Public VS Private School

Lynn - posted on 08/24/2011

I think it really depends on the school itself, state test scores, and what areas of the curriculum they stress (agriculture, environment, sports, multicultural, performing arts, music, art, etc.) I use and recommend www.greatschools.net and www.schooldigger.com to compare different schools' AIMS and Stanford 9 test scores. You can compare all schools in your state, or just the ones in your area. They're very informative, so you have an idea what level of education your child would receive there. We have a very expensive private school several miles from my house, and my kids go to a free charter school that consistently scores far higher on test scores than the private school. I have several friends who left that private school for a higher scoring public school. Expensive does not always mean higher quality!

Sherri - posted on 08/20/2011

I have been to both. All my children will most definitely be attending public school actually 3 already do. No regrets.

Lee - posted on 08/20/2011

Susan, you stated you are a teacher at a public school but sent your children to a private Catholic school are you saying that the private schools are better than the public school?.

Brittany - posted on 08/15/2011

For me personally private school saved me from having more learning issues. It was my 4th grade teacher that finally noticed that the reason for me being behind in reading but so advanced in all my other subjects, was due to a learning disability. She, and the reading specialist spent hours teaching me ways to adapt and cope with it. The specialist took 2 months of unpaid time to teach me during the summer, so that my reading level would be up to par with my grade level.

The school bought laptops for the students, (this was in the mid-late 90s). So by the time we got to high school, we all knew how to use a computer and the internet to our full advantage.

At the sametime I had a wonderful counsler at my public high school. Whom took the chance, when classes were getting full, to put me in AP. She believed in me, and I did really well in those classes. I also had teachers who would sit there during their lunch brakes and answer questions on homework.

I've also been to horrible public schools. Where I was completely ignored and treated like an idiot by teachers and other facilty.

I think a huge thing with the quality of public schools is the percentage of people who have their children in public vs private in the area. I've noticed that in areas where most children were in private, the public schools are awful. Where as when more are in public, the schools tend to be better.

As for costs, I know that our local private schools have financial aid, especially the religious ones. You may just have to volunteer some hefty hours for it.

Brooke - posted on 08/15/2011

I have been to both.. I will be sending my two children to a public school.

At the end of the day school is what you and your child make it..

Tyrae - posted on 08/15/2011

Thank you so much! I definitely believe that education is very important. At the moment we have a RESP open for her (she's only 8 months old and we already have $1000 put away for her post secondary education).

The friendship aspect was a definite pro for me since I've been thinking about sending her to private school. I remember as a child not having that many friends in public school because they/we were moving so often that we just couldn't keep them. The school I would be sending her to is a kindergarten to Grade 12 school, so she would have those friends throughout her school life and hopefully afterwards too. I know my fiance has kept in contact with his school friends from private school and they graduated 8 years ago. I wish I had that :)

I'm willing to cut back on a lot of stuff in order to send her there, but it is also up to my fiance as to whether he wants her to go. SO far he seems pretty excited to send her to the same type of school he went to, hopefully he'll be excited once I tell him the cost (he doesn't know it yet!).

Susan - posted on 08/15/2011

Hi Tyrae, I live in the US and sent my children to a private Catholic school, but have worked in a public school for the past four years. I have found that the education in the private sector is awesome, however if your child has special needs, there are more services available in the public schools. My children did well in the private school, went onto public high school and five out of the six have gone or are in college ( one is still in high school). They all were high honors and I credit their great foundation for their success. Also, my children have such high SAT scores that the scholarships they earned have compensated for the tuition we paid. I think one of the best bonuses of private school was the wonderful life long friends my children met. All of their parents were like us, they thought education was so important they were willing to pay for it. I would do it all again. Good luck with your decision. P.S. I loved the uniforms and as very little variety is needed, we didn't buy that many uniforms and we passed them down. I just washed twice a week.