I reside, work & play in Boca Raton, FL where we have lots of schools to choose from.
- We have the Public Schools.
- We have the Public Schools that you can only get in by Lottery.
- We have the Private Schools
I have a 3 year old daughter, and another daughter who is a month old. I really have been thinking whether or not to sacrifice a lot to put my daughters in private schools or place them in public schools. I am a product of the Boca Raton public school system, but I was wondering how effective is the private school vs. the public school system.
We have toured 3 private schools.
- St. Andrews Private School which is supposed to be one of the most advanced schools in the country. The issue with this one is that I am Jewish, and they do teach religion in school, and they do go to the Chapel everyday. The students however are made up of 30-40% Jewish. The other issue is it is $19,000 a year.
- Donna Klein Jewish Academy also is a very academic school which incorporates my heritage and some religion, but also is quite expensive at $18,000 a year.
- Pine Crest is probably the toughest to get into, and the toughest academically. It is about $18,000 a year. The location is amazing as I can walk to school.
The Public Schools I am looking into is Morikami, but they only allow 150 students in a year, and it is on a lottery system. The other one is Henderson which also is on a lottery system. The school I am zoned from is in an affluent area, but I do not really know the difference in curriculum. What are the most important factors when determining whether or not to send your child to Public or Private? Is it always cost? If cost was not a concern, would you send your children to a Private School? Is the perception because you have to spend all this money to send your child to a private school therefore it must be better?
My question to you is the schools with lotteries or private schools how much better are they, and in fact are they better? Is it the curriculum that is better? The teachers? How did you decide to send your child to public or private school? Thank you for your input.
David Serle
Vice President/Managing Broker
RE/MAX Services
561-912-3500 Office
561-912-3502 Direct
561-756-3104 Mobile
Dave, One of the reasons I send my daughter to a Catholic high school is so that she can learn more about her faith. My husband and I believe that learning about one's faith is a lifelong process and one that does not end with grade school or high school. We wanted her to be in an environment where she could pray freely and openly discuss her religious beliefs. Those are but a few of the reasons. Good luck with your decision. I know it is not an easy one.
Dave- Nice post. My wife and I decided to send our boys to private schools before they were born. We wanted one with a Christian belief system, but also a very rigorous academic program. Basically we wanted them to get a great education. Our sons are in 6th and 9th grades and have always attended private christian schools.
There are plusses and minuses to private. Plusses: Very excellent education. Small classes. You are treated like a customer not a number. Teachers are there because they like what they do not because they need a paycheck. Kids are mostly better behaved and well cared for. Most of the families have high moral values and teach their kids to be the same.
Minuses: Classes move very quickly. Private schools can't take a lot of time to help slower learners. Of the 4 private schools we have been involved with (due to moves and grade changes), most of the families are upper middle income to upper income. Some of the kids will have every imaginable toy, gadget, and goodie that you can imagine. Your kids will see these and want them. Makes for a good lesson but sometimes hard to deal with. Smaller schools have less sports teams and fine arts progams but they are usually pretty good when they have them. Besides your tuition, plan on all kinds of extra little charges throughout the year. Most private school sell things to make extra money and you will be expected to buy them. Also field trips, sports, PE, art, uniforms, yearbooks,snacks, whatever. Find out in advance about these things. They will add up.
In the areas that we have lived in, California and Idaho, the schools that our kids have attended have done extremely well at all of the academic decathlons as well as on the state tests. They also have a very high percentage of alumni attending good colleges.
In my opinion, the tuition costs have been well worth it for our kids. I would do it over again.