Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Yes, you can.
You can also try out your next job for one day before you accept the offer. And colleges now let you try out a day of classes before deciding to enroll. They will keep the spots open for you until you decide.

Did you not sit in on classes and go on college tours before deciding? I sure did.
And job interviews always included tours and meetings with my would-be coworkers. Sorry you never had that opportunity.

Op, my public school wouldn’t let a kid sit in on classes, but they very graciously gave us a helpful and informative tour. Four years later we’re still very happy there.

The difference between colleges and public schools is that public schools don't charge tuition. Of course schools that charge tuition will let you spend the day there. They want your money!

OP we faced that same decision (private or public) and we were allowed to have our DC shadow at both.

We have one in private (K-8) and one in MCPS public...

Issues with private:
*No math acceleration. Highest level offered in Algebra I at k-8
*It's a small K-8 school. It can be hard to be with the same kids for 9 years particularly if you aren't part of the clique.
*It's hard to leave if you want to go public HS. You will feel guilty.
* Your child will be 1 year behind in math compared with the "smart" kids in public if you ever decide to move.

Advantages of private:

*No caring parent will have a kid that falls too far.
*More emphasis on literature/writing.
*Fewer discipline problems
*Teaching good moral principals (at least in our situation)

Issues with public:
*Drugs and alcohol become an issue in middle school. It's a non-issue at our private
*Mixed level classes (lower grades are worse) lead to more behavioral type issues. By HS, they level so it's not as much of an issue.

Advantages of public
*Many more course offerings.
*More qualified/better teachers (according to my DD)

Snarky comments aside (and I agree with most of them), do you really think one day would be enough to understand what a whole year is like?

Anonymous wrote:Our DD actually did two ‘practice days’ at our lical MCPS last year as we considered taking her out of private. It was good for her to observe what was the same and familiar to her classroom experience and what was different. We did twice as we wanted her to do recess and science and art class (her favorite subjects!) but they hadn’t been scheduled first visit day. The school didn’t allow her to go to lunch but they had her sit in media center office to have a bagged lunch instead (apparently the assigned seating made her being in cafeteria too hard?!?)

Anyway-yes-of course it’s possible to do AND they told us to have her come in before summer to be evaluated so they’d know where she ‘was’ as far as reading and math. We ended up having her stay at the private but having her try public out was invaluable info.

You know this was a burden to the school, right? Not just one day, but two?

My kid goes to private and has days off when I have to work, so I’m going to have him “try out” a public school on those days. Free babysitting!

Anonymous wrote:We are deciding between sending DD to either Rachel Carson or a local private Catholic school. I'd love for her to be able to try out a day at Rachel Carson to see which she prefers. Do schools allow this?

RCES parent here. Stick with private.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Yes, you can.
You can also try out your next job for one day before you accept the offer. And colleges now let you try out a day of classes before deciding to enroll. They will keep the spots open for you until you decide.

Did you not sit in on classes and go on college tours before deciding? I sure did.
And job interviews always included tours and meetings with my would-be coworkers. Sorry you never had that opportunity.

Op, my public school wouldn’t let a kid sit in on classes, but they very graciously gave us a helpful and informative tour. Four years later we’re still very happy there.

Yes catholic schools allow the child to try it out for a day first

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools require this sometimes.

But MCPS? No. You can get a tour and perhaps bring your child in to meet people and also tour. But a full trial day as a shadow? Nope.

You’re wrong. DC did a shadow day at a public high school. So did our friends.

I don’t understand the snark on this thread.

Both my DCs did a shadow day at Whitman to help make the decision about private or public (did one of each). But elementary school is a different story. We were able to tour our public elementary school but it was a parent tour, not a kids tour. I think at the elementary level having a rotating stream of kids visiting would be too much for the teachers to manage and I'd rather have them focused on teaching the students.

Our DD actually did two ‘practice days’ at our lical MCPS last year as we considered taking her out of private. It was good for her to observe what was the same and familiar to her classroom experience and what was different. We did twice as we wanted her to do recess and science and art class (her favorite subjects!) but they hadn’t been scheduled first visit day. The school didn’t allow her to go to lunch but they had her sit in media center office to have a bagged lunch instead (apparently the assigned seating made her being in cafeteria too hard?!?)

Anyway-yes-of course it’s possible to do AND they told us to have her come in before summer to be evaluated so they’d know where she ‘was’ as far as reading and math. We ended up having her stay at the private but having her try public out was invaluable info.

Anonymous wrote:Private schools require this sometimes.

But MCPS? No. You can get a tour and perhaps bring your child in to meet people and also tour. But a full trial day as a shadow? Nope.

You’re wrong. DC did a shadow day at a public high school. So did our friends.

I don’t understand the snark on this thread.

Holy cow, you HAVE to be kidding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Yes, you can.
You can also try out your next job for one day before you accept the offer. And colleges now let you try out a day of classes before deciding to enroll. They will keep the spots open for you until you decide.

I work at a private school and we allow this. Even encourage it! But I worked in MCPS until fairly recently and they don’t allow it.

Because private schools want you to come there and pay tuition. Public schools are overcrowded and are fine with you sending your kid to private.

People. She was just asking. Be nicer.

OP, when you move, be sure to ask the house sellers if you can try living in their house for one day before you decide to buy.