When you have a child and want them to have the best education that is possible for them, you may want to find an accredited private school that they can attend. There are many different types of private school, and today you can even choose an accredited online private school. For a young child, you can look for an accredited private kindergarten near me to find a place for your child to begin their academic career. For a mid-grade child, you can find the affordable private middle schools near me by comparing the tuition of each of them.
The best private school websites will tell you a lot about the academic load of the school as well as the private school extracurricular activities. Many private schools have interesting extracurriculars that are more than just sports. Choosing a few extracurricular activities each year can allow your child to grow up with a wealth of understanding of a number of topics, making your child well-rounded. If you are having trouble paying for private school tuition, ask each of the schools in your area about scholarships. Most private schools do offer scholarships to a few students are high-scoring academically but in a lower-earning range.
One of the most difficult decisions a parent will make early in their child’s life is whether to send them to a private school or public school. Many of us don’t think about private school until we actually have children, because public schools at often treated as the default option for most children. Yet often, private schools are not only more financially feasible than you might think before having children — they might in fact be the better options in your specific area. The benefits of private school aren’t those that are stereotypically seen in fictionalized television shows; rather, private schools offer tracks that are more tailor-made to fit your child’s specific needs. Kids who are academically inclined aren’t the only ones who benefit from private school — student athletes can also find the paths they need at private schools.
For that matter, private school isn’t just accessible for older children; there are also private preschools available, that feed into private elementary, middle, and high schools. Choosing a private school for your child doesn’t have to be a big social statement; rather, it’s you making the best decision for your family under specific circumstances. Nor does choosing a private school mean cutting your child off from a “normal” school experience. Below, we’ll look into the benefits of private school, and how they can help your child for the long term.
1. Size
One of the many benefits of private school is the typical sizes of top private schools compared to those of public schools. Public schools, understandably, are often fairly large, though this varies from region to region and can depend on how many grades the school accommodates. Private schools are almost always, comparatively, small. In fact, 86% of private schools have fewer than 300 students. Typically, this means that private high schools are less than half the size of public schools. For some parents, the idea of a small school is intimidating. Understandably, you might worry about whether or not your child can make as many friends in private school compared to public school. Firstly, we should note that size does depend on the area in which your private school is — after all, in large cities private schools have nearly 1.5 times as much enrollment as public schools. The smaller the school, the smaller its class sizes; and the smaller the class size, the more attention a teacher will be able to pay to each individual student. In a private school, your child isn’t a number but a person. Therefore, any problems they have will be quickly addressed; and their successes will be celebrated in a big way.
2. Education Quality
Perhaps among the most commonly-cited benefits of private school is the education quality. Public schools do tend to have gifted programs for students who aim to go to college. But often, intelligent kids can slip between the cracks in public schools, while private schools aim to help them as much as possible. Some private schools even have academic admissions requirements for middle or high school, just as a college would. Most private schools teach students with higher education in mind; it’s no wonder that 88% of private high school students apply to college, compared to just 57% of public high school students. SAT scores reflect similar results; the national average SAT scores for reading, math, and writing were 497, 514, and 489 respectively. Students in independent school scored 541, 579, and 550 in the same categories.
3. Safety
A major reason why parents choose private schools over public schools can sometimes be safety. In some areas, public schools just aren’t as safe as they should be. Public schools can be prone to drug issues, as well as violence. Private schools tend to have stricter requirements, and are thus safer. Many private schools often have religious angles as well, even if they don’t require that their students follow those angles. Therefore, many parents feel better about sending their children to private schools versus public schools.
