Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:54     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Not all privates are outstanding, and you need to be careful when you choose your private. The tours can really impress you with their facilities, class size etc, but you need to dig deeper and really understand their curriculum and what/how teachers are teaching. I work at a private school (not a teacher) and there are a lot of teachers just pulling lessons from chat gpt and teachers pay teachers website, who aren’t doing a whole lot for differentiation. I wouldn’t spend $50k for that.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:41     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just read an article that staff at Alice Deal in DC chose to eliminate reading full novels from the 8th grade curriculum.


Holy sh*t. I don’t want to start a public/ private debate but is that true? Can someone confirm. If so, what a disgrace. These kids deserve better.


I highly doubt that. My middle school kids in MCPS read a full novel a quarter. I would think DCPS would be similar.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:33     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
I am already planning to help my kids send their kids to private. My kids are mid/late 20s now, and went to a combination of DMV public and private schools and I was fans of both. But times have changed. My oldest iis getting married next year to the daughter of a public school teacher in what used to be considered a top VA district (Charlottesville). The stories are real. Public school needs major reform - and it pains me to say that. Point being, I'm probably not alone wanting my grandkids to have a great education and I'm willing to help.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:31     Subject: Re:Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.


There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools


Huh? There are definitely merit scholarships for local private high schools.

Below the high school level, it's not called a merit scholarship but the FA decision is often not *solely* about need, which makes a segment of DCUM crazy but is true nonetheless. Schools use FA to keep students they want to keep, including those who boost test scores or fill out the advanced track classes.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:27     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just read an article that staff at Alice Deal in DC chose to eliminate reading full novels from the 8th grade curriculum.

last year's 8th grade at Maret did not read a full book or write a full essay until the end of year.


That's shocking if true. My kid is in 7th at a nova independent and they have been reading multiple books and writing essays about them since 5th. (Obviously the essays in 5th are simpler than in later grades.)
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 18:11     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Public schools have always been kind of mid but even more so in the last few years. We (admin) are begging and bribing kids to come to school. The poor attendance is now counted in MD public school ratings. Show up, don’t cause trouble, do some work and get an A. That’s why so many kids have straight As. It isn’t that hard.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 17:49     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just read an article that staff at Alice Deal in DC chose to eliminate reading full novels from the 8th grade curriculum.


This is such a succinct and perfect response, assuming it’s truthful


You can find an OpEd from a current parent here.

https://51st.news/opinion-dcps-middle-schoolers-should-be-reading-novels/


Makes me glad we are not in DCPS. So sorry for those who are.

My school (in a different metro) had us read both To Kill a Mockingbird and Tale of Two Cities, full length, with essays and extensive in-class discussions in 8th grade.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 17:30     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.


Well, this must just be true for the low income, low performing schools. Otherwise so many successful, well educated parents wouldn’t be sending their kids to public school and claiming their child is getting a great education to private school parents.


I am surrounded by successful and smart parents at our local public school, which is not low income. Most think the education is "good enough" and sweep a lot of incidents under the rug.
Many neighbors who have been through the system told us they wished they had gone private.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 17:23     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.


Well, this must just be true for the low income, low performing schools. Otherwise so many successful, well educated parents wouldn’t be sending their kids to public school and claiming their child is getting a great education to private school parents.


Study “confirmation bias”. It explains why all parents think they made the best educational choice, even when those choices are directly contradictory.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 16:52     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just read an article that staff at Alice Deal in DC chose to eliminate reading full novels from the 8th grade curriculum.


This is such a succinct and perfect response, assuming it’s truthful


You can find an OpEd from a current parent here.

https://51st.news/opinion-dcps-middle-schoolers-should-be-reading-novels/
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 14:33     Subject: Re:Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:Because public school class sizes are huge, there's a range of abilities that is impossible for even the most seasoned teacher to accommodate, and well behaved kids who are on or above grade level are ignored. The established private schools aren't stupid and have done a good job advertising to UMC families of solid students who are increasingly fed up. Throw in a modest merit scholarship for the ones with top grades and test scores and it's not a hard sell.


There are not merit scholarships for top grades at local independent schools
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 14:28     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:I just read an article that staff at Alice Deal in DC chose to eliminate reading full novels from the 8th grade curriculum.


This is such a succinct and perfect response, assuming it’s truthful
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 14:26     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Applications for admissions to most private schools in the DMV area area keep getting more competitive every year. One school we are applying to for 9th ( from our K-8) told us that applications have been up 70% this year.
I can understand why applications were up during the pandemic , but why are people still increasingly applying to privates five years later ?
Has the quality of education gone down at the public schools? Did people do well in the stock market over the past few years?
Just asking a genuine question.


I don’t think your promise is actually true. I’d be interested to know what school said their applications were up 70%.




I, too, doubt the premise without more backup. One anecdote from one school is not conclusive
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 14:20     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:Public schools are under scrutiny and pressure over the scores of low-performing kids. Teachers there focus on the bottom group because that is what Principals and central office demand.

Even in FCPS AAP, the differentiation is modest, not huge, and some believe better behavior is the main benefit.

Many, not all, public elementary schools have stopped - or significantly reduced - direct instruction in areas such as spelling, grammar, multiplication table memorization, and cursive writing. Many privates still teach all of those areas explicitly and in depth, particularly consistent with this are the Catholic schools. Also, for reading, most Catholic and almost all Montessori schools stuck with Phonics-centered literacy instruction - and skipped the whole language/balanced literacy Lucy Calkins crap.


Well, this must just be true for the low income, low performing schools. Otherwise so many successful, well educated parents wouldn’t be sending their kids to public school and claiming their child is getting a great education to private school parents.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 14:15     Subject: Why are private school applications still at an all time high?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Private schools in dc are super mediocre. In Massachussets the quality is way better. The only explanation is that public schools are deteriorating, not private schools improving. On top of that private school parents are more obnoxious in dc.


Totally irrelevant opinion. Clearly, someone has an axe to grind with private schools in the DC area. Hoping they got to move back to Massachusetts for their childrens sake so they can be happier........


lol. And I love the term ” super mediocre’”. Clearly the PP is the product of a “ super mediocre” education - whether public or private.