Private vs. Public High School Dilemna

[moneybags]

DD is starting 8th grade this week, so high school is on the horizon. Here is my dilemna: The public hs is huge (freshman class this year is 1,100). My other option is the Catholic hs at a cost of $8,000/year. I tend to make decisions based on money (duh), but this one needs to be sorted out. I have a list of other factors to consider (sports teams, academics, etc.), but just wanted to see what others thought - was your private school worth the money? I have one other child, 3 years behind her.

[Fern]

How does your child feel about it?

I don't think the larger size alone is necessarily a bad thing.

I am a product of the public schools and i don't think private schools are any better. There are 'bad eggs' everywhere, and hopefully your children will know not to hang out with the wrong element.

I've heard enough stories about physical abuse from my many Catholic friends to be convinced that private schools lack the rigorous credentials and academic standards that public must adhere to.

[boefixepa]

I've heard and seen both good and bad schools of both kinds. Just because it is private does not mean it is better, you'd have to do your research and look into it.

Also if it catholic, are you? Do you want your child to be taught in that frame of reference and belief? Do you even know what it is?

Also check out the public school just as the private and compare the two.

I went to a very large high school and I made the most of it. Many things are dependent on the student. If she wants to succeed she will do so, at either school.

Good Luck!

[disneysteve]

My public high school graduating class was 820 students. I went on to a very fine liberal arts college with a class size of just over 300. Had no trouble getting into medical school and have been a successful physician for 14 years. I don't think private school would have gotten me any farther in life. It just would have cost my parents a bundle.

That said, there are certainly areas where the public schools are lousy, dangerous places. If you live in one of those places, and you can afford better, that's a whole different story.

[PrincessPerky]

I spent time in three different forms of school, home, public, private (two different private and two different public)

My own opinion is nothing beats the one on one attention/learn what you want when you want the way you want of home schooled. However..I am guessing you (along with most of America) wont even consider that.

So public vs private....can't say, I couldn't even say if you were deciding between my private alma matter and the public school I left for it. your daughter isn't me. So the decisions I made wouldn't be best for her.

Education is NOT one size fits all, It is not all about the money (not the money you spend, or the money the school system spends) It is not all about the number of students (though student to teacher ratio might be important, but anything over one to one, is still, a heck of a lot to ask of a teacher)

So the short answer, do a lot of research and know it still might not work out the way you planned. Or....ask your kid, if it goes bad you can blame her (and she might learn from it)....

[pearlieq]

Don't be too concerned about large class size. In a way, large schools can have advantages for students in that they prep them for the college environment, usually have more resources at their disposal, and are big enough to avoid the small-school cliquish-ness (which is not to say there might not be cliques, but a larger school provides more potential to find a place to fit in and thrive).

My public school graduating class was 790. I had amazing opportunities and wonderful faculty and went on to college on nearly a full academic ride. I can't think of what I would have gotten at a private school that would have been worth the money.

How is the school? What is the average class size/faculty:student ration? Do they offer a broad variety of classes at several different levels? Is there a diverse and well-established program of extracurriculars?

How is your financial picture? Do you really have $8,000 a year to spare that couldn't be better used paying down debt, building retirement assets, or in a college fund?

Everyone wants the best for their kid. However, if the public school is fine, it could be a huge waste of money paying for private just for the sake of attending a private school. And if you've got consumer debt or an underfunded retirement, spending money on private school is a terrible misuse of money unless the public school is absolutely unsalvagable.

[txex86]

I agree with the other posters who have advised that class size alone should not steer you to a private school. My high school graduating class had 1,601 students (Plano, Texas, 1982). Plano had great opportunities and offered several courses not found at smaller high schools in the Dallas area. Having such a large class size also made my transition to the University of Texas at Austin (52,000 students on a 40 acre campus) much easier as I was used to the scale and bustle of a large school. So, a large sized school isn't necessarily a negative, IMO.

[cschin4]

Changing schools may be difficult for your child at this age. She may already have a crew of friends and feel a sense of belonging with these friends. Starting over is very intimidating and she may or may not make the same level of friendships.
For me, it is a non-issue. I have 3 kids and our closest private schools are over 20 miles away. So, the cost is a factor and so is the transportation in which I don't want my kids to go to school that far from home, etc.
Giving your child a religious education is a fine thing. And, if you wish to instill this, there are ways to do this without private school. You could do home religious training yourself or become involved in the local church having your child in Sunday school, the youth group and so forth.
But, to further sort this out, what is the goal of sending your child to the new school? Did you visit the school, look at the curriculum, etc?
My niece is in a private school. Besides the tuition, there are additional fees to participate in extracurricular activities, sports, etc. And, the private schools often cannot afford to offer as many activities as the publics can.
For $8K a year, you could bank that money and pay for her college education or help significantly.
If you really decide you do like the school, you may want to consider putting your younger child in there

I pay a bundle in property taxes to the school system. I can't afford to pay that AND pay for my kids to go to private school.

I agree with Princess Perky that if homeschooling is a viable option, that can be the best. But I think there's a good reason why most families don't do it... they're not cut out for it.

[MonkeyMama]

I have to agree with most everyone else. It depends on the school - you can'd decide by the private vs. public level. That being said there are plenty of wonderful/accessible public schools so I don't see the point of shelling out the money. My dh went to private catholic school and his education really lacked. They didn't offer the advanced classes or challenges that the public schools did very well with when I went through school. I think he had a really crappy education and his parents paid a bundle. I mean it sufficed, but didn't challenge him in the least.

My high school had 1000 people in my class and I LOVED it. It was a great experience. It was a lot more like college than high school frankly and I thrived there. It really depends on the kid. Others feel lost in such a big school. But I don't think big = bad. There were a lot of programs and options and diversity and I really enjoyed it. There wasn't a lot of high school BS. Who can keep up with who is popular in a sea of 4000 kids? IT also made college an easy transition.

[Marcymox]

I would consider other factors than the size of the school. Size can actually be a good thing.

The more students you have, the more money the school gets ( in many ways, government and fund raising) to offer programs smaller schools might not have.

Larger schools often offer more than one foreign language choice ( our even offers latin! ) as well as a nice variety of music choices- Orchestra is one that usually is only available at larger schools. Also JROTC only is approved for many of the larger schools ( they need 100 students to make a batallion)

also, a larger school can offer more choices in classes because they know there will be enough students to fill that AP calculus class- a school must have a certain minimum number of enrolees into a class to even be allowed to offer it. If only 2 kids int he whole school want AP calculus, it's not cost effective for that school to pay a teacher and likely won't offer it or cancel it.

a larger school also has a better chance of being calculated into the " Top" 2% of your class" for college application reasons. I'm sure someone better at math than me could demonstrate this.

also, larger high schools will have more successful extracirriculars, -large marching bands that go to band competitions, Large swim teams that go to finals, ect.

Make sure you get on your school district website, and check the course offerings for the high school you are interested in ( ours in online) Make sure that EACH SCHOOL you are considering offers what your child is interested in, or needs for her future. It would be sad if your child has been playing violin since 4th grade , and the small pirvate high school she starts does not offer a strings program. Or, if you were hoping on some college credits with AP english and Hostory, and the private school doe snot offer this, it could be detrimental.

On the flip side, many private schools have an emphasis on "college prep" - and in our area, all of our catholic schools are deemed " college prep" the whole focus really, is high academic standards, If your child is the type that realyl excells in school, and likes small classes, academic emphasis and really could care less about the whole high school social scene ( like me! ) it may be a good fit.

also smaller schools leave students less anonymous. Kids in smaller schools can find more ways to stand out, or shine in thier own special areas. They fit in better too.

It would be a good idea to start touring both schools and looking at thier course offerings now. Our 8th grade counselor starts making up high school schedules with the students in JANUARY and in February the 8th graders take a field trip over to the high school to tour the school. In May, they take another field trip over to the high school and have a "mock day" where they go to each of thier classes like they are already students there.

Just to let you know, the high school hype starts early in our area, so you might not have as much time as you think to make a decision. good luck- let us know what you decide.

[LuckyRobin]

At that age, kids just want to go where their friends go. It's usually the biggest priority, and what will make them happiest.

[KellyB]

Depends onthe kid and what you want for him, if you have a preference. I went to a small, private, Catholic HS, and I wanted the same for my son IF HE wanted it too. So I saved accordingly just in case. Best thing to do is fo to the school and take the tour, etc, but then also have your son spend a day at the school. That way they get a good feel for the environment and can usually make a good decision there.

[Ima saver]

I sent my child to private school for 9 years. I wish I had not wasted my money.

[cschin4]

Isn't it interesting that over 40% of Congress send their children to private schools as compared to 12% of the US? Funny how the Lords and Ladies have a different set of rules that they apply to themselves versus what they expect the commoners to do.