Reply to Haves Vs Have Nots, Extra-curriculars, and Volunteering

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Reply to "Haves Vs Have Nots, Extra-curriculars, and Volunteering"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the issues in this article is are more applicable to public schools.  In fact, in my experince at privates schools, these issues don't come into play at all as the system has been designed to avoid them.

First of all, private schools are already aware of the financial situations of most students since the neediest receive Financial Aid as do some even into the middle class.  And, private schools tend to ensure that this awareness is woven into the fabric of everyday school life.  They have already been addressed by the school administration when it comes to extra curricular activities and extra costs associated with gifts, by providing money for students on FA to participate and by keeping the costs set low school wide (limit of $10-$15 per gift contribution).  Also, in the WDC area at least, privates don't have "cheerleading squads" (thank God) and uniforms for sports are part of tuition (lower school) or if charged separately (upper school), included in financial aid packages.  And second, I have found that parents at private schools are not always trying to "prove their net-worth" as parents do in public school such as those described in the article (with two clear economic groups: haves and have nots).  Private school parents, by choosing and paying for private school, have basically already "proved" they have money or are at least savvy and successful enough to get FA for their kid if they can not afford tuition (by my measure, parents who know about FA, and manage to make it through all the forms and hassle of FA to get an award for their kid, have proven they are both smart and able to succeed).  And few folks in private are really that interested or worried about who is and isn't on FA (contrary to some odd folks who post on this forum).  Plus, most people in private know its tacky to "show off" one's wealth.  I have never, ever heard anyone suggested sushi or spring rolls for a kids' party at any of the very elite, supposedly snooty, private schools my kids have attended in WDC, not even the Chevy crowd.  Pizza is almost always the main course.

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+1. This has been our experience and impression exactly. We moved from NW public to private and find the private school environment to be much more sensitive and accepting of varied incomes & lifestyles.  There are plenty of super "haves" at our private school and they are a thousand times more discreet and sensitive than the public school parents we knew who put a lot of effort into trying to prove they are "haves" and squeezing out the "have nots". [/quote]

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