They can’t fly under the radar. Teachers will know them and encourage participation and provide lots of feedback.

Smaller class sizes
Acres of woods & streams to explore
High quality art and music
In person during pandemic
Many good teachers
Responsive to social issues
Enrichment like in-house artists and writers
Social programs like inter-grade “big sisters/brothers”

Everything has pluses and minuses. It’s probably not as rigorous in STEM as public. Smaller class size also means if your child doesn’t find friends, it can be tough. It’s run more like a club — more difficult to have open conversations about what needs improvement. No grades/ participation in testing so students don’t get a sense of how they are doing on standard measures. This allows them to do more progressive learning and teaching but sometimes students don’t knuckle down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No stress about absences. If we want to travel or have a recuperation day post travel… we just do it. On all fronts really, the school treats us like adults with good judgment.

Ha, we went to a private school and did this, and the teacher rang me up and yelled at me for half an hour.

Which school?

Anonymous wrote:Safe, orderly class rooms with others who value education.

Others who value education?

Safe, orderly class rooms with others who value education.

I like the smug moral superiority that comes with telling my public-school neighbors that I send my kids to private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overall calmness of the whole place.

This one of the benefits that most people don’t mention. The school is calm and the is plenty of space- in the classrooms, hallways, dining hall, etc. The entire experience is more civil. If the school wasn’t a great fit for my daughter none of the rest of it would matter, but it is very nice to have.

I totally agree. I go in to pick up my kindergarten daughter and the hallways are calm. She’s in aftercare and the kids are playing happily. No one is being loud and disruptive. There are just happy sounds of kids playing. They answer the teacher’s questions nicely. They know to clean up after themselves before they go home. It’s just … really nice.

+1 this was a weird private school benefit that I didn't think about. In our public school, the hallways are narrow and the kids rush from class to class but the private school we moved to have large hallways, students can gather and chat, more time between classes and even areas for kids to congregate that aren't in classrooms. It's very refreshing and does change the dynamic

Anonymous wrote:No stress about absences. If we want to travel or have a recuperation day post travel… we just do it. On all fronts really, the school treats us like adults with good judgment.

Ha, we went to a private school and did this, and the teacher rang me up and yelled at me for half an hour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overall calmness of the whole place.

This one of the benefits that most people don’t mention. The school is calm and the is plenty of space- in the classrooms, hallways, dining hall, etc. The entire experience is more civil. If the school wasn’t a great fit for my daughter none of the rest of it would matter, but it is very nice to have.

I totally agree. I go in to pick up my kindergarten daughter and the hallways are calm. She’s in aftercare and the kids are playing happily. No one is being loud and disruptive. There are just happy sounds of kids playing. They answer the teacher’s questions nicely. They know to clean up after themselves before they go home. It’s just … really nice.

Anonymous wrote:The overall calmness of the whole place.

This one of the benefits that most people don’t mention. The school is calm and the is plenty of space- in the classrooms, hallways, dining hall, etc. The entire experience is more civil. If the school wasn’t a great fit for my daughter none of the rest of it would matter, but it is very nice to have.

Anonymous wrote:That they actually have school! FCPS sibling has barely had a full week of school all year.

I always thought my kid was never in school, but the FCPS parents have had it ROUGH this year. Who has a school holiday on Halloween?!

The small classes and emphasis on leadership and public speaking.

The higher expectations. My kid will give what is expected and nothing more.

I’m surprised by the crowing about 5 day school weeks. I like our private but one of the things that I do not like is it seems my kid is always out of school. Everyone jokes that the more you pay, the less they go. I think it is slightly under the 180 day limit our publics are required to do.

Anonymous wrote:We were public K-8 and we are so happy with kids' private high school.

Smaller class size (both classroom and # in grade).
Really phenomenal teachers.
So well-run and organized.
Safety.
College counseling/prep.
Merit-based is ok--and it's ok to promote it. (not every snowflake gets what they want).
Writing program.
Rigor.
No re-takes.
School spirit.
Warm and friendly students.
Service is required every year and the importance of giving back is stressed.
More traditional. Not too over the board with "WOKE culture", but very accepting environment for everyone.
Facilities.
No distractions with the opposite sex. Can focus better on academics during the day.

Wow, what school is this and it’s in around here in Wash dc?