Sending Your Child to the Best Schools in Their Area

Education is central to any child’s development, and it allows a person to grow up to become a functional, intelligent adult who can navigate the adult world. For this reason, parents are deeply invested in sending their children to the best possible schools they can, ranging from preschool to high school, and a good education may span not just the homework and lectures but also learning to integrate into a social sphere and joining clubs and sports teams, ranging from the debate team to an art club to the marching band or basketball team. Parents have some choices to choose from. One such division is whether to send their child to a private or a public school, and the best private education may give a child some palpable new opportunities and advantages. Even a private preschool may be an option, and with good funding, a private preschool can easily prepare a child for his or her main education. What should a student look for in a private preschool or, the best prep schools, or private high schools? Or would public day schools be a better option?

Private VS Public

Private and public can often be considered the two main spheres of education, and a private preschool or private K-12 school can offer some distinct advantages to parents who can afford the tuition charges (with New England prep schools being especially costly). About 25%, or one in four, schools in the United States today is private, meaning that it is independent from the state or federal government and receives funding from privatized sources, hence the name. Such schools may also set their own curriculum and testing, as opposed to following national standards and regulations.

A private preschool is a great place for a young child to get quality preparation for their later education, and private K-12 schools in the United States, according to general statistics, can offer serious advantages for the students who attend them. For example, about 21% of all public school teachers have reported that student apathy is a problem among their students, but only 4% of private school teachers have reported the same issue. Similarly, 24% of public school teachers reported that a lack of parental involvement is a problem among their students, and only 3% of private school teachers reported that particular issue as well. Even the student counseling service may vary in quality. In private schools, counselors will spend 55% of their time on college preparation services for their students, while public school counselors will spend only 22% of their time on that.

Many American students attend preschool, and unlike with K-12 schools, a private preschool may be the rule rather than the exception. Many young American children attend these programs: as of 2015, 87% of five-year-olds were enrolled in some pre-primary program or other, and in that same year, 51% of three to five-year-olds enrolled in preschool programs were in full-day programs. A quality preschool education can go a long way toward preparing a child for their later education and life.

Finding the School

When parents move to a new area, or when their child first becomes old enough for school, the parents will invest a lot into finding the right school for their child. If they can afford it, they may opt to search only among local private schools for their child, especially if they plan for that child to later attend college. More universally, parents will look for a school with a staff of well-trained and experienced teachers and counselors, and a good school will also have well-funded and supplies sports teams and clubs, ranging from art programs to the marching band to the basketball or football teams. The child’s own input is necessary as well; whether six or 16 years old, the child will only get a good education if he or she is challenged by the coursework but not overwhelmed. A child should be socially accepted and be able to make friends or at least get along with others, and the child should have access to all the clubs and activities he or she likes and not face bullying. A bullied or stressed child may have to be moved to a new school.