Anonymous wrote:We are in the same boat. We live in McLean and zoned for Langley. I have one kid in elementary and one in middle school and trying to decide if we should switch to private.
We have seen many friends switch to private. Some switched in 3rd grade, especially the families who felt their kid wrongfully did not get into AAP. Many kids switched during Covid. Then there are ones who switch during middle and high school. I feel like most of the ones who are rich switched. The UMC who can afford it but they would feel 100k tuition pain often stay in public if their kids are doing well.
I have one kid who is a stellar student with perfect grades and a fantastic friend group. I have another kid who is a good student and very social and hangs out with kids across the spectrum including some not so nice kids.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:All kids at public schools learn the same thing - doesn't matter which school you go to. Private is the only rational choice. If you send to Langley might as well send to Justice or Oakton
Lol, no.
Anonymous wrote:All kids at public schools learn the same thing - doesn't matter which school you go to. Private is the only rational choice. If you send to Langley might as well send to Justice or Oakton
Anonymous wrote:I have the same issue and am in Arlington. The problem is that the top level privates are in DC not VA. In fact, I'm kind of surprised at how few NoVA privates there are.
Langley is a top-notch school and will be highly competitive. It may be worth it in the end, depending on your DC.
Anonymous wrote:I think you will find people who have a similar profile who went all directions. Some responsers kids will stay public- and it works great. Frankly there are only so many private spots so there will certainly be people whose kids applied and didn’t get in (no fault of the kid- it can be a numbers game), and they will say that staying public worked out better. And that is great. You’ll find parents whose stories are their kids applied, got in to privates and it was the best decision ever. They may wonder how you could even question as to how this is a hard decision/ of course your kid applies to private.
My kids are in private but it isn’t something you must do at all. I don’t think others’ experiences will be much of a guide. If this is something your kids are considering (and you’re open to letting them do so), do some research about schools on line. Visit in the fall, do the interviews, talk to real kids and parents (your teens too) of kids at public and privates.
It is a good exercise if you have the option to look around - but never bad mouth the public option because your kids may opt to stay or won’t get in to private. It should never be that the public school is a “less than” choice. Langley is a fantastic option for your kids regardless.