Raising kids: Public vs Private

Of course this isn't an option for everyone but buying a house in a good school district is better than paying tuition. Houses cost more in good school districts but you can probably sell the house and get the money back (minus the interest) once your kids are out of school. A lot of factors to consider but that was my reasoning when making those plans.

If you already live in a good school district then you will probably pay a lot for a very small gain if any.

If you feel the public schools are meeting your children's needs, put that money away for their college fund. You can save a boatload in thirteen years. Private school can be a devastating wealth killer for a middle class family, but if you are a really high-earner it may not be an issue. And if your kid grows up and wants to be a welder, you can always use that money for a set of solid gold truck nuts.

I'd research where the kids in the school district are going to college. While at Auburn, I got some good insight into where students were coming from while I worked in scheduling for the English department. Overwhelming percentage of incoming freshmen came from Vestavia, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Homewood, and Pelham. Pretty much the nice suburb schools of Birmingham sent the largest number of students. Sounds like common sense, right? Of course.

But what surprised me was that a few schools that were considered stronger schools didn't send many to Auburn. Trussville was the most notable one because most people living in Trussville would assume that their school system was on par with the other nice suburb schools.

So again, do some homework to see if your strong school system is really producing the results you want. If so, definitely go with it since your tax dollars are already paying for it.

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My introverted daughter found other introverts and was happy

If your children have great parental support and a good school, they will succeed

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Great post and glad to hear things worked out for you and your children!

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But don't you guys worry about things such as common core, being lumped in with other kids who's family doesn't value education, etc?

Conversely, I definitely don't want them overly sheltered. I went to a private Christian college and saw plenty kids like this go insane once they left the house.

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I felt that public school prepared them more for the real world. Being around kids who were from good homes and bad homes made them realize how lucky they were in their own home. They learned they needed to succeed in high school and college to continue the lifestyle they grew up in.

Also, they attended a large high school and had lots of good electives, advanced placement classes, extra curricular activities. I felt like it was a well rounded school.

When my kids worked on group projects and had a slacker student in their group, they had to learn how to handle that situation. I thought that was excellent preparation for the real world.

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what you are really paying for is the environment.

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This.

Whether you can pay for it is up to you. I find it pretty absurd to spend what is basically college tuition to send your kid to grade school, but if you have the scratch and it doesn't hurt you too much, by all means.

On a non-financial note, the public schools would have to be absolutely terrible for me to even consider private...and even then I would probably just move. If what you want is an environment where your child can succeed, as long as you aren't in the worst of the worst district, public school will probably work just fine as long as you are active in your kid's life. It's anecdotal, but I'm very grateful to have gone to public school in a low-middle class area; not being protected from how shitty things can be for some kids definitely gave me perspective that has helped me out as an adult.

i'll give you my opinion and it might not be popular.

i went to an upper middle class suburban high school. it's supposed one of the top five or so traditional public schools in the state. the town is probably the richest city in the state. i wouldn't send my future/hypothetical kids there if i could afford private school.

the local catholic school blows it away IMO. i graduated fairly recently and the private school kids i know are killing it compared to the kids i went to school with. it's not even close. not to go all OT on the MT, but the student body is much "trashier" than most would think given the city's demos, average income, and reputation.

sure, most of the kids i graduated with went to four year schools, but most didn't make it four semesters and they definitely were not as well prepared as the catholic school kids.

if your kid is a "good kid"/very intelligent, self-starter type, the public school might offer more options and be the better choice. if you think they might need a bit more guidance or supervision (and plenty of smart, good kids do), i would definitely suggest private school.

just my $0.02.

My dad was Air Force so I went to basically every school imaniginable. I would say 90% of education is on the parents unless the school is a really really crappy public school. i knew a kid in Del Rio HS which was a terrible public school that went to Harvard and his sister was most likely headed Ivy League. Good parents and smart genes.

If you can easily afford private, sure. But I saw plenty of issues at private schools too. Private are usually upper middle class or wealthier so there plenty of cliques, spoiled kids, politics, etc. The after school partying, drugs, and alcohol is most likely worse by average student at a private hs because the students have more time, resources, and parents that are away. Public schools obviously the opportunity is there but on average you have a lot more kids that don't partake. Smaller private schools almost everyone is exposed to it. Now some schools are certainly different, but that's my experience with multiple private catholic high school.

If private school tuition breaks your back, I honestly think it's not worth it. You as parents have to work more and are more stressed. You are better off working less and spending time with your kids helping them learn.

Additionally, the difference between the opportunities at a large public school and a small underfunded private school can be VAST. So many more electives, athletics, etc.