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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We moved to McLean from Alexandria for their good public schools. It feels like everyone in our neighborhood sends their kids to private. It seems like the families who can afford private sent their kids to private during the pandemic if they weren’t already in private. We have a seven figure income and can easily afford private tuition.

Would you send your kid to private if you could easily afford it?[/quote]

Yes, I would. We don't have a seven figure income, but we still make sacrifices to send our children to private school. We've experienced both FCPS and private school, and the difference is night and day. Education is an important value in our family. It seems to go without saying that people would send their children to "the best" university that they can, but they often overlook the critical younger years where education and social development are even more important.

For the record, both my wife and I went to public school and the thought of sending my children to private school never occurred to me until failure after failure with FCPS drove us away. We can never go back.[/quote]

Op here. Dh and I are also public school kids. We originally liked and wanted our children to go to school with kids like us when we were younger. They are doing well, get good grades, have been in the AAP program so have a solid peer group of smart UMC students and happy. That is why we have stayed in public. My kids are well liked and well behaved. I think they would do well in any environment.

If we didn’t have the youngest who started in preschool and friends all went to private, I probably would not feel as guilty since older kids have always been in public. [/quote]

PP here. Well, with the older kids, I suppose if it ain't broke, don't fix it ... as they say.  Our kids were in the AAP program but we found AAP to be underwhelming, especially as our oldest went through middle school; but that may vary by pyramid. AAP is definitely a MUST for students in FCPS these days---the district seems to have a robust program for special needs kids at the lower end, but the bulk of students stuck in the "gen ed" (general education) middle ground really seem to suffer from a lack of focus and efforts by the district. There's definitely a sort of desperate scramble to get their kids into AAP among the parents who are paying attention. I was paying close attention to the academics and even in the AAP program wasn't very happy.

Our kids were in elementary and middle school when we switched to private school and they quickly integrated into their new schools and are thriving. I've also noticed that that they are more calm and happier at home (which may be just that they're bickering less) which seems to be related to fewer "problem child" interactions at school. (Certainly with my then-middle schooler, the problems we had at FCPS with fights and other such nonsense have not been the case at private school.)

Honestly, the "normalcy" of private school in 2022 reminds me a lot of how public school was for me when I grew up in the 1980s/90s. So in many ways it feels more like the kids are getting a similar experience to what I got, at least in terms of academics and (thankfully) less politics in school. They're also making bonds with peers who, frankly, are usually wealthier than we are and who may form a solid network of friends and connections down the road. Time will tell.

I'd say trust your gut and your heart since you're in touch with your kids more than anyone else, and you'll know what's best for them. If you truly feel deep down that you're giving them the best education you can, just go with that.[/quote]

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