DH went to an Ivy and all but one of his friends with whom we keep in contact send/sent their children to public school. The one that didn't sent one to public and one to private because the child ha some special needs that were not being addressed in the public school.

It seems that public is the default and private is if public doesn't work out.

I went to an Ivy for college (same one my dad went to) and an Ivy for law school. My husband went to a top-ranked state school and an Ivy grad school. We meet the income criteria. Both our kids go to Arlington public schools (elementary and middle) and will continue to do so through H.S. absent some extenuating circumstances.

I have no negative feeling about private school and if that is what other parents choose to do, well that has no bearing on my life so that's cool. I do care about education and have been very satisfied with APS. However, I am absolutely fine if my kids don't have the optimal educational experience or environment. I just want them to have a decent education in a safe school where they have friends and enjoy learning. So much of my education came from my home environment--discussing current events over dinner, going to the library and talking about books, traveling, sitting around listening to my parents' friends discuss politics and art and music at dinner parties, etc. My kids read a lot, are always digging around outside and looking at bugs and plants and other critters. I see that they are genuinely curious and intellectually engaged, so I don't worry to much if the classroom doesn't meet 100% of their needs.

I'm sure my choices are influenced by my own experiences, as both my husband and I went to public schools exclusively.

Anonymous wrote:This is a stupid thread. Why do people care about private public so much? Hating much?

Who's hating whom?

This is a stupid thread. Why do people care about private public so much? Hating much?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy grads for both undergrad and grad schools. Both private school lifers for K-12. We chose a language immersion charter for preK-5. We are at a feeder for DCI and may send DC there for middle school, still in wait and see mode. DC will be attending the same elite private school not in this area as DH and his father for high school.

Similar to us -- three Ivy degrees between the two of us (and one "Big 3" legacy); HHI now ~$300K with both of us working for the government, but used to be (and could be again, at our option) considerably higher and liquid assets ~$5M with no debt; probably at the same charter; we'll see about middle school and high school.

Yu Ying, right?!? The Mandarin made it much easier to explain to the grandparents why we're sending DC there instead of private school. They all approve.

LOL! Exactly, PP. This is the funniest thread I've seen in awhile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ivy grads for both undergrad and grad schools. Both private school lifers for K-12. We chose a language immersion charter for preK-5. We are at a feeder for DCI and may send DC there for middle school, still in wait and see mode. DC will be attending the same elite private school not in this area as DH and his father for high school.

Similar to us -- three Ivy degrees between the two of us (and one "Big 3" legacy); HHI now ~$300K with both of us working for the government, but used to be (and could be again, at our option) considerably higher and liquid assets ~$5M with no debt; probably at the same charter; we'll see about middle school and high school.

Yu Ying, right?!? The Mandarin made it much easier to explain to the grandparents why we're sending DC there instead of private school. They all approve.

Anonymous wrote:Ivy grads for both undergrad and grad schools. Both private school lifers for K-12. We chose a language immersion charter for preK-5. We are at a feeder for DCI and may send DC there for middle school, still in wait and see mode. DC will be attending the same elite private school not in this area as DH and his father for high school.

Similar to us -- three Ivy degrees between the two of us (and one "Big 3" legacy); HHI now ~$300K with both of us working for the government, but used to be (and could be again, at our option) considerably higher and liquid assets ~$5M with no debt; probably at the same charter; we'll see about middle school and high school.

Ivy undergrad and law school. Public service career, so income under $350k. Public in silver Spring.

Ivy grads for both undergrad and grad schools. Both private school lifers for K-12. We chose a language immersion charter for preK-5. We are at a feeder for DCI and may send DC there for middle school, still in wait and see mode. DC will be attending the same elite private school not in this area as DH and his father for high school.

Well over $350,000 HHI, accepted into Ivy but couldn't afford so went to top 10, and DC goes to Spring Hill Elementary.

Anonymous wrote:Big 3 legacy. Ivy grad. Public.

Perhaps I should add - HHI around 200k but net worth is large (no mortgage, retirement and college funded, etc).

Big 3 legacy. Ivy grad. Public.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Many thanks for the feedback. So does anyone with kids in public school disagree with the following two statements:

1. A substantial number of public school students in the DC/MD/VA area have parents who attended top colleges and grad schools, including not only Ivy League universities but also several other similarly prestigious institutions.

2. A substantial number of public school students in the DC/MD/VA area come from families earning $250,000 or more.

Wait, I don't get it. I thought you were asking: of parents who went to Ivies/earn a lot of money, how many send their children to public schools? But actually you're asking: of public school students in DC/MD/VA, how many have parents who went to Ivies/earn a lot of money?

If the latter, I would say -- not a whole lot. The number of people who didn't go to Ivies is enormously bigger than the number of people who did, and $350,000+ is a lot of money, even in the more affluent parts of the DC metropolitan area.

You're right ... maybe I've confused the question. I get that the number of Ivy/$350k (shorthand obviously) families is pretty small to begin with - no matter where their children attend school - so I don't expect it to be a big % regardless. What I'm really trying to get at is whether the Ivy/$350k families almost exclusively choose private schools, such that very few of them choose public schools ... or whether instead lots of them choose public schools too, such that there are more than just a few in public schools (in raw #s, not percentages).

Maybe another way to ask the question is this: Of all your neighbors and co-workers in DC who are Ivy/$350k families, what's the rough % who send their children to private school vs. public school? For me, I'd say it's about 90% public and only 10% private, but I'm not sure if I'm representative.

Not sure about neighbors, but for my classmates I'd say it's maybe 60/40 private/public. For my neighbors, most of whom probably meet the $350k mark, it's about 40/60 but I don't know the educational pedigree of each one. Of the private school kids about half are probably at Catholic school which means there is a higher chance that the parents went to Catholic colleges (I know that's the case for some) than Ivy schools.

But what about anyone who attended Harvard, Yale or Stanford for college ( not grad school or professional school) with a HHI of at least $800,000?

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we are all in are something that the private schoolers just don't get.

Or it could be that people make different choices in different circumstances when deciding what's best for their families.

But by all means, pat yourself on the back.