Switched to private when publics closed during Covid (private was open). Not a lot of overly religious families, but a lot of money, which means the teens are frequently driving jeeps, tesla and even more expensive cars. There are a lot of drugs available to these teens as well.

There's good:
-smaller class sizes
-more attention from teachers when needed
-more attention from staff when needed
-more opportunity to participate in sports/music/theater because your not in an overcrowded public

And bad:
-the best and the brightest in MoCo are in MCPS magnets and IB programs, not private school

You can always try public, and if you don't like it go private. Or go private and you don't like it, go public.

Excellent is subjective, especially in MCPS if your high school isn’t named after a civil war poet.

Elementary may be fine. MS and HS I would go independent.

We are at one of, if not the, best HSs in MCPS. It is not that good. Language teacher shows up roughly 1/2 the time. Same with engineering. Math teacher refuses to teach - “You are in honors accelerated math. You can learn from the materials - get a tutor if you need more”. Some gems but a lot of lemons. Advisor responds within a week or so - after multiple follow ups. If your kid is really smart and driven - go for it. Hope that they can stay driven in the environment. If you don’t have that kid - be ready to support, a lot.

We live in a top public zone just for the neighborhood. Never considered actually sending kids to public school though.

Anonymous wrote:We really wanted our "excellent" MCPS school to work. It was fine. We ended up moving to an independent school during the pandemic and WOW, what a difference. The curriculum, how engaged the kids/teachers are, how well the administration knows my kids and their needs. I am blown away with how much they are thinking and learning and as long as we can afford to give them this education, we will. It's to the tune of $100k+/yr, so if we thought the other option was excellent, we would have stayed public.

Same experience in FCPS. I had my gripes, but generally was happy. Moved to private because of the pandemic mess and was shocked at the difference. Kid is thriving.

We're planning on public for HS but, even at our high performing local HS I am worried about the quality of writing instruction and excessive ed tech, as well as social issues like vaping in the bathrooms. We'll choose public anyway for cost and commute reasons (there are no good private HS near us) but I worry about what is missed.

We’re not religious and our kids don’t have behavior issues. We loved to MoCo largely because of the schools. We heard from friends how bad their experiences were and our preschool teacher/Head of School both told us they would advise private if we could swing it (they both had kids in public). We toured our public elementary and were not impressed. We toured some private options and felt they were warmer, more caring and offered an overall better, more well-rounded experience. Our kids are now in high school and we never once contemplated moving to public.

We really wanted our "excellent" MCPS school to work. It was fine. We ended up moving to an independent school during the pandemic and WOW, what a difference. The curriculum, how engaged the kids/teachers are, how well the administration knows my kids and their needs. I am blown away with how much they are thinking and learning and as long as we can afford to give them this education, we will. It's to the tune of $100k+/yr, so if we thought the other option was excellent, we would have stayed public.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your reasons for considering private school then?

School is overly focused (IMO) on edtech. IMO sometimes you have to do things like drill 7-3 and 2x2 and get the repetition in without trying to gamify all learning.

School is overly focused (IMO) on PTA candy drives, special assemblies, special game days or sport days, PJ dress up days, and adding more and more social emotional learning initiatives. I’m all for SEL but it’s just too much. School has plenty of money and we don’t need endless fundraisers to get money to throw more parties or add more movie days.

Lack of writing instruction (No spelling instruction. They don’t write enough by hand or at least I don’t see it. I’ve seen 2 pieces brought home this year)

Math curriculum is a year behind and mostly done on math apps

Behavior code. I’m down with kids learning manners and polite behavior.

And you think your child is at an "excellent public school?" You're kidding yourself, OP.

Not the poster of the above quotes but this describes our FCPS public that was, at that time, the highest rated public in the county and close to the highest for the state. We left after 1st grade and this was before COVID. We moved to this county and this neighborhood because both were supposed to be among the best. We were super shocked but not public school devotees so we bit the bullet and our kids have thrived in private.

We are not extremely religious and our kids are not behavior problems.

We did public for a while, but the middle school and high school were too big, and that size limited opportunities for our kids to participate in some of the activities they wanted to do. The behavior issues in the public school were the final straw.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people think they live somewhere with “excellent public schools” or even move for the schools and then find out it’s not true. MCPS and APS are prime examples.

That's your opinion, which is worth noting.
Fact is no one can compete with MCPS in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your reasons for considering private school then?

School is overly focused (IMO) on edtech. IMO sometimes you have to do things like drill 7-3 and 2x2 and get the repetition in without trying to gamify all learning.

School is overly focused (IMO) on PTA candy drives, special assemblies, special game days or sport days, PJ dress up days, and adding more and more social emotional learning initiatives. I’m all for SEL but it’s just too much. School has plenty of money and we don’t need endless fundraisers to get money to throw more parties or add more movie days.

Lack of writing instruction (No spelling instruction. They don’t write enough by hand or at least I don’t see it. I’ve seen 2 pieces brought home this year)

Math curriculum is a year behind and mostly done on math apps

Behavior code. I’m down with kids learning manners and polite behavior.

This describes us too, particulary the ed tech and behavior points.

My child was very interested in science. I learned that the public elementary taught that after the testing (SOLS) which were in May. They told him and confirmed it with me that this was a "history year" (because that was what the test was scheduled to be) and he'd have science in the spring (May) and more next year. They pride themselves on high test scores but neglected what was not being tested.

The public school teacher mimicked my child complaining (looking for help) when he advocated for the things listed in his IEP. They put a list of reminders on his desk and it fell. I mentioned it once in a meeting and they said "we threw that away because it was hard to stick to the desk". They did not want to use tape, or it had not occurred to any to try something beyond a post it.

My child was badly hurt and when I asked why they didn't tell me, they said legally they didn't have to.

IMHO, in public schools in affluent areas, there is a big focus on avoiding law suits, where as (for us) being part of smaller community means that there is more "care" and that is what we were seeking. While you can sue a private school, people who are unhappy can just leave, so it feels less confrontational.

We also are religious, and it was comforting to combine church and school. They felt as home in church (like it was "theirs") as they did in the gym or on the playground. There are still behavior issues (and sometimes my kid has been the one in the wrong) but parents tend to work things out like the kids are cousins.

Class size is 13 kids to 1 teacher vs 28 kids to 1 teacher in MCPS.

Because excellent is subjective. At our Publix there are mentally disturbed kids acting out and being disruptive. One of my kids had three teachers in 1 year in elementary school and another had 4 teachers in one year. In Ms, my 8th grader’s English teacher just up and quit before Christmas. Then they got someone who was good, but she got a new job so she left and now someone’s mom is the sub. My child needed a recommendation from an English teacher for high school applications. Sorry, they don’t actually have an English teacher! Can’t even contact them because they don’t have an APS issued iPad or email. Ridiculous.