We moved here when my eldest was in 2nd. Honestly part of it was reading these boards about the AAP program in FCPS. The application process sounds nuts and I think they differentiate way too early.

We had a good experience with Catholic schools where we were moving from, so we decided to use them here. I’m so glad we did. Covid hit two years later and my kids were in person while my neighbors were not. Now my eldest is in a diocesan high school and he’s doing great.

We’re a military family who were here when the kids were babies, then moved around and came back when they were school-aged. When they were babies I assumed we’d send them to FCPS when we came back to this area and dh and I actually fought about it back then because I thought it would be wasteful to use Catholic schools when we were going to be living in a good school district. Circumstances in those other locations led us to Catholic schools there and we had such a great experience that I wanted to keep it going. I’m so grateful for everything that led us to that decision.

You get what you pay for.

Anonymous wrote:Because the public schools, especially middle and high school, are awful places to send your children. I’ve worked in both and they are only getting worse.

+1 free school is just not very good

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This.

...and that is why we are moving to private for next year... MCPS has been a shocking disappointment very early on.

Anonymous wrote:We wanted a no-tech school with focus on good old fashioned reading, writing and arithmetic in a Catholic environment. Couldn’t find that in our “good” FCPS.

Same. Our kid never went to their public option (Haycock), so I can’t compare directly, bit we’ve been happy with the Catholic school so far.

I am allergic to public schools... I think they're too big.

Religious reasons

We wanted a no-tech school with focus on good old fashioned reading, writing and arithmetic in a Catholic environment. Couldn’t find that in our “good” FCPS.

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.

This.

Anonymous wrote:I live in a wealthy neighborhood with highly ranked public options. Some of my neighbors are wealthy enough that the cost of private school is an afterthought. For some of them, it is generational. They went to private and cannot imagine not doing the same for their kids (I also think they would feel like this would reflect badly upon themselves in their peer groups since many still socialize with their classmates from their privates). One family is very religious. Another very honestly shared that his daughter wouldn’t have stood out at the local high school because of the competition. She ended up going to an Ivy and they felt the private really helped her with that.

I have to admit, our preference for private was probably largely based on the fact that’s what we’re familiar with. DH and I both always went to private school and when we toured our local public, it just felt so cold and institutional. It was so different from what felt like the norm for us.

My parents sent me to a fancy private school for high school when we lived in one of the best school districts in the country. Part was religious and part was cultural, though we were not any more religious than the kids I went to public school with. My mom grew up going to private Catholic school and wanted the same for her kids. She wouldn’t admit it, but there was probably some snobbery thrown in to that decision.

FWIW I would have been better off at the public school and even my parents will admit that now. It was a great fit for my sister but socially I found it stifling and our public had similarly great opportunities. I would have much rather they had given me that money for graduate school! (They fully funded private college but we were on our own after that)

I cant stand middle class families with all their economic and IQ deficiencies. I feel more comfortable in private schools.

Because the public schools, especially middle and high school, are awful places to send your children. I’ve worked in both and they are only getting worse.

I live in a wealthy neighborhood with highly ranked public options. Some of my neighbors are wealthy enough that the cost of private school is an afterthought. For some of them, it is generational. They went to private and cannot imagine not doing the same for their kids (I also think they would feel like this would reflect badly upon themselves in their peer groups since many still socialize with their classmates from their privates). One family is very religious. Another very honestly shared that his daughter wouldn’t have stood out at the local high school because of the competition. She ended up going to an Ivy and they felt the private really helped her with that.

Anonymous wrote:Struggling with this decision and would like to hear others’ perspectives. Also worried that since we are in a top rated public district, the people opting for private will be extremely religious families and kids with behavior or social issues, neither of which describes us.

OP, are you in NJ or Mass? There are no good publics in the DMV, particularly not for elementary and middle school. We moved our kids to private in 7th and 4th grade, and they went to a Catholic HS. In hindsight, I might have better started them in private in K and then switched to public in HS if IB or Magnet programs were an option. That said, it can be difficult to get kids excited about switching for HS. That was our intent, but they did not want to go public. I think college outcomes are better from public because of grade inflation. However, then you have to put up with shelter in place drills, violence, bad behavior, frazzled teachers, and the rest.