There really is no single “objective” answer. Answers vary on exactly which public school or private school one considers. Even within a system like MCPS, there are big differences from school to school and even from teacher to teacher. Different children are different also. Some kids need smaller class sizes to thrive, for example, while other kids are fine in a big class. Some families prefer a school which teaches their religious values or cultural values over a generic school. Every school likely will have a few great teachers, many average teachers, and a few dud teachers. Curricula vary widely from one school to another. Even in the public school systems, a particular teacher might closely follow official guidance or might only loosely follow that guidance. Some schools lean more heavily on printed paper textbooks & workbooks, while others might lean more on ChromeBooks.

There really is no single answer to OP’s question. Each family needs to do what they think is best for their DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not that there are many kids with behavioral issues that we’ve noticed, but the couple I have heard about left the public to go to the privates due to their kids behavioral issues. And the private school closest to us has had some real issues with sever bullying.

Also the other thing we’ve noticed in our community is there has been this migration of more conservative (right wing even) families moving their kids from public to private that began during Covid as a reaction to the Covid policies. Now the privates near are are highly saturated with republicans which would be a huge turnoff for me.

Whatcha talkin’ about Willis?

Unless they’re religious, most private schools administrators and parents lean heavily liberal. NAIS policies couldn’t be more so. Either way, it’s gross that you’re turned off by people having a different philosophical or political outlook than you. Bigot.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Def can’t make sweeping generalizations. Our kids are in public and I myself went private K-12. I am astounded by our public schools and the resources, academics, extracurricular they have at even the earliest school years as compared to the Catholic schools I grew up in.

I’m not sure people mean the average catholic school when they refer to private schools. I distinguish between religious and private.

Anonymous wrote:Not that there are many kids with behavioral issues that we’ve noticed, but the couple I have heard about left the public to go to the privates due to their kids behavioral issues. And the private school closest to us has had some real issues with sever bullying.

Also the other thing we’ve noticed in our community is there has been this migration of more conservative (right wing even) families moving their kids from public to private that began during Covid as a reaction to the Covid policies. Now the privates near are are highly saturated with republicans which would be a huge turnoff for me.

Whatcha talkin’ about Willis?

Unless they’re religious, most private schools administrators and parents lean heavily liberal. NAIS policies couldn’t be more so. Either way, it’s gross that you’re turned off by people having a different philosophical or political outlook than you. Bigot.

They talk about it a lot because they need to justify spending that much money. But look, if you live in an area with a high low-income/non-English speaking population, then just know that public school resources will focus on getting those kids up to speed and a below average English speaker will be ignored or there may not be enough resources to focus on your kid who has an IEP or 504 for ADHD or dyslexia. If you live in a high SES area, then all the resources will be spread across all the students, and all the children will thrive. I know this from personal experience having moved and switched public schools within the same school district.

I would never send my child to private though, there are all sorts of social issues that come with that, plus the math instruction is pretty terrible.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks. So how do private schools handle students with special needs? Do they have separate classes and separate special-ed teachers?

What kinds of extra curriculars? As in more math clubs and things like?

This is so school and district dependent. In good public school districts, it tends to be special needs and rich that go private. In bad districts, it's a broader spectrum of kids that go private.

What people are generally having a hard time with in the more mediocre public schools is the complete breakdown in discipline. But on the other hand, public schools have way more opportunities for kids, from advanced math to clubs to sports. It really depends on what school you're zoned for. Private schools don't do anything wonderful for special needs. But they can deny them admittance and they can kick them out. Which publics can't.

Not that there are many kids with behavioral issues that we’ve noticed, but the couple I have heard about left the public to go to the privates due to their kids behavioral issues. And the private school closest to us has had some real issues with sever bullying.

Also the other thing we’ve noticed in our community is there has been this migration of more conservative (right wing even) families moving their kids from public to private that began during Covid as a reaction to the Covid policies. Now the privates near are are highly saturated with republicans which would be a huge turnoff for me.

Def can’t make sweeping generalizations. Our kids are in public and I myself went private K-12. I am astounded by our public schools and the resources, academics, extracurricular they have at even the earliest school years as compared to the Catholic schools I grew up in.

I’ve done both public and private and truly think private is a complete waste before high school.

Why I like private?

1) Sports. There was less of an obsession with professional/college sports and more kids actually playing them. My kid is not going to be Lebron James, but I’d like him to be on a team and go to practice. Bench him for the games, fine, but let him run around. Most private schools let anyone practice if they’d like, public schools don’t.

2) Less testing. I don’t believe in the endless, needless testing of elementary school students.

What I thought I’d like in private, but didn’t:

1) Smaller classes. Sounds great, yes, but sadly, in practice it does not mean more individualized attention and differentiation. The teachers just taught to the middle of the class. Nothing was done for gifted students.

2) No state benchmarks. Again, I thought that was great, more freedom for teachers to teach and foster creativity. In practice I found it could mean a lazy, rich girl teacher doing the bare minimum and getting away with it.

3) Peer group. I expected that people who paid for private school would be more interested in their child’s education. What I found was a plenty of ambivalent parents and kids with emotional issues and behavioral problems (and yes, private schools do accept them all of the time!), etc.

I found public school had more extracurriculars, more differentiated learning, and better teachers as a whole.

The one thing I have noticed is that if you’re aiming for the Ivies, etc. private will help you get in. Public school kids do go to top schools, sure, but it’s much easier to land a spot from an Ivy. So, if that’s your thing, go to a private high school. Having attended an Ivy and being unimpressed, I’m not sure I want that for my kids.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks. So how do private schools handle students with special needs? Do they have separate classes and separate special-ed teachers?

What kinds of extra curriculars? As in more math clubs and things like?

Mainstream homeroom class w some pull outs

Anonymous wrote:No better outcome for college comes from private. FULL STOP

Go private for 5-8 then return to public for Hs

If you live somewhere with relatively good schools, private schools do not provide a vastly better education.

I worked as a college admissions counselor eons ago and the private schools do a lot of hand holding and application prep for the kids. I don't necessarily think it gives them a leg up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks. So how do private schools handle students with special needs? Do they have separate classes and separate special-ed teachers?

What kinds of extra curriculars? As in more math clubs and things like?

It depends on the school and what the special need is. Private schools with a more rigorous academic expectations are just not going to admit kids that aren’t able to keep up. Likewise, they are unlikely to admit kids with severe behavioral problems. If your child has an IEP and the school can’t/doesn’t want to make those specific accommodations, they will just tell you it isn’t a good fit. Sometimes parents provide their own 1:1 aide but again it depends on what the issues are.

Some private schools do have specific programs for learning disabilities though

Yep. My kids started attending a private prep school in middle school. No children with significant behavior issues or learning needs are admitted there and the classes are very rigorous.

But I purposely made my kids to go to public school for the elementary years so that they could develop empathy and understanding of people with special needs. You can really only do that by being in a classroom with kids with learning disabilities, autism, intellectual disabilities, etc.

Oh what do you know. We have a modern day mother Teresa here

Yeah, this is cringe.

I will just say that my second grader’s private school class had more disruptive kids than his third or fourth grade classes in public school. If the disruptive kids have siblings who also attend the school, they’re not kicking the trouble kids out. Can’t risk losing all that tuition money! And forget it if the kids’ parents donate to the school…

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks. So how do private schools handle students with special needs? Do they have separate classes and separate special-ed teachers?

What kinds of extra curriculars? As in more math clubs and things like?

I have two teens, one in public and one in private. They have very different needs and each found a school that’s a good fit for them.

No school is perfect. The public school actually has more extra curricular activities. There are more clubs of all kinds and sports.

The private school does not offer special education services, but ironically that is where my child with an IEP is attending and doing well. The academics are more rigorous than the public school but teachers give more feedback and there is more support in each class.

My kid in public school is doing well with the large school and needs minimal teacher support. There are more options for classes and all of the extras. She likes going to the neighborhood high school school, the Friday night football games, all that comes with being at the local HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks. So how do private schools handle students with special needs? Do they have separate classes and separate special-ed teachers?

What kinds of extra curriculars? As in more math clubs and things like?

It depends on the school and what the special need is. Private schools with a more rigorous academic expectations are just not going to admit kids that aren’t able to keep up. Likewise, they are unlikely to admit kids with severe behavioral problems. If your child has an IEP and the school can’t/doesn’t want to make those specific accommodations, they will just tell you it isn’t a good fit. Sometimes parents provide their own 1:1 aide but again it depends on what the issues are.

Some private schools do have specific programs for learning disabilities though

Yep. My kids started attending a private prep school in middle school. No children with significant behavior issues or learning needs are admitted there and the classes are very rigorous.

But I purposely made my kids to go to public school for the elementary years so that they could develop empathy and understanding of people with special needs. You can really only do that by being in a classroom with kids with learning disabilities, autism, intellectual disabilities, etc.

Oh what do you know. We have a modern day mother Teresa here