Reply to What would be better about private school - a question for public school parents

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are also in MoCo and our public elementary feeds into one of the best public high schools in the area, but we have decided to send our DD to private school (at least for the early elemetary years).  Top private/independent schools have low student to teacher ratios so kids get more attention (we feel this is very early for young children).  There are also more time and resources available for movement, PE, arts, music, language, science classes at the private schools, because private schools are less pressured to spend a lot of time preparing their studens (at least in the early years) for standardized exams.  Finally, top private/independent (such as Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS, Maret) have very competive admissions process (they are very unlikely to admit kids with potential learning diabilities, behavioral problems, average to low IQ scores, or not ready for school due to lack of maturity of understanding of English language) so they end up admitting a very select group of very brigh and school ready kids.[/quote]

I agree with some of what you said - low teacher/student ratios in particular.  But, I disagree about the private school "competitive admission process" essentially weeding out kids with issues.  The majority of people I know who leave good public schools in favor of private do so because the child has a special need that is not being addressed in the public.  This can be anything from extreme shyness, inability to sit still/concentrate in class, mild learning disability, behavior or sensory issues, etc.  The reason that low teacher/student ratio is important enough for parents to pay $$$ for school is often b/c they believe their child has issues that demand more teacher time.  You could be disappointed or surprised if you think that private school classrooms don't include these students.  That said, private school can remove or counsel-out really disruptive students, but just a cursory look at other threads on this topic will show how difficult that can be when the student is a child of privilege, board member, legacy, etc.  Sometimes these are  the most disruptive of all.  No place is perfect, so you have to look at everything and make the best decision with the information you have.[/quote]

Just curious: What is your sample size, when you say the majority of people you know who leave good public schools for privates do so because their kid has special needs?  And what is your direct experience with private schools that leads you to draw conclusions about children of privilege, board members, etc.?  [/quote]

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