Does anyone send their kids to private school?

[suejai]

We are debating sending DS to a private school for high school because we feel he is not being challenged enough in public school. He has always gotten honours with very little effort, and intends to go to university. I'm just not sure if it is worth the money. I went to university without going to a private school as have millions of other people. However, when I read the websites of the schools we are looking into, they offer so much more than just academics and we want to give him every advantage we are able.

So, for anyone that has ever looked into it, what made you decide to go that route, or decide against it, apart from the cost.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I do not see any advantage here where I am except if you live in a bad school district you pay to stay out of.

We make sure we move to a good school district.

My dd just graduated from public HS, my nephew just graduated from private Catholic HS (he lives in a high crime area).

Now there are better schools around here that are more rigorous however they are all Catholic and I did not want my kids to have a religious education.

 

[Pin Wizard]

We did the opposite...K through 8 was in private schools, high school is public...and the kid is thriving!!!! The private school in FL was FANTASTIC! In VA? The pitts! Couldn't wait to get out of there. It's like they were stuck in the 1950s. And when they tested the kids for math, DS missed the cut off by one point. Sheesh. They should have put him in algebra one, but they didn't. Messed up his higher math now. Math is this one's subject! Knew that all along. We're lucky to be zoned for "the high school everyone wants their kids in." Those were the realtor's words when I was looking to buy.

Good luck!

 

[EthansMom]

In our two former homes, we would have enrolled our kids in private schools. One area had poor high schools. The other had too little money spent on education at all.

Our current area has quite excellent schools. Certainly, a student gets what they (and their family) put into education. But our schools here are relatively safe and try to offer a good education to all students. Around here, the really great private schools are VERY expensive and may offer more diversity of classes and a more exclusive social mileau, but depending upon the student, they might get just as good an education at our public high school.

Does your high school offer any advanced classes? Is your son on the advanced track? If not, I'd go talk to the principal and ask what it would take to have him transferred to classes that are more challenging.

Another consideration for us has always been that money we spend on education now is less money that we will have to invest for college costs later.

 

[quest4dl]

We've had our kids in a private school since 3yo prek and it goes to 8th grade. We weren't specifically looking for private education but this school really impressed me. It is also a school for the gifted so their curriculum is different from the public schools in that respect. I was in a gifted program in a public school as a child and this all-gifted school is a much better experience imo (would have loved a PUBLIC all-gifted school but no such animal in Illinois burbs!).

If you feel the private high school is going to provide a better experience and you can afford it then go for it! I find it interesting that people don't bat an eye if someone purchases an expensive car or home but boy do those eyebrows go up about private schooling. Of all the things I could spend my money on, education is obviously the first priority for me. It's not about doing fine without the better education opportunity, but if you can do better and can afford it, why wouldn't you?

 

[Christine]

My daughter attended private middle schools (our public one was miserable). I then put her in public high school, which while she got good enough grades, seemed like it was not that difficult for her. Also, she was just fine to "skate by" and the school didn't care. Besides all the shenanigans going on there were getting to her (almost 3,000 kids in this high school). We moved her to Catholic High School. I did not do it because I thought they were more rigorous--in Northern VA most of the public schools can be very challenging, but I thought she needed to be in an atmosphere where they didn't allow goofing off and put more responsibility on the student.

I got that in SPADES. In fact, GPA-wise, it probably ended up hurting my DD and getting into college because it was, in fact, a bit more difficult.

It was the right choice for us overall.

If you have a good student and he is in the top public school classes I would stay there unless you feel that the school system is so bad and he will suffer in college. Most likely, if he is a good student, he will not suffer for it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

It was a very long road to get DS into the right situation. Long, long story very short, the public schools in our area didn't work for him, so we started home schooling him at 13. While he was learning a lot in home school, we wanted to get him around kids his age more and get him involved in school activities. We now have him in a private school that focuses on low student-teacher ratio and specializes in individualized learning plans. It's been a great thing--I only wish we'd started him there sooner. He will have done his last 2 years of high school there.

 

[worm761]

We have DS13 in private Catholic school. He started in 6th grade. Our elementary around here was good but middle and high school are horrible. There is one good high school and they only accept 200 students to each grade. Everyone tries for it. Very few get it. He will go on to Catholic high school. Here the school is great! They have three "track" levels. If you take the highest level all four years, you can leave high school with a 2 year degree from the local Junior College!

 

[Morganpics]

We live in an area that has no high school so we can send our kids to private school and the state will pay the going rate for tuition, which is way less than the cost at a private school. That said, both of our kids attended private high school. It was the right thing to do for the older one, but the younger one should have gone to public school. Long story, but he excelled in that environment. She did not.

 

[justhat]

Honestly, I was a kid like your son who got great grades without any effort. When I went to college boy was that a shock as I was not at all used to actually having to study and do work to simply get a decent grade, let alone the A's I was used to. The first 2 years were very hard for me, to say the least. So IMO, if you can afford it and feel the private school would challenge him more, then I would 100% go for it. It will make his time in college that much easier and more enjoyable.