Specialized Institutions

In a world where educational options continue to expand and evolve, many families are asking: what exactly is a “private school”? This article defines the term, explains how private schools operate, explores current data and trends through 2025, and offers guidance for parents and students trying to decide whether a private school is the right choice.

1. Defining a Private School

At its core, a private school is a non-public K-12 educational institution that is operated independently of the government’s direct management of public school systems. In the United States, private schools are typically funded through tuition payments, private contributions and endowments, rather than relying primarily on local property taxes and state funding that support public schools. They may be religious or non-sectarian, single-gender or co-educational, day schools or boarding schools.

Unlike public schools, which must admit all students within a district, comply with state board regulations, and offer tuition-free education, private schools often set their own admissions criteria, policies and fee structures. Nonetheless, many private schools still adhere to state accreditation requirements or national independent-school accreditation standards.

2. Key Features of Private Schools

When considering private education, families should know several distinguishing features:

• Tuition and fees: Private schools charge tuition. According to recent data, average U.S. private K-12 tuition in the 2020-21 school year was approximately $12,790.More recent median estimates suggest private elementary tuition

Leadership, Legacy, and Learning: Pillars of Top Schools

Now and then, the question that occurs to me, as it should to you, is precisely why I think a particular school is one of the best.

• I have to conclude that the best schools have all of the following characteristics. What's more, they have them in abundance.
• Now, before you start thinking that I am only talking about older established schools, that ain't necessarily so.
• I am aware of a couple of newer schools that fit neatly into the category of best schools simply because they have all of the characteristics explained below.

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So let's look at what I think are the traits of the best schools:

• Great Leadership
• Solid financial backing by their graduates
• Stellar faculty
• Extensive academics
• Extensive extracurricular activities
• Superb facilities
• Graduates accomplishing great things

Great leadership

The best schools have strong, dynamic, dedicated leaders.

• They are led by women and men who envision their goals and have the experience to execute their plans to achieve that vision.
• The head of the best school is a superb fundraiser, capable administrator, and leader by example.
• She expects the best from everybody in her school community.

I know of several schools which could have been great. But they never made it because their fractious board of trustees kept getting in the way of progress.

• Change is never easy. But it seems

What is a choir school? It is a private school serving the choristers of a cathedral, college or large parish church. The choristers can be boys or girls or boys and girls depending on the institution with which the school is affiliated. The United Kingdom enjoys a long history of this genre of private school. As the Choir Schools Association notes:

"Choir Schools are amazing places where young choristers enjoy learning and playing. Their work takes them into stunningly beautiful buildings on a daily basis. There is no better educational and musical training start for boys and girls aged seven years and up who love to sing."

Residential and day choir schools have seen a steady decline in their numbers since the 1950s for three reasons. Two devastating world wars in Britain drastically altered the social and economic landscape in that country. Changing values in modern society throughout the world have seen parents choose alternative forms of education for their children. Finally, the tremendous cost of educating children in a choir school has forced many sponsoring institutions to close their schools.

Why send your child to a choir school?

I remember a parishioner years ago asking me to support her son's application to Saint Thomas' Choir School. He was an only child and, frankly, she was the quintessential velcro mother. I was pleasantly surprised that they were keen on the residential choir school at Saint Thomas Church in New York City. It was a good solution

Parents have many reasons for deciding to take their children out of public school and enroll them in private school. This circumstance can happen at any stage of your child's education. You could face this issue as early as nursery school or as late as high school, or even somewhere in between.

A Real Situation

Recently, I spoke with a mother who had taken her son out of a Montessori school and put him in the local public school. The problem with the Montessori school was the teacher. The public school worked fine for one year. Her child loved his new teacher, who seemed to love her children. Ironically, the public school teacher did a better job following the child than the Montessori teacher did. Considering that following the child was one of Dr. Maria Montessori's principal tenets, you would have thought the Montessori teacher could have gotten that right. In any case, his mother reported that they had one good year. Her son was happy. The teacher was delighted. All was going well. Unfortunately, things began to unravel during the second year, largely due to an inflexible teacher who expected all the children in her rather large class of 25 first graders to march in lockstep.

Against that backdrop, let's you and I explore a couple of typical scenarios where a change of schools might be the only answer for your child.

Your child does not fit in.

So, you have determined that your child does not

I think that any young person who pursues excellence in anything is probably going to come away from that experience with very healthy doses of discipline, structure and purpose. Whether your child wants to be a really good hockey player or the best app writer ever, he will have to decide on his goals and figure out how to get there. That's what military schools are also very good at doing. They offer the kind of rigorous discipline and structure which is every bit as demanding as the kind of athletic preparation a top-ranked runner gets, every bit as focused on teamwork as the members of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra are, for example.

Discipline

We know that discipline produces good results. It is never enough to be a genius and have a myriad of wonderful ideas and projects nobody else has thought of unless you possess the attribute of discipline. All those wonderful ideas and projects will come to naught without discipline. Fortunately discipline can be taught. Military schools have discipline figured out. They know how to teach discipline. And, no, I am not talking about the popular image of kids in a military school somewhere being yelled at every minute by some nasty drill sergeant. Those days are gone. Military schools these days are filled with students who want to get ahead academically and make something of themselves. Military schools allow that to happen.

The kind of discipline which you will find at military