Switching to private high schools? Waldorf?

[GreenPlastic]

Paragon is one popular option.

Also, just a FYI, but many of the episcopal schools are considered among the best schools in town and are quite liberal. If a school interests you, please meet with them and talk to some parents.

[FueledByBlueBell]

Everyone keeps mentioning Westlake, but my husband and I just moved to the Doss/Murchison/Anderson area and have been impressed by products of these schools. We have met and heard of multiple kids going on to highly ranked universities including Ivy League, MIT, etc. We have a young child and are discussing private vs. public but when the end result is the kids attending the same universities then we wonder if private is worth it. Thoughts?

[riaelise]

I'm not advocating one or the other, but I attended public schools my entire life and made it into top schools. Many of my peers at tisch attended private schools, but there were some who didn't. Each kid is different. Some kids do better in different settings.

[centralaustinite]

Yes, Doss/Murchinson/Anderson is a top-ranked sequence, no one would dispute that.

Every kid is different, if you have a kid who thrives in a large, high-quality public high school (like Anderson, Westlake, Westwood, or LASA) you have won the lottery. If you have a different kid with strengths and weaknesses that are not well served by a large public high school -- then you have to deal with you have been dealt. It is impossible to make good decisions (other than keeping your options open) about high school when you have preschool aged children, you do not know what you have yet (and life can throw sudden, unexpected curves too).

[blakely]

Originally Posted by campbetc

Just out of curiosity, where do most people send their kids for private middle school if they plan on switching back to public for 9-12?

I've seen families do this at Paragon, St. Stephen's, St. Andrew's, Hyde Park, etc. etc

It can really be done at lots of private schools. It doesn't need to be a school that is geared towards middle school only. Some kids come to these schools and want to stay for high school (not an option at Paragon, but at the others). Others are ready for a bigger pond and want to move to a big high school.

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by FueledByBlueBell

We have a young child and are discussing private vs. public but when the end result is the kids attending the same universities then we wonder if private is worth it. Thoughts?

We're only in elementary school right now and our opinion, is that for us the answer is yes. We track to an exemplary elementary school right now and will probably move to Rollingwood next year to cut commute time but we will not move our child to public school, even the Eanes schools. We like the small class size, the fast pace of the academics, the genuine community atmosphere, knowing each and every other parent and family, consistent focus on good moral behavior, etc. We really couldn't be happier and our daughter is thriving. We noticed in preschool that when the class went from 12 kids to 20+ kids, her participation and attitude suffered significantly. She just didn't operate as well in large groups so that prompted us to start looking at private schools. Now that we are in the private system, I can't imagine not being in it.