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It depends on the public school. Is it a mediocre school or a top school serving a wealthy community? If the latter, there would be no point in spending money on a private school. Otherwise, the private school would provide better preparation for college in many ways. However, many private schools are so small that they can't afford to provide a wide variety of courses and electives, so in that respect, students can miss out on intellectually-broadening learning experiences, compared to public schools. On the other hand, many private schools offer students the option of attending university courses simultaneously with highschool.
If the private school is well-known, students who get good grades from that school could have a slight edge in acceptance to very competitive colleges.
The whole thing has to be decided on a case-by-case basis, because of the variables involved.
I think that is it in a nutshell. It just depends on what the options are in your area. Lots of public schools are fine, some not so much. Ditto private school. Private does not automatically equal high quality.
Really you just want your kid to be surrounded by other good kids and in an environment that will allow them develop whatever potential they have... academically, creatively, athletically, leadership skills, etc. and you want that environment to work with your kid's learning style if possible. Some schools can handle everything, sometimes you put together a combo of regular schools and after school programs, some people choose to do it themselves via homeschooling. There is no one answer IMO.
Our eldest went to a private high school, per his request. He got a fine education, but so did the following two who attended the public high school. We are in a fairly expensive area, but the high school is pretty diverse. Since we have county schools here, people in areas with poor performing schools can, and do apply for transfers. In fact, it was just brought to my attention this week that the high school student population counts among it several homeless students. There is a campaign underway to provide housing for them.
The public high school provided a dual enrollment program that the private could not match. They both had fine facilities, and great staffs.
I sometimes think we were stupid for agreeing to, and paying for, the private school, as the difference in the end was negligible.
Don't private schools have different (lower?) standards for teachers? Do they have to be "as credentialed" as public school teachers?
I'm not sure about the credentialing. All I know is private schools have more leeway in general. They don't have to abide by state requirements for minimum number of school hours, and may have more flexibility in hiring.
Having studied in a private school myself, and taught in public schools, even a public school considered to be "good", I can only say that public school faculties tend to be cesspools of mediocrity. Maybe some of that has to do with unionizing, where once teachers are in, they can get complacent and lazy. I don't know, but the intellectual level among faculty in public schools was on a completely different level than private school teachers. (Speaking generally. There can be exceptions, but they're usually just one or two inspired individuals.) One advantage of private schools is small class size, more individualized attention. But public schools are able to achieve the same in AP classes. I did observe a tendency in public schools to dumb down the material, even in "good" schools. IMO, there's no hard and fast rule about which type of school is better. Everything depends on the individual school.
Depends on the individual school and also the individual kids. There is no "rule" that works here.
I went to mediocre public schools in Florida. I got a full-tuition scholarship, but to a tiny, mediocre, private liberal arts college. It all worked out in the end; I'm now working at the top of my field.
My husband went to a well-regarded private religious high school, and dropped out of college after a year. He's now doing really well in his field too.
My kids go to private schools, because we live in an area with mediocre public schools. While my parents were oblivious, or poor, or both, and let me sink or swim, I don't want to experiment with my kids since we have the ability to afford a better education for them.
We are paying, over the next 10 years, at least as much as a college education will cost by the time they're at that stage (they are both in elementary school now).
Would we be better off just investing the $$ and paying full tuition to anywhere they want to go? Well, probably, if you look at it as purely a financial question.
I don't.
I want my kids to be in a culture where eduction and excelling are stressed. I want them to aspire to be like the high school valedictorian, not the high school drug dealer. Both are probably driving Mercedes. There is a difference, however.
The other way to look at it is that we're already in the financial traces. Maybe they get scholarships because of where they went to secondary school. Great. But if they don't, it'll just be four more years of the same kind of bills we're already paying.
It's a crapshoot. It's all a crapshoot. You just try to make what seems like the right decision, and cross your fingers.
This sounds logical, but since most people who go to college don't get married until AFTER college (many times LONG after college), the high school dating pool doesn't seem to be a good explanation.
To the OP: I have often wondered the same thing, especially parents who spend $10k or more on KINDERGARTEN (or all elementary school grades, for that matter). I can see it a LITTLE better for high school if your local schools aren't the greatest.
Who mentioned marriage? I'm talking about the kids they will hang out with, go to the prom with, have over for long weekends and family parties. It is the peer group that they want for their children. It is an extension of their own peer group. These are people who think nothing of flying off to London to do some shopping for a few days or taking the yacht out for the long Memorial Day week-end at the club.
Even in our small metro area, the parents are advised to choose the private schools for the peer groups over the highly-rated public schools. There is little difference in the education the students receive, but there is a big gap between the groups socially. This is especially true where a position in the family business is guaranteed after college. Hard work is expected and usually delivered, but the right playmates make a huge difference in the social network of those who choose expensive private schools.
Students who create trouble in the classroom are less likely to be tolerated in private schools. Parents who pay out the dollars do not put up with a child who causes trouble at school. Of course, exceptions happen.
The true elite private schools are actually very well diverse both economically and racially. Many of them have tuition levels much like Ivly League schools. I believe Groton, Exeter, Andover and Deerfield academy offer some sort of financial aid between income levels of 75k and 200k, with an income under 75k allowing your child to go there for free.
So why are these schools worth it? So that those in the high class' can continue their legacy of being a Andover and Yale man. Why is it worth it for the lower income parents? So that your child can rub elbows with some of the brightest minds and most powerful families in the world.
I played on the soccer team with George W. Bush. Mark Zukerberg was my lab partner. I roomed with the King of Jordan, etc. Where else would they get a chance to meet such people?
Yes, you can say that top performing public schools will place students in top colleges, but they cannot touch the alumni base of these private schools. I did not attend as elite of a private schools as the ones mentioned above but even as a student, I met and mingled with Alumni who were CEO's of fortune 500 companies, actors, and politicians.
That being said, there are a lot of bad private schools out there. You would be better off investing in a home in a good school district. Like the poster before mentioned, it is all a case by case basis.
I played on the soccer team with George W. Bush. Mark Zukerberg was my lab partner. I roomed with the King of Jordan, etc. Where else would they get a chance to meet such people?
6) No tenure, so God awful teachers can be chased off
And so can really good teachers, as well.
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