Traditional Private Schools

For-profit vs. Not-for-profit Schools

Private schools are generally organized as for-profit or not-for-profit (nonprofit) entities.

A corporation or a private individual typically uses the for-profit version to make a profit, but is not eligible for tax-deductible contributions to the extent provided by law.

Most private schools opt to operate under a not-for-profit status, enabling them to generate revenue while also receiving tax-deductible donations to the extent permitted by law.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a for-profit versus a nonprofit school? Is one kind of school better than the other? Let's look at some answers.

Canva generated this image.

For-Profit Schools

A for-profit school is set up by allowing it to be controlled by an owner. That owner could be an individual or a group of individuals, as is often the case with many preschools and some elementary schools. Another form of ownership is a corporation.

This is often a corporation owned and operated by a group of local individuals. Typically, for-profit private schools are owned by a corporation that operates schools in multiple locations.

For-profit schools are typically in business to generate revenue or make a profit. They pay taxes on those profits.
Parents pay for the school's services just as they would for any other service.

Examples of this sort of school include Le Rosey in Switzerland, Sylvan Learning Centers, the Nobel Schools, and thousands of small nursery and primary schools.

The school can be incorporated, a sole

Boarding or Day School?

Many parents agonize over sending their teenagers to boarding school or keeping them at home and sending them to day school.

• The issue you really need to address is the quality of supervision you are able to give your children after school and on weekends.
• Let's face it, modern parents lead very busy professional and social lives.
• If you aren't around to see what's going on, do you know what your teen is up to?

Canva generated this picture of a boarding school campus.

The Advantage of Going to Boarding School

When you send your child to boarding school, you are buying the whole package: academics, athletics, social life, extracurricular activities, and 24/7 supervision all rolled into one.

• That's just part of a boarding school's DNA.
• It is an incredibly good deal for many thoughtful parents.

Of course, she will miss her mother and father, her siblings, her own room, and all those other special things she knows and loves.

• But the truth is that she will be off to college anyway in a few years.
• Getting a head start on leaving home is not a bad thing. It will pay huge dividends in later years as she has had to learn to cope and adjust to new circumstances at an earlier stage in her life.
• Teaching her to be independent is a good thing.

Living in a boarding school essentially prevents your

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. Picturesque vistas, rolling hills, ancient stone walls as well as quaint New England villages and towns dot the county's landscape. Plenty of acceptable restaurants and accommodations can be found for those inevitable parents' weekends and other family occasions.

• Canterbury Schoool, New Milford
• The Glenholme School, Washington
• The Forman School, Litchfield
• The Gilbert School, Winsted
• The Gunnery, Washington Depot
• The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville
• Indian Mountain School, Lakeville
• Kent School, Kent
• Litchfield Montessori School, Northfield
• The Marvelwood School, Kent
• Rumsey Hall, Washington Depot
• Saint Anthony School, Winsted
• Saint John the Evangelist School, Watertown
• Saint Mary Magdalene School, Oakville
• Saint Peter School, Torrington
• Salisbury School, Salisbury
• South Kent School, South Kent
• The Taft School, Watertown
• Washington Montessori School, New Preston
• The Woodhall School, Bethlehem

The answer to that questions hangs on whether you look at statistics or community. Having 10% of your student population from a certain ethnic group does not necessarily mean a diverse school community. Diversity is more than numbers and statistics. Diversity is an attitude.

Teaching children to be tolerant and accepting of people and views which are different from their own is a huge task. It requires teamwork. Parents, administration and teachers set the tone. Nothing will be accomplished without the cooperation of these three groups.

Teaching children to be tolerant means getting involved and setting the right kind of example. Getting involved is not the same as sitting on the sidelines and observing what children are saying and doing. Getting involved means addressing issues of tolerance and diversity in the home and in the classroom.

The Past

Decades ago private schools were infamous for being elitist and exclusive. If you were Jewish or if your skin color was something other than white, you probably were not going to be admitted to a private school if you even dared to apply. Fortunately that has changed. Private schools have come to understand their leadership role in creating an inclusive, accepting community of students, teachers, staff and parents. Now the push is on to heighten that understanding of others and how they live with many fine initiatives such as The Institute for Student Leaders sponsored by NAIS. Private schools are proud of their diversity which truly is fact and not

What's private school really like? Find out from people who have been there. Lorene Cary's Black Ice makes compelling reading. She was one of the first African-Americans to attend an elite private school. It was a different world from the one she grew up in back in Philadelphia. The classic novel is J.D.Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. As fresh today as it was when written back in 1951, Catcher opens on Holden's last day in prep school. Fast forward a few years and Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep sits atop the New York Times Best Seller List. These books are well worth a read. Enjoy!

Academy X by Andrew Trees
ISBN-13: 978-1596911772

From the publisher:

"The Nanny Diaries meets Lucky Jim in this devilish satire of the culture of power and privilege at a New York City private school.

John Spencer, an English teacher at the elite Academy X, is struggling through the final weeks of the spring semester. But keeping his students focused on the genius and wit of Jane Austen is the least of his problems. His crush on the sexy librarian is beginning to warp his judgment. An unexpected promotion leaves him drowning in a sea of academic intrigue. Pushy parents demanding higher grades lurk behind every corner and a favorite pupil suddenly reveals a cunning and sophistication far beyond her years. With each bumbling effort to keep everyone happy (and get his girl!), John digs himself deeper into trouble, until his very career is at stake.