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I'm originally from Asia and naturally not familiar with US education systems. My son is ready to go to elementary school but the school district is not very good. We have one very good private school and maybe we can afford it if we try hard. Here is the question. I only experience public school in my home county which I did not like at all and I heard same complaints about US public school (not enough attention to individual students, no motivation for high achieving students, silly social dynamics...). I know it will vary a lot depending on each individual school but in general, I'm wondering
if the private school will be more tolerant for students with different background and more motivating for high achieving students with less social stress.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 09-06-2012 at 11:28 AM..
I came from JIS (Jakarta International School) and found children in public school (this was in a prominent
California school district) very behind, very rude to each other and teachers, and I really did not like the experience.
If you can, transition him to a good private school.
I'm originally from Asia and naturally not familiar with US education systems.
My son is ready to go to elementary school but the school district is not very good.
We have one very good private school and maybe we can afford it if we try hard.
Here is the question.
I only experience public school in my home county which I did not like at all and I heard
same complaints about US public school (not enough attention to individual students,
no motivation for high achieving students, silly social dynamics...).
I know it will vary a lot depending on each individual school but in general, I'm wondering
if the private school will be more tolerant for students with different background and more
motivating for high achieving students with less social stress.
As a former teacher, I would send my child to private school if I could afford it. However, there may be other options. Is there a gifted and talented program in your district? If there is, your child might be able to get into that program, and then he or she might be able to attend special classes with only high achieving students. Those programs don't usually start until 3rd grade or later, though. Anyway, it's worth looking into. Otherwise, you don't say why you think the school is not very good, so maybe it's not as bad as you think. What's wrong with it exactly?
As a former teacher, I would send my child to private school if I could afford it. However, there may be other options. Is there a gifted and talented program in your district? If there is, your child might be able to get into that program, and then he or she might be able to attend special classes with only high achieving students. Those programs don't usually start until 3rd grade or later, though. Anyway, it's worth looking into. Otherwise, you don't say why you think the school is not very good, so maybe it's not as bad as you think. What's wrong with it exactly?
I learned that test scores for math and reading for the school we're considering is very bad.
I think this mainly comes from the fact that most of students in this school are from lower income families who are working hard with not enough time for their kids.
Thank you for suggesting the special classes with high achieving students and I'll look into it.
1. Does you school district allow transfers? You may have to drive them to school instead of them taking the bus, but many districts have this as an option. You can transfer (if there's room) to another school in the same district that has better academics - note that the "top" schools are going to be everyone's first choice so you're better at trying to get into the 2nd, 3rd, 4th schools, which are presumeably better than the one you are assigned to.
2. Dido on the suggestion to check out the GT (gifted and talented) program.
3. Are you renting in the neighborhood or did you buy a home? If you're just renting, you really need to look at the cost of a private school versus moving to a better school. In some cases if you bought a home and are going to be paying $15,000 a year for private school, you may even want to see into moving - look at the costs for 5 yrs of elementary school & maybe middle school. Also look into scholarships at the private schools as that may lessen the price.
Good Luck!
Our public school has G&T and AP, but apparently it takes a year or two to get there. You cannot just test in and start there. I wonder if this is typical?
I know it will vary a lot depending on each individual school but in general, I'm wondering if the private school will be more tolerant for students with different background and more motivating for high achieving students with less social stress.
I concur with others who say it depends on the school and the specific programs available. I will also add: it depends on exactly how high-achieving the child in question is.
In general, private schools that aren't set up to handle particular special needs or behavioral problems are going to attract a somewhat better caliber of student than public schools in the same area, but they have few legal mandates to handle kids that fall outside their norms. That's not 100% true, of course (in some areas with truly stellar public schools, the private schools may mostly get the kids that need more discipline; some private schools are great about differentiation.) This is a good article about how private schools may handle profoundly gifted students.
Deborah Ruf uses a classification system where she divides bright kids into five strata of giftedness* and she used to have an interesting article on her website about what different levels need. She identifies five types of schools: (1) schools where the student population is generally struggling financially and has low test scores (which sounds like what you have in your neighborhood); (2) schools that generally reach an average, middle-class population, whether public, private, or parochial; (3) competitive schools (typically wealthy suburban public or prep schools) that reach a wealthier population, but with no IQ-based criteria for entrance; (4) schools specifically for gifted students, with an IQ- or achievement-based criteria for entrance; and (5) schools at which kids work at their own pace. Not all schools in a given category are the same, of course; some will be really creative and open with enriching and accelerating bright kids while others will expect other kids to work in lockstep.
IIRC, she believes that high-achieving kids who aren't highly gifted can have a good experience in a Type 1 elementary school with extra enrichment from the parents and school and, perhaps, acceleration of one grade or more in areas of expertise. Kids who would be likely to qualify for a gifted program are likely to really struggle socially and educationally at these schools, and parents should consider whole-grade acceleration or a different school. Which gets us back to, are you talking about a bright kid who's going to work hard? Or a kid who is going to enter kindergarten reading and doing math years ahead of grade level? Because that difference really matters.
* The strata are groups of children who meet milestones at similar times and will have similar educational needs. Level I kids are above average (say, an IQ in the neighborhood of 115); Level II are quite bright but generally just shy of qualifying for school gifted programs (an IQ of maybe around 125); Levels III, IV, and V are squarely in the 130+ range and differ mostly based on their hunger for learning and need for intellectual stimulation rather than their IQ scores.
I concur with others who say it depends on the school and the specific programs available. I will also add: it depends on exactly how high-achieving the child in question is.
In general, private schools that aren't set up to handle particular special needs or behavioral problems are going to attract a somewhat better caliber of student than public schools in the same area, but they have few legal mandates to handle kids that fall outside their norms. That's not 100% true, of course (in some areas with truly stellar public schools, the private schools may mostly get the kids that need more discipline; some private schools are great about differentiation.) This is a good article about how private schools may handle profoundly gifted students.
Deborah Ruf uses a classification system where she divides bright kids into five strata of giftedness* and she used to have an interesting article on her website about what different levels need. She identifies five types of schools: (1) schools where the student population is generally struggling financially and has low test scores (which sounds like what you have in your neighborhood); (2) schools that generally reach an average, middle-class population, whether public, private, or parochial; (3) competitive schools (typically wealthy suburban public or prep schools) that reach a wealthier population, but with no IQ-based criteria for entrance; (4) schools specifically for gifted students, with an IQ- or achievement-based criteria for entrance; and (5) schools at which kids work at their own pace. Not all schools in a given category are the same, of course; some will be really creative and open with enriching and accelerating bright kids while others will expect other kids to work in lockstep.
IIRC, she believes that high-achieving kids who aren't highly gifted can have a good experience in a Type 1 elementary school with extra enrichment from the parents and school and, perhaps, acceleration of one grade or more in areas of expertise. Kids who would be likely to qualify for a gifted program are likely to really struggle socially and educationally at these schools, and parents should consider whole-grade acceleration or a different school. Which gets us back to, are you talking about a bright kid who's going to work hard? Or a kid who is going to enter kindergarten reading and doing math years ahead of grade level? Because that difference really matters.
* The strata are groups of children who meet milestones at similar times and will have similar educational needs. Level I kids are above average (say, an IQ in the neighborhood of 115); Level II are quite bright but generally just shy of qualifying for school gifted programs (an IQ of maybe around 125); Levels III, IV, and V are squarely in the 130+ range and differ mostly based on their hunger for learning and need for intellectual stimulation rather than their IQ scores.
Regarding my child, although I have to assume some bias from parents' perspective, he is very smart and eager to learn things.
He could read well and do math at grade 2 level before Kindergarten although we did not push him at all.
I know the private school we're interested in has very good teachers and students because there is no other good school around this area.
Another aspect of this question is social dynamics of private schools.
I guess that there will be many children of very wealthy families and I'm wondering how that affects the atmosphere in private schools.
Regarding my child, although I have to assume some bias from parents' perspective, he is very smart and eager to learn things.
He could read well and do math at grade 2 level before Kindergarten although we did not push him at all.
I know the private school we're interested in has very good teachers and students because there is no other good school around this area.
Another aspect of this question is social dynamics of private schools.
I guess that there will be many children of very wealthy families and I'm wondering how that affects the atmosphere in private schools.
I gotcha. Sounds like a kiddo who will keep you on your toes!
So a few things you might do:
1.) Definitely tour both schools, at a time when students are there (e.g., not just a weekend Open House or a parent information session after hours) to get a feel for the schools. Do the students look happy? Do the teachers look glad to see them? Are kids generally engaged and paying attention?
2.) A question I asked everywhere I looked that got me good information was, "How do you handle a child that's working ahead of or behind their classmates?" You'll get a broad overview of the services they offer for kids all over the spectrum and an insight into how they feel about differentiation of all kinds.
3.) Whether the atmosphere of the private school is going to be a comfortable one for someone who is or isn't very wealthy depends on a lot of factors. Asking people you know who have kids there is probably your best bet, but other things you can do are to ask what percentage of kids are on financial aid or scholarships (the higher the percentage, the less of an issue it's likely to be unless there's friction between the scholarship kids and the other kids) and to ask the teachers what their perception of class-related social issues are in the classrooms, because if they're on the ball they'll know.
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