Anonymous wrote:Either Sidwell is spending extravagantly or just overcharging families.

Or, this is the cost of the set of services, including choices about experience level of faculty, that are a part of their value proposition to customers. It is a free market proposition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Sidwell tuition for the middle and upper school looks like it's similar to other schools only because, as a PP stated, the lower grades pay the same tuition as the higher grades. If they continued the typical practice of private schools, having the lower school pay less than middle school and upper school paying more than both, then the upper school tuition would be dramatically higher than for similar schools. This would make the school look bad.

What's worse for lower school parents and students, despite paying a much higher tuition compared to other lower schools, the class size is larger than most lower schools. Sidwell starts with a class of 24 to 2 , compared to less than 20 to 2 for most private lower schools.

With 80% of the total student population in the US/MS, I am not sure this is true. Inverted pyramid with 30-40 kids per grade in LS and 125 in a graduating class.

This is why some people look at sending their kids to a school that goes to 8th grade. 9-12 are resource intense when compared to the lower classes and suck up the money.

Anonymous wrote:The Sidwell tuition for the middle and upper school looks like it's similar to other schools only because, as a PP stated, the lower grades pay the same tuition as the higher grades. If they continued the typical practice of private schools, having the lower school pay less than middle school and upper school paying more than both, then the upper school tuition would be dramatically higher than for similar schools. This would make the school look bad.

What's worse for lower school parents and students, despite paying a much higher tuition compared to other lower schools, the class size is larger than most lower schools. Sidwell starts with a class of 24 to 2 , compared to less than 20 to 2 for most private lower schools.

With 80% of the total student population in the US/MS, I am not sure this is true. Inverted pyramid with 30-40 kids per grade in LS and 125 in a graduating class.

Does anyone know if tuition remission and/or financial aid for staff and administration could account for part of the increase?

Either Sidwell is spending extravagantly or just overcharging families.

The Sidwell tuition for the middle and upper school looks like it's similar to other schools only because, as a PP stated, the lower grades pay the same tuition as the higher grades. If they continued the typical practice of private schools, having the lower school pay less than middle school and upper school paying more than both, then the upper school tuition would be dramatically higher than for similar schools. This would make the school look bad.

What's worse for lower school parents and students, despite paying a much higher tuition compared to other lower schools, the class size is larger than most lower schools. Sidwell starts with a class of 24 to 2 , compared to less than 20 to 2 for most private lower schools.

12:46 pm I totally agree. It is no secret that these private schools are expensive. It is noe secret, particularly if you do diligence or follow this blog, that they all increase tuition each year. So when you a private school you should understand that tuition increase is a real, and somewhat guaranteed, likelihood and think about whether you are willing to do that for 12 or 13 years. If not, that should go into your evaluation of whether private school, and particular schools within that system, make sense for you and your family.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, and maybe I will regret this reaction in a few years when I'm paying tuition myself, but HAHAHAHBABABABABHAHA! It's a tricky game when you get in bed with a private school. They indoctrinate you in their ways, convince you that there is really no comparable alternative, then jack up the prices. It's brilliant actually. Admirable in their psychological manipulation.

Or 40k is not really that much of a financial burden for the people who choose private school. Remember they still want you to contribute to a few other things- annual fund, capital fund, etc. If 40k is too much for you, don't go.

What about tuition discounts/remission for teachers? Is that a factor?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Remember that when you calculate costs for employees you need to add an additional 20% to the salary to account for payroll tax and benefits costs.

A more common figure for benefits costs is 30%+, especially at places where benefits tend towards the generous side (i.e., not McDonalds/WalMart store managers).

This is a good point. To follow up on it some, private school teachers don't actually have benefits packages "towards the generous side" as a rule of thumb, I think -- with the biggest difference being that any sort of pension plan is quite rare (as opposed to for public school employees who often have some sort of state pension plan participation). Some schools have 401K matching but that's not nearly as expensive as a pension plan.

I believe I've seen a 22% figure for private schools in this area, but perhaps with rising health care costs the number is getting closer to 30%. Just so people understand, the 22% figure includes the employer mandatory federal payroll tax for social security and Medicare -- close to 8% of the employee salary.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, and maybe I will regret this reaction in a few years when I'm paying tuition myself, but HAHAHAHBABABABABHAHA! It's a tricky game when you get in bed with a private school. They indoctrinate you in their ways, convince you that there is really no comparable alternative, then jack up the prices. It's brilliant actually. Admirable in their psychological manipulation.

I actually don't feel that way. We,started in public and know exactly what the alternative would be for us and don't regret it at all. We can afford it though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also kind of frustrating about Sidwell -- some private schools charge lower tuition for the lower grades, in line with the lower costs associated with those years. Not at Sidwell. All students, regardless of grade, are the same tuition. The effect, thus, is that during the lower school years, parents subsidize the upper grades. If your child stays there throughout their education, I suppose that it evens out -- you'll later be subsidized by the younger kids' tuition.

I agree with your point about the lower grades paying a relatively exorbitant tuition. At least in the upper school you receive the benefit of advanced classes and counseling to prepare your student for good colleges and universities.

Tuition for 2016-2017 at a peer k-12 school in expensive Los Angeles.

Tuition and fees for 2016-17

Grades K-5 = $26,400

Grades 6-8 = $30,900

Grades 9-12 = $34,800

A more equitable distribution of the tuition burden.

Sorry, and maybe I will regret this reaction in a few years when I'm paying tuition myself, but HAHAHAHBABABABABHAHA! It's a tricky game when you get in bed with a private school. They indoctrinate you in their ways, convince you that there is really no comparable alternative, then jack up the prices. It's brilliant actually. Admirable in their psychological manipulation.

Siena School is just under $40,000 for HS. Very happy with the school, but that is a lot of money! No fancy campuses either!

Anonymous wrote:Also kind of frustrating about Sidwell -- some private schools charge lower tuition for the lower grades, in line with the lower costs associated with those years. Not at Sidwell. All students, regardless of grade, are the same tuition. The effect, thus, is that during the lower school years, parents subsidize the upper grades. If your child stays there throughout their education, I suppose that it evens out -- you'll later be subsidized by the younger kids' tuition.

I agree with your point about the lower grades paying a relatively exorbitant tuition. At least in the upper school you receive the benefit of advanced classes and counseling to prepare your student for good colleges and universities.

Tuition for 2016-2017 at a peer k-12 school in expensive Los Angeles.

Tuition and fees for 2016-17

Grades K-5 = $26,400

Grades 6-8 = $30,900

Grades 9-12 = $34,800