I went to a public elementary from K-6 and then transferred to private for 7-12. It was perfect for our family from both an academic and personal/social perspective. The academics were just fine in the public elementary school (particularly since I was in the GT program), and my parents supplemented with additional classes or activities where needed. It was socially fine as well but when I was in the 6th grade, there were definitely girls that were starting to get known as the "easy" girls. Shocking when you think about the age. My parents switched me to private school in junior high more for social reasons than academic reasons. In the elementary years, parents generally have more influence on their children (as opposed to junior high and high school where they tend to be more influenced by their peers). My parents wanted me to be surrounded by children who were presumed to go to college, and be in an evironment where it was "cool" to be smart, motivated, and academically driven. Not that you can't find this in public school, but you just have a much wider pool of people who have different priorities. Private middle and high schools are also just better at college prep - I remember having an entire day devoted towards drafting our college applications, having a college guidance counselor that started working with us in 10th grade, and practice PSATs in middle school. I think those things are very important. I plan to take the same approach for my kids - save money in the elementary years and do private school in the older years.

Anonymous wrote:OP: Poster 17:32, if you don't mind my asking, were you pretty sure of this when you enrolled her in private? The reason I ask is that dc is shy, but once she feels comfortable, she makes a lot of friends, is very sociable. I'm having a hard time gauging whether she will adapt well eventually to a large, public environment (would probably take a few months at least), or whether she becomes comfortable and is very sociable now because she is in a small environment (preschool), i.e., she would just not do well at all in public. Do you ever know this beforehand? Or do you just have to try and find out for yourself? thanks!

Np, but I wanted to share how my kids surprised me. Both started in public, one painfully shy and one the polar opposite. My very shy dd blossomed in public and has a strong group of wonderful friends that I can't pry her away from for private. My outgoing ds who has never met a stranger is the one who actually needed the smaller social scene to develop meaningful friendships. I guess he was a friend to all, but didn't focus enough on any one relationship because he was trying to keep up with everybody. I never would have guessed that is how it would have ended up.

Leaving aside the academic issue-- and I think the research is mixed on how much class size matters -- socially I don't think a small class size is always better.

So many early childhood development studies state the importance of early childhood education and the importance of a strong start. This is not meant to say it must be private (maybe your public offers a better opportunity) only that these are the years when the foundation is set, kids develop a love of learning. and develop the building blocks that they will use later in their educational career. If your child isn't encouraged from an early start, then there comes a point when they are behind on many levels. Thus, just saying at that point "well we will switch to private" doesn't really make too much sense. Again, not an opinion about public vs private, but rather about the argument that we will just wait until middle or high school to offer the best education we can.

OP: Poster 17:32, if you don't mind my asking, were you pretty sure of this when you enrolled her in private? The reason I ask is that dc is shy, but once she feels comfortable, she makes a lot of friends, is very sociable. I'm having a hard time gauging whether she will adapt well eventually to a large, public environment (would probably take a few months at least), or whether she becomes comfortable and is very sociable now because she is in a small environment (preschool), i.e., she would just not do well at all in public. Do you ever know this beforehand? Or do you just have to try and find out for yourself? thanks!

Try posting in public forums as well. This page obviously gives you mostly the private point of view.

My daughter is painfully shy. We have her in a private girls school (in B'more) - class of 14. She doesn't need the 1 on 1 academically but socially there is just no way she would handle a class of 28 and emerge with any self confidence.

Anonymous wrote:Once you have a taste of private you will never want to go public unless you absolutely have to - happened to us and we found a way back to private as soon as we could.

That's not always true. Our MCPS high school has quite a few kids who came from private schools, including us. For us it was a decision about best fit, not about money.

OP: thanks for the replies. To poster 13:31, this was my line of thinking as well. Our public is quite good, with great facilities and the parents seem very involved. But the classes are big. Wouldn't say the private is much better than the public, though. But I am almost positive dc would be happy in our top choice private. Can't say for public.

Everything I've read sys there are better outcomes with smaller classes in the early years, highly trained teachers, and more flexibility with curriculum. You can get that at public or private, depending where you are. For us that meant going private. We plan to switch after 8th grade because public schools offer more variety in terms of curriculum, especially for STEM, than the private schools we can afford.

Once you have a taste of private you will never want to go public unless you absolutely have to - happened to us and we found a way back to private as soon as we could.

Anonymous wrote:We did montessori for the first 8 years (which was only $5k a year) and then switched to elite private at middle school ($30k+). I wouldn't waste the money on the early years in private. Most any school (even if you're in the dreaded DC publics) are fine for the early years.

It's not a waste of money if your private is much better than public school -- any public school. Our kids' private school is that much better. We feel like it is money well spent.

If they were interchangeable, then it would be a "waste." But they're not. Not even close.

We're doing private for K-2 for our youngest. It's going really well and she's getting a great foundation in her basic skills. Classes are small and she gets a lot of individual attention. We're happy with our decision.

We did montessori for the first 8 years (which was only $5k a year) and then switched to elite private at middle school ($30k+). I wouldn't waste the money on the early years in private. Most any school (even if you're in the dreaded DC publics) are fine for the early years.

Considering this for my shy child, but have received feedback that I should be doing it the other way around (public K-5 then private for middle, HS). Any thoughts from parents who have done either? thanks.