Private schools operate from a completely different financial base than public schools. Because independent schools stop working or succeed based on the number of households who are paying tuition, much of the laws of marketing and merchandising apply. That is why you might even see commercials on tv for a private school which you would never ever see for their equivalents in the general public school arena.
So the private school technique to education and the value they hope you will see in them consists not just in how they provide a better experience than the general public school system but how they transcend to every other private school in the community. So if you are looking carefully at particular independent schools, you may suspect that a few of the huge pledges and grand “vision” that they provide to make their school appearance excellent to you might be as much hype as it is reality.
Hype is that type of salesmanship that interest the grand and the honorable in all of us. If a private school discussion builds on your love for your kids, on how kids are the future of our society and on the poetic beauty and glory of all that is youth, somewhere in there is some quantity of buzz.
We need to add a step of sound judgment and down to earth thinking to all the hype before we choose to really put our own kids into an independent school as an alternative to having them in public school. A question needs to be asked and answered prior to we sign documents to enlist in the school and that concern is, “Can the school measure up to all those grand guarantees and to all that buzz?’
To get to the bottom of how to examine a private school, you need to utilize the same technique you did when assessing public schools in your area. You have to evaluate the school based on it’s performance. And performance is measured in longevity, quality of existing trainees and quality of finished students, e.g. alumni. If you decide yes or no about whether a specific school is all that they say they are just based on their commercials, their well prepped presentation when you opt for an interview and the tour of the premises, you are not getting to the heart of what makes a school terrific.
Purchase one of these moms and dads lunch and discover out what actually goes on at that school. Moms and dads who are paying the tuition to have their kids in the school are often quite candid about whether the school lives up to its hype.
Do not simply go for one interview however speak with as many parents of previous and present kids as you can so you can get a good balance to the photo you receive from their witness. An excellent question to include in the interview is “How long did your kid go to the school?” Schools that take kids from Kindergarten to High School graduation are undoubtedly doing something right. Schools who see a great deal of departures after a year or two have some type of issue that is driving individuals away, whether they confess or not. Here is one in Pennsylvania that is great:
Give yourself time to dig deep into the existing population of the school and to talk to alumni families. By being comprehensive, you can learn if the school has the ability to perform in keeping with the pledges they make and whether the school is a valid alternative to public school. Which is the kind of real life info you require prior to putting your child because school to further her scholastic profession.
By being comprehensive, you can find out if the school is able to perform in keeping with the guarantees they make and whether the school is a valid alternative to public school.