Anonymous wrote:We were worried that our bright kid would be bored in a public school. DH went to public and was rarely challenged academically. With a small class size, teachers can do more to differentiate in a private school. DC is still bored at times, but teachers have been trying to provide them with the materials that are on their level.

If your kid is really that smart, they can make it into the public magnets which is superior to privates.

I'd put my kid in private if they needed the small class sizes though.

Not for the academics but for the culture. Our Arlington publics were just too big for me to think I'd know the other parents. I wanted to really know the families of their friends and be in a tight knit community.

So our kids would become fluent in other languages besides English.

We chose private because classes are small and the academics and athletics are really superb. We are zoned for a good elementary, good middle, and good high school. That said, the high school is large and standards seem to be all over the place in the elementary and middle schools (anecdotal). We did go to the K open house and it was pretty much what we expected: it would be helpful if your kids could zip up their jackets and do their own buttons, etc. I have two younger kids and we will probably send them all to the private my oldest is at assuming they get in and we continue to have a good experience. The public school system is good and my children would get good educations in private or public but they wouldn't get similar educations. And there is a difference. Is the difference worth $50K x 3 every year? I don't know. I'm a bit of a skeptic. I was in both public and private and I don't think that private produces better outcomes per se (I think it varies quite a bit actually) but I do think that there is probably more of an opportunity for most kids to learn more and good more support at a good private than in public. And that is 80% based on resources and 20% based on educational standards at public schools being driven by the state and occasionally impacted by ideology (example: Lucy Caulkins messiness vs just using phonics).

Anonymous wrote:Our private actually walks the talk when it comes to inclusion for LGBTQ+. Not some public school policy that's all bark and no bite.

Ours too! Or maybe it’s the same school.

We had intended to go public after our private PreK/K but then DC was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD and also tested gifted. The publics don’t handle 2e kids very well, so we stayed private.

Our private actually walks the talk when it comes to inclusion for LGBTQ+. Not some public school policy that's all bark and no bite.

Chose private because there is less drug and alcohol use amongst students and less behavioral problems in the classroom.

We start K in the Fall, but we've chosen private partially b/c we live in a school district with not so great MS and HS and an administration that continues to make poor decisions. Partially also b/c as we get to know our child and see her interact, she thrives in a small environment where she can connect with the teacher. We think the private we chose will fit her well.

Anonymous wrote:Our public schools were shut down/remote during covid, but the privates were open, face to face. That sealed it for me.

Same. Now the kids are doing well at the private, made friends, and we've really appreciated the additional feedback we get from teachers and feeling more in the loop about their education.

Same as PP, they'll be back in public for high school though because I really feel like they need a larger environment before college. The small classes were very valuable for the elementary years.

My child was on a field trip with a drunk driver, and the public school response was atrocious. That, coupled with the very large class sizes, really made the decision for us.

Almost same as above PP. We were in mcps at a focus school K thru 2nd and super happy. Loved the teachers etc.
Then mcps shut down and couldn’t make a decision, kept saying they would open in a few weeks then pushed it back over and over.
I homeschooled 3rd grade and then a small private ( Christian) near us committed to opening so we started DD there for 4th. We’ve stayed because the teachers have been great, she has made friends, and I love the small class sizes. She’s in the MS section now and has 8-14 kids in her classes, 10 kids in her math group for example. I also don’t worry my kid is going to get assaulted while at school. At the MS near us I wouldn’t have that same feeling.
She’ll be back to public for HS though.

^Ditto. Public school administrators and teachers were ADAMANT that they were not essential workers during COVID. Turned out they were right!

Our public schools were shut down/remote during covid, but the privates were open, face to face. That sealed it for me.

We were worried that our bright kid would be bored in a public school. DH went to public and was rarely challenged academically. With a small class size, teachers can do more to differentiate in a private school. DC is still bored at times, but teachers have been trying to provide them with the materials that are on their level.

Private school parent here, curious to know the reasons you chose to send your child to private school over public school. What factors went into your decision making? Thanks.