Making the Decision to
Send Your Child to Private School

ONLINE LEARNING •HOMESCHOOLING RESOURCES •FAMILY MOVING GUIDE •
TUITION MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR ADMINISTRATORS • TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES •
CLASSROOM DECOR • CHRISTIAN EDUCATION WEBSITES • SCHOOL CHOICE WEBSITES • EDUCATION ISSUES AND DISCUSSION WEBSITES • UNDERSTANDING SPECIAL NEEDS • FREE ONLINE TEACHING RESOURCES • AFT GATEWAY • NEA GATEWAY • MAKING THE DECISION TO SEND YOUR CHILD TO PRIVATE SCHOOL

"There are no magic remedies in education, but granting choice to the poor is a crucial step in the right direction. As a matter of principle it is more equitable than the present policy arrangement, which reserves choice for the advantaged and confines some children to schools that most parents do not want for their own."

~Joseph P. Viteritti, Empower the Power

Congratulations! You have made a wonderful decision concerning the education of your child. Whether that decision involves enrollment in private pre-school or grade school, or even if you are looking at college options, funding the endeavor is always the first things parents consider. Read further for important facts concerning school choice. Click here for information on funding resources.

This page sponsored by:

My husband and I sent both of our children to private Christian elementary school. We felt this would provide them with the best possible foundation in developing their self-esteen and knowledge in who they are in God's family. My oldest son attended his first year in public school in the fall of 2007 (even on a tuition basis), and I cannot tell you how satisfying it was to hear him handle bullying situations by having the courage to tell them that he would pray for them and walk a "love-walk" with them.

There are ups and downs to both settings. I sometimes wonder if my children would be missing out on a number of extra curricular opportunities small schools cannot afford to provide. But, as an educator, I know that there is no such thing as a high school drop-out. It was important for my children to obtain and nurture a love for learning through the very tender grades of 4, 5 & 6 in order to be motivated to continue through the upper grades.

In addition, our decision to sacrifice to send our children to private school (I would say we have paid over $100,000 in tuition fees since first enrolling our oldest in Montessori school at the age of 3) was a significant downpayment on college tuition costs! My oldest child finished his first year in public junior high school with a 4.0 GPA; my youngest continues to maintain a GPA that places him on the honor roll.We cannot ignore these facts and the opportunities that will arise from a good, solid academic record.

Here are some other facts and statistics you should be aware of, primarily concerning students of color and lower socio-economic status (and why the Coffeehouse supports a sincere and equitable school choice and the voucher system):

Holding less equity and facing discrimination in the housing market, African-Americans choose from a limited set of housing options.
As a consequence, their children attend the worst public schools.
~Paul E. Peterson And William Howell, The Hoover Institute

Since African-Americans have the least amount of choice among public schools, they benefit the most when choice is expanded. In multiyear evaluations of private voucher programs in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio, we and our colleagues found that African American students, when given the choice of a private school, scored significantly higher on standardized tests than comparable students remaining in public school.
~Paul E. Peterson And William Howell, The Hoover Institute

San Francisco is one of a handful of public school districts across the nation that mimic an education market. In these districts, the money follows the children, parents have the right to choose their children’s public schools and leave underperforming schools, and school principals and communities have the right to spend their school budgets in ways that make their schools more desirable to parents. As a result, the number of schools parents view as “acceptable” has increased greatly in the last several years.
~Lisa Snell, Reason Magazine online

Parents whose children were enrolled in chosen private or public schools were more likely to be satisfied with these schools' programs than were parents whose children attended assigned public schools (National Center for Education Statistics 1997).
~Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management

We are proud to be a Kid Friendly Site!