Reply to Top private (Sidwell, GDS) versus top public (JKLM) for early years: what are the differences?

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Reply to "Top private (Sidwell, GDS) versus top public (JKLM) for early years: what are the differences? "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]More/better/earlier arts, science, PE/outdoor time, foreign language.  No standardized testing or grading, lots of writing, kid sets the level of challenge with small enough classes that teachers can provide real support.  Continuity of "specials" teachers.  More curricular freedom, which has lots of implications -- e.g. pace can change if a particular class needs more or less time on a unit, teachers are empowered and encouraged to be lifelong learners themselves, there's space for more ambitious projects.  Also a fair amount of emphasis on and experiences designed to make kids comfortable presenting their ideas in public.  A sense that education is about discovery and rather than transmission/reception/retention of what's already known.[/quote]

We came from early years top private, out of state, to JKLM. I don't agree with the analysis above. The biggest difference you will find is hand-holding. When you are paying $30K as we did (I know we're talking about $40K now), you are being catered to. At JKLM, the kids are a lot more independent, which can be a benefit or not depending on how you look at it.

Re the pp: I think she's right about the science, outdoor time, foreign language, small classes, and curriculum. And, all of these can be positive or negative to you. I don't care that my kid gets gets PE, as so much of it is boring and they are active outside school. I was afraid of my kid getting lost in a grade with nearly 100 kids, but they have found a rich community that I sometimes wonder would have happened with the smaller classes. And, with curriculum, that can be bad or good with respect to the teacher. My mother taught at a private for 15 years because she didn't want to be hemmed in by curriculum, but she also didn't have a lot of support and there wasn't collaboration between teachers. She said this after moving to public, and our teachers at JKLM did same.

At JKLM, you will find them doing ambitious projects. I have friends at Brent who are surprised with how much more our kids are doing. One good friend at GDS told me her kid did a Native American museum in 2nd grade and mine did the exact same project. My DD's teacher was amazing and it was quite a production. Further all schools are focusing on public speaking now, so you will find that at public too.

I think the JKLM was fine, and the kids enjoyed it, but now that we've made it to Deal I feel like we've hit the jackpot.

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