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][quote=Anonymous]George Mason vs SSSAS. Is the money really worth it? [/quote]

OP- we went through a similar journey with our eldest before entering K, though different ACPS elementary school and different local private. We ended up deciding private school was not worth the substantial investment at the elementary level, and we do not regret that decision. There were definitely points of frustration in elementary school, and advocacy is needed to ensure your kids’ needs are being met, but both our kids received a great education. There are also more support services in public, that you may not anticipate needing.  There are many dedicated teachers in ACPS, but of course, not all. Kid is now in a local private in middle school and they are more academically prepared than most of their peers.

Private school has typical student population- some great families, but many more kids (than public) who come from wealthy families and clearly get whatever they want. We (including kids) connected more with the ACPS community.

[b]Biggest benefit of private for us is more individualized attention and [u]decreased screen usage[/u][/b]. [/quote]

Considering what has been coming out for years now about the impact of screen "learning" on young brains, this is a major consideration.  Personalized attention is also important to the child's social development and mental health.

It used to be that you could get both of those in public schools.  Likely, you still can in some places.  But your kid gets one childhood and one shot at brain development.  I'd spend the money (or homeschool and supplement with tutors/enrichment classes where necessary).[/quote]

At another ACPS ES (not GM) and there is not much screen time at our school.  But because ACPS is ACPS and there are no universal curricula, what one gets at one school may be completely different.  No way would I pay to put an elementary school child in private school.  One of my children is on an IEP and gets robust resources.  If your child is gifted, there is nothing.  The gifted program has gone the way of the dinosaurs in the name of equity, but we enrich our gifted child in other ways.  [/quote]
I'm a PP who posted about leaving SSSAS and going to a different (better) private. While the transition was a bit rocky b/c my kids were behind in a lot of things, they have now fully adjusted and had a great year. I would realy encourage any alexandria residents to look further than SSSAS if they are looking at private. Our new private is leagues ahead and actually lower priced. I did want to chime in here and say I was really surprised and disappointed at how much screentime they have in the LS at SSSAS. I feel like parents there are in denial. I don't know how it compares to ACPS, but compared to our new private, it is a shocking amount at SSSAS.[/quote]

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