Sending Your Child to Private Elementary Schools
A good education is critical for any child’s development, so any parent will want to send their son or daughter to the best school in their area within their budget, as investing in a good education can make for an intelligent and capable adult with all the proper social and practical skills for adult life. Often, the two main sectors are public or private elementary schools, and for some parents, public school is the only option, but for those with the budget and interest for more, private elementary schools can be a very attractive option, and making this decision for one’s child can have an impact on their life for years. How to find the best private schools around? What do the best prep schools for older students offer? How do public and private schools differ in education and results?
Public VS Private
A number of statistics show that private elementary schools and middle and high schools have advantages over their public counterparts. For one thing, it has been determined that 21% of public school teachers considered student apathy a problem in their school, while only 4% of private school teachers said the same, and while 24% of public school teachers report the problem of a lack of parental involvement, merely 3% of private school teachers reported this as being a problem for their students. Even counseling services differ; in private schools, counselors report that they spend 55% of their time with college-related counseling for the students, but at public schools, these counselors spend much less time, 22%, on that service for students. Finally, SAT scores from private school students is higher than the national average of 1060; private school students score an average of 1235 instead.
Finding a School
The benefits of prep schools and benefits of private school education are clear, and this presents a choice to parents; do they spend on a private school for their kids, or do they send their child to the more common, and much cheaper, public schools? Many students already attend private school, with 2.63 million or so students enrolled in private elementary schools as of the year 2016. 25% of schools in the United States are private ones, so they are rarer, but can be worth the trouble of finding and enrolling a child into.
Parents whose child becomes old enough for school, or when a family moves to a new area, can start searching for the best schools for their kids based on location, price, and how well the child integrates into the school personally. One factor to consider is distance and bus routes; if the school is very close to the home, the child can simply walk there, or if bus routes allow, the child can take the school bus. And if a responsible adult is present, that person may drive the student to and from school.
The child’s personal integration into school is another factor, and is something learned after the child is already enrolled and starts attending (this may especially be an issue for public rather than private schools). The child should be able to make friends and not suffer bullying or peer pressure, and should feel challenged but not overwhelmed, and the child should seem at least somewhat happy and comfortable with going to that school. If the child seems very upset, stressed, under-performs on school work, or feels socially isolated, it may be time to find a different school entirely.
Different schools will also provide different resources and activities for students, and parents can look into this to find the right private elementary schools, public high schools, or anything else. Digital textbooks, computer labs, a good library, sports teams, gardens, good counselors and college prep material, and much more can sway a parent’s decision on where to send their child. Many of these may be a matter of course at private elementary schools or college prep schools, while public schools may be hit or miss, so parents are urged to visit local schools and scope out what is and isn’t available for students, and the quality of materials and activities provided there. Special interests for the child, such as soccer, a musical band class, or a great art program can also influence this decision.