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Old 04-23-2017, 07:18 AM
 
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My family has lived in CT for almost 2 years now, but I don't feel like I have a good idea about the differences in schools. We live in Avon, and I know the public school district has a great reputation. But how does it compare to magnet and private schools?

Growing up in a smaller area in the south we had fixed ideas about the schools (one is for the smart kids, one is for the rich kids, one is for the arts programs, etc.) Is the same true in CT?

I know that every child is different, so I am just looking for some general ideas about the different school types. My son is only 2, so we still have a few years before we have to make any decisions.
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Old 04-23-2017, 03:43 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
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IMHO it depends on how you want to raise your children. If you want them to be more upper class in character, then send them to an elite private school. There they will associate with kids mostly from very wealthy families. They will be exposed to the values and aspirations of those kids. If you want your kids to grow up with more diverse children or more middle class values then send them to public schools. Private schools will be very pricey while public schools are basically free since you must pay taxes to your town anyway.

Personally I do not see the value of lower cost private schools because I do not believe they provide any better education than a good public school. I would only consider them if you wanted your child to have a special education like a religious education or if your child had issues learning in a larger classroom environment. I would also consider them if you lived in a town with questionable schools. Avon schools are among the best in our state so that should not be a consideration.

DW and I had this discussion when our kids were young too. We did not want our kids to be like kids that went to elite schools. A neighbor sent her older kids to a private Catholic school so DW was considering it. After a bit of a debate, we decided to go with our highly rated public schools and have been very pleased. The neighbors children did well but no better than ours. They sent their youngest child to public and he is doing just fine. Another neighbor sent their son to the Catholic high school because they were concerned with who he would hang around with. That kid actually got in a LOT more trouble than my kids or their friends ever did. Of course it all depends on the child and their parents but generally speaking I would not consider private schools but of course that is your and your spouses decision. Jay
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Old 04-23-2017, 07:01 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
If you want your kids to grow up with more diverse children or more middle class values then send them to public schools.
I don't understand why you would say that a public school in a Hartford suburb would be more diverse than an elite prep school.

For example, a public school in Simsbury draws students from exactly one place - Simsbury. Many or most of the teachers are from CT and educated in CT. Middle class values permeate. An elite prep school draws students and teachers from all over the world. Their families are generally much more well traveled, dynamic and better educated. This leads to much more diversity in the school community across many dimensions.

A stable, middle class town like Simsbury (for example) simply cannot match the diversity of the school community in an international prep school like Choate, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, Taft, etc.

I don't mean for this to sound like snobbery. Simsbury and other Hartford suburbs like Avon, Farmington, West Hartford, Glastonbury, etc are excellent towns and very stable (part of the reason why they are less diverse). They also have fantastic public schools. I'm not arguing that elite prep schools are better but rather just focusing on the assertion that a public school is more diverse than a good private school.

What is the reasoning behind the assertion that a public school is more diverse? I don't understand that at all.
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Old 04-23-2017, 07:48 PM
 
3,430 posts, read 3,902,781 times
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Originally Posted by just_because View Post
I don't understand why you would say that a public school in a Hartford suburb would be more diverse than an elite prep school.

For example, a public school in Simsbury draws students from exactly one place - Simsbury. Many or most of the teachers are from CT and educated in CT. Middle class values permeate. An elite prep school draws students and teachers from all over the world. Their families are generally much more well traveled, dynamic and better educated. This leads to much more diversity in the school community across many dimensions.

A stable, middle class town like Simsbury (for example) simply cannot match the diversity of the school community in an international prep school like Choate, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, Taft, etc.

I don't mean for this to sound like snobbery. Simsbury and other Hartford suburbs like Avon, Farmington, West Hartford, Glastonbury, etc are excellent towns and very stable (part of the reason why they are less diverse). They also have fantastic public schools. I'm not arguing that elite prep schools are better but rather just focusing on the assertion that a public school is more diverse than a good private school.

What is the reasoning behind the assertion that a public school is more diverse? I don't understand that at all.
So true. The prep schools are no longer the all white bastions of the past. They make a concerted effort to recruit and admit a diverse student body. Its no longer 1970.
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Old 04-23-2017, 08:28 PM
 
Location: Woburn, MA / W. Hartford, CT
5,975 posts, read 4,957,747 times
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Religious considerations aside (e.g. Hebrew High School of New England, Northwest Catholic), it's mind-boggling to me that there are folks living in stellar school districts (like the ones mentioned above) who will spend $15-35K per year to send their kids to private schools.
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Old 04-24-2017, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,636 posts, read 56,378,147 times
Reputation: 11150
Quote:
Originally Posted by just_because View Post
I don't understand why you would say that a public school in a Hartford suburb would be more diverse than an elite prep school.

For example, a public school in Simsbury draws students from exactly one place - Simsbury. Many or most of the teachers are from CT and educated in CT. Middle class values permeate. An elite prep school draws students and teachers from all over the world. Their families are generally much more well traveled, dynamic and better educated. This leads to much more diversity in the school community across many dimensions.

A stable, middle class town like Simsbury (for example) simply cannot match the diversity of the school community in an international prep school like Choate, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, Taft, etc.

I don't mean for this to sound like snobbery. Simsbury and other Hartford suburbs like Avon, Farmington, West Hartford, Glastonbury, etc are excellent towns and very stable (part of the reason why they are less diverse). They also have fantastic public schools. I'm not arguing that elite prep schools are better but rather just focusing on the assertion that a public school is more diverse than a good private school.

What is the reasoning behind the assertion that a public school is more diverse? I don't understand that at all.
I meant economic and social diversity, not racial or ethnic. Yes, there are some kids from different backgrounds in elite schools but the VAST majority are kids from very wealthy families and not the middle or lower classes. A coworker sent his daughter to one of those schools and that was their biggest issue with it, no economic or social class diversity. Jay
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Old 04-24-2017, 09:40 AM
 
3,430 posts, read 3,902,781 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
I meant economic and social diversity, not racial or ethnic. Yes, there are some kids from different backgrounds in elite schools but the VAST majority are kids from very wealthy families and not the middle or lower classes. A coworker sent his daughter to one of those schools and that was their biggest issue with it, no economic or social class diversity. Jay
That's just not true. Places like Choate, Taft, Hotchkiss etc. have many kids on financial aid. They've got rich kids, middle class kids and poor kids. They are more diverse than the typical CT high school.
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Old 04-24-2017, 09:46 AM
 
24,509 posts, read 17,967,651 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
I meant economic and social diversity, not racial or ethnic. Yes, there are some kids from different backgrounds in elite schools but the VAST majority are kids from very wealthy families and not the middle or lower classes. A coworker sent his daughter to one of those schools and that was their biggest issue with it, no economic or social class diversity. Jay
It depends on what you're optimizing for. If you care about your kid's final economic outcome and your kid has the intellect and drive to do the work, you send them to the best private schools if you can afford it. They're easily covering 10x the material covered in that racially and socioeconomically diverse school. If you're trying to produce a social justice warrior who resents successful people, by all means send them to that diverse school. Your private school comment in this thread is straight out of the Fox & the Grapes Aesop fable. You can't reach the grapes so they must be sour.
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Old 04-24-2017, 12:25 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,636 posts, read 56,378,147 times
Reputation: 11150
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD View Post
It depends on what you're optimizing for. If you care about your kid's final economic outcome and your kid has the intellect and drive to do the work, you send them to the best private schools if you can afford it. They're easily covering 10x the material covered in that racially and socioeconomically diverse school. If you're trying to produce a social justice warrior who resents successful people, by all means send them to that diverse school. Your private school comment in this thread is straight out of the Fox & the Grapes Aesop fable. You can't reach the grapes so they must be sour.
Where was I sour? While I agree elite private schools provide an excellent education and they likely cover more than an average public high school, I doubt it is anywhere near 10 times the material. The OP lives in Avon which is one of the most highly regarded school districts in the state so I am pretty certain the kids there are getting a very good education. Jay
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Old 04-24-2017, 12:32 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,481 times
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Thanks for all of the feedback. I actually didn't realize that private schools were soooo expensive (at least considering our income). Any thoughts on the magnet schools, or are they just pretty similar to the other public schools?
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