Reply to WWYD? Alexandria George Mason vs SSSAS. Is the money really worth it?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would try George Mason before you do private or move. You may be pleasantly surprised. Yes, it might be harder to switch to a different school midway through elementary, but with so much money at stake, don’t you want to know that you gave the least expensive option a shot?

I attended a different private school in Alexandria from prek-8, then went to T.C. Williams (now ACHS) for high school. I got a good education at both. I have friends who did private prek-12 (including SSSAS), and friends who did ACPS all the way through. We all got into similarly selective colleges and have had similar life outcomes. Granted, that was over 20 years ago, but I think the same holds true today based on the families I know now.

So if you have typical children, I’d try public. However, if there are special circumstances (ADHD, learning disabilities, extreme giftedness), then maybe that changes your calculations.[/quote]

Did the schools 20 years ago have all the problems they do now? Accredidation, safety issues, etc? I ask seriously and appreciate your insight! [/quote]

I'm the PP of this post.  I think that parents have been concerned about ACPS for a long time.  My parents were in the '90s, which is why my sister and I went to private school through 8th grade.  But two private school tuitions were tough for two feds to afford even back then.  When our neighbors' kids graduated from T.C. and got into colleges like Princeton and UVA, my parents figured that ACPS must be doing something right, so we went to public high school.  And it was fine.  A culture shock at first after private, but we found our way.  I did well in honors and AP classes and mostly hung out with the "smart" kids.  I don't remember too many behavior issues.  I maybe heard about a few fights, but I don't think I witnessed one.

Is it worse now?  Maybe.  Certainly the stabbing at the McDonald's a few years ago was very concerning, as are the reports of fights.  While those incidents tend to be confined to a small population, they are still not something I would want my own kids witnessing.  However, private schools are not without their issues either.  Probably fewer problems in elementary, but certainly at the high school level there are still issues with sex, drugs, and alcohol.  Even back in the day, I remember I had several classmates at public school who at all been kicked out of SSSAS because of a sex scandal there.

As for academics, the accreditation system has changed over the years.  It now has a lot more to do with whether special populations are showing progress.  This may have the effect of diverting resources away from special programming for talented and gifted, if that's something you are interested in.  (I don't know enough about how it is affecting elementary TAG programs, so maybe someone else can chime in here.)  But I think there are still a lot of opportunities in ACPS for motivated kids, particularly at the upper levels.  ACHS has so many more AP, dual enrollment, and special academy options than it did when I was a student.

Is George Mason right for you?  I don't know.  Depends on your kids and a bit on luck.  One student or teacher or administrator could make or break it for you.  But you won't know whether it's a good fit until you've tried it.  If it's a bad fit, then you can explore other options.  Spending $45k+ per kid per year is a lot, and if you are going to spend that kind of money on SSSAS or a similar school, you should feel confident that it's worth it.  While it's never bad to spend money on your child's education, that money could go a long way toward helping your kids in other ways.  Same goes for moving.  It's expensive and a huge pain, and if you are doing it for the schools you should feel like you are moving to somewhere better.  And how will you know that unless you've tried George Mason?  It's the easiest and most affordable option, and it has been good for a lot of kids.  Maybe it will work for you or maybe it won't, but if you try it you'll know for sure.  
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This is a very thoughtful perspective. Thanks very much. [/quote]

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