If I can afford private school, am I doing my child a disservice by sending her to public school? My child is in 1st grade in our local public school, which by all accounts, is a good public school. We were happy with how much she learned last year, and her teacher this year seems great. However, the majority of our friends have chosen to send their kids to private school. There are several good ones in our area - some which prioritize STEAM, some which focus on play-based learning…

I think if the public schools is a good one, send your kid to that. Unfortunately where I live, public isn’t good so we will be doing private.

Spend some is the money you’re saving on some targeted extracurriculars!

Public schools can be so different in what they offer. My kiddos go to public and are in Spanish immersion program, and have weekly art, science lab, and music classes in school. Outside of school they also play an instrument and do a sport.

I think it depends on the school and your child . We chose private up until 8th grade as we wanted them to have certain things the public school wasn’t focused on like grammar, cursive and a more traditional education. It also was really rigorous which made their later years easier - they moved into a charter school . Net, it gave them a solid foundation and greater appreciation for the flex and freedom they have now. Trust your instincts on what’s right for your family.

There’s not one right answer to this.
My son just started in Kindergarten, and we chose a private school because of the smaller class size, and all the other things you mentioned…he has Spanish class, science lab, and loads of extracurricular options for us to choose from.
My personal experience was that private schools are more rigorous, which your daughter might enjoy. You have to do what’s best for your family.

I’m the wife of a public school teacher and a family lawyer, so I’ve done a fair amount of litigation as to school choice. Private schools are not regulated the same way public schools are so it’s hard to quantify what is “better.” I think it really just depends on your child’s learning style. Lots of public school kids go on to ivy leagues and successful careers. I plan to send my kiddo to public school when the time comes.

Yeah like others have said, this is so school and child specific. If your child is thriving where they are, I’m all for public schools. Some children may need specialized learning and that can obviously be much harder in some public school settings. Depending on the age of your child (when older, first grade still young), can also have this discussion with them.

We’re doing public schools because we cannot cover private tuition and our mortgage 😂, but if we didn’t feel good about our schools we would definitely live somewhere without a good school district (cheaper) and pay private, I just don’t think it’s an absolute necessity for every child.

My child is smart and enjoys learning. We have traveled extensively with her, so she has been exposed to different cultures. However, when I hear friends talk about how their kids are learning different languages, coding and engineering, and how to play an instrument in elementary school, I can’t help but wonder if we are doing our daughter a disservice by keeping her in public school. Any insight would be appreciated!

If you're in a great school district, and you think if your child is thriving in public school then keep her in public school - it also will help her be a well rounded adult because she'll be exposed to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds vs the bubble that is often public schools. I went to a public college preparatory school that you had to test into and and had a great experience - my peers were smart and went to great schools post-grad. We're all accomplished as adults really value our public school education. I also have friends who went to private school their whole lives and they're equally as accomplished and but some aren't. Ultimately, I think it depends on the child and how much they apply themselves to their studies. You also want to be mindful not to keep up with the Jones - just because your friends are doing it doesn't mean you have to if its not needed for your family. The money you're saving from not sending her to private school can be used to enrich her life in other ways - just a thought :)

My son is in an amazing public charter school that happens to be just down the block from us and it goes up to eighth grade. We’ll stick with it so that the baby I’m currently cooking can go there as well (lottery system with sibling preference), however, most schools aren’t great in my city and though my husband and I only ever went public, we’d consider putting our son in private for high school if we’re still living here since there is literally only one good public option, and everyone tries to get in.
There is one private school we strongly considered sending him to for elementary, but just couldn’t justify the cost and barely qualified for any financial aid. We teach him as much as we can at home.

This depends where you live and what you're looking for from school. Our kids are in public school in Florida and its been great.

One of our local private schools has better luck with ivy league school admissions, another one doesn't. Classmates in private school are more likely to come from successful families if they're expensive schools though.

I vote stick to public for a few more years at least and then reassess if you’re feeling like your kid is not being challenged or not getting ready for good high schools. I went to private school until 8th and was very sheltered which became obvious when I got into a very diverse and academically rigorous public high school. I send my kids to public but not my neighborhood public.