Published
June 14, 2012
You won't find several things in private schools which you will find in public schools. Large class sizes, no consequences for unacceptable behavior, uninvolved parents, and cuts to activities and programs are not things which you will commonly find in private schools.
Large class sizes
One of the reasons parents send their children to private school is for the individual attention small class sizes afford. You want your child to interact with her teachers. You don't want her to end up hiding in the back of a large class room. She's in private school because she wants to learn. So do her classmates.
When you have 12-15 students in a class, you really can teach. Discussions, analysis and explanations are much easier to facilitate with a smaller group. Everybody's opinion matters. From the teacher's perspective it is much easier to assess progress when you are teaching a small group. You can make eye contact with everybody instantly and determine whether they've got it and you can move on or whether you need to go back and reteach.
Small classes play to the reality that everybody learns differently. Students receive information in different ways. They process it differently. The skilled teacher is always assessing where her students are vis-a-vis the material being covered.
The other factor which is so important for effective teaching is that the class is homogenous in the sense that the students want to learn, they are not embarrassed to excel and they are unafraid to ask questions. Lots of questions. With...
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Published
January 10, 2012
You want the best possible education for your child. The local school district is reasonably good but is facing some drastic budget cuts next year and, as far as you can tell, probably for many years after that. You don't want to sacrifice your child's educational opportunities neither do you want to spend money needlessly on other options, such as
private school or homeschooling.
Private school makes sense on so many levels because everything's there. The facilities, the staff, the activities, the academics - the lot. Homeschooling is certainly doable, but the onus is on you to track everything and make sure all the paperwork is completed and submitted and approved.
So, what about some of those rumors you have heard about private school? Well, those rumors are indeed true.
They are not just for rich kids any more. Decades ago you might have been able to make a case that some - but certainly not all - private schools were just for the children of privileged, wealthy families. Interestingly enough, most of the top American private schools started with very altruistic motives and aspirations. They were committed to creating a better society populated with skilled citizens who could think and reason.
In the 21st century
the pendulum has swung back to those idealistic roots. There's hardly a private school out there which doesn't have diversity as one of its top priorities. That means school now proactively seek out applicants from every quarter of society. Not just the kids...
Published
August 13, 2011
Michael Winerip's
article on the cheating scandal in
Philadelphia public schools underscores one of the intrinsic differences between public and private schools. Private schools do not have to teach to the test. Public schools do. That is as a result of
The No Child Left Behind legislation which required that mininum test scores be attained, among other requirements. The consequences for not achieving the benchmarks are serious. The net result is that some unethical teachers and administrators are alleged to have cooked the books in the Philadelphia schools. And they got caught. A similar situation occurred in
Atlanta's public schools
Private schools are not covered by NCLB. Consequently they do not have to teach to the test. So how are private schools held accountable? By you their customers. Parents and students. Simply put, if you are not satisfied with the job your private school is doing, you have the freedom to withdraw your child and put her in another school.
Private schools meet or exceed state academic standards.
The curriculum which each private school uses is chosen by the school. It is not dictated by the state or some other authority. The states generally require high school graduates to have a certain number of credits in core subject areas. But how those core subjects or any other subjects are taught is entirely up to the school. (That's why it is so important for you to choose a school whose teaching methods and curriculum most closely...
Published
August 13, 2011
You would think that education in the United States has been public since colonials days. Not so. The earliest schools were private and religious schools. Only in the mid 19th century did governments begin to compel children to attend school. Public school. Here then is a brief timeline of private K-12 education through the years.
| 143 b.c. |
Chengdu Shishi High School was established in China. |
| 69 |
Quintillian founded his school of rhetoric. |
| 597 |
The King's School, Canterbury, England was established. It has the distinction of being the oldest private school in the world still operating. |
| 1628 |
Collegiate School was founded in Manhattan, New York, USA. It is the oldest private school in America still extant and operating. |
| 1799 |
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi starts a school for orphans in Burgdorf. His writings on education inspired the study of pedagogy. |
| 1809 |
Johann Friedrich Herbart establishes pedagogy as an discipline at the university at Gottingen. |
| 1837 |
Friedrich Froebel creates Kindergarten or the Children's Garden. Kindergarten is the traditional first year of primary or elementary education for children in the United States. |
| 1848 |
Stephen Girard's estate establishes Girard College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for poor, white, fatherless boys. |
| 1874 |
The German Saturday School Boston was founded thereby established the first foreign language school in the U.S. |
| 1887 |
The will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop founds and endows the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii. Mrs. Bishop was the last direct descendant of Hawaii's royal family. She directed that the schools educate free of charge indigenous children of the Hawaiian islands. |
| 1896 |
John Dewey establishes The Laboratory Schools in Chicago, Illinois, and thus begins the movement... |
Published
June 12, 2011
The purpose of this article is not to cast blame. Instead, I want to highlight the disturbing trend which many of us have heard and read about, namely, that enrollment in American Catholic schools has declined severely over the past 50 years.
The following is quoted directly from the National Catholic Education Association's
Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing.
"U. S. Catholic school enrollment reached its peak during the early 1960s when there were more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steep decline in both the number of schools and students. By 1990, there were approximately 2.5 million students in 8,719 schools. From the mid 1990s though 2000, there was a steady enrollment increase (1.3%) despite continued closings of schools.
Between the 2000 and the 2011 school years, 1,755 schools were reported closed or consolidated (21.5%). The number of students declined by 587,166 (22.1 %). The most seriously impacted have been elementary schools."
Personally, it saddens me to see any private school in decline. It's even worse to discover that schools have closed. But the sheer magnitude of these numbers is just plain scary. Let's examine some of the reasons why Catholic education finds itself in this state.
The Economy
The economy is a major factor. The Great Recession of 2008 has cost
millions of people their jobs. If parents have to struggle just to make ends meet, a private school education becomes unaffordable. And Catholic parochial...
PublishedMay 29, 2013
Ever wish you could pick the brain of A+ students? Well, we did it for you — we spoke with dozens of students and educators to find out their secrets for success.
About Boys' Schools: In Their Words
Here are a dozen or so boys' schools' public thoughts about themselves and their missions.
Marketing the Small Private School
Some marketing resources and tips for small private schools with limited marketing budgets.
About Private Schools
Learn about the benefits of private schools and how they work.
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Kinds of Schools (23)
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Top Roman Catholic Boarding Schools
These Roman Catholic boarding schools offer good value, great educations and a faith-based community experience.
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For Profit vs Not for Profit Schools
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of a for profit versus a not for profit school? Is one kind of school better than the other?
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Waldorf Schools
Waldorf schools offer a well thought out approach to K-12 education.
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Schools for Gifted Children
Teaching gifted children requires deft handling. These children need intellectual and sensory stimulation. But they also need guidance and careful nurturing so that they grow up handling their special gifts and themselves appropriately.
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5 Facts About Progressive Schools
Progressive schools are different from traditional schools. These five facts highlight some of those differences.
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You Know You Are in a Montessori School When....
Montessori classrooms are different from the classrooms in conventional schools. Here's what to look for.
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Teaching Boys
Why teach boys in a single sex setting? The answer to this question and several others here.
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Special Needs Schools
Do you think your son has a learning disability? Not sure what to do? A special needs school might be the way to go.
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The Oldest Schools
The oldest American private school is Collegiate School in Manhattan founded in 1628.
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Progressive Schools
Progressive schools have been around since the early 1900's. Some educators think that progressives are rebels against traditional rote learning. The progressive educators like to think of themselves as reformers. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
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Lab Schools
What is a lab school? It's a K-12 school or school with some variation of those grades which is operated by a university or college.
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Military Schools
Military schools offer structure and discipline as well as a top-notch education.
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Why Waldorf?
Vicki Larson provides detailed answers to my questions about Waldorf schools.
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Hockey Schools
Got an aspiring hockey player in your family? Many American private schools enjoy a great reputation for excellent hockey teams as well as superb academics.
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You Know You Are in a Progressive School When...
In many ways progressive schools epitomize the uniqueness of the genre of K-12 education known as private or independent schools.
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Montessori Schools
Montessori schools are popular world-wide with parents of children in the primary grades.
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Alternative Schools
Sometimes a regular school is not the right fit for a child. Perhaps she needs an alternative school.
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Religious Schools
Religion is important to you. You want your children to be educated in a school where your religion matters.
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Semester Schools
A semester school allows you to experience new surroundings, new environments, different ways of life and much more.
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International Schools
Sending your children to an international school might make sense if you plan on being in the U.S. only for a few years.
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Schools For The Arts
Schools for the artistically gifted child are in short supply.
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Schools with Non-traditional Approaches
Categorizing schools is not a neat process. But there are several educational approaches and philosophies offer some alternatives to traditional schools. Here are some pros and cons about alternative schools.
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Classical Christian Schools
Classical Christian schools combine strict adherence to Christian beliefs with classical principles of education.
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School Life (5)
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Extracurricular Activities and Why They Are so Important
Extracurricular activities are not an extra in a private school. They are an integral part of the program each school offers.
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Athletics Are Not Optional
Athletic programs are an integral part of private school life. They are not optional as they often are in public schools.
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The Private School Survival Guide for Parents
It's a big step sending your darling off to private school. She will probably survive the transition just fine. But how about you?
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5 Things Every Parent Should Do
Every private school parent is encouraged to help the school in whatever way he can. Here are some things you can do to make a contribution to your school.
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Private Schools Jargon and Terms
Private schools have their own jargon just like any activity or affinity group has. Here are some of the more common terms you are likely to encounter as you explore private schools.
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Directories (8)
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Seattle Area Schools
The Seattle area is home to many fine private schools as well as to major companies such as Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks.
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Boston Area Schools
The metropolitan Boston area offers a wide range of academic and cultural activities. Just as impressive is the area's selection of private schools.
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Directories
A list of directories of private and independent schools.
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Guides To Private Schools
Do you prefer to peruse a book rather than going online to find private schools? If so, there are some excellent guides to private schools available.
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National Associations
As you research schools, check the national and state associations. Is the school you are considering a member? If not, why not?
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Regional Associations
Some states do not have their own private school associations. Schools band together across state lines forming regional associations. These associations have the same purpose as state associations. More here.
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State Associations
Do the schools you are researching belong to state independent school associations? If not, find out why not!
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Litchfield County Schools
Litchfield County, Connecticut, is home to a couple of dozen excellent schools catering to just about every need. The setting about 90 miles north of New York City is convenient to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
Note: Data has been gathered from the Dept. of Education, schools, and commercial data sources.
