste of money. I prefer to spend 100k on a car every three years and view private school as almost always "not worth it." Certainly not if your child is in AAP. Schooling has almost no effect on adult outcomes... just read the education literature - one of the biggest puzzles in the literature is that they can't get any variables to load in predicting adult outcomes (other than school spending per pupil, which is mostly just capturing affluence in the county).

It’s hard for me to imagine a bigger waste of money than $100k on a new car every 3 years. We can argue whether private school is better than public or not, or whether it is waste of money or not, but a car literally sites idle 22-23 hours a day most days. That’s 92-96% of its life. I get that people want to be comfortable, some may even enjoy driving, maybe there is some status associated with it. I’m not one of those people. My car costs barely 1/4 of that and I get one every 6 or 7 years. I much prefer experiences to material. I send my kids to private school because I want them to learn to invest in themselves and value experiences more than trinkets.

Cool. Did you realize that the post you're replying to literally began by saying some people believe exactly what your reply says? Kind of redundant, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not really an answerable question because it depends on preferences. Some people think private school is always worth 35k no matter what but think spending 100k on a car every three years is a waste of money. I prefer to spend 100k on a car every three years and view private school as almost always "not worth it." Certainly not if your child is in AAP. Schooling has almost no effect on adult outcomes... just read the education literature - one of the biggest puzzles in the literature is that they can't get any variables to load in predicting adult outcomes (other than school spending per pupil, which is mostly just capturing affluence in the county).

Why are you on a private school forum?

[Anonymous]

My DC is at Nysmith; it's worth every penny!

[Anonymous]

My kids are at a regular AAP center school, not one of the "best" most competitive ones and not one of the worst. I don't have experience with Nysmith but I have experience with other private elementary and high schools and I wouldn't choose that unless I absolutely had no choice.

[Anonymous]

AAP is no match for either academically. But read up before even thinking about BASIS. It is a $hit$ow.

[Anonymous]

Longfellow or Carson for MS