Public vs. Private?

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hduke asks:

Public vs. Private?

My 5-year-old son is about to enter Kindergarten, and my wife and I are considering the option of sending him to private school. We make a decent combined household income, but we're not wealthy and sending him to private school will put us in debt for years to come.
Was wondering how many people on this board have sent their children to private school and struggle financially but still feel like it was worth it.
Nothing is more important than my son's education, but I don't want to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy for the next 13 years either.

In Topics: Choosing a school

> 60 days ago

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Expert

Developmentalist

Jul 19, 2007

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What the Expert Says:

Henry - I've got both a personal and professional opinion.Personally, I'm a big believer in trying out the local neighborhood school where young children are in walking distance to their friends and in their local community. I've decided to do this for my son who is entering Kindergarten. As I get to know the school and my son better, I might turn toward private education. You can always consider private education at the Middle or High School stage when your child's abilities and interests have evolved and thinking about college becomes more important. And, you can re-evaluate your financial situation at that time. Professionally, data and expert opinion point to parental involvement as the key ingredient in life long success, love of learning, and child well-being. So, whether you opt for private or public education, your concern and involvement will always be there.

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Additional Answers (22)

kellysfinn writes:

Hi there,

I think it's great that you are considering a variety of school options for your son.

Private schools vary widely in tuition, some elementary school tuitions can be as low as a few thousand dollars and as high as private college tuition! Also, tuitions largely vary depending on location and reputation.

For example, the National Center for Education Statistics in 2004 reported the average private school tuition as $5,049, with the Catholic school average being $3,533 and the Non-sectarian average being $12,169.

You might want to start out your search by finding out what private schools are in your area. Our SchoolFinder resource will give you information on all private schools across the US: www.education.com/schoolfinder

Hope this helps!
Kelly

Resources:

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder

> 60 days ago

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triceptive writes:

My daughter (4 1/2) currently attends a Montessori school and I am very impressed with their academics. She has been there for 3 months and she has really excelled academically. The one thing I don't like about the Montessori school is that the teachers are not very caring at all. She went to a Lutheran preschool for 2 years before starting at Montessori and they were very loving and nurturing, but the academic portion was lacking. We going to let her finish a year at the Montessori school and enroll her into a Catholic school for kinder and onwards. We looked at a few independent schools but the tuition was just way too much, $18000 from K-8. We make a pretty good living but by no means are we wealthy, so we decided to look into catholic schools which are around $7000 a year. You can also cut the cost by 1/3 if you engaging in school activities and fund raisers. We found a great school that has only 140 students and a 1:14 teacher/student ratio and it has a pretty good reputation in the community. With the money we save, we can send her to more "outside of school" activities such as music school, academic camps, and sports which can supplement her education.

But I think no matter where your child attends school, there is nothing more important then parent involvement.

Good luck in your search.

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