Westminster experience for African Americans (Atlanta, Fayetteville: middle school, gated, live)

[Gddyupn]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Not true.

Yes, it is. Private schools do ability group and public schools are not able to (as is my understanding from the US Dept of Education). Because of this, sometimes the brighter students do suffer. Not all of the time, but sometimes. I do not speak in absolutes, because there usually aren't any in life. I speak in generalities, and generally speaking, the more elite private schools have more freedom and leeway than schools that accept federal funds. Just as, generally speaking, if you have a special needs child, public schools have more funds, facilities and resources to accommodate your kid than many private schools do (except those specifically dedicated to special needs kids).

[Gddyupn]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

My last reply to you.

Let him decide. Point blank...You asked for opinions, you got them. You seeminlgy didn't get the one you wanted (AA experience), but you got some insight on the matter from enough people.

I am not going to let him decide, and you shouldn't tell me to. He's a kid, and he isn't able to look at nuances. The decision has to be made by the adults in his life who look out for him. I did get some insight from other more lucent writers on this forum, and those insights did help some. Yours simply did not. You became antagonistic and made this into an argument that wasn't inherently there. In the future, please keep your opinions of how others should raise their children to yourself unless you are specifically asked, and I did not. Nor would I presume to tell you how to raise your twin boys.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by yankeegirl73

...A great public school will take care of the bright students and challenge them. However, many are not so great and just teach to the lowest common denominator...

Well, many private schools also can be said to be "educationally-lacking" in some way.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Gddyupn

... Private schools do ability group and public schools are not able to (as is my understanding from the US Dept of Education)...

I don't know what you mean when you write "ability groups," but many public schools have classes and groupings by ability/academic level.

Whether this is ideal/educationally-sound or not (in private or public schools) could be its own thread topic.


An interesting perspective:
Leaving the “private school bubble of wealth, privilege and non-diversity” to return to APS | Get Schooled

[ATL Golfer]

Originally Posted by Gddyupn

To defend my shorthand, I was only trying to say that traditionally, the more elite private schools offer a more solid education than public schools. Because private schools can ability group, and public schools are not able to, and many times have to teach to the lowest common denominator in the classroom, teachers are forced to modify their teaching methods, and many times the brighter students suffer. I also know that there are many great public schools that offer a quality education on par with some private schools. I just don't happen to live in one of those districts, so I must make different choices. Again, I am sorry.

If you're in Fulton, Riverwood does everything you described above.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

If you're in Fulton, Riverwood does everything you described above.

Indeed. And many other high schools as well.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Gddyupn

Yes, it is. Private schools do ability group and public schools are not able to (as is my understanding from the US Dept of Education). Because of this, sometimes the brighter students do suffer. Not all of the time, but sometimes. I do not speak in absolutes, because there usually aren't any in life. I speak in generalities, and generally speaking, the more elite private schools have more freedom and leeway than schools that accept federal funds. Just as, generally speaking, if you have a special needs child, public schools have more funds, facilities and resources to accommodate your kid than many private schools do (except those specifically dedicated to special needs kids).

I know this is strictly a side issue, but the statement I've bolded is definitely not true. Several counties around here provide a variety of services to brighter students at the elementary level - either pull-out enrichment programs or even separate academic classes that move through the curriculum more quickly. (A North Fulton parent described the latter quite recently). At the middle and high school levels there are advanced and accelerated classes in academic subjects, then AP (college level) classes available in high school, at the higher grades particularly.

Various forms of public-versus-private debate school debate come up frequently on school-related threads, like this. It bothers me when people make blanket statements to the effect that private schools provide superior academics to public schools, because that's simply false. People can have all kinds of legitimate reasons for educating their children privately - they're wealthy, and private schools are what wealthy people traditionally use; their local public schools are weak; they have a child whose particular needs can best be met in a private setting, they want a religious setting, or they are philosophically opposed to "government" education. I'm fine with all that.

What I'm not fine with is when people claim to believe that all public schools are bad. This is just bad information. It particularly bothers me when people claim that they're not wealthy but are bent on scrimping and saving to put their child in a private school because all public education is so inferior. This level of misinformation seems really sad to me.

[CMMom]

I suspect what she may mean is that they can be selective regarding the ability level of the children they admit as opposed to grouping them once they are there. I know that to be true and speak with insider knowledge. Westminster, for example, is typically looking for children with Superior IQ scores and above (some exceptions made for siblings/alumni children, etc..., but speaking in generalities).

[Gddyupn]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

If you're in Fulton, Riverwood does everything you described above.

I am not. I am actually in Clayton, and our schools are pretty bad down here. We lost accreditation not long ago. Check us out on GreatSchools.org, we're pretty bad

[Gddyupn]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

What I'm not fine with is when people claim to believe that all public schools are bad. This is just bad information. It particularly bothers me when people claim that they're not wealthy but are bent on scrimping and saving to put their child in a private school because all public education is so inferior. This level of misinformation seems really sad to me.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't think I said that all public school education is inferior. What I believe I said was that I don't believe in speaking in absolutes, I speak in generalities. And then I said the MOST elite private schools (read Westminster, Woodward, Lovett, etc) offer a more SOLID (notice I didn't say BETTER) education than many public schools (read Douglass High, Fairview Elementary, Austin Rd Middle, etc). I also stated that there are many great public schools that offer an education on par with private schools (Inman Park Middle has a 10 rating on GreatSchools.com, not to mention Fayetteville High has comparable numbers to Landmark Christian Academy.)

HOWEVER, as I stated, I don't live near any of these schools, so private school is my best option.

What I find irritating is when someone gets on their soapbox w/o fully reading and ingesting what I've said.