I'm surprised at all these people paying for what sounds like truly terrible private schools!

I have one in public and one in private.
My sense is the biggest difference is class size. Having 25 kids instead of 12 kids in a class truly doubles the time for so many things, from class presentations to just lining up and going to lunch or bathroom breaks.

The public school also seems to do so much more in "small groups" For example, at the private school, they switch classes for math based on ability, so each kid gets 45 minutes of math class. At the public school, there are three math groups. So the hour long math block involves basically three 15 minute "classes" plus wasted time for switching between the groups. So each kid only gets 15ish minutes of true instruction, and then "independent practice" or iready for the rest of the period.

Are schools still giving Wednesdays off for grades 9-12? Carryover from shutdown days.
Are they offering 1/5th off tuition as well?

Anonymous wrote:They can ditch the problematic and dumb kids. They don't have to waste time on stupid state testing that proves nothing other than that the majority of kids in public can't read or write at grade level.

We haven’t seen this to be the case the last five years of lower school at all.
In fact if we were to go to Bethesda MCPS next year both kids would need remedial math and reading plus would get a real kick in the pants being at a more intense school.

Upper school academic reputations (whatever that means, college? SAT?) do NOT apply to lower k-6.

They can ditch the problematic and dumb kids. They don't have to waste time on stupid state testing that proves nothing other than that the majority of kids in public can't read or write at grade level.

Anonymous wrote:Ours has a longer day and fewer kids per class.

Our private also has a longer day but more classes. The classes are not longer times so they are not getting more done. Just an added ancillary class.

Anonymous wrote:My child’s private skips plenty in its curriculum and won’t finish something according to teacher that they are working on now.

Same, our kids Pk-12 doesn’t cover much at all, and coddles the children more than we ever thought they would, even pre-Covid shutdowns. Post Covid it’s the new excuse for bad behavior, low standards, and teaching passivity.

Same as most of the other posters, our private has longer school days which makes a real meaningful difference in learning hours. Plus, smaller classes sizes facilitates an easier learning environment for the kids and teacher. The additional strain on public schools is the constant need for standardized testing, which is non-existent in our private. Also, you're assuming the kids are learning in public schools that last extra week in June. I recall my kids helping their teachers break down their classrooms and watching movies.

Ours has a longer day and fewer kids per class.

Our private has school days that are almost an hour longer than our public. Even though we start later in the year, my kids at private we’re celebrating their one hundredth day a week before their friends at Public bc we have fewer tracher work days, etc.

It’s a fallacy to believe that privates get everything done. DC’s private classes are only 40 minutes which was a concern prior to enrolling. Classes such as math are essentially only 30 minutes by the time all are settled in. Many topics are not covered that are in the curriculum.

I think, again, this depends so much on which school you are talking about. All privates are not the same!
I have found that at my kid's school they use curriculum in a different way than in public, blending various ones together. This works well with some teachers, less so for others.

Agree with many of the comments above. I will add that private schools give more homework, consequently students grasp material sooner and can move through the curriculum more efficiently. My daughter is in 8th grade and has had up to 2 hours of homework a night. Some days are light. But from what I understand, it is less than 30 minutes in MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:They have shorter school years and longer recesses. How do they manage to get through their curriculum? Or are they behind public school?

When you don’t have to be truly accountable to anyone other than an equally arbitrary body like AIMS or VAIS, it’s easy!

My child’s private skips plenty in its curriculum and won’t finish something according to teacher that they are working on now.

In our private elementary the lower school starts classes at 8 am and ends at 3. The local public starts at 9:30 and ends at 3. We have maybe 5 fewer school days but also an extra 90 minutes of school every day so we have a lot more time in school. As others have pointed out they do not accept behavioral issues and counsel out anything other than the most mild learning differences. We were a public school family until 2 years ago and the differences in switching to a strong private school are vast.