Anonymous wrote:Wow, tuition will be over $50k by the time my kids are seniors. If they decide to send their kids to private school it will be from $70k - $100k.

And a loaf of bread used to cost 10 cents.

Wow, tuition will be over $50k by the time my kids are seniors. If they decide to send their kids to private school it will be from $70k - $100k.

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

That is standard tuition at DC privates. You must not be from around here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers do get a 50 percent discount at the big 5 I believe.

Of course some teachers and principals get a discount or tuition remission. It's part of the benefit package.

It varies widely by school. As best I know, of the major independent schools in this area only St. Albans still seems to have the 100% tuition remission (assuming the child qualifies for admission academically). The tuition remission benefit can come under attack because it leads to what are known as "lumpy benefits" -- the teacher with three kids at the school is effectively compensated more than the childless teacher, for example -- and because it can be expensive if the faculty is relatively young with lots of school-age children. Some other schools have a partial discount, or have a formula in financial aid that is beneficial to the teacher's family, in some way. Because St. Albans is all-boys and starts in grade 4, they would almost certainly have fewer faculty/staff children eligible for tuition remission than a Pre-K through 12 co-ed school.

The argument for tuition remission is that it can be a great benefit to attract and retain talented teachers (as noted, private school benefits are less generous than public school benefits in many areas, including the DMV). It can also be a strange dynamic when trying to build a real community to have a school where virtually no teacher's child can attend because of the cost. (Boarding schools are more likely to have tuition remission than day schools, perhaps because of the "school as community" issue.)

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No. After K most privates are 14-18:1 so Sidwell's ratio and grouping structure is actually better at 12:1.

Wrong. All of the private schools I'm familiar with in this area have student teacher ratio in lower grades of 10 to 1 or less. There may be some with the ratios you stated but that is not typical. I don't know one private with 18 students per teacher in lower grades. Sidwell is the only school I know of that has high ratio 24 to 2 even in K.

All of that really depends on how they calculate this ratio. Our school could claim a ratio of 7:1 based on all teaching staff:students, even though a few of those teachers only ever see a handful of kids at a time; and the reality is that sometimes your kid is in a classroom with 18 or 20 kids and one teacher, sometimes one on one, sometimes small group and one teacher, and so on. So it would be helpful for folks mentioning ratios to indicate the basis. I think the primary question should be, for example, how many students are assigned to each first grade classroom teacher?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our big-3, teachers get financial aid just like any other family. That works out a pretty massive tuition "remission" if the family's income is fairly low. The average amount of annual aid is around $25,000. Average, across the school.

That assumes teachers married to other teachers or similar.

These jobs are really for people whose spouse has a robust salary and benefits. Sidwell didn't even offer health insurance until the 90s.

It's not an employment benefit -- and thus should not be considered "tuition remission" -- if they are eligible on the same terms as all other families.

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.

No. After K most privates are 14-18:1 so Sidwell's ratio and grouping structure is actually better at 12:1.

Wrong. All of the private schools I'm familiar with in this area have student teacher ratio in lower grades of 10 to 1 or less. There may be some with the ratios you stated but that is not typical. I don't know one private with 18 students per teacher in lower grades. Sidwell is the only school I know of that has high ratio 24 to 2 even in K.

Holton and Landon both offer tuition discounts for staff.

Anonymous wrote:At our big-3, teachers get financial aid just like any other family. That works out a pretty massive tuition "remission" if the family's income is fairly low. The average amount of annual aid is around $25,000. Average, across the school.

That assumes teachers married to other teachers or similar.

These jobs are really for people whose spouse has a robust salary and benefits. Sidwell didn't even offer health insurance until the 90s.

Anonymous wrote:Teachers do get a 50 percent discount at the big 5 I believe.

If you mean Big Three, you are wrong. I know for sure you are wrong about Sidwell.

Anonymous wrote:No tuition discounts* for teachers at Sidwell --- case closed...







* SFS teachers deserve a discount, but it is not offered

I have personal knowledge that this is 100% accurate.

I heard Trump will make private school tuition a tax deduction.

No tuition discounts* for teachers at Sidwell --- case closed...







* SFS teachers deserve a discount, but it is not offered

Anonymous wrote:Teachers do get a 50 percent discount at the big 5 I believe.

Of course some teachers and principals get a discount or tuition remission. It's part of the benefit package.

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.

Um... What in the hell are you talking about?