Top Private Elementary Schools in the Area

[RVD90277]

This is great to hear.

I went to both public and private schools (as well as both public and private for college and grad school) and there were definitely pros/cons.

I think that many students will do fine in a public school system. My son is going to a public elementary school here and the school is very good with high quality teachers, etc. I think that the school is as good as any private school in the area.

The main difference when I was growing up was that at private school, the students attending the school were different. Most came from wealthy families and at least in my schools, there was no bullying, kids that use excessive bad language, etc.

As good as my son's school is, last year I seriously considered pulling him out and sending him to private school because of one other kid in his class who taught my son how to curse like a sailor, go to inappropriate websites, etc. While it's true that my son should be able to fend for himself and not be so easily influenced, when you're in 2nd grade at a new school trying to fit in, it can be difficult.

We rode it out and he's still at the school but in another class away from that other kid so we'll keep monitoring the situation to see what happens.

And yes, I know that this is possible to happen in a private school as well but in the private schools that I went to, they weren't afraid to kick kids out of school for poor behavior. Public schools don't really have that luxury. When I was in 6th grade, I went to a new private school and one of the kids in my class was also new so I got to know him well that first week. He was a nice kid and pretty funny, etc. It turned out that he was from an elementary school in another district where I had some friends so a few weeks later I asked them about this kid and they all laughed saying "omg! that guy got beat up every day! everyone picked on him sooo much, it was hilarious" and another guy overheard us and laughed saying "oh yeah, us too...everyone in my class picked on him", etc.

For some students, private school is simply a better fit and it doesn't guarantee that every private school kid will get into a better college than every public school kid, etc.

RVD.

[SouthSeasLifestyler]

One concern with private schools with rich kids is that there is sometimes access to money for vices far more dangerous than bad language: drugs and fast cars. This is just what I've observed from the kids I've personally met. They all had beautiful manners btw. But I'm not sure I'd want my kids hanging with them.

[srd2012]

Hi, we are relocating to Seattle area. Our choices are UCDS and Chestnut Hill since we are later in the pool. Our son did score high on then WISC. Wondering which one to place the deposit on. Any help would be great.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by srd2012

Hi, we are relocating to Seattle area. Our choices are UCDS and Chestnut Hill since we are later in the pool. Our son did score high on then WISC. Wondering which one to place the deposit on. Any help would be great.

I've heard good things from some of my clients about UCDS.

[fnh]

Five year update! We did actually move our kids to Seattle to attend Garfield for high school, initially for one year with the choice to return to their private school in Texas. The kids love pretty much everything about it and are here to stay.

One thing I hadn't considered is that private school students are BEHIND the top public school students in math and science, since public school students have the option for acceleration while private school students generally do not. This means that, despite having a 4.4 weighted GPA, my kid barely cracks the top quintile since Garfield is packed with so many high-achieving students - students who, for example, are already taking pre-calculus in 9th grade when private school students are two years behind in geometry. Advanced math classes are prerequisites for science classes so those students can take advanced science classes earlier, too. It is impossible for entering private school students to ever catch up for purposes of class rank.