What are you thoughts on that? I want the best for my 11 year old son. I know it cost money but I will do it if it's worth it. 15k a year I believe.
Depends where you live, the quality of the public schools, and your financial situation. Hate to say, also depends on the unique needs of your kid(s). When I moved to Houston in 2000, one of the biggest factors of where we moved was the quality of the schools. The public schools are comparable in the quality of education to the private schools. And spending for private school while also spending a bit more in home price and taxes just didn't make sense. And honestly, we just couldn't afford it unless there was a full scholarship. Seems almost silly, but one factor is sports. A local private school approached our youngest daughter, in part due to her basketball (she is also a top notch student and very active in the community) We strongly considered it but have stayed with the high school she is going to because it has strong academics and it is also has a successful basketball program. But we know a few kids who went to privates just to play basketball. One commutes 45-60 minutes just to go to a school and play basketball.
It's private or magnet school for my kids. I didn't do private growing up but my magnet school might as well have been. HSPVA was like a God send to a kind growing up in the South Side. No way I let my kids go to public regular school.
My parents strongly considered putting me through private school in middle/high school. I'm grateful they decided not to. I think back then it was like 10K/year.
It depends. I bought in an area where the public schools are highly regarded, but ended up paying a lot more for the house. Figured that was worth it. Pay an extra $100k-$200k for the location with schools you'd feel comfortable sending your kids, and avoid paying an extra $15k-$20k a year for private school per child.
That's what I did too and I don't even have kids yet. I am by no means anti-private school but I figured it'd just be easier this way. And if the schools I'm zoned to become less than good by the time my kids are going there, I'll just reassess at that point. I'm 99% sure the elementary school will still be top notch by the my kids go through it.
What is the national public HS drop out rate? 1 in 3? What is the national private HS drop out rate? 1 in 20? This just shows the priorities of the student bodies.
I think it makes way more sense to pay the premium to live in a better school district. Not always practical/feasible but at least when you sell, you get that value/premium back whereas the private school tuition is gone.
I went to private school all through high school. IMO, it's not that teachers are better, but the environment is. The kinds of kids that are apathetic or cause trouble and drag everybody else down typically aren't present at private schools (for the most part). It's not that private schools necessarily do anything "better", it's just that less of the bad influences are present so it makes it a better learning environment. It probably also has a lot to do with parents being more supportive and active in their child's education. Almost everybody I went to school with had a good home life. Disinterested parents don't pay for private school. If you're in a poor school district, which was my situation, then I think private school is worth it. But if I lived in a good school district, I probably wouldn't spend the money on it. I think the cost has gone up since I was a student. I went to 3 schools and just looked up the current tuition. St. Thomas - $14,500 Singapore American School - $39,767 Luckily, when I lived in Singapore, my step mom was a lawyer for Mobil and they paid the tuition. Houston Christian (Northwest Academy) - $20,670 FWIW, I advise against all boys private school. Coed is definitely better. Being around girls at that age is a good thing for multiple reasons.
Don't know the source of these stats, but the local public high school that my daughter attends (as did her older sister) has a dropout rate of less than 1%. Heck, the entire ISD is under 2%.
Children at Risk puts HISD’s graduation rate at 60.2 percent, 14 points lower than the state rate. HISD lies about their drop out rate to make themselves better? Go figure.
My sister dumped HSPVA after 1 year because it was such a joke of a school. I really don't think it compares with private school
I don't think I would ever pay multiple thousands a year, per kid, for them to get a mandated education that I already pay taxes for. But I don't have kids. Growing up, we didn't have money. My parents never could have afforded it. Even if they could have, I wouldn't have wanted them to. Your kid is going to make or break their own future, most likely in college or at least post high school. I just don't feel the potential financial burden is worth it to my hypothetical kid's ultimate success in life. If I was uber rich, I might. Otherwise, no.
Private Schools can 'kick out' bad influences more easily Public schools has to take them at least until they are 16 Rocket River
I may not be an education expert, but I have to question Children at Risk's methodology if they count kids going to private schools, leaving the state or leaving the country as "dropouts".
I think it also depends on how involved you will be with your children regarding their education. I went through public school. Never had any problems. My parents always pushed me to do well in school. That meant getting good grades, taking honors classes, really motivating me to pursue education. They'd help with homework when I needed it. I never had a problem with apathetic students or dropouts because I was always in honors classes where the students had similar mindsets. I believe your children can have a good education in public schools as long as you're involved in their education as well. That goes for private school, too. Parent involvement in education will make your kids better students.
