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Sorry, I should have specified. Richardson, Prestonwood Elementary. And I said up and coming because it's not one of the elementary schools that people seem to seek out the most, i.e. Brentfield, Canyon Creek, etc. But the neighborhood is changing a lot with new families and it has a ton of community support. I originally wrote a long paragraph about it but decided that was beside the point of my question.
It actually is a good point, not beside the point. Richardson schools are very good schools, and have been for many many years. You can't say that about other districts, which is why I wanted to know which R district you were talking about. I grew up in the Richardson system. When we relocated from WA, we settled in Richardson because everyone told my mom that if we moved to the Dallas area, Richardson is where you go. Over the years, it's still a very strong system.
Being a Realtor, I help people move into "good for them" school districts all the time, and then some ask about private school. I always ask them why they worked so hard to get into the good district to pay taxes within that district to then not want to send their kids to that district. It's not like you're in a bad area.
If $12k is pushing it for your income, and you're going to hope you get a scholarship, that tells me you can't comfortably afford private school and you should go to the great public schools that are available to you in your neighborhood. You're already paying for it, why pay twice?
Do peruse the websites of schools you are interested in. Some have financial aid income level information published. I was able to find that easily on my school's admissions site.
To that end... as another poster said, there is a lot that you will need to sacrifice to make private school work...possibly your plan to be a stay at home mum. ( I totally missed that part in my rant)
Even if best case you get aid, there are extra costs associated with attending those schools and oh so much driving. As a stay at home mum that may not be an issue ( the driving) but will that be an option? If it isn't, are you good with carpooling? Hiring nannies? Fixing your work schedule so you can do drop offs/ pickups? Pay for extended day care at the schools? Saying no to quite a few playdate requests?
Its all doable but its also all work. And money. Probably the reason why private school parents can be tightly wound when it comes to their kiddos education
Private schools also often have other costs such as uniforms, activity fees, etc. If you work you'll have to pay for after school care plus child care during holidays and the summer. Are you going to make enough to pay for all of that for 2 kids?
If you make anywhere near $100k a year in HHI, you will not get any financial assistance to the Dallas private schools. IMO, there are very few privates that are worth paying for when you're already zoned to good public schools. 80% of those schools run in the $18-24k range for Kindergarten and go up from there. Just sticking your kid in a Catholic school because 1) it's private and 2) you can afford it is probably not a great decision....unless you visit one or more of the schools and absolutely fall in love with it as the best environment for your kid.
You have to answer the question you asked, is it worth it?
Is it worth it to continue working vs your hope of becoming a SAHM?
Is it worth it to add a commute to school/ friends/ activities into your family's life? Most of the better Catholic schools are 15-20+ minutes away from Prestonwood in traffic.
Is it worth it to sign up for the stress of $20k+ per year in tuition (2 kids) for 13 years? And remember, tuition goes UP every single year.
Is it worth it to your kid? What specifically about these schools vs your neighborhood school is going to be significantly better than your neighborhood school.
If I were zoned to good public schools, I would probably stick with that path until much further down the road. If you get to 4th or 7th grade and he is showing off the charts academic prowess, THEN evaluate private school options. Right now it sounds like he is very mature for his age - probably remarkable to his daycare because most boys are on the immature side of the curve.
TurtleCreek80 makes a number of good points, although my opinion differs on a few of them. I agree that there are very few privates that are truly worth the money. However, if you were able to get into one of them, it would likely be a school with a decent amount of financial aid, as the elite privates all have around 15% of their students receiving aid. While in general, people making around $100K won't get aid, that's not always the case. I personally know a number of people making more than $100K that have received about half tuition scholarships from the elite privates (and yes, that includes for Kinder.) Debt to income ratio and extenuating circumstances are considered. Both Hockaday and Greenhill openly publish documents that detail a range of awards given by income level (if St. Mark's openly publishes this, I can't find it, but they don't have kinder anyway.) It's important to note that if you don't work, the schools assign an income amount based on educational attainment to your financial aid application (because they assume that if you did work, you'd contribute that amount.) I'm not sure how they handle part-time folks.
If (and that's a big if) your child got in AND received sufficient aid, the other child attending the school (if they get in - which isn't guaranteed at most schools) would likely increase your financial aid award. That said, I wouldn't expect that you'd be able to get away with $12K a year if you are needing full time (i.e. extended) care. Kinder is usually 8-2 or 8-2:30 - before and after school care is extra and not included in tuition. Not to mention breaks (which are super frequent in the privates) and summer. Plus uniforms (if they have them) and other assorted costs. The good schools have supplementary budgets for these things as far as financial aid is concerned, but I have yet to hear of someone actually receiving FA specifically for those things.
"Is it worth it to your kid" is a valid question, but I'd argue in the early years, the more pressing question (which TC80 referenced) is really "is it worth it to you?" You've really got to feel like the school is a good fit for your family if you are planning on shelling out that cash for 13-14 years of education - and it DOES go up every year. In our case, we feel it's worth it despite the financial sacrifice because as a couple, we value education very highly and our kids' school jives well with our academic and personal values. FWIW, many of the Kinder programs put a large emphasis on social-emotional development, so your son's maturity might help you in the interview process.
You'll find a lot of debate about whether the money is best spent early on or in later years. I'd make an argument for early on because if your kid develops sound fundamentals and a love of learning early, they will likely carry it through the rest of their education (as opposed to learning how to finish quickly so they can play around - which is what happened in my case.) Though, the college counseling at the high school level is really an unparalleled advantage for private school kids...
Last edited by Waterdragon8212; 06-13-2017 at 09:39 AM..
Oh, and one more thing. They changed the process of awarding financial aid this year. They now have applications for the school and applications for FA due at the same time, so that you receive your award package (if admitted or wait-listed) at the same time you receive your admission decision. While this helps you determine whether or not you can afford the school, one has to think it might be a factor in admissions now, whereas in years past, you didn't even apply for FA until after admissions were sent.
...I personally know a number of people making more than $100K that have received about half tuition scholarships from the elite privates (and yes, that includes for Kinder.) Debt to income ratio and extenuating circumstances are considered...
Yes, you will have better results in seeking financial aid if you get way over your head in debt than if you live within your means.
I have personal experience with this, and recent experience of friends indicates it continues today.
I have children in private schools (both religious and not) and public and in my experience....
1) I primarily wanted private schools for the religious aspect and because I loathe Common Core. In that respect I was mostly satisfied with the private schools, except for one supposedly Christian school that taught using Common Core and were teaching some non-biblical things.
2) If you cannot afford private schools, do NOT feel guilty! Since you have excellent public schools, there is no need to even worry about it. If all your extra money is going to the school, perhaps you would not be able to afford things like travel (which can be also educational). Previous posters are correct about the extra costs of uniforms, activity fees, DONATIONS (many private schools expect these). Sometimes there is the added stress of the keeping up with the Jones'.
3) Excellent teachers and mediocre teachers are found in both public and private schools.
4) Mean kids and nice kids (and their parents) are found in both public and private schools.
5) You say your child is very smart and advanced, and I'm sure he is, but MOST children equal out by 3rd or 4th grade. What looks like "gifted" at 4 or 5 often becomes "average" by age 10. However, if by 7th or 8th grade your child is still far ahead of his peers and needs the academic challenge, that may be a better time to look into private schools.
6) If an issue comes up (for example, our son was diagnosed with dyslexia in 4th grade), public schools are perhaps more equipped to handle it unless the private school is equipped for that particular problem (for example, a private school that specializes in ADD kids).
7) Sometimes, and generally speaking, cheaper private schools are not nicer or better equipped than a well-funded public school. You see examples of this in things like the media center/library, art, theater, band, sports...more than in academics. You need to compare the specific schools. My daughter's private school...her classroom was in a trailer. My son's public school was brand new and beautiful with all the amenities. Expensive private schools are different I would think.
8) No teacher will ever love and take care of your children better than YOU. As their mother, you are your children's primary teacher, primary giver of moral and ethical principles, role model, etc. A private school education is well and good, but not at the expense of you not being with them. You will never get that time back. This is not to take away from mothers with jobs. It's just that if you have a desire and the means to stay home with your kids, I would not give that up for private school, not at Kindergarten.
Last edited by calgirlinnc; 06-13-2017 at 09:49 AM..
I'm taking all these comments to heart, thank you everyone. I'm leaning towards public school. It would likely be better for us as a family (no commute to school, free!, much better potential for me to become a SAHM, and easier for my son to have nearby friends.) And right now, I have no reason to doubt that my son won't have a great experience at our elementary school. I haven't heard one single parent with kids there say anything negative about it, ever. And there are quite a few former teachers and administrators with kids there (and some who taught at private school!) who rave about it.
Also, in terms of amenities as calgirlnnc mentioned, the school is going through an extensive renovation now so by the time my son starts, everything will be practically new. Another thing I like about it is that it's diverse income-wise and racially. I went to a diverse public school and it benefitted me immensely in my life. My DH is from a small town without a diverse population, and I sometimes have to explain to him why some things he says are not PC, or I have to explain cultural behavior. I'd like my kids to not be so insular.
Without my income, we'd still be over the $100K HHI level, so probably little or no aid if we do go the private school route, it sounds like. That's a shame that they take debt into consideration, I didn't know that. Shopping spree time, LOL!
Sending my children to private school for religious reasons isn't a consideration for us. Although we are regular (mainline Protestant) church-goers, I don't necessarily desire a religious school, though I'm not opposed either. I'm happy to teach him that at home and keep him involved in our own church activities.
As many of you have mentioned I'm beginning to agree that it might be better to send him to a private school later if his academic needs indicate that he'd be better off at one. Like all parents, I just want the best for my kids, and I almost feel negligent if I don't explore all the options. But it's just not realistic or practical in our case, or even needed, I'm seeing. I can't thank everyone enough for your thoughtful replies. They've given me a lot to think about. I can't say for certain that I won't at least browse some private schools' websites just to see if there are any that I really, really like, but right now I'm thinking we'll stick with public school.
If you really want to help them out academically and give them a head start in life, sock away the money you would spend on a private school into a college fund and let them start out their adult life student debt free.
If you really want to help them out academically and give them a head start in life, sock away the money you would spend on a private school into a college fund and let them start out their adult life student debt free.
Amen to that! I have about 3 more years before I'm student loan debt free. I should qualify through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to have the balance forgiven this fall, but due to a technicality I don't. Too bad I didn't have a crystal ball 17 years ago when I consolidated my loans. Not that I'm bitter about it.
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