OP, I have had my DC in both public and private. Both were great most of the time, both worked, both met the needs DC had at the time.

For high school we are in a pretty bad DCPS HS boundary-- 25% proficiency in reading/math, kids littering and smoking pot on the way to school, fights breaking out every so often. Few middle class kids, almost no diversity. The offerings on the web site are about 1/25th of what Wilson offers-- it makes me so sick and mad that our inbound HS is so awful that we can't consider it at all. Not like it's not that good, but that it sucks so bad in comparison to Wilson. So all these kids without other options go there. DC will try for charters, private and other DCPS HSs. We'll see what comes out of it, I'm sure something will work out. Perhaps paying $30,000 for something that we should be getting for free, i.e., an appropriate educational opportunity at our inbound high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Connections mean something in college, not high school and certainly not elementary school.

I am the poster right before you. I have no 'connections' extant from either HS or College. The kids my children are close to from HS will be friends for life, and will help each other on their journeys in life. The point is, all the privates are tight communities. They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.

People who go to large public high schools never make friends for life in high school? How about that.

Excuse me, I have to go tell my friends from high school some news they will be surprised to hear.

Langley person responding. I did mis-speak. Many of my classmates are very close to this day....they sell insurance and Langley was the high point of their lives. They will be friends for life. The kids who had something bigger than HS moved on and never looked back. Sorry, but that is my obersvation.

I know this will be interpreted as snarkey, but its not meant that way. 20 kids out of 550 were special, and raced on. 75 were special, and fell into PS mediocrity. Private would have made the 2nd tier 75 interesting in their lives. For the next 400, public or private makes no difference.

All of this discussion also hinges on which private and which public. I think there are plenty of wealthy parents who choose to send their kids to public school if they are zoned for a good school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there's ever been a thread on DCUM where private school parents are allowed to answer OP's question without a dozen posts by public school parents to tell us how stupid we are for not choosing public. Are you all really that insecure about your choice that you cannot bear the thought of anyone choosing a different path?

There really isn't such a thing as "private school parents" and "public school parents" we're just parents trying to make the best decisions for our kids/families. We aren't different species after all! Many of us, myself included, have experience with both. It is not an either/or proposition. Having sent my kids to both I can say, unequivocally, that there is not enough of a difference to justify $38k in tuition! Sorry if that offends you. I am not "insecure" about my choice, but I'll be blunt: I regret my choice to stay private with my oldest (once you're in the pipeline and all). Almost $250k for middle/high school! Simply not worth it. Put the younger ones in MCPS and the education was better, the clicques were no worse and the college outcomes were better. Just my family's experience, but our truth none the less.

PP above, what if you got so much FA that private was nearly free ? If that were the case, wold you still choose public?

I send my child to private school and teach in public school. It was a hard choice for us, but I think the right one for our circumstance (our local school is NOT a well regarded MoCo school)

Differences I see...
-More developmentally appropriate curriculum in lower grades (K-3) - including NO homework before 3rd grade
-More opportunities for Art, Music and PE
-Smaller class size
-Teacher has more freedom to teach to the needs/interests of the class and is not bound as tightly to a curriculum created by people who haven't seen a classroom in years.
-A culture of respect - from teachers, parents and children
-A tighter community
-more parental involvement (in the good way)
-fewer behavior problems that take away learning time
-less time spent on standardized testing
-in our case more resources (when comparing smaller privates to many publics this is not always the case)
-Outside teaching/learning spaces

I think this thread answers its own question.

If you have the money, private is a no brainer. If you don't have the money, public is a no brainer.

The challenge here is for those who can do private, but its a stretch.

There is not a correct answer.

The quote I most remember that always advises me on these trade offs was from many years back.

Some football coach had just won a HS state championship and was asked "Your team came from nowhere and won a state championship. How do you think you did with these kids?"

His answer was "I don't know yet. Ask me in 20 years"

That is what this is all about, and there is not a correct answer...not one any of us has a real answer. Follow your heart, within your means, and in between drooling from old age on your DCUM keyboards, your kids will tell you if you did good....in 20 years.

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned for a top elementary but are looking at private school options, just to be thorough. Both DH and I are a little dazed by the whole process. The private schools look pretty, sound good, the kids seem happy, the open houses have been pleasant. But $30,000/year is a hell of a lot of after-tax money. (It's more than I spent for my entire undergraduate education!)

What are we going to get for $30,000 per year that we wouldn't get at our top-ranked DC elementary school? I'm not trying to stir the pot, but we're just feeling a bit paralyzed by the whole thing. If you're speaking from experience, naming your child's school would be helpful, too. Thanks!

Signed,
Dazed and Confused

Simple answer: what HS are you zoned for ? Also, consider: is your DC a leagcy at a DC Private you would like to send your child to for HS. If the answer is , no, you did not attend a DC private then are you happy with public high school ? I ask because the admin rate for private HS is much lower ( and has MUCH less to do with who the parenst are) than does Pre- K admit.

So, that's what you get for 30K : your kid does not have o compete on their own based on their own IQ and gardes as a 13 year old for HS admin to a private school. If you are super confident DC will be 130+ IQ, staright A's and a multiple sport star athlete at 13, heck stay in public. If not, apply now, becuase pubic is where he/she will end up.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Connections mean something in college, not high school and certainly not elementary school.

I am the poster right before you. I have no 'connections' extant from either HS or College. The kids my children are close to from HS will be friends for life, and will help each other on their journeys in life. The point is, all the privates are tight communities. They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.

People who go to large public high schools never make friends for life in high school? How about that.

Excuse me, I have to go tell my friends from high school some news they will be surprised to hear.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there's ever been a thread on DCUM where private school parents are allowed to answer OP's question without a dozen posts by public school parents to tell us how stupid we are for not choosing public. Are you all really that insecure about your choice that you cannot bear the thought of anyone choosing a different path?

No. I'm one of the "stupid" ones. We live in MoCo and chose private for a multitude of reasons including smaller class size, more PE/recess, attention paid to how kids learn not just what they learn, smaller and loving community, more critical thinking/writing/public speaking exposure, no disruptive kids, social-emotional lessons being valued just as much as academic ones, individual attention, fun traditions. Sure, my kids would have done fine at our public elementary school. However, they're doing better than fine and absolutely love school. They love school because our private makes learning fun.

Yes, your kids can get an excellent education in either private or public school. However, the process will be more fun and enriching at a private school. Whether that's worth it to you or not is an personal decision. Every summer, we question whether the money we spend is worth it. The school starts, and DH and I both heartily agree that the money spent on tuition is indeed well worth it.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there's ever been a thread on DCUM where private school parents are allowed to answer OP's question without a dozen posts by public school parents to tell us how stupid we are for not choosing public. Are you all really that insecure about your choice that you cannot bear the thought of anyone choosing a different path?

There really isn't such a thing as "private school parents" and "public school parents" we're just parents trying to make the best decisions for our kids/families. We aren't different species after all! Many of us, myself included, have experience with both. It is not an either/or proposition. Having sent my kids to both I can say, unequivocally, that there is not enough of a difference to justify $38k in tuition! Sorry if that offends you. I am not "insecure" about my choice, but I'll be blunt: I regret my choice to stay private with my oldest (once you're in the pipeline and all). Almost $250k for middle/high school! Simply not worth it. Put the younger ones in MCPS and the education was better, the clicques were no worse and the college outcomes were better. Just my family's experience, but our truth none the less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A nice bumper sticker and folk that r alike socio wise. Small classes, a nuturing enviro, challenging, etc... Bragging rights, tons of hw in the later kids, and maybe a shot at a top tier college. Developing the chile as a whole bien, challenging them in every way to be the best at whatever.

Is this a response or a chili recipe?

LOL!!!!

I wonder if there's ever been a thread on DCUM where private school parents are allowed to answer OP's question without a dozen posts by public school parents to tell us how stupid we are for not choosing public. Are you all really that insecure about your choice that you cannot bear the thought of anyone choosing a different path?

Well, as the poster asked if it was worth it and what different, it completely makes sense that people who have been through both, or who have considered both would respond. Most of the public school parents who responded to this particular post had experience with both (there were only a couple who went on a tirade about how the whole thing was a waste of money without any experience with private). It seems like the vast majority of parents who have experience with both (provided they live in a good school district) seem to think that, the answer is no.

I wonder if there's ever been a thread on DCUM where private school parents are allowed to answer OP's question without a dozen posts by public school parents to tell us how stupid we are for not choosing public. Are you all really that insecure about your choice that you cannot bear the thought of anyone choosing a different path?

They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.

That's not true. I went to a SLAC that had less than 1500 people, and I definitely got that experience in college. That being said, I have connections from all different phases of my life, ranging from my adult career to preschool. I went to a 4,000 person high school, and my best friends from high school are my best friends for life. It is what you make of it.

Anonymous wrote:Connections mean something in college, not high school and certainly not elementary school.

I am the poster right before you. I have no 'connections' extant from either HS or College. The kids my children are close to from HS will be friends for life, and will help each other on their journeys in life. The point is, all the privates are tight communities. They will never experience that in College, or in a 2200 kid HS.