Best Private School in Pittsburgh (Highland Park: house, neighborhood, pre-school)

[gladhands]

If money weren't an issue, where would you send your kid?

I've visited and decided which would best for my kids, but I'm wondering about the general consensus.

[guy2073]

I would probably pay for them to go to a public school, mt Lebo, fox chapel, st Clair. When I went to st Clair we had a few kids who's parents paid for them to go.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by guy2073

I would probably pay for them to go to a public school, mt Lebo, fox chapel, st Clair. When I went to st Clair we had a few kids who's parents paid for them to go.

I can't imagine that would be significantly cheaper than the private schools, and then you have to worry about transportation. PPS will bus your kids to private schools.

[UKyank]

Admittedly I know little about PA schooling but i thought you could get a voucher to send kids elsewhere if the local district like PPS was low scoring.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Admittedly I know little about PA schooling but i thought you could get a voucher to send kids elsewhere if the local district like PPS was low scoring.

It's not based upon district, but upon individual school, IIRC. The OP lives in the Colfax feeder zone, and that's not a low-scoring school.

Edit: Also, not all private schools qualify, probably due to cost. I idly perused the list when it was sent to us, and around 90% of the schools were parochial - it was hard to find any secular schools at all.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I can't imagine that would be significantly cheaper than the private schools, and then you have to worry about transportation. PPS will bus your kids to private schools.

The op was saying if money was not an issue. Are the private schools any better than the top ranked public schools.

[Pitt Chick]

IDK...
if money was not an issue, I would move to an area with great schools.

I went to a private Catholic school, and I hated it on the social level.
My schoolmates were scattered throughout the county; I had little in common with my neighborhood friends; etc.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by guy2073

The op was saying if money was not an issue. Are the private schools any better than the top ranked public schools.

Private schools do not take the PSSA tests, so it's hard to say. In general, private schools are no better than public schools adjusting for socioeconomic factors.

I'm sure that schools full of upper-middle class to rich kids have quite achieving students no matter their funding source, however, since the association with student achievement to parental income is very robust (actually, the strongest correlation besides parental educational level). The OP has also said before they prefer life in an urban neighborhood. If the OP thinks their money is better spent this way and has done the math, more power to them. If I were them, however, I'd move from Squirrel Hill (or was it Shadyside?) to part of the city with cruddier neighborhood schools, as SH has a school premium built into the price, and they could get more house for their money somewhere like Highland Park.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

IDK...
if money was not an issue, I would move to an area with great schools.

I went to a private Catholic school, and I hated it on the social level.
My schoolmates were scattered throughout the county; I had little in common with my neighborhood friends; etc.

This...and moving to an area with great schools is what many do.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

IDK...
if money was not an issue, I would move to an area with great schools.

I went to a private Catholic school, and I hated it on the social level.
My schoolmates were scattered throughout the county; I had little in common with my neighborhood friends; etc.

A lot of her classmates at these schools would be her neighbors, so the social impact wouldn't be so dramatic. I believe most of her pre-school classmates will be attending the aforementioned schools or Falk, so there'd be some degree of continuity.