If you live abroad and are thinking about sending your child to an American private school, you need to be aware of several things about American schools. If you are being transferred to the United States by your employer, your move will entail help with finding and paying for private schools for your school age children. Let's explore five characteristics of American private schools about which you need to know.
1. The U.S. has many private schools.
First of all, like everything else in the U.S., the sheer number of private K-12 schools in the United States is positively overwhelming. There are over 29,000 private schools. See Private Schools: A Brief Portrait for an overview of the private school scene. Private schools educate approximately 10% of K-12 students.
This video gives you an idea of why Cabrini High School in New Orleans, Louisiana is much loved by its students. Children attend American private schools by choice, not because they have to.
In North America “public” denotes a school which receives funding from a government entity. The federal, state and/or local authorities support our public schools with tax dollars. Generally, public schools are largely funded by property taxes at the local municipal level. Private schools, on the other hand, are generally supported almost exclusively by their own resources. These include tuition fees, fund-raising campaigns, and endowments. Private schools do not, as a rule, accept any form of state funding. To do so would jeopardize their independence.
