Often times, the notion of a “private school” brings to mind the notion of exclusivity. You know, where private means “not public”, so that not everyone is automatically eligible to go there unless they pay up and also get admission.
Does this mean that as a general rule, private schools are better than public schools?
I say no. Now, sometimes private schools just might be better, and there are clear examples where a local private school might be a much better fit academically and in terms of values than a public school. However, that’s not a given, and isn’t the case everywhere.
This comes to mind as someone I know was telling me about how he’s thinking of sending his kids to private school as an investment in their future. This would be at the elementary school level and possibly beyond. The thought process he had (not mine, by the way) is that the kids there would likely have parents that could afford to send them there, and are therefore more likely to be professional and high earners. Thus, they might be more likely to get encouraged at home. This guy, to his credit, personally works with his kids on “extra” homework most weeknights, and he genuinely cares a lot about their future.
The thing is, he lives in an area that’s known for a very good public school system. So my thought is, why waste money on the private schools, when you can send your kids to a public school system for a good quality education at no additional cost? His real estate taxes are probably contributing to the cost of the schools anyway, so why not get what you’re paying for by living there anyway?
Now, I could see a few cases where a private school might be a much better choice:
- One is if the local public school system is inferior to the private school. If there’s a noticeable difference, it might be worth paying the extra money, or moving to where the public schools are better.
- A second type of situation where a private school could potentially be better is if it offers a religious/values-based education that you personally really want for your kid. I can respect that, realizing that it’s important for some and not for others, and either way is okay.
However, in the absence of those two factors, wouldn’t a public school be a better choice? In other words, if the public schools are high performing and safe, and you don’t require a faith-based education, why not just send the kids to public schools and save the money? That money saved could help you in your retirement! Or, it could be applied to help them with their college education or even graduate school! After all and as we have discussed here, education impacts wealth.
I’m curious what you think.
My Questions for You:
What do you think of the friend’s notion that he wants to send kids to private school even though the local public schools are high-performing?
What type of schooling did you have – public or private?
Which type of schooling would you (or did you) choose for your family, and why?
I had a mix of private and public schooling. Kindergarten was at the local public school, grades 1-8 at a Catholic school, and high school back at a public school. I think my parents wanted me to be at Catholic grade school mostly for values.
Academically, I think I actually was a bit behind when I got to high school because I’d only had about 2 weeks of introductory algebra and there were no science labs at my grade school. I tested high in every subject but math, though, so I was put in the Honors program at the public high school. That’s where I realized that I was really behind my peers in math. First year algebra in high school was awful; I barely passed with a D. After that I was “allowed” to drop back to regular level classes for math.
The teachers at my grade school were all very passionate about their career choice, and I didn’t really encounter any nasty teachers until high school, though. (Well, there was one parent who substituted for another grade school teacher for a while who was a real piece of work, but that was an exception!) The bad teachers I did encounter in high school, though, were really bad. The first year algebra teacher did things that would be called sexual harrassment these days, and the geometry teacher was clearly sick of dealing with high school kids and lacked any compassion.
Overall I was glad that my parents felt they couldn’t afford private high school for me. They would have sent me to an all girls school and I would have hated that!
Linda – it’s often interesting how things turn out in retrospect. The idea that going to a private school could set someone behind and make them less prepared for public high school sure takes out the notion that paying more equates to better preaparedness. Of course, as you alluded (and I did too in the post), values are often a determining factor in choice of schools, and that’s a very personal choice to be respected. All that said, I can see how an all-girls high school wouldn’t have been too cool compared to a public high school.
Philip Hoffman takes his kids to the same PS I went to. It gets great reviews and we want to make sure we save for the later years when private school might be more needed. DA34
Jai – lots to think about with public vs private, that’s for sure! In a large city, I think I’d lean toward private actually. In suburban areas, public schools. That’s my general thought, but again every locale/situation is different!
C and I are talking about schools now. We have talked about private schools, but mostly about private schools that have an alternate teaching philosophy, like Montessori or Waldorf. C did not learn well in the traditional public school, so we are interested in alternate educational theories.
At the same time, we have talked about just moving across the lake to be in one of the best public school districts in the country. (Of course, that might be more expensive than 13 years of private school.)
shanendoah – these are big decisions, I think. Shaping the lives of a young kid, and the finances of the grown ups! Best of luck with your decisions, when you have to make them.
Hello!
My kiddos are all in private schools, and we live in literally one of the best school districts in the state. Therefore, based on the post, it is almost a no brainer to use public schools. (That is not meant to sound offensive or anything, it is just we fall into the category where we don’t have a religious reason to use private schools, and we have a very good public school system.)
So, the reason we did choose private school was to provide an environment that our kids would learn best in. Now, keep in mind, this is OUR kids. I am not saying every child needs private school to optimize their education. There are many public schools that are far better than some of the private schools out there. This is an incredibly individual decision that we have spent more time on than you can imagine.
I will not go into all details of our decision, but here are some major points:
1. Class size. When my kids were in grade school, they learned math, english, science, etc at a 4 student per teacher ratio. They got incredibly personalized attention, and they were able to go at their own pace. Some kids could read at a sixth grade level in first grade and some kids could not read at all. We did not want out kids to lose their love of learning because they were bored in school.
2. Individualized curriculum. I touched on this previously, but my kids all read books at the level they were at. They had their own math books, their own reading books, etc. They just took off. And, if they had a particular interest, they could pursue that as much as they wanted.
3. Lack of ‘teaching to the test’. I have several friends who are public school teachers, and they are getting very burned out because the state basically dictates what they have to teach, and they are always being pressured to increase test scores. It seems in many schools, the creativity is gone from the curriculum in favor of making sure kids can test well. I cannot say whether this is true or not because we have no public school experience. I am basing this on what I have been told.
4. Sports and other extra curriculars. If my kids attended the public school with 550 kids in a grade, they would not got nearly the opportunities they get now in sports, forensics, debate, and more. All kids make the teams at our school. (However, by high school, many kids don’t get to play much, but they do get to be on the team.)
My oldest son is graduating this year, and I am thrilled with the education and life skills he attained these past 13 years. It is also possible he would have had a great experience in public school- we will never know. It is very true that we short changed our retirement to pay for private school, but I don’t care at all.
This is such a difficult topic for many. I understand that some people are anti-private school. Actually, I used to be one of those people. We moved to our current school district because of its reputation. However, when the principal told us that there is really no individualized curriculum at the younger ages, we knew we needed to look elsewhere or watch our child be bored out of his mind.
Sorry for the long comment, great post!
Everyday Tips – great comment! I actually thought of your blog after this post, as I had recalled a popular post you had on private schools.
The ratio of 4 students per teacher that you mention….really? That’s impressive, and truly individual attention. Also, I do agree that some public schools might try to teach to the test, as those scores are so important in different ways. In terms of extracirriculars, I agree that the bigger the school, the tougher it is for kids to get a chance to even participate.
Really, it comes back to what’s best for each family, and nobody can decide that but each of us ourselves. In my case, it’s public schools since the local schools are very good and I see no reason to spend extra!
I’ve attended both public and private. For me private was a MAJOR difference in quality and results and I was fortunate to get scholarships to help pay for my time there. If I lived in a good public school district I’d send my kids to public school for sure. I agree that making the decision really depends on what is available in your area. I have nothing against public schools if the teachers are good, kids are well behaved, and the quality of education is strong. Great post Squirrelers!
Untemplater – glad you liked the post! Getting scholarships sure helps, eh? Seems like in your case there truly was a gap in quality between private and public.
I went to Catholic School K-12. I was woefully behind my peers in academics when I went to college. I did however live in a very bad school system with lots of troubled youths, so by going to private school it did shelter me from most of the gangs and teen pregnancies and violence. My oldest is in 1st grade and we’re not in the best school system, but I think the local Catholic school is about the same as the one I went to based on some parents with kids there. It’s great if your kid is not overly gifted or challenged by academics. There is a montesorri that’s supposed to be excellent, but it’s $15K/year in which case once both kids are school aged, I think it probably would make more sense to funnel that $30K/year to living in a better school system vs going private (as that you can get back when you sell).
In the end, I think many private schools have more budgetary constraints than public. My favorite teacher (chemistry), said that her budget for supplies in her first year in public school was higher than the total money she had to spend the previous 10 at the private high school I went to.
I think going to a public high school would have better prepared me for college academically, even if they did have metal detectors at the main entrance. My good friend went there and since she was in honors classes, she never had to interact with the gang kids..plus many of them didn’t go to school in the first place.
First Gen – you sure had a different experience than I did, in terms of school safety! What I find interesting is how you mention that the private school sheltered you from problem situations, yet didn’t prepare you as well as you think a public school would have. Maybe in that case money bought safety, but not a better education? Also, that’s startling actually about the gap in expenses between private and public in the situation you mentioned. I would have assumed that the private school would have more resources, but clearly that’s a faulty general assumption to make as well. Thanks for sharing, good stuff!
I really think it depends on the individual school. Public schools sometimes get a bad rap, but many of them are very good. Private schools are thought of as prestigious and therefore better, but that’s not always the case. I think parents need to investigate the curriculum, teachers, administration, and student body before making a decision. Planning an on-campus and in-class observation, checking out their scores and what other parents are saying about that school is helpful, too.
Little House – I think it really does depend on the situation, and what the alternatives are in a particular area. I totally agree with you that checking out test scores and parent feedback are good things to do.
If your local public school system is good, why waste money on private school? you can have a mix where you send your kids to public school for elementary and switch to private for high school.
BTI – I’ve known people who went to private when younger, then switched to public when in high school. Safe to say that results depended on the situation. I can think of one kid who saw real benefit from a private school before attending high school, and another that simply wasn’t as prepared because the private school was actually inferior!
I think you hit a couple of hot buttons with this post. The conversations and comments are awesome. While I am absolutely not prepared to get into a debate all I’d like to add is my experience. I am the product of public schools – in Springfield, MA even. Google it – not anything special. But I had an amazing experience because I was able to connect with the teacher that I had and get the support that really pushed me forward. I went to a great private 4 year college then grad school. Now as part of the many things that I juggle daily I am a professor of business at a local 4 year college. I know that I might not be the norm but just thought it was a story worth mentioning. I think it was the public schools that kind of toughened me for what the life after high school was like and help me shape the tools necessary to keep moving forward and striving to find successes.
Nunzio – thanks for sharing, I appreciate hearing your story. Personally, I was in public schools all the way. Hopefully this isn’t biasing my views!
Well, instead of starting K at the local public school this year, DC is going into 2nd grade at the academic private school in town. So… I guess we’re doing lots of things people disapprove of. You do not want to know how much time and money we’ve spent on that school this year. But it’s worthwhile to have a happy well-behaved kid who loves going to school each day.
Interestingly, I’ve been talking to people who live in the #1 elementary school zone in town and it seems like this school has the belief that since they’re the “best” (highest test score), they don’t need to do anything special for kids who aren’t average. Which means there are a lot of very smart kids whose parents care a lot about education who are not at all happy with the school (their kids are bored and misbehaving), but are paying extra money through their property values. We might actually get more accommodation for our child’s special needs in a worse school zone. But the private school is a nice match, so that’s what we’re doing for now. We’re taking it a year at a time.
I think it all depends on what district you live in and the quality of schools. This is a subject my hubby and I have discussed a lot in the past on where to send our kids. It really is Russian roulette. There is no guarantee your kid is going to turn out any better. If though safety etc was involved, I would pick the safest option.
your network is your networth. i can see the value of growing up with a lot of wealthy friends. i wish my friends from school could have helped me. it would have been so much easier.
my daughter is 3 and we are weighing public vs private. hard to spend 33k a year on kindergarden on up. i can give her 1M when she turns 18. at the same time, i wonder what her life experiences would be like at private school. they call it afluenze. rich kids get into a lot more trouble because they have the means. i dont think there is a clear answer.