Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thank you all so much for your candid and detailed responses. My gut keeps telling me private is the way to go, that we can always fall back on the public, that we have kept our costs modest so we have the option of giving the best to our kid, etc. My rational scientific-leaning brain keeps getting in the way - especially because no one in our social circle is going private, so it almost seems daunting. I think I need to trust my gut, though.

Thank you all again!

I actually think you should start in public if your school is good. If the teacher is good enough, a class of 25 is not a big deal at all, as public school teachers are trained to work with this many kids. My kids started in public, got a solid foundation in basic skills, and then moved to private. You might even find that public is a great fit. I also much preferred the social vibe at our diverse public than at our fancy private, but my kids are happier in the private overall so we are staying for the older grades. But I have zero regrets about starting in public ( am actually thrilled that I did not pay big bucks for PK-2).

Interestingly, our public elementary is less diverse than the private we are going to. Is the curriculum 2.0 going to drag public school system down?

What do you mean by “less diverse”? A majority are children of color?

I have just pulled my kid from a very good public to a small private. When I asked my kid what is different about the two schools, she said in the new school, the teacher can answer questions from every kid because the class size is smaller, whereas in the old school, the teachers always say "sorry" "we don't have time for everyone" ...

We live in a W cluster but chose private starting in Pre-K. Our local elementary is crowded, and there is only 1 kindergarten teacher for a class size that could range from 16-26 students at all different levels. How would a teacher be able to spend much time with my kid if they had to manage those numbers and kids with such diverse needs?
My son started reading when he was 3 and I didn't want him to get lost in the shuffle. The early years are too important. This is when kids develop a love of learning and important learning habits. He is in Pre-K at a private school with a very small class size (12 kids) and 2 lead teachers. The small class size allows the teachers to know all of his strengths and weaknesses. They work one on one with him on his reading and send books at the appropriate level home so that he can practice reading them to us at night. He gets exposed to 3 different foreign languages as part of the school curriculum. If he wanted to take foreign language at the local elementary school, he could take one class a week AFTER school. I wanted to ensure that foreign language was built into the curriculum as early as possible. Private school has been an excellent choice for us. Our son constantly tells us that he LOVES school and he looks forward to going every day.

However, I would consider putting him in public in the later years. I think the high schools are crowded but the education can be tailored to their different needs - (AP, IB, magnet, etc.) We will reassess in the later years.

Do you have other kids or are you likely to? I would generally say choosing the private is the way to go. The only exception is if you have or are likely to have another kid and are not likely to be able to afford to multiply that tuition by 2.

Anonymous wrote:Wanted single-sex for my DD because we wanted her to become a leader and think girls are discriminated against in public schools because they tend to behave better and don't cause trouble.

Ha! The girls rule our school. Boys are left in the dust.

We wanted immersion, so made the decision recently to switch to private in an early grade. Otherwise we would have kept our child at our wonderful public, which has small class sizes and is within walking distance of our home.

In a good FCPS district/pyramid and have sent kids to private for K-6. Will move them to public for middle and high school, but wanted to get the solid base for them in the private school first. Smaller classes, and not linked to SOLs...the school allows them to go beyond grade level as desired.

The private school has its own community and my kids and I have made great friends from it, along with making local / neighborhood friends.

I think it was worth it for my shy child to go to a smaller school with a smaller classroom for more hands on attention, than get lost in a class of 30 at the local public school.

Was it expensive and do I hate writing the check each month? Yes.
Was it worth it? Yes.
I have no regrets, and I think my sons will be really prepped and ready to hit the ground in middle school.

Wanted single-sex for my DD because we wanted her to become a leader and think girls are discriminated against in public schools because they tend to behave better and don't cause trouble.

Anonymous wrote:In W Cluster and considering private for DC. Do private schools have later start times for middle and high schoolers? Was that one of the factors you considered?

Yes but depending on the commute it may be a wash. If you stay in MD near the Ws you will be good.


We are zoned in a bad FCPS district but it's really a blend of low income and very high income. While our oldest made it through, for many reasons our younger wasn't so we switched to private and it's like night and day - much better for this particular kid. However for many kids, a great public is probably fine. Unless you have plenty of money or unless there's a compelling reason a student needs smaller classes, more class discussion etc public works well for most. That money is better spent on college/grad school.

In W Cluster and considering private for DC. Do private schools have later start times for middle and high schoolers? Was that one of the factors you considered?

Anonymous wrote:We are struggling with whether to enroll our DD in K in our school district (FCC) or bus her to "top tier" private school she was just accepted at. I would love to hear from parents who live in great public school districts but chose to send their kids to private anyways.

My concern stems mainly from the really high student-teacher ratios at many of the "great" publics and the fact that many of these pyramids are over capacity to begin with and expecting large additional future growth. I don't want my kid caught up in an rapidly overcrowding school district, but it seems irrational on its face to consider private when you pay FCC taxes. More importantly, there's a social component. All our friends and DD's friends live in FCC. We'd have help with pick-up and drop-off if we need it. Playdates would be close by. We are unlikely to develop a great social network at the private considering how far it would be away.

Would really appreciate hearing from other parents who made this decision. TIA!

We went through this and ended up choosing a k-8 private when my kids were younger and public hs. It was a transition - to a huge school of course- but if you read the studies this is the best time to put your kids into private not the other way around. You get the best of both if you can afford it which we were lucky enough to. The drills, the tests, the lack of outdoor time, more tests, the size of the classes etc in lower school publics are a problem. This is a fact not a debate. Some kids will thrive either way. One recess for a 5 year old is totally lame. Testing and forcing reading to a 5 year old is also totally lame. Show me one study that says otherwise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thank you all so much for your candid and detailed responses. My gut keeps telling me private is the way to go, that we can always fall back on the public, that we have kept our costs modest so we have the option of giving the best to our kid, etc. My rational scientific-leaning brain keeps getting in the way - especially because no one in our social circle is going private, so it almost seems daunting. I think I need to trust my gut, though.

Thank you all again!

I actually think you should start in public if your school is good. If the teacher is good enough, a class of 25 is not a big deal at all, as public school teachers are trained to work with this many kids. My kids started in public, got a solid foundation in basic skills, and then moved to private. You might even find that public is a great fit. I also much preferred the social vibe at our diverse public than at our fancy private, but my kids are happier in the private overall so we are staying for the older grades. But I have zero regrets about starting in public ( am actually thrilled that I did not pay big bucks for PK-2).

Interestingly, our public elementary is less diverse than the private we are going to. Is the curriculum 2.0 going to drag public school system down?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those kids, smart, self-motivated, thrives anywhere you put them.

That may be true, but if there's even a chance that our kids will thrive more in private than public (or vice versa), I want to pick the one that maximizes the thriving opportunities. Sorry if that comes off as Type A.

Exactly this. My child will attend a well regarded private next year instead of the affluent public for which we're zoned. The classes are just too large. He would do well anywhere but he will do much better in a smaller class in a school with greater resources.

Not necessarily. Many public school students learn to be resourceful self-starters, while many private school students flounder in an environment where they aren't having their hands held.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thank you all so much for your candid and detailed responses. My gut keeps telling me private is the way to go, that we can always fall back on the public, that we have kept our costs modest so we have the option of giving the best to our kid, etc. My rational scientific-leaning brain keeps getting in the way - especially because no one in our social circle is going private, so it almost seems daunting. I think I need to trust my gut, though.

Thank you all again!

I actually think you should start in public if your school is good. If the teacher is good enough, a class of 25 is not a big deal at all, as public school teachers are trained to work with this many kids. My kids started in public, got a solid foundation in basic skills, and then moved to private. You might even find that public is a great fit. I also much preferred the social vibe at our diverse public than at our fancy private, but my kids are happier in the private overall so we are staying for the older grades. But I have zero regrets about starting in public ( am actually thrilled that I did not pay big bucks for PK-2).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those kids, smart, self-motivated, thrives anywhere you put them.

That may be true, but if there's even a chance that our kids will thrive more in private than public (or vice versa), I want to pick the one that maximizes the thriving opportunities. Sorry if that comes off as Type A.

Exactly this. My child will attend a well regarded private next year instead of the affluent public for which we're zoned. The classes are just too large. He would do well anywhere but he will do much better in a smaller class in a school with greater resources.