There are so many options available to parents who are thinking about sending their kids to private school. In the United States, there are about 34,500 private schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Several large cities have well over 1,000! Numerous religious and nonreligious groups are members of these schools. The schools that make up each organization each have their own distinct vibe or taste.
This detailed guide to the world of private schools is provided. This summary can help parents who are new to this world and parents who want to change. There are two sections to this manual. The primary distinctions between private and public education are described in the first part. The second half assists parents who are looking into private schooling for their kids in reducing down the hundreds of options to just a handful of top priorities.
What is Different about a Private School?
Private schools themselves, of course, differ greatly in terms of their offers, level of quality, culture, and price. However, there are several general areas where private schools and public schools are different, such as funding, accountability, independence, and selection.
Selectiveness
Nearly all pupils must be served by public schools according to the legislation. Charter schools and private institutions are not. Parents must fill out an application in order to enroll their children in a private school. Additionally, not all applying families are accepted. Some don't fit the requirements a particular school has.
These applications are evaluated by private schools based on a variety of factors. Most will assess a student's academic record and record of accomplishments. A believe statement or consideration of church affiliation may be required by religious schools. Elite private schools could also inquire about extracurricular activities or volunteer work.
The bottom line is that private schools have the right to be picky about the pupils they admit. The more selective a school is, the more prestigious or exclusive it is. Most parents think that being picky is a good thing. They want their kids to study among similarly driven, intelligent, and accomplished classmates.
Selectivity has yet another crucial component that deserves attention. Public schools are normally mandated to support pupils with special needs, whereas private schools are not. Parents who have children who have been identified as having a learning disability may want to bring this up during the application process. No matter how prominent the institution, enrolling a child in a program that is ill-equipped to satisfy his or her needs is a bad idea.
Accountability
Results in education are not subject to state oversight in private schools. Although it may seem shocking, this is the case. Private schools, however, answer to the parents of the kids (and in some cases a governing board). This makes it more important than ever for parents to be aware of what their children are learning and to voice any concerns they may have about the curriculum.
Parents who pay for private schools' tuition see the absence of state accountability as a benefit. Teachers are allowed to use the teaching methods they are passionate about in schools since they are not constrained by bureaucracy. However, the majority of parents lack educational expertise. They wouldn't feel comfortable paying for education that wasn't supervised or certified. They seek proof that a school's offerings are of a high caliber. Because of this, a lot of private schools pursue accreditation to show that their curriculum is up to par.
Independence
In public schools, teachers and administrators have minimal control over the curriculum. State education standards are followed when making decisions at the state and district levels. Private schools do, however, maintain their academic autonomy. They are not constrained by district, state, or local standards or curricula. Typically, teachers have a voice in the textbooks that the school selects. As long as they produce the results that parents (and typically accrediting agencies) desire, teachers also have a considerable deal of freedom in how they instruct.
State certification for teachers at private schools is frequently not required by law, despite the fact that many institutions do. Schools are free to employ subject-area specialists or teachers with professional expertise, which is a constructive way to look at things. The restrictions that come with a license are not applicable to teachers. Having uncertified teachers, however, can result in a decline in educational quality.
Funding
Wide-ranging effects result from the disparity in funding methods between public and private education. Parents never pay tuition at public schools. Instead, a jumble of state and municipal levies is used to pay for public schools. Grants of title are occasionally included. According to NPR, local taxes provide for 45% of school funding, the state for 45%, and the federal government for 10%.
Little or no funding is provided to private schools by the municipal, state, or federal governments. Instead, the majority of their funding comes from parents and donors. The three primary sources of funding are tuition, grants, and fundraising, according to GreatSchools. Additionally, a parent group or denomination may provide money to a religious school.
Last but not least, certain states, like Georgia, provide education assistance (sometimes known as "school choice" or "voucher") programs that can pay for students who meet certain criteria to attend private schools.
Considerations for Choosing a Private School
Knowing the primary distinctions between public and private schools is just the beginning. It's one thing for parents to choose to send their kids to a private school. But selecting the best one is a different matter. This is valid in part due to the sheer volume of private schools. In the Chicagoland region, GreatSchools lists a staggering 1,230 private schools! Although not every city has such statistics, there are many options for cities of all sizes.
For most families, selecting a school is a very personal decision. No manual can by itself direct people to the ideal institution. Parents should instead utilize these criteria to reduce your choices to the top 3 or top 5. The parents must then decide what is best for their families.
Budget
Private schools are expensive. Some are inexpensive, while others are pricey. The average high school tuition at Catholic institutions is above $9000, according to TheStreet. Over $28,000 is the typical non-sectarian school cost. Additionally, Forman in Litchfield, Connecticut, is the most costly in the nation. It costs a staggering $62,000 a year.
The budget for the family needs to be carefully examined by the parents before moving forward with the process. How much money is offered for each child? Is there anything the family would like to forgo in order to pursue private education? What are the reputable schools in their city that they can afford to attend? Many families find it difficult to meet the aforementioned averages and therefore search for institutions with lower tuition costs.
Do Not Ignore Scholarships
Both parents and students can search for available scholarships. At the college level, merit- or achievement-based scholarships are more prevalent, although there are some available to high school students as well. There are certain schools that offer indexed tuition that scales based on need, such Gaston Day School south of Charlotte, North Carolina. The most elite private day schools accept a specific amount of scholarship students and have their own endowments.
In other words, it doesn't harm to inquire about scholarship options at a school if money is the only roadblock.
If it's available in your state, use school choice
In 14 states plus the District of Columbia, some parents have access to school choice voucher schemes. A useful resource is provided by the Education Commission of the States. Programs fall into a number of distinct categories, and each one has a particular eligibility requirement. Inquire about any voucher-style programs that are available in your state if you are a low- or middle-income parent interested in sending your child to private school.
Spiritual or not?
When choosing a private school, parents must determine whether they want their kids to attend a religious institution. Of course, devout parents won't have a hard time making this choice. And for those parents, the school's affiliation or denomination is frequently significant enough to take precedence over other considerations.
But what about nonreligious parents? 10% of students in the country, according to the Council for American Private Education, attend private schools, with 78% of them attending religious institutions. Some nonreligious or nominally religious parents nevertheless opt for religious education because they believe it instills values or character.
It's also critical to recognize the diversity of religious instruction. Some Evangelical Christian schools include their religion heavily into their curricula. Others provide a largely secular education delivered by Christian educators. Every few weeks, they would sprinkle one or two chapels. Evangelical schools and Jewish schools have quite diverse cultures from one another.
Location, Location, Location
Bus transportation is not provided by the great majority of private schools. As a result, location becomes crucial in parents' decision-making. A school will probably be removed from the list if it is not conveniently located for students' homes or places of employment. Even though there are over a thousand private schools in Chicago, most families can only give the ones that are near to where they live considerable consideration. This reduces the 1200 schools on most families' lists to, at most, a few dozen.
Class Size
Quality may be determined by factors like class size or the student-to-teacher ratio. It's a proximate indicator of how much individual students are likely to receive in terms of attention. According to conventional thinking, classes with fewer pupils benefit because teachers can give each student more individual attention. The student-to-teacher ratio is often low at prestigious schools. Class size in public schools is inversely correlated with funding; greater funding results in smaller classrooms, and less funding results in larger classes.
Parents typically give preference to schools with smaller class sizes. But keep in mind that class sizes in Catholic schools are frequently greater than usual. Class size comparisons for parents looking primarily for Catholic education should be made with other Catholic schools in the area rather than nonsectarian ones.
Enrollment and Stability
The sizes of private schools vary greatly. Parents looking for a specific atmosphere (big school vs. small school) should take enrolment figures and class size into consideration. Schools with higher student populations typically have the resources to provide more extracurriculars and electives. Schools with fewer students may have stronger parent engagement. They might also provide less obvious advantages like the sense of a tight-knit community.
Parents could enquire about enrollment figures and request historical information. Small class sizes are nice, but not if they were only made possible by a consistent (or sharp) decline in attendance. Instead, this is probably a sign that the school is unhealthy.
Accreditation
Accreditation fulfills a crucial role because private schools are not obligated to adhere to state standards, recruit licensed teachers, or use a district- or state-mandated curriculum. While state boards or local organizations typically accredit public schools, this is not always the case (or both). Additionally, how well kids perform on tests and how closely the school adheres to district directives are typically the deciding factors.
The key external indicator that a private school is accomplishing its declared goals is accreditation. This is because of the already described independence and disparity in accountability. The range of what is reviewed is significantly greater, thus the procedure is usually more comprehensive.
Numerous accrediting organizations support the community of private schools. Some of these groups are on a national, regional, or state level. The list is provided by the CAPE Network. The selection of the "best" agency is outside the purview of this article because the criteria used by these agencies differ.
Private schools are not required to be accredited, and there are undoubtedly some excellent institutions that forgo certification in favor of greater autonomy. However, many approved colleges and universities demand that their applicants have graduated from an accredited high school, as noted by the Florida Department of Education. Parents should examine whether sending their kids to an unaccredited private school will hurt their chances of getting into a good college.
Extracurriculars
Despite being a TV stereotype, the private school lacrosse or field hockey squad is based on fact. Many extracurricular activities, some of which parents won't find at the neighborhood public high school, are frequently offered by private schools. These extracurricular activities could include less popular sports like lacrosse or field hockey, a curriculum that immerses students in a foreign language, Latin or religious studies classes, or a more in-depth approach to the arts.
However, there are a few significant limitations. First off, not all private schools will offer the same courses or have the same goals. Parents should look for a school with initiatives and emphasises that complement the skills and interests of their kids. Second, private schools offering "exclusive" extracurriculars have at least one drawback. Private schools frequently don't offer certain activities or programs that are offered at public schools (such football, cooking, or vocational training).
Culture
Many people associate private schools with snobbish, uniformed rich children attending classes in opulent (but very old) buildings. TV clichés are partially at fault here as well. Private schools do, however, each have their own distinct cultures. Some people might very well fit the mold. Some societies value and foster positive behavior. Others are renowned for their focus on science and technology, for their culture of discipline and excellence, or for their immersive artistic approach.
Parents are aware of the culture they want for their kids and the types of environments in which they will thrive. Parents should visit a school's campus, speak with teachers, and ask parents of existing students about the school's culture. By doing this, they may determine whether the culture of potential schools is a good fit for their children.
Student Outcomes
Although the topics addressed up to this point are all significant, student outcomes are the true indicator of a private school's excellence. What percentage of grads are accepted into colleges? And before that, what is the high school graduation rate? What colleges and universities have accepted graduates? Parents who want their kids to attend Ivy League colleges must actually choose a private school with a track record of graduating students who have been admitted into Ivy League institutions.
Information on student results will be easily available from strong private schools. Many people will post this data on their websites. A school that is unable or unwilling to give this information should be avoided.
Conclusion
Finding the ideal school is challenging. It will require some time. However, it's lot simpler for parents who know exactly what they're looking for. No private school guide can definitively identify the best school for every family. But by taking into account the ideas presented in this manual, modern families can decide precisely what they desire in a private school. They can start their search with clarity and detail, and they can make their final decision with assurance.
