Most people are quick to admit that a good education is fundamental to success in life; there are many who would argue that the sooner this education begins, the better. It’s never too early to begin learning and, by extension, it’s never too early to begin preparing for your future.
The earliest, then, that a formal education can begin is with preschool, and there are many a parent vying to get their children into what are considered some of the top preschools in the country. There is no doubt that getting your child into the best pre-k program possible will give them a leg up in the world; the better the foundation to their education, the better they’ll perform and even excel as the years wear on and they build upon it. If a child cannot successfully grasp preschool concepts, they cannot build upon these concepts, they cannot succeed when they move on to elementary school, or middle school, or high school, or even college. In three separate studies, it was found that 80% of children who attended preschool outperformed peers who did not attend preschool; more to the point, children who attended preschool tend to do 21% better than their peers who did not attend preschool when it comes to math and reading tests.
But what exactly makes a quality preschool education? What makes top preschools the top, exactly? For a lot of people, it comes down to private vs. public schools, and the majority favors the private sector.
There are somewhere around 30,861 private schools scattered through out the United States of America, which makes up a total of 24% of all the nation’s school. These 30,861 schools serve around 5.3 million preschool students, which is roughly 10% of all preschool students in the country. These schools tend to be much smaller than the more common public schools are; in total, 86% have less than 300 students. Fewer students enrolled means smaller class sizes, which means more time the teachers have to work one-on-one with students, which leads to a better quality education.
Given that 80% of all parents who elect to send their children to private schools are happy with the academic standards, surely that must mean they’re doing something right?
Private schools might not be for everyone, but when it comes to your children and getting a quality education from top preschools, they’re at least worth looking into.