How much does private school cost in your area? (1 Viewer)

[(HULK)]

Montgomery County, Maryland- This year will be our first year sending ours....$8k each. We have two kids. That's one of the more affordable schools who aren't overbearing in the religious department. The traditional catholic schools are twice that.

What's killing us is the extra $1k/mo. for before and after care. They start at 8AM and get off at 3PM.

Wife leaves the house at 7AM ( I leave earlier) and I get off at 3PM. So an hour in the AM and a whopping 30 minutes in the PM costs us big time. We would like to find an old lady/retiree to watch them before and after at a cheaper rate but then that's another person who isn't their mother/father putting them in a car. Catch 22.

As another resident of MoCo... why aren't you just sending them to public school? Most of them are great in the county.

When our oldest hit Kindergarten we shopped around the local privates and also visited the public. We ended up liking the public school better in general... the fact that it was free made it even better. Not sure what we'll do when she hits middle school, but our elementary school is fantastic.

FWIW, ignore stuff like schooldigger and the like and just visit the school to see it for yourself. A lot of schools in MoCo get knocked on overall test scores because kids show up d1 with no English whatsoever. As a result, the 3rd grade test scores are not indicative of the overall education provided by the school so much as the % of children who's parents brilliant idea was to not teach their child the local language.

 

[(HULK)]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

For me, the public schools are good in my area but my children are getting another language which I feel is valuable.

You don't think google translate will be real time and seemless by the time they're old enough to travel anywhere? I do.

 

[NutterButter]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

You forgot the third option: my wife is a nutcase.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

 

[James Daulton]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a good school district but have still found private school to have been a huge difference for our kids. Son went through the public elementary (which was really good) and public middle school - which started to become average at best by middle school. He's a good student, a little quiet, and so he would just quietly do the bare minimum as to not attract attention and slowly started to disappear in the classroom as he lost all enthusiasm for school. So we switched him at the high school level and as he gets ready to start his senior year, the difference has been profound. Such a difference that we switched our daughter at middle school, instead of potentially going through the same thing with her.

It's been a huge financial effort, but one we feel has been completely worth it. I'm actually looking forward to having him go to college, as we might end up paying less tuition than for high school, depending on how financial aid/scholarships play out.

Definitely not a prestige thing - we are not affluent enough to mix socially with the majority of private school parents and meanwhile we get a little grief from from our friends about why we're sending our kids to private school when we live in what is supposedly such a great school district.

You in Baltimore County? We found the exact opposite with our kids. My son was in private school (Catholic) grades 1 - 5. Daughter through 2nd. Classes were becoming really crowded and the school didn't have the resources to handle kids above (and below) average. Everyone basically got taught the same stuff with some minor tweaking for ability. The public school my kids have been in have a ton more resources (duh) and several ability tracks for kids. Languages starts in 6th grade and my son (just finished 2nd year in college) is fluent in Spanish and my daughter, while not fluent, is proficient enough to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers.

One thing that may turn people off to public schools in my area is the student population. If you're looking for 80%+ white you have to go to a private school. The high school my daughter goes to is like 50% white, 25% black and the remaining split between Hispanic, Indians, etc. A real melting pot. I think this is a great learning experience for my kids as they have to figure out how to get along and work alongside all kinds of different people. My kids experience with public schools has been better than I could have hoped.

 

[James Daulton]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

How can so many rich people live in NYC burbs, yet there are few good public schools? How can houses with asking prices of $1M not feed into good school districts?

 

[fantasycurse42]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

How can so many rich people live in NYC burbs, yet there are few good public schools? How can houses with asking prices of $1M not feed into good school districts?

I'm not in the burbs...

Almost all of the nice surrounding suburbs have fantastic school districts, but a $1M home comes with taxes in the $20-$30k range, so you're paying for it anyways.

 

[Chadstroma]

I have a 2 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. We pay over $470 a week for them in school/childcare. It is the biggest financial obligation we have by far. Oh, and we have another boy on the way.

The only glimmer of hope is that the FIL said that he will pay for private Catholic school which starts at kindergarten. So, I can look forward to having that cost taken off my plate in the not too distant future. I have no idea how much the Catholic school is.

 

[El Floppo]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

How can so many rich people live in NYC burbs, yet there are few good public schools? How can houses with asking prices of $1M not feed into good school districts?

I'm not in the burbs...

Almost all of the nice surrounding suburbs have fantastic school districts, but a $1M home comes with taxes in the $20-$30k range, so you're paying for it anyways.

Sure you're not.

Wife got the same hard-sell in the spring for our 4yo when she looked around at the daycare, now public preK programs. We ended up getting a nice package from her private shmancy pre school, so we stayed there.

My sons public school has one preK class, which is almost entirely filled w siblings.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

How can so many rich people live in NYC burbs, yet there are few good public schools? How can houses with asking prices of $1M not feed into good school districts?

I'm not in the burbs...

Almost all of the nice surrounding suburbs have fantastic school districts, but a $1M home comes with taxes in the $20-$30k range, so you're paying for it anyways.

Sure you're not.

Wife got the same hard-sell in the spring for our 4yo when she looked around at the daycare, now public preK programs. We ended up getting a nice package from her private shmancy pre school, so we stayed there.

My sons public school has one preK class, which is almost entirely filled w siblings.

Yea, my neighborhood loaded with kids, no chance we get into our primary or secondary. At least your youngest is now getting a spot.

 

[Quez]

In Tampa the high end is around $18k, the lower average is probably around $7-$8 I believe.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Montgomery County, Maryland- This year will be our first year sending ours....$8k each. We have two kids. That's one of the more affordable schools who aren't overbearing in the religious department. The traditional catholic schools are twice that.

What's killing us is the extra $1k/mo. for before and after care. They start at 8AM and get off at 3PM.

Wife leaves the house at 7AM ( I leave earlier) and I get off at 3PM. So an hour in the AM and a whopping 30 minutes in the PM costs us big time. We would like to find an old lady/retiree to watch them before and after at a cheaper rate but then that's another person who isn't their mother/father putting them in a car. Catch 22.

As another resident of MoCo... why aren't you just sending them to public school? Most of them are great in the county.When our oldest hit Kindergarten we shopped around the local privates and also visited the public. We ended up liking the public school better in general... the fact that it was free made it even better. Not sure what we'll do when she hits middle school, but our elementary school is fantastic.

FWIW, ignore stuff like schooldigger and the like and just visit the school to see it for yourself. A lot of schools in MoCo get knocked on overall test scores because kids show up d1 with no English whatsoever. As a result, the 3rd grade test scores are not indicative of the overall education provided by the school so much as the % of children who's parents brilliant idea was to not teach their child the local language.

Hey Hulk, I live near Briggs Chaney and 29. Two years ago our elementary school was great. Since then we've lost the entire front office staff, the principal and a half a dozen longtime teachers. Our school was once very (equally) diverse, which we loved, but no longer.

I believe the housing collapse of a few years ago brought in many investors and an overwhelming proportionate number the families now living in the area across 29 are renters and low income families.

On our side of 29 we are shielded from those neighborhoods, however our elementary school is not.

Why not move you may ask? Well the wife works on DC (13mi.) and work the hours of 7:00-3:30PM (3PM if I skip lunch which I often do.) so our commute is insanly convenient. I'm 25 minutes from virtually anywhere. The wife's is a bit tougher because she leaves later and works later but moving further out just exacerbates that. We LOVE our community pool, the relationship we have built with other families and so forth.

ETA- rereading my post I realized I repeated some info so apologies for that. I'm ripping and running today as I often am so

 

[The_Man]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a good school district but have still found private school to have been a huge difference for our kids. Son went through the public elementary (which was really good) and public middle school - which started to become average at best by middle school. He's a good student, a little quiet, and so he would just quietly do the bare minimum as to not attract attention and slowly started to disappear in the classroom as he lost all enthusiasm for school. So we switched him at the high school level and as he gets ready to start his senior year, the difference has been profound. Such a difference that we switched our daughter at middle school, instead of potentially going through the same thing with her.

It's been a huge financial effort, but one we feel has been completely worth it. I'm actually looking forward to having him go to college, as we might end up paying less tuition than for high school, depending on how financial aid/scholarships play out.

Definitely not a prestige thing - we are not affluent enough to mix socially with the majority of private school parents and meanwhile we get a little grief from from our friends about why we're sending our kids to private school when we live in what is supposedly such a great school district.

You in Baltimore County? We found the exact opposite with our kids. My son was in private school (Catholic) grades 1 - 5. Daughter through 2nd. Classes were becoming really crowded and the school didn't have the resources to handle kids above (and below) average. Everyone basically got taught the same stuff with some minor tweaking for ability. The public school my kids have been in have a ton more resources (duh) and several ability tracks for kids. Languages starts in 6th grade and my son (just finished 2nd year in college) is fluent in Spanish and my daughter, while not fluent, is proficient enough to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers.

One thing that may turn people off to public schools in my area is the student population. If you're looking for 80%+ white you have to go to a private school. The high school my daughter goes to is like 50% white, 25% black and the remaining split between Hispanic, Indians, etc. A real melting pot. I think this is a great learning experience for my kids as they have to figure out how to get along and work alongside all kinds of different people. My kids experience with public schools has been better than I could have hoped.

We're near Towson - no question that Baltimore County has some great schools. Glad it's worked out so well for your kids.

Now that my oldest is a senior, I'm surprised to realize that much of what he's gotten out of his school has been the non-academic stuff. He's formed great out-of-the-classroom relationships with teachers, and picked up sports and activities that he almost certainly never would have tried in public school - he didn't see himself as an athlete in middle school and so would never have gone out for a high school team, but his private school has an athletic requirement which forced him to try sports that it turned out he was good at. We came for the academics, but have grown to value the other stuff almost as much.

One other thing I've noticed with his friends in the AP track at the public school where he would have gone - they are WAY more stressed and spending many, many hours on homework than he is. The pressurized atmosphere of fighting for admission at a selective college is much more prevalent at the large, upper middle class suburban schools (like Towson High and Dulaney Valley) than it is at the private school, which seems to value balance. The vibe is that smart kids doing 5 hours of homework a night aren't any better off than smart kids doing 2 or 3 hours of homework a night.

 

[NutterButter]

Just got backed into a corner... In NYC Pre K is free, but they can send you anywhere and kids with an older sibling get priority to zoned schools who all have very limited spots. So good chance my son would wind up who knows where next year. My son's camp which is also a school participates in the Universal Pre K program which is an awesome place, however it is very difficult to get into for the free Pre K. We've been talking to them about the 2's/3's program they have for the last two weeks, all the kids in these programs get priority spots for their free Pre K, but the 2's/3's programs are silly expensive.

As of Wednesday they had two spots left for their programs, so we've been discussing with the school manager almost daily. Today she called my wife and said they have twins looking into this spot. I think this was a sales ploy. Wouldn't it be easier to fill the last two spots with the twins instead of my son signing up and now having only one spot to fill, which obviously won't be taken by splitting up twins. My wife called me in a panic and I unfortunately had to bite

How can so many rich people live in NYC burbs, yet there are few good public schools? How can houses with asking prices of $1M not feed into good school districts?

The school are actually very good comparatively speaking. They're just not as good as private schools and some women want the very best they can afford for their unique snowflakes.

 

[Chadstroma]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

 

[Quez]

IMG academy is like 60k

 

[(HULK)]

Montgomery County, Maryland- This year will be our first year sending ours....$8k each. We have two kids. That's one of the more affordable schools who aren't overbearing in the religious department. The traditional catholic schools are twice that.

What's killing us is the extra $1k/mo. for before and after care. They start at 8AM and get off at 3PM.

Wife leaves the house at 7AM ( I leave earlier) and I get off at 3PM. So an hour in the AM and a whopping 30 minutes in the PM costs us big time. We would like to find an old lady/retiree to watch them before and after at a cheaper rate but then that's another person who isn't their mother/father putting them in a car. Catch 22.

As another resident of MoCo... why aren't you just sending them to public school? Most of them are great in the county.When our oldest hit Kindergarten we shopped around the local privates and also visited the public. We ended up liking the public school better in general... the fact that it was free made it even better. Not sure what we'll do when she hits middle school, but our elementary school is fantastic.

FWIW, ignore stuff like schooldigger and the like and just visit the school to see it for yourself. A lot of schools in MoCo get knocked on overall test scores because kids show up d1 with no English whatsoever. As a result, the 3rd grade test scores are not indicative of the overall education provided by the school so much as the % of children who's parents brilliant idea was to not teach their child the local language.

Hey Hulk,I live near Briggs Chaney and 29. Two years ago our elementary school was great. Since then we've lost the entire front office staff, the principal and a half a dozen longtime teachers. Our school was once very (equally) diverse, which we loved, but no longer.

I believe the housing collapse of a few years ago brought in many investors and an overwhelming proportionate number the families now living in the area across 29 are renters and low income families.

On our side of 29 we are shielded from those neighborhoods, however our elementary school is not.

Why not move you may ask? Well the wife works on DC (13mi.) and work the hours of 7:00-3:30PM (3PM if I skip lunch which I often do.) so our commute is insanly convenient. I'm 25 minutes from virtually anywhere. The wife's is a bit tougher because she leaves later and works later but moving further out just exacerbates that. We LOVE our community pool, the relationship we have built with other families and so forth.

ETA- rereading my post I realized I repeated some info so apologies for that. I'm ripping and running today as I often am so

Come to Kensington imo. I work the same schedule as you do. PM me if you want details, but you can find good prices still in pockets.

 

[James Daulton]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a good school district but have still found private school to have been a huge difference for our kids. Son went through the public elementary (which was really good) and public middle school - which started to become average at best by middle school. He's a good student, a little quiet, and so he would just quietly do the bare minimum as to not attract attention and slowly started to disappear in the classroom as he lost all enthusiasm for school. So we switched him at the high school level and as he gets ready to start his senior year, the difference has been profound. Such a difference that we switched our daughter at middle school, instead of potentially going through the same thing with her.

It's been a huge financial effort, but one we feel has been completely worth it. I'm actually looking forward to having him go to college, as we might end up paying less tuition than for high school, depending on how financial aid/scholarships play out.

Definitely not a prestige thing - we are not affluent enough to mix socially with the majority of private school parents and meanwhile we get a little grief from from our friends about why we're sending our kids to private school when we live in what is supposedly such a great school district.

You in Baltimore County? We found the exact opposite with our kids. My son was in private school (Catholic) grades 1 - 5. Daughter through 2nd. Classes were becoming really crowded and the school didn't have the resources to handle kids above (and below) average. Everyone basically got taught the same stuff with some minor tweaking for ability. The public school my kids have been in have a ton more resources (duh) and several ability tracks for kids. Languages starts in 6th grade and my son (just finished 2nd year in college) is fluent in Spanish and my daughter, while not fluent, is proficient enough to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers.

One thing that may turn people off to public schools in my area is the student population. If you're looking for 80%+ white you have to go to a private school. The high school my daughter goes to is like 50% white, 25% black and the remaining split between Hispanic, Indians, etc. A real melting pot. I think this is a great learning experience for my kids as they have to figure out how to get along and work alongside all kinds of different people. My kids experience with public schools has been better than I could have hoped.

We're near Towson - no question that Baltimore County has some great schools. Glad it's worked out so well for your kids.

Now that my oldest is a senior, I'm surprised to realize that much of what he's gotten out of his school has been the non-academic stuff. He's formed great out-of-the-classroom relationships with teachers, and picked up sports and activities that he almost certainly never would have tried in public school - he didn't see himself as an athlete in middle school and so would never have gone out for a high school team, but his private school has an athletic requirement which forced him to try sports that it turned out he was good at. We came for the academics, but have grown to value the other stuff almost as much.

One other thing I've noticed with his friends in the AP track at the public school where he would have gone - they are WAY more stressed and spending many, many hours on homework than he is. The pressurized atmosphere of fighting for admission at a selective college is much more prevalent at the large, upper middle class suburban schools (like Towson High and Dulaney Valley) than it is at the private school, which seems to value balance. The vibe is that smart kids doing 5 hours of homework a night aren't any better off than smart kids doing 2 or 3 hours of homework a night.

And I'm glad it's worked out for your son.

You are completely right about the pressure on the AP track. Sophomore - Senior year, my son did homework for multiple hours most nights. Daughter did the same her sophomore year. However, that's one of the things I like about the public school. If you're a high achiever, your challenged as much as possible. If your a regular student (like I was) your work more reflects your ability. With like 1,600 kids in the school, there's a lot of every type of ability level.

The stress and competition are tough though.

 

[James Daulton]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

 

[Chadstroma]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

Their arguments were centered around class size and how much time teachers have to spend with kids in public school because they are problems or have problems such as the parents not caring etc. There were other things but this seemed to be the biggest thrust of their reasoning/experience. That if a parent is spending X amount of money to get their kids a good education then they are going to be involved and helpful more times than not (of course that does not mean public school kids dont have parents involved/caring and that private school parents can't be MIA but just overall % favor the private schools). So, the teachers time is not melted away on trying to get the bottum rung up to speed and more teaching is done overall in private school with more of an atmosphere of accomplishment being generated. Other things like being taught morals where as public schools shy away from these things, etc as well. To be honest, I was very skeptical before talking to both of them, mainly because my experience growing up seeing the most screwed up kids I knew were private school kids but they were pretty persuasive to me to the point that when my FIL said he would pay, I was not against it.

 

[James Daulton]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

Their arguments were centered around class size and how much time teachers have to spend with kids in public school because they are problems or have problems such as the parents not caring etc. There were other things but this seemed to be the biggest thrust of their reasoning/experience. That if a parent is spending X amount of money to get their kids a good education then they are going to be involved and helpful more times than not (of course that does not mean public school kids dont have parents involved/caring and that private school parents can't be MIA but just overall % favor the private schools). So, the teachers time is not melted away on trying to get the bottum rung up to speed and more teaching is done overall in private school with more of an atmosphere of accomplishment being generated. Other things like being taught morals where as public schools shy away from these things, etc as well. To be honest, I was very skeptical before talking to both of them, mainly because my experience growing up seeing the most screwed up kids I knew were private school kids but they were pretty persuasive to me to the point that when my FIL said he would pay, I was not against it.

Thanks, I was curious as to what their reasoning was.

 

[The_Man]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

Their arguments were centered around class size and how much time teachers have to spend with kids in public school because they are problems or have problems such as the parents not caring etc. There were other things but this seemed to be the biggest thrust of their reasoning/experience. That if a parent is spending X amount of money to get their kids a good education then they are going to be involved and helpful more times than not (of course that does not mean public school kids dont have parents involved/caring and that private school parents can't be MIA but just overall % favor the private schools). So, the teachers time is not melted away on trying to get the bottum rung up to speed and more teaching is done overall in private school with more of an atmosphere of accomplishment being generated. Other things like being taught morals where as public schools shy away from these things, etc as well. To be honest, I was very skeptical before talking to both of them, mainly because my experience growing up seeing the most screwed up kids I knew were private school kids but they were pretty persuasive to me to the point that when my FIL said he would pay, I was not against it.

One of the biggest advantages is the student population. Private schools - depending on their selectivity - can free themselves from dealing with kids not in the top three-quarters, or half, or even top one-quarter of the overall population. It's much, much easier to have a good school if you're selectively chosen not to spend time and effort on less capable students. Public schools obviously don't have that luxury.

 

[eoMMan]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

Their arguments were centered around class size and how much time teachers have to spend with kids in public school because they are problems or have problems such as the parents not caring etc. There were other things but this seemed to be the biggest thrust of their reasoning/experience. That if a parent is spending X amount of money to get their kids a good education then they are going to be involved and helpful more times than not (of course that does not mean public school kids dont have parents involved/caring and that private school parents can't be MIA but just overall % favor the private schools). So, the teachers time is not melted away on trying to get the bottum rung up to speed and more teaching is done overall in private school with more of an atmosphere of accomplishment being generated. Other things like being taught morals where as public schools shy away from these things, etc as well. To be honest, I was very skeptical before talking to both of them, mainly because my experience growing up seeing the most screwed up kids I knew were private school kids but they were pretty persuasive to me to the point that when my FIL said he would pay, I was not against it.

Growing up, we always looked at them as rich, entitled kids who sucked at sport.....haha.

One major perk to being in a public school is having your kid socialize and interact with kids of all different types of backgrounds and means. I was on baseball teams with Puerto Rican kids who's families would be considered poor and on the same team were preppy white kids who's families were very well off. It was awesome that we all got along and made many new friends. I think there's a lot to be said about getting your kid exposed to all sorts of people.

 

[NutterButter]

Funny, its the exact opposite for our kids. We live in a lilly white part of new jersey while their private school is very diversified which we found to be a nice feature.

 

[Chadstroma]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

Their arguments were centered around class size and how much time teachers have to spend with kids in public school because they are problems or have problems such as the parents not caring etc. There were other things but this seemed to be the biggest thrust of their reasoning/experience. That if a parent is spending X amount of money to get their kids a good education then they are going to be involved and helpful more times than not (of course that does not mean public school kids dont have parents involved/caring and that private school parents can't be MIA but just overall % favor the private schools). So, the teachers time is not melted away on trying to get the bottum rung up to speed and more teaching is done overall in private school with more of an atmosphere of accomplishment being generated. Other things like being taught morals where as public schools shy away from these things, etc as well. To be honest, I was very skeptical before talking to both of them, mainly because my experience growing up seeing the most screwed up kids I knew were private school kids but they were pretty persuasive to me to the point that when my FIL said he would pay, I was not against it.

Growing up, we always looked at them as rich, entitled kids who sucked at sport.....haha.

One major perk to being in a public school is having your kid socialize and interact with kids of all different types of backgrounds and means. I was on baseball teams with Puerto Rican kids who's families would be considered poor and on the same team were preppy white kids who's families were very well off. It was awesome that we all got along and made many new friends. I think there's a lot to be said about getting your kid exposed to all sorts of people.

I grew up in a upper middle class burb and went to public school all through school. Due to testing, the school district kept trying to get me to go to a special school within the district for high achievers. I went there in 2nd grade. Hated it. Went back to my neighborhood school for 3rd grade and was WAY ahead of the entire class. That 2nd grade is the nearest thing I can relate to other than having a lot of friends in private schools.

The social demographics of my public school were not too much different from the private schools of my friends though the economical profiles has a heavier weighting of wealthy kids in the private schools.

ETA: And for where we live now- the burb is an upper middle class and up area that is predominantly white with some asian/arab. Very little anything else. I don't think the public school experience would be much different in terms of interactions with other kids than going to the Catholic school- in fact, I would bet there is more diversity in the Catholic school (other than religion).

 

[fantasycurse42]

Schools vary widely depending on exact location, quality, etc. My kids go to a private religious school, about $4500 1st through 8th grade. Kindergarten is a little cheaper. Don't recall what the costs of the pre-k programs were. This is a first ring suburb of St. Paul.

There is high buck k-12 non religious private school up the road (less than a mile) that is over 20k per year.

There is a Greek school (I'm not Greek) that is like 75% cheaper than all of the others not too far from me. Supposedly a good school, giving it some consideration.

As long as your kid is looking for a career in buggery or gyros and not economics or finance

 

[El Floppo]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

We live in a really good public school district. I was trying to figure out the private vs public school thing and how do you really tell which is better? I ended up having talks with a couple of clients of mine. Both public school teachers- one that lives/works in a really good district but sends her kids to private school. Both had the position that it was not close- a good private school will beat out the best public schools almost every time. I was pretty reluctant before because growing up it always seemed the most screwed up kids were private school kids but those conversations really made me open to private school. Being my FIL is stepping up to the plate I don't have to put too much thought into it.

In what ways does the private school beat out the public one? I would bet that the teachers are better credentialed at the public school. Is the private school thought of as better because there aren't many problem or low achievers there?

In NYC its about student/teacher ratio, facilities, more flexibility and attention to the specific kid in their education. I think that it's more difficult to slip through the cracks at a private school, which puts the impetus on the kids to succeed. that said- I've seen a lot of not overly smart kids at private schools

Our son was a good testtaker and placed in the G&T track for NYC public schools- opened the door to better schools, and classrooms full of kids who had the patience to sit still with a stranger for the 45 minutes it took take the damned thing when they were 4. That meant more peaceful classrooms which were/are easier to maintain for the teacher (32 kids per teacher) which meant the kids could focus better on learning.

My daughter doesn't seem to have the same skillset as my son and I don't see her getting the required score for G&T. We have friends with twins at our school- one in the G&T, one in the Gen Ed... says there's a big difference between the two, mostly with behavior related things.

 

[HellToupee]

HS

All boys $14050

Daughter coed $9100

 

[chet]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

For me, the public schools are good in my area but my children are getting another language which I feel is valuable.

You don't think google translate will be real time and seemless by the time they're old enough to travel anywhere? I do.

I think there will always be more opportunities for people who speak English and other languages. Plus, learning and thinking in multiple languages enhances your cognitive ability IMO.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Little Rock, Arkansas

$15K or so upper end HS

$5-$6 Catholic grade school and boys only HS (church subsidized)

$10-$11K girls only Catholic HS (church doesn't like educating girls apparently)

 

[cstu]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

For me, the public schools are good in my area but my children are getting another language which I feel is valuable.

You don't think google translate will be real time and seemless by the time they're old enough to travel anywhere? I do.

I think there will always be more opportunities for people who speak English and other languages. Plus, learning and thinking in multiple languages enhances your cognitive ability IMO.

My wife speaks about 7 languags, I empthatically disagree.

 

[NutterButter]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

For me, the public schools are good in my area but my children are getting another language which I feel is valuable.

You don't think google translate will be real time and seemless by the time they're old enough to travel anywhere? I do.

I think there will always be more opportunities for people who speak English and other languages. Plus, learning and thinking in multiple languages enhances your cognitive ability IMO.

My wife speaks about 7 languags, I empthatically disagree.

There's always exceptions.

 

[Zigg]

Schools vary widely depending on exact location, quality, etc. My kids go to a private religious school, about $4500 1st through 8th grade. Kindergarten is a little cheaper. Don't recall what the costs of the pre-k programs were. This is a first ring suburb of St. Paul.

There is high buck k-12 non religious private school up the road (less than a mile) that is over 20k per year.

There is a Greek school (I'm not Greek) that is like 75% cheaper than all of the others not too far from me. Supposedly a good school, giving it some consideration.

I assume the curriculum is heavy in restaurant management.

 

[tommyboy]

Just curious, prek, Kindergarten, and elementary school?

And where are you located?

Portland.Catholic:5-6k

Private:8-12k

Eta: grade school private goes up to 13-14k

 

[Quez]

I'm in a good elementary district, but gonna have to figure something out after that. We definitely couldn't afford 2 kids in private school, so it's looking more and more like my kid is going to be an only.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I'm in a good elementary district, but gonna have to figure something out after that. We definitely couldn't afford 2 kids in private school, so it's looking more and more like my kid is going to be an only.

You have a kid and Uni is 30. I'm officially old.

 

[Chadstroma]

So are the schools that bad in your neighborhoods or is private school a prestige thing?

For me, the public schools are good in my area but my children are getting another language which I feel is valuable.

You don't think google translate will be real time and seemless by the time they're old enough to travel anywhere? I do.

I think there will always be more opportunities for people who speak English and other languages. Plus, learning and thinking in multiple languages enhances your cognitive ability IMO.

My wife speaks about 7 languags, I empthatically disagree.

7 languages?! I don't think I could name 7 languages.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

I think most people send their kids to private schools so that their kids are immersed with the same socioeconomic group. Wouldn't want my daughter mingling with some inner city boy. OHGAWD!

 

[NutterButter]

I think most people send their kids to private schools so that their kids are immersed with the same socioeconomic group. Wouldn't want my daughter mingling with some inner city boy. OHGAWD!

Neighborhoods in the city aren't compromised of people predominantly in the same economic range? Weird.

 

[AcerFC]

I'm not sure what you love about NYC, but this is one of the million reasons I would never live there.

With someone of your financial level based on your posts on this board, its time to move to Westchester. What exactly is the holdup. Find a nice spot in Chappaqua, send the kid to one of the best public schools in the state and enjoy the suburbs.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I think most people send their kids to private schools so that their kids are immersed with the same socioeconomic group. Wouldn't want my daughter mingling with some inner city boy. OHGAWD!

My youngest is a brainiac. Can't get enough work. Last year she had one of the best teachers in her school and imo, the county. She complained about being bored in class because the teacher was forced to spend way to much time disciplining the ever increasing bad students.

Just like in life, it's best to surround yourself with good people. I'm sending my kids to private school to get a better education. That's my responsibility as a parent.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

I have been told by teachers that the #1 reason for my kids success in school will be parent involvement. My wife and I both have thought about private schools in the past, but the "better" private schools in this area are all religious based. So, that is a big no. Also, logistically trying to get my kids to school that doesn't offer transportation would be a nightmare. I guess we got lucky where we live the elementary school where my twins attend has always placed in the top academically when compared to other private/public schools.

I kind of like my middle class kids getting immersed in a world where they meet people with different social and economical backgrounds. But, each parent has to do what they think is best for their children.

 

[Chadstroma]

I think most people send their kids to private schools so that their kids are immersed with the same socioeconomic group. Wouldn't want my daughter mingling with some inner city boy. OHGAWD!

The private schools that I interacted with growing up had scholarships for the less fortunate kids. The demographics are obviously still scewered but I am getting the feeling that some of you think of private school like what you would see on a tv show or movie and that was not what I saw. Now, I know of other private schools in the area that were known for being more like the tv/movie stuff.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

I remember Besty Russell from Private School. OH!!! Do I remember.

 

[James Daulton]

I think most people send their kids to private schools so that their kids are immersed with the same socioeconomic group. Wouldn't want my daughter mingling with some inner city boy. OHGAWD!

My youngest is a brainiac. Can't get enough work. Last year she had one of the best teachers in her school and imo, the county.She complained about being bored in class because the teacher was forced to spend way to much time disciplining the ever increasing bad students.

Just like in life, it's best to surround yourself with good people. I'm sending my kids to private school to get a better education. That's my responsibility as a parent.

As soon as your youngest gets old enough, if she's as smart as you say, she'd be entered into a GT track that would challenge her and put her in classes with fellow gifted kids. My son graduated from high school having completed Calc 2, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, 7 years of Spanish, etc. Most private schools, that I'm aware of, don't have tracks that let the kids complete as much advanced coursework.

Maybe it's different in your area.

 

[cstu]

I remember Besty Russell from Private School. OH!!! Do I remember.

OH HAI