Public school vs private school, how are they different?

[-]

nyc-to-tpe-2022@reddit

Horace Mann, one of the nicest private schools in New York City, is $68,700 per year for the class of three-year-olds, and they can be enrolled up to 12th grade (or age 18). So you're looking at $1.03 million to complete this school.

[-]

LynnSeattle@reddit

Something like 25% of children in my city attend private schools. Catholic schools are pretty popular because they’re the most affordable. My daughter’s Catholic high school is about $24,000 a year but I know there are high schools here that cost more than $50,000.

We like the smaller class sizes, the support and attention students receive as a result and a community of students who are kind and care about academic achievement.

[-]

Neenknits@reddit

The special ed private school for dyslexic kids is up to $68k now.

[-]

Footnotegirl1@reddit

Public schools in the US are funded by property taxes of the district they are in. Even a moment's thought will tell you how incredibly problematic that is... poor areas will have poorly funded schools. Rich areas will have well funded schools.

In some areas, this is supposed to be ameliorated by something called Open Enrollment that should, theoretically, allow kids from poorly funded schools to attend public schools in well funded areas, but in practice, usually schools get to decide how many slots are available for open enrollment, and it's usually only a handful (and children of teachers and staff, siblings of current students, and students who previously lived in the district but have moved get priority for those slots).

Public schools have to take all comers unless they are specific magnet schools like performing arts schools, STEM focussed schools, and the like.

Private schools also range a lot. A very large number of private schools are religious institutions, and these can range from academically rigorous right down to the sort of schools that kids attend because their parents don't want them learnin' no high falutin' stuff like that the earth ain't flat or that satanic eevoolewshun.

And then there are private schools that serve various learning ideologies, like Waldorf or Montessori schools, unschools, etc. And some that are aimed towards the particularly rich or ambitious.

Private schools almost always score better than public schools due to the simple fact that a private school can refuse to accept a student or kick a student out for academic reasons. It doesn't necessarily mean that the school itself is better at educating.

[-]

OpeningChipmunk1700@reddit

I have read some of your replies and I was shocked to learn that the tuition can cost up to 40.000$/year. Who even has that kind of money?

America has a ton of rich people, much more so than almost any other country.

I do not think a lot of Europeans understand just how much Americans get paid.

Be discussing money

[-]

OpeningChipmunk1700@reddit

I saw the OP wondering about options for education in the US.

I quoted the part of the OP I was responding to:

So for Google you can possibly obtain that, ok. The average salary in the US for SE is low 100's though:

https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries

[-]

OpeningChipmunk1700@reddit

That is not inconsistent with any of my comments.

Have you Googled “FAANG” yet?

[-]

sean8877@reddit

I already know what FAANG is, what is your point? You gave the impression in your original comment that SE would be making more than low $100k. The highest paid SE's at one of the top software companies in the world located in one of the most expensive COL areas get paid what you said. That does not give a valid impression of the field. Did you even see the link I provided from the job site Indeed? 132k is the average SE salary, not anywhere near 450k.

[-]

DustyButtocks@reddit

Don’t forget charter schools. Their quality varies wildly.

[-]

Where I live, in my particular city, the Charter Schools are much better than the public schools. Most especially their AP class offerings and athletic teams.

[-]

DianneNettix@reddit

That's exactly why I noted that both sides have reasonable arguments. I land on we should use the money to make better public schools, but I also understand that's kind of a tinpot dream based on who's running the show..

I don't oppose charter schools, I just wish people didn't justifiably think they were necessary.

[-]

MyUsername2459@reddit

They're a conservative plan to destroy public schools.

They let private schools get public schools funds, by removing funding from public schools and sending it to private schools if students enroll there.

They exist entirely because conservatives hate public schools and want everything in country to be turned into a for profit business.

[-]

o93mink@reddit

Privately-operated schools, usually in poor urban areas, that receive government funding and students attend for free. They usually have some zany educational philosophy that makes businesspeople think they’re going to revolutionize education for poor inner city youth but their test scores and college attendance rates are rarely any better than public schools and often come with a smattering of financial fraud.

[-]

gtne91@reddit

CO has a large charter school population, so it isnt at all like your description. My daughter's is a charter Montessori elementary, which isnt "zany" even if not at all like traditional schooling.

[-]

MyUsername2459@reddit

The whole point of a charter school is to funnel public school funds into private hands.

Quality is a secondary concern at best with them, they exist entirely to assault public education and let people divert education funds into for-profit pockets.

They exist to take as much money and possible, while providing the least education they can get away with.

[-]

Longjumping-While997@reddit

I live in a major vhcol city and private schools can easily surpass 55k a year. Households making 500k can qualify for financial assistance a decent amount of the time.

We do have good public schools too but much of that is determined by the area you live in as the PTA in wealthier areas often raise enough money for full time assistant teachers in each class (at least for elementary school).

I’ve toured my fair share of private schools and their resources are quite exceptional.

At the end of the day in my neighborhood at least I’d say it’s almost 50/50 ppl sending to public vs private are and I’m in a good public school zone.

[-]

Ericthespacewombat@reddit

A lot of people have given you great answers, OP, so I will instead make a meta comment for you.

There are so many different types of private schools, it's hard to generalize.

[-]

Initial_Fill_2655@reddit

One for every relogion and then also Charter schools

[-]

gtne91@reddit

[-]

Bluesnow2222@reddit

In the US private schools are all over the place in quality and purpose. I’m only going to speak on my experiences.

I’m sure there’s good ones—- the one I attended for 2 years was not. They can teach whatever they want and depending on the state are not required to meet any standards. My school was far behind public schools in all subjects, behavior was way worse- only one of my teachers had a teaching degree. When I left 8 grade we were only really learning stuff I had been taught in 6th grade public school.

Classes had 10-16 kids per grade. The kids were all there for different reasons—- whether it was to get a religious education, wanting smaller class size, kids having behavior issues in public schools. My mom thought I was a genius since I got straight As in public school- and a smaller class size would help me flourish- she also didn’t want me to be around bad influences. I learned almost nothing in 2 years- and the kids were way worse in the private school- or rather- in public school I could choose not to hang out with certain groups- but it was hard to avoid certain kids if there was 12 kids in your class.

Several of the kids in my middle school section were there because they had such bad behavioral issues in public school. Honestly most of them just seemed like they had untreated ADHD- but had parents who assumed public school teachers were the problem. One girl had been expelled from her school because she kept making Bomb threats - she was being abused at home and had severe mental health issues. There were a bunch of home school failures as well who could barely read.

2 of the kids in our class were from families of actual millionaires- one lived in a fancy house with over a dozen bedrooms- most were middle class- me and a few others were poor/lower middle class. The tuition was reasonable for a middle class family and there was tuition assistance for poorer families.

Overall it was the worst years of my childhood. Not only did I not learn anything- but I was genuinely traumatized by one teacher’s behavior that I’m not getting into, but I had a heightened anxiety from the lack of structure and just constant yelling from teacher and kids, and just felt like everyone was so angry and negative.

From a religious perspective- while I still am Christian- it was honestly what started opening my eyes to the hypocrisy of church/conservative community and pushed me away. What they chose to punish, what they ignored, what they chose to teach or didn’t. As a teenage girl who was very developed they made sure I felt completely ashamed of my body no matter how modestly I dressed in baggy sweats. Bullying was the norm, but reading books like Harry Potter was evil. The limited sex education we got was full of lies and misinformation to fit a narrative. I remember during the election with Al Gore one boy made a poster saying he’d want to vote for him- because God would want to protect nature. The teachers wouldn’t let his work be hung in the hallways and we were told that people that vote for democrats go to Hell. Lots of messed up memories.

I feel like people were surprised with the rise of MAGA—- I was not. People have been Like that for years and I basically survived MAGA training camp in 1999.

[-]

Diligent_Digiridoo@reddit

Might sound fucked up to some, but some brutally honest wisdom on the subject:

Private schools are expensive (for the most part, I’m talking like a Catholic School), so the thought is that your kid is going to be around other kids whose parents are successful. The goal is that your kid is gonna grow up around better influences than they would in public school.

I went to a public high school and it was ghetto as fuck. Had to wear a strict dress code because kids were wearing gang related shit. Fights everyday, people smokin weed in the bathrooms daily. Armed security guards because of this. I definitely grew up w some bad influences and was a piece of shit in my early years because of growing up there.

My kid will be going to private school

[-]

DonDee74@reddit

Private schools just mean it is not subsidized by the government, for the most part. This may depend on local laws, but private schools probably are more free to design their own curriculum and academic standards whereas public schools have more influence from the government on those things. Some private schools are also religion-centered.

Quality of education varies in both cases so it usually comes down to which environment you believe your children will thrive or if you can afford to pay out of pocket.

[-]

DrMindbendersMonocle@reddit

Private school can range greatly inthe USA. It can be much worse or much better than public schools. A lot of the bad ones are religious indoctrination centers that barely educate and almost entirely focus on religion. And then there are elite private schools that hire top of the line teachers and prepare the kids for ivy league level schooling.

[-]

Apart_Insect_8859@reddit

Public school-- funded by local property tax in a defined area, and set up by the government. This means their quality varies DRASTICALLY. In poor and rural areas, they can be very impoverished and have terrible quality, but in wealthy, high cost of living areas, they can rival the most expensive of the expensive private schools.

Good public schools make housing prices shoot up, but having a bad public school can make it difficult to sell your home and move (unless it's to someone without children). It is vital to check which school district a home belongs to before buying it, since all residents within that area must go to the school in their district. It is considered fraud to live in the poor area, but lie that you live in the expensive one to go to the better school (some places will allow you to go to an out-of-district school, but it can be very messy to get permission)

Poor schools can try and make up some of the money through State and Federal funding....but this money is tied to performance and students must perform well on standardized tests to get it. Which means that poor public schools have a bad reputation of "teaching to the test" since their survival depends on students getting certain scores. Meanwhile, the next town over could have waterfalls of money and really creative, excellent programs and all sorts of crazy student amenities.

The other super important thing about pubic schools is that they are LEGALLY REQUIRED to accommodate children with disabilities and learning disorders. Now, if the school has no money to do this, they probably won't do this well, but they are required to accommodate and cover children of all abilities. This can mean that is it very difficult to expel problem students if those students have a diagnosed cause for the behavior.

Private school-- parents must pay tuition for their child to attend, and they are owned privately. These also vary drastically. Some are religious, such as Catholic schools, Pentecostal, or Jewish. Some are secular. Some are for specific populations, such as troubled youth, genius children, or children with certain diagnosis, such as autism. Others are for super wealthy rich kids so they can network.

Parents send their children to Private schools because they want a specific sort of education or culture (like wanting a religious education or one with rich kids), they need an alternative option to a bad public school (since you can't leave your district without moving houses), or they are seeking a special accommodation or experience (like wanting smaller class sizes, or a project-based school designed for ADHD kids).

The prices vary drastically, from like $3-10k a year being pretty normal for a standard Catholic school, $30-40k for a special education school, on up to $70k+ for an elite, secular, boarding school.

The thing to remember about Private schools is that they do not have to comply with a bunch of the regulations which govern Public schools. This means they do not have to accommodate disabled or troubled children, especially not unless the parents pay for that. They do not have to promote Freedom of Speech (i.e., you can be required to pray in a religious school or face expulsion), diversity, or gender equality, for example.

Public schools, for instance, must comply with Title XI, which says schools cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, so girls' and boys' sports must get equal funding and they aren't allowed to expel pregnant students. Private schools don't have to do that.

The pros of this is that problem students are quickly removed from the population and the student body is more cohesive, but the cons are that students have fewer rights and protections, a the student body is less diverse.

Many states will have "voucher" programs which allow parents to use the amount of money which would be given to a public school for their child and apply it towards private school tuition. Voucher programs can be controversial, since they are seen as taking money away from already-struggling public schools and promoting the flight of the better/more affluent students, and if the money is going towards religious schools,

Charter Schools-- These exist in a bizarre middle ground. They are Public schools, in that they receive tax money. But they are funded differently from normal Public schools, often getting funds from State budgets, rather than Local. Charter schools tend to be "alternative" options. For example, they might be free-range Montessori schools, or STEM schools, or language immersion schools. They usually have a very specific goal or mission, and if they don't meet their goals, their funding will be pulled and they will close.

Parents must opt-in to attending a Charter school, and often need to pass an admission process for their child, unlike being automatically assigned to a Public school.

Charter schools are a bit controversial. Some view them as a cop-out by the government to avoid improving the local Public school, and they can have a reputation of being weird, or crappy, since many of them fail and then close. But there are a few who work and get very prestigious reputations.

[-]

gabrielsburg@reddit

There's a lot of variation and you've gotten a number of answers, but one of the fundamental differences is that private schools generally do not operate under the oversight of a school district which has implications for how they are operated.

They are still required to meet state education standards and laws, but they often have more flexibility regarding the annual calendar, where to focus their resources, and how to meet those state standards.

The public schools have less of that flexibility and usually have to conform to more prescribed curricula and calendars.

[-]

kludge6730@reddit

Disagree private is a domain of the rich. Solidly middle class and sent a kid to a private military boarding school for high school. Fees covered tuition, room, board, activities, sports, uniforms, books, computers and travel to various events. Received scholarships to make it affordable. Education was a notch above the local public high school but without the violent and disruptive elements (gangs, stabbings, fights, etc). Or the burned out teachers common in public schools. (Teachers mostly lived in small houses on campus or in school owned townhouses just off campus.). There’s a dedicated staff that helps every graduating senior with college selection, the application process and learning the ins and outs of the financial aid system. Every kid is usually accepted at 4-6 colleges/universities from state schools to MIT and Harvard. Typical graduating class has kids heading to West Point, Annapolis and USAF Academy. Summer program (for extra fee) includes the possibility of obtaining a pilot’s license. Quite a value for the money, which again with scholarships and grants was quite affordable for the middle class.

[-]

therealbamspeedy@reddit

People are going to disagree on what defines 'middle class'.

crazygelato@reddit (OP)

What are segregation academies?

[-]

Popular-Local8354@reddit

Private schools founded to not have to integrate white and black students. For obvious reasons, they are rare now.

[-]

SjN45@reddit

Not rare at all. While they admit all races now, most people who choose to go to these schools are going for the same reason and lack of diversity and racism is a huge issue in many private schools in our area

[-]

enancejividen@reddit

Not so rare now.

There are lots of small and not so small conservative religious schools in the south they are very culturally homogenous. And that is very much the point for a lot of the parents who send their kids to them.

[-]

Initial_Fill_2655@reddit

I hope my phone dictionary is adding culturally homogeneous

[-]

Popular-Local8354@reddit

That’s incredibly different from “literally doesn’t allow other races”

[-]

KartFacedThaoDien@reddit

They are not even allowed to discriminate based on race that's illegal even for private schools. But let's say its a school in the south and it was founded in say 1963 or 1970 its a chance it was founded as school that white people could put their kids in so they can only go to school with other white kids.

Now let's say the school started in the 80s and 90s. Then its just a normal private school. And even those schools formed from the 50s - early 70s can be a little diverse or even vary diverse. The reality today isn't the same as the reality in the 60s.

White folks with means are okay with public school. Black and brown folks with means aren't (in Atlanta the last mayor we had that sent his/her kids all the way through Atlanta public schools was the last white mayor we had in the 70s.

Public schools are frankly a failure - something large portions of the US realized the mediocre quality of most US public schools during covid, when Mom and Dad could watch their kid's class every day.

[-]

Pepper_Pfieffer@reddit

Private schools can reject any student for any reason and they charge tuition.

Public schools have to teach everyone.

[-]

tlollz52@reddit

It varies. Some places have great public schools and bad private schools, like where I grew up.

Some places have terrible public schools and great private schools.

You're gonna get a mixed bag of course. A lot of private schools in the US are usually religious institutions. The difference between the two is you pay.

[-]

VariegatedPlumage@reddit

I grew up in a place with great public schools and mediocre private schools, too! The main reasons parents sent their kids to private school in my area was to send them to conservative religious schools to keep their kids out of sex ed and to avoid having their kids learn about evolution, the big bang, and other scientific theories that they felt contradicted their religious beliefs. So they’d send their kids to lousy schools and lose out on a stellar education just so their kids wouldn’t learn about orgasms and dinosaurs.

[-]

atelier__lingo@reddit

Public schools vary city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood. They are largely funded by property taxes, so richer areas tend to have better public schools.

In some areas (e.g., inner cities), the public schools are not very good. Many parents choose private schools instead. They can be quite expensive (e.g., $50k/year). This is one of the reasons many families move to suburbs with better-performing public schools rather than stay in the city and pay for private school.

[-]

Different_Cherry8326@reddit

I don’t think it’s accurate at all to say that wealthy areas have better public schools because the funding is better. It has far more to do with the educational levels of the parents, social stability, and cultural factors.

If you were to take a failing school from a poor area and swap the funding with a top rated school from a wealthy area a few miles away, it would barely move the needle in terms of educational outcomes.

In fact, the per student spending is often higher in districts that are struggling than those which are doing well.

There’s as many differences between individual public schools and private schools, as there is between the two.

Public schools are generally funded by the local population, so richer areas will have nicer schools and vice versa. There’s a lot of inequality between public schools.

Some private schools are religious, most common being Catholic, however there are other denominations. I went to a small Baptist school for elementary (I wouldn’t recommend it). Again, there’s a lot of differences between individual schools. Some are very good schools academically, others are closer to group homeschooling.

Other private schools might be considered more “elite” and might be where rich people send there kids. Honestly I’m not sure since I don’t really know anyone super wealthy, but I would assume there’s like boarding schools or prep schools for the ultra rich.

This isn’t even going into charter schools (hell on earth) and homeschooling (which I personally think should be illegal, although I know there are people it works for-just so many more it doesn’t) and now there are a lot of online options even for kindergarten through 12th grade.

[-]

GrimSpirit42@reddit

For the most part: Private School teachers have to show results in their class, or they get fired.

Bullying is more common, but often exaggerated.

Fights are not common, there wasn’t a single one in 13 years at mine.

[-]

gumdrop83@reddit

There were a lot of fights in my public junior high and first high school. It wasn’t pleasant. I changed schools to get to go elsewhere, and had 1 lousy public and two great publics. The two great publics were magnet schools, which had themes to attract students from across the whole city, and that helped with both the quality of the teaching and the behavior of the students

[-]

SabresBills69@reddit

there are different categories…

public schools. big influence by local wealth because it’s funded by local districts. in larger school districts you will have specialty schools ( science/ engineering students, visual and performing arts, vocational education) that you have to apply to in order to get in.
religious affiliated private schools.
non religious private schools ( wealthier families pay )

To be clear, about 90% of American children attend public district or charter schools (which are publicly funded independent schools). Of the remaining 10% who attend private schools, most attend church-affiliated schools, which aren't necessarily that expensive. Most rich people still send their kids to public schools in nice areas, but the quality of public schools in the US varies a lot because funding is tied to local school taxes.

Most private school enrollment comes from middle class families in cities with underfunded public schools. It can cost a lot more money to live in a good school district, so in many places families can still save money overall by living in a place with cheaper housing and paying private school tuition. There's a neighborhood near where I grew up that is on the line between two school districts. One part is in an urban district locally known for being a bit rough, the other is in a very highly ranked suburban district. Smaller houses in that half can sell for almost 50% more. It's a lovely neighborhood, and both halves of it are otherwise pretty much identical, so a lot of people buy houses in the cheap part, save $1000 per month on housing, and then pay $4200/year (the current tuition) to send their kids to the nearby Catholic school.

Only the most elite private schools cost $40,000 or more per year, and most people won't even know anyone who attended a school like that. However, the US is a very large country with many large cities. Rome wouldn't even be one of the 10 largest metropolitan cities in the US. There are people in these places who can afford to pay $40,000/year. 99.9% of Americans cannot.

[-]

redcoral-s@reddit

Varies wildly. In my area the public schools are really good, so the majority of private schools tend to be religious or offer some special program. Meanwhile, I knew a girl who went to private school because her local public school district wasn't very good.

[-]

RepliesOnlyToIdiots@reddit

My kid goes to boarding school, around $85k/year. Wide variety of arts, tiny class sizes (often 6 to 15 kids) with a lot of customization, an actual community feel, on an active farm with farm animals including barn chores, winter sports including weekly skiing, weekend trips, activities every day. It’s been a great experience.

The two best private schools in my area cost about the same: $50,000 per year. I toured the campus of the one nearest my home while deciding whether to send my child there. It had up-to-the-minute science labs, a state-of-the-art theater and a strong drama program, art studios including ceramic studios complete with kiln, plenty of foreign language classes, a beautiful swimming pool, a strong music program, extensive landscaped grounds and playing fields, a huge library, supervised study hall after school until 5pm, lots of counselors, a very favorable student:teacher ratio, a private ski bus and plenty of ski trips in the winter, plus lots more.

We ended up moving to Europe in mid-year, so we withdrew my child's application for admission, but it would have been a very nice place for him to go.

Public schools in our area are OK, but nothing special. They certainly don't have all the resources that the private school have. Resources are stretched thin in our local school districts.

[-]

Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit

It is true to say that the vast majority of children in the US go to public schools run by some form of local government. Not federal government and not state government. Those two forms of government provide oversight and potentially money but the schools are run locally. Generally, by a local independent school board or a school board associated directly with a city. Members of the school board are generally elected like other public officials.

I just discovered the case of the city of Houston (Texas) the other day. It is one city with one mayor and one city council but it has 19 different school districts operating in parts of it. The biggest one is the Houston Independent School District but there are 18 others that overlap at least some part of the territory of the city of Houston, running schools in those areas. So while the mayor is the mayor of all the residents of Houston he is not in charge of the education of all of them. Each school District runs the schools they are responsible for.

[-]

Frequent-Froyo-5483@reddit

My kid goes to a small, church affiliated private school.

Our school district is one of the worst in the nation, and every year more schools are shut down and consolidated. There are 30+ kids per classroom.

The school we chose for my son averages about 12 kids per class. Full tuition is $4,000/ year with many discounts available. The kids are able to work at their level, so my son does work 2-3 years above his official grade level. He loves school and is very engaged.

[-]

Useful-Touch-9004@reddit

ive seen a town that has 60K+ private school, but i went to a private school that was 5k per yer

[-]

baalroo@reddit

Private schools around here are a weird mix of incredibly expensive and weirdly religious.

Because they cost thousands and thousands of dollars per year, they also can pay their teachers very well and afford all sorts of nice things.

Private schools can vary widely too... There are certainly some exclusive/expensive ones (they are almost entirely nonprofits, fwiw) where going there will give your kids a leg up on exclusive college admissions... And there are some that are essentially just daycare or a means to extract money from the government....

Religious private schools are a separate matter.... The Catholic Church has a well deserved reputation as an excellent school operator even if you aren't particularly interested in the religious aspects.... Some religious groups run some pretty whacked out curriculum.... And some are just scams....

[-]

Bluemonogi@reddit

In my region the private schools are mostly religious orientated schools- Catholic usually. You need to pay tuition for your child to attend. I don’t know that they are any better or worse academically. I don’t know the cost as I was never interested in that.

3.) There's lots of other reasons, but they're fairly rare. For example, there are some private schools for people with different disabilities. There are boarding schools, military schools, etc. for people who wish to have their children not with them. There's the Hershey (yes, the candy guy) School that is basically an elite boarding school for orphans and kids from poor families.

Only 1 in 10 American kids go to private school. I've personally never met anyone who went to a private high school that wasn't religious.

[-]

ForestOranges@reddit

The quality of both public and private varies so much. Some public schools are amazing with great teachers and lots of resources. Others have poor teachers and issues with violence, drugs, and kids making it hard for others to learn.

ubiquitous-joe@reddit

It depends where you are, first of all. A lot of private schools are specifically religious schools. Sometimes for social elites in big cities, they send their kids there because they don’t trust the public schools academicallyBut in the college town I grew up up in, the Catholic high school was either for people who were actually very religious or for kids who felt intimidated by larger public school and were having social/academic problems in the public schools. No idea what the cost is, as I did not go.

College is another thing altogether; we have many private colleges that are not religious (tho some that are) and usually they are more selective than public state schools. And more expensive, though few states still publicly fund the public colleges to the degree they once did.

[-]

lavasca@reddit

Sometimes people select private so the kid can be taught religion. Sometimes they are academically more rigorous. Sometimes they are simply safer places.

[-]

Mouse-Direct@reddit

It really depends on the area, the culture, and the school.

There are prep schools that are pipelines to private universities that are historically difficult to get into.

There are church schools that teach a religious curriculum and may or may not have state certified teachers.

On the other hand, there are Catholic high schools with rigorous curriculum and excellent extracurricular opportunities. My son went to one of these and got into 4 private universities with 70% scholarship coverage.

I live in Oklahoma, a state that’s currently ranked 49th of 50 states in education. There are some good public schools in the state, of course, but we live in an under funded area and chose a Catholic high school for our son.

[-]

Majestic-Pea-7451@reddit

I can only speak about my community (around 500,000 in CA) and high school level. The education is “good” not “great” there are far better public schools. Athletics and extra curriculum (such as forensics and We the People) is lacking substantially. What they excel in is connections and prestige.

[-]

I don’t think this is nearly as different as people have led you to believe. 85% of American children go to public school.

Are private schools better? Sometimes. Sometimes not. It depends widely on where you are and how well funded the public schools are.

[-]

Prize_Consequence568@reddit

Depends.

[-]

shammy_dammy@reddit

My parents were moving to put me in a private school once because the public school I had been attending had too many fights on the school property. The school they'd chosen was much safer and had a superior educational reputation. As for the costs, that was a long time ago, I believe it was 8k in 1982 dollars. However the USAF decided that we were just going to move instead.

[-]

mapotoful@reddit

So there are two camps for private schools. Both tend to have more and better resources for their students.

Camp A is broadly the ideological/religious school cohort where you want your kid to receive an education that aligns with your values. You cannot be explicitly religious in public education so you would send your kid to private school if you want them to receive a religious education. Sometimes it's more agnostic and you just want them to have what is broadly considered a politically conservative or liberal education (liberal is less common).

Camp B is the "college prep" and/or specific interests route. These tend to have selection criteria similar to getting into college. Many are just all-arounder schools but there are ones that are narrowly focused on like, arts or STEM.

Private schools all tend to be prohibitively expensive for the majority of families. Catholic schools are a weird exception, sometimes, but that's becoming less relevant.

In most cases you are not sending kids to private schools because they are failing to do well in public school. It can help with that, but that's out of reach for most families and not a common approach. There are specialized schools for kids with unique needs but that's a different category.

Boarding schools are the least common, but do exist.

[-]

Confetticandi@reddit

It really depends. The US education system is not federally standardized. So, some public school districts are fantastic and some are bad.

Private schools come in all varieties as well and at all price points, from subsidized and virtually free, to up to $50K a year.

Some private schools are religious, like Catholic schools, Protestant Christian schools, Jewish schools, or Muslim schools. Some are for a particular teaching approach like Montessori schools or Waldorf schools. Some are for a specific focus like arts or science & technology. Some are foreign language immersion schools. Some are boarding schools and some are just standard private prep schools.

Some private schools have great academics. Some don’t and are more about the specific environment or ideology. In some areas, the public schools are higher quality and in other (typically poorer) areas, the public school quality is bad and private schools are better.

[-]

RHS1959@reddit

Many private schools are religiously affiliated. Parents may choose them because they want their kids to be indoctrinated, or they may just believe the school is academically superior.

[-]

Eratticus@reddit

So, is private school that much better than public in USA? How?

Generally speaking I would say yes, but you have to look at what the private school specializes in. Most private schools are religious in nature (around 80% from my Googling) so they are combining religious teaching with standard academics. But because of tuition the amount of money the school can spend on students is higher than public schools so outcomes are often better.

There are also Waldorf and Montessori schools that are offering a different curriculum and way of teaching that won't beat out a local public school based on pure academics. But students may be learning other skills like carpentry and horticulture that parents are paying extra to get their kids to experience. There are also college prep schools that have a focus on better academics.

How much does private school cost?

Typically thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per semester. Many offer financial aid and try to recruit a diverse student body, but they are generally more elite institutions.

Take a look at this recent Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/wealth/comments/1rdmir9/us_private_schools_average_tuition_approaches/

Is it affordable for families that have a normal income?

I would say no. Again there is financial aid offered at most schools so people make it work but people putting their kids through private school in my mind are more well off than average but I don't have statistics to cite for that.

[-]

RedSolez@reddit

Schools in the United States are highly localized. You can have great public schools in one town and terrible ones in the next town over. Wealthy areas tend to have excellent public schools but not always. There are some very good, pricey private schools but there are also private schools that are a joke.

I can tell you from my experience- I went to public school in an upper middle class area with great schools, then went on to a small private college where many of my peers had attended small private schools prior. I was far more prepared for college than many of them, not just academically but more importantly, socially. They just were not used to being a small fish in a big pond like I was and it was a huge adjustment for them. In fact, the only people I knew who dropped out or transferred out of my college had been in private schools for high school.

So, is private school that much better than public in USA?
How?
How much does private school cost?
Is it affordable for families that have a normal income?

🅰

No. It’s only better in areas where public schools suck. In areas with good public schools, public schools are often (much) better than private schools.
If private schools are better at all (mostly they’re not), they’re better by turning away students and families they consider difficult to educate.
Lots. The average yearly tuition is $15,000, that's more than €12 000.
No.

[-]

MortimerDongle@reddit

Private schools are not necessarily better than public schools, though they can be.

There is a huge variety. The only thing private schools have in common is that they aren't public schools.

[-]

HairyDadBear@reddit

Private schools here are an alternative, not for students who would fail in public school. Costs can up to thousands of dollars a month. I wouldn't really say it's affordable but there are financial options you may access to. Whether or not they're "better" varies a lot.

[-]

Christymapper71@reddit

2 big reasons mainly: Religion (public schools are by law secular) or you want your kid to go to a prestigious school for a better or specialty area-focused education, like arts, sports or STEM OR you are wealthy/connected and want your kid to attend an specific school for aesthetics.

[-]

pinecone-party@reddit

Public:
- free
- toss-up of education quality. depends on state, teachers, and parents

Private:
- paid, often costly. I know a family that pays 10k per kid per year, and one that pays 40k per kid year. It's a HUGE range with different options. Highest end is boarding school.
- better than average education, and you'd better expect that because you're paying for it!

I went to a public school that was also a charter school, and it was like having a private education. I was extremely fortunate to have this. After 6 years at this school, when I was in 8th grade I wanted to try the public high school to see if I should transfer (I wasn't socially happy). I shadowed my older sibling for a day and decided against it. I was in classes with kids 1-4 years older than me and I thought they were all dumb as rocks. I was raising my hand in class with answers because I had already learned the material years prior, or currently. I stayed at my charter school, graduated and went to public university, and thought most of the kids there were dumb, too. I got my degree and got to "coast" a bit and enjoy the social aspect, thanks to my public education.

[-]

pinecone-party@reddit

Edit: The US also has remedial schools, homeschool, homeschool hybrid/co-op, and specialty schools like immersion, international, and nature.

[-]

TiFist@reddit

The quality varies, but the top schools are probably private schools. Many private schools exist to cater to religious folks and are associated with a specific religion. Some of those are academically rigorous, some are just schools with a strong religious flavor.

Private schools on the whole are for the rich, not for common people. They can be very expensive. Some religious schools will give breaks to students of their particular religion but it depends.

[-]

Quirky_Commission_56@reddit

In my hometown we had public schools and private schools. I attended a public school and my mom was one of the teachers there and the local union representative. We also had a Private School on the other side of town and one of their students transferred to my public school and was well behind most of the other students in our school. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[-]

TheMazoo@reddit

It's a mixed bag. My mom was a public school principal and I went to a private Catholic school that my grandma taught at. In that particular situation, it was a benefit because at C at the diocesan school was like an A at my district school (not where my mom worked). It was a net benefit, albeit like $3-5k a year. Others opt for charter schools which aren't tied to a standard curriculum, which can be iffy, especially if it's run by biased leadership. Some private schools are just about the $ while others are just smaller class sizes. It's everywhere. No one can claim that one is universally better than the other. It's a 3 Body Problem of funding, demographics, and quality.

[-]

beardedscot@reddit

Private school in the US is code for rich. So there is attached prestige to private school in the US for people who care about thing like that. Like others have pointed out though, just because it's private doesn't means its a good school that's a whole other issue.

[-]

Private and charter schools can be affordable, or very expensive. Some private schools in the NE have tuitions that rival Ivy League schools.

The more affordable ones I've seen have usually been affiliated with a church. There are private schools where low performers can be enrolled, and there are others for academic elites. I guess it's all over the place lol.

By that same token, the quality of education in public schools can vary wildly, sometimes in the same county. Some provide excellent educations. Some are failing, with low test scores and graduation rates.

[-]

Jub1982@reddit

There’s no standard way to answer this. There’s huge variation in the quality of both public and private schools. There’s also huge variations in the cost of private schools and how they operate. Generally, Catholic schools are often the cheapest private schools and middle class parents can often afford to send their kids. There are others that are very elitist.

[-]

Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit

So, is private school that much better than public in USA? How? How much does private school cost? Is it affordable for families that have a normal income?

The answer for all of these things is it depends on the town and the schools. Some private schools are excellent. Some are terrible. Same with public schools. Some private schools are affordable to the middle class, some aren't. Some offer scholarships, some don't.

[-]

bloopblop3002@reddit

Private schools are generally better than public schools but not always. Private schools vary a lot……. Rich kids go to good public schools, poor kids go to bad public schools