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You have your reasons for thinking about sending your child to a private school. Perhaps she has special needs which you feel the public school system cannot remediate. Maybe you are less than satisfied with the academic achievements or the safety records of the public schools where you live. Perhaps you attended private school as a child and you want your children to enjoy the same experience.

No matter what the reasons are for deciding to enroll your child into private school, the fact remains that deciding which school to send your child to is a tough decision. With so many schools from which to choose, the matter of selecting a school is not simple by any standards. Several aspects of school and child must be considered before arriving at a final decision.

Let me help you work out a process with which you can evaluate and choose from private schools. First, you need to identify your needs. After you identify and prioritize your needs, then you can survey private schools. After you’ve narrowed your list, you’ll want to set up school visits and interviews. Deciding on that final school can be very much a two-way street between your family and the private school. After interviews, you’ll need to prioritize your school list again so that you can make that final decision as offers to enroll your child come in.

This video offers a video of Stuart Country Day School, Princeton, New Jersey.

The question of how to educate a child is one of the most important a parent can ask. Many parents struggle with a basic choice of public vs. private school. Parents do not want to incur unnecessary expenses if they will not ultimately benefit their child. After all, many public schools do an excellent job of educating students. But while it is true that public schools do not have tuition costs (and a private school can run, on average, from $12,000 to $40,000 a year), the benefits of private education can still far outweigh the costs depending on the local options parents may face. Private schools can challenge their students academically, expose them to clearer value systems, give greater access to teachers, and allow them to feel safer than at a local public school. If you do decide to pursue private schooling for your child, start the research process early. Admission to private schools can be competitive, and finding a school that is a perfect fit for your child, where he or she will also be accepted, may take some time.

A Higher Bar

A major advantage to private education is that your child will likely be challenged to a higher academic standard. Private schools can be more academically rigorous than public schools, and private school students may have to meet more criteria to keep up their grade point averages. According to The Condition of Education 2018, from the National Center for Education Statistics, “Private high