Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school is only worth it if you are wealthy or live in a bad area and get grants / scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise if you can afford private school in a bad area, you can afford to move to a good area with better public schools.

We are not wealthy, but live in a wealthy area with "great" public schools. We switched to private because there was nothing really happening in elementary during public except encouraging bad habits (academic and behavioral). Maybe I'm traditional, but I think kids should learn to use pencils in K-3rd, not how to swipe on an ipad.

Agree. There are no “good” public schools. There are public schools were parents of the children there are wealthy and where kids have fewer social/emotional problems- but the school isn’t actually any better

The social/emotional problems are one of the major complaints people have about their public schools, though. As someone who currently lives in a district with schools that have tons of these problems, I wouldn’t minimize living in a district without them and the benefit it provides.

Anonymous wrote:We have quiet, studious daughters. Yes, it's been worth it.

+1, same here.

"Worth" is subjective, there is no one right answer even within families, let alone across families. If private school offers you something that you want and that public can't offer, then it doesn’t really matter how good a district you buy into because you're still not getting that thing.

Anonymous wrote:No.

I've explained my reasoning multiple times on DCUM, but basically it boils down to private school not offering the best quality:price ratio before college.

That being said, you do pay for your child's public education - in that the best schools are in the best neighborhoods, which have expensive real estate. But at the end of your kid's K-12, you still have your house, and it will have turned into a solid investment, since everyone wants to buy into the good school district. If you pay for private instead, the money is gone.

We moved to be inbounds to the best school district that also worked for our commutes. We were house poor for a while, but now our investment has paid off.

If you can't move because you have a great mortgage, and your public school is crap... then that might be the only time when temporary private schooling might help you out.

This reasoning, such as it is, doesn't consider, even once, the need of an individual child.

Yes, the financial component is an important consideration. But to suggest that it is the only consideration is incredibly myopic, and really says something about the PP.

As most posters say, there is no one right answer to this question. It's a balancing act when it comes to cost, your financial means, the quality of the public schools, the quality of the private schools you are considering, the impact on your daily life, and dozens of other factors.

I will briefly tell you our story - both spouses are products of public schools, all grandparents were public school teachers. Moved to the suburbs from DC because of the public schools, and were happy for years. in HS, kid 1 started having difficulties - social and emotional issues that impacted academic performance. Moved to a small independent school during HS, and it has been a remarkable turnaround. It was the best thing we could have done. But that is obviously very specific to our kid.

One other thing - I am a firm believer that all kids would benefit from smaller class sizes - at a minimum, they would not suffer any adverse effects. But, for some kids smaller classes make a world of difference - ours was one such kid. It's worth thinking about where you think your kids fall, although it may change throughout their academic career.

Yet another thread where posters from clear across the country who know nothing about Arlington schools are jumping in to offer their irrelevant and uninformed and useless generalizations and views.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school is only worth it if you are wealthy or live in a bad area and get grants / scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise if you can afford private school in a bad area, you can afford to move to a good area with better public schools.

We are not wealthy, but live in a wealthy area with "great" public schools. We switched to private because there was nothing really happening in elementary during public except encouraging bad habits (academic and behavioral). Maybe I'm traditional, but I think kids should learn to use pencils in K-3rd, not how to swipe on an ipad.

Agree. There are no “good” public schools. There are public schools were parents of the children there are wealthy and where kids have fewer social/emotional problems- but the school isn’t actually any better

Wow. Can you tell me about yourself? I’m truly fascinated by people like you who think this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school is only worth it if you are wealthy or live in a bad area and get grants / scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise if you can afford private school in a bad area, you can afford to move to a good area with better public schools.

We are not wealthy, but live in a wealthy area with "great" public schools. We switched to private because there was nothing really happening in elementary during public except encouraging bad habits (academic and behavioral). Maybe I'm traditional, but I think kids should learn to use pencils in K-3rd, not how to swipe on an ipad.

Agree. There are no “good” public schools. There are public schools were parents of the children there are wealthy and where kids have fewer social/emotional problems- but the school isn’t actually any better

We have quiet, studious daughters. Yes, it's been worth it.

Peace of mind… above

We switched due to covid. Kid started at private in 4th and is in 8th now.
For us it was worth it then for the piece of mind that they would be open.
Since she’s been there it’s been worth it for the small class sizes, ( 16) and less disruptive students. She also got an adhd diagnosis and they have worked with us on accommodations and she doing. She’s also on 2 athletic teams and that whole experience has been great.
I’m nervous about public HS next year buf hoping the good habits she’s working on will help carry her through.

If you can afford it without too much thought, why not just try private? I wouldn't spend the money for private over an Arlington school if it were a struggle, but if it's not a huge deal to you financially, I wouldn't fret too much over it. Your public school will always be there.

Anonymous wrote:Private school is only worth it if you are wealthy or live in a bad area and get grants / scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise if you can afford private school in a bad area, you can afford to move to a good area with better public schools.

We are not wealthy, but live in a wealthy area with "great" public schools. We switched to private because there was nothing really happening in elementary during public except encouraging bad habits (academic and behavioral). Maybe I'm traditional, but I think kids should learn to use pencils in K-3rd, not how to swipe on an ipad.

Private school is only worth it if you are wealthy or live in a bad area and get grants / scholarships to pay for it. Otherwise if you can afford private school in a bad area, you can afford to move to a good area with better public schools.

Elementary school is easy to supplement at home if you think your child needs it. That’s not a great reason to leave elementary school.

Once in middle school laptops are necessary. Any school 7th grade up not using technology are doing their students a disservice.

My 7th grader brings home books that middle schoolers have been reading forever. No different than the way we read those books and wrote those papers. The Giver, The Outsider, The Book Thief are some of the ones they are reading. The only difference is the students have their work on the laptop and pass it in by midnight on the day due.

No.

I've explained my reasoning multiple times on DCUM, but basically it boils down to private school not offering the best quality:price ratio before college.

That being said, you do pay for your child's public education - in that the best schools are in the best neighborhoods, which have expensive real estate. But at the end of your kid's K-12, you still have your house, and it will have turned into a solid investment, since everyone wants to buy into the good school district. If you pay for private instead, the money is gone.

We moved to be inbounds to the best school district that also worked for our commutes. We were house poor for a while, but now our investment has paid off.

If you can't move because you have a great mortgage, and your public school is crap... then that might be the only time when temporary private schooling might help you out.