Private K-8 schools near Irvine?
- Thread starter andyman24
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What is so special about St. Margaret's Episcopal School, that is worth not only the drive, but also the money? It is on average $29k/year. And religious on top of it. I'm not being critical, people do whatever they want with their cash, just wondering if they offer anything that is outstanding, and no way you could get in our public schools, or supplement at home for free.
I'll take the schools in Irvine, and save the money for Caltech!!
I'll take the schools in Irvine, and save the money for Caltech!!
RandomG said:
There's a lot of range in terms of private school tuition. St. Margaret's seems to be on the high side. Fairmont is 17K at the grade school level. Red Hill Lutheran is less than 10K.
I know some people who send their kids to private, who do it mostly for the smaller class sizes and more individualized instruction (e.g. if your kid is very advanced for their age, they allow the kids to accelerate at a pace appropriate for them, rather than the no child left behind approach in public schools.) I also come from the east coast, and like you, was also surprised at how easy the curriculum standards are here. The Greatschool ratings are based off what percentage of kids are scoring proficient or advanced grade level at each school, but doesn't reveal anything about what exactly those grade level standards are.
If you have the time to do a lot of supplementation after school on your own, you can definitely save the tuition money, but some people don't have the time or energy to do it--e.g. two very busy professional working couples who don't have time to do that after school, and have the cashflow to spare.
Yes, but how many of those kids at St. Maragret's are super-advanced and in need of acceleration? 10% maybe? The rest just go with the flow, which is something they could easily do in public school.
That is the problem I see in Irvine. With so many capable students, why isn't there more focus on the high achievers? Get rid of the GATE cluster thing, and create truly gifted, separate GATE classes. For each grade level. It's probably a matter of budget.
I for one, do have the time after school to dedicate to my kids, so I guess I am lucky. It costs me about $40 at Barnes and Noble for a few Singapore math books, and they're good for a couple of months!!
Also with three kids, at $90k a year tuition at St. Margaret, I'd have to bring home at least double that to make up for the lost time with the kids. And still not worth it!
That is the problem I see in Irvine. With so many capable students, why isn't there more focus on the high achievers? Get rid of the GATE cluster thing, and create truly gifted, separate GATE classes. For each grade level. It's probably a matter of budget.
I for one, do have the time after school to dedicate to my kids, so I guess I am lucky. It costs me about $40 at Barnes and Noble for a few Singapore math books, and they're good for a couple of months!!
Also with three kids, at $90k a year tuition at St. Margaret, I'd have to bring home at least double that to make up for the lost time with the kids. And still not worth it!
RandomG said:
Tustin school district has this. Separate GATE only classrooms at Tustin Memorial Academy. But its a district wide lottery to get a spot at the school, and they don't take interdistrict transfers for TMA.
Its the no child left behind approach, and a budget issue probably for the public school districts. Anyway, I've spoken to GATE administrators. The focus nowadays is "enrichment" not "acceleration"--I personally don't think one should be favored to the exclusion of the other, but it is what it is in current educational fads.
The private schools do tend to teach a year ahead of the public school curriculum, even if your kid is "going with the flow."
nyc to oc said:
NCLB is at the federal level, so you should see similar negative impact to gifted students on the East Coast as over here.
It's probably more about funding and the inability to provide a separate gifted track while also making sure that disadvantaged student meet proficiency requirements. The spread on per-pupil spending between CA and some states on the East Coast can be as much as 2x. Also, Irvine is below CA average in terms of per pupil spending.
APAAS was suggested to me. Indeed, with the hassle of driving around, it wouldn't work.
In FL, there are separate gifted classes at every grade level, and while maybe in K-5 only one out of 3 students should be in that gifted class, once they hit 6th grade (middle school), the difference is remarkable (well, at least in our former district). There are actually 3 levels: regular, advanced and gifted. Some schools even have the Cambridge or the IB program. Many kids (and their parents) who were in gifted in elem. know they won't handle the rigorous curriculum in middle, and go back to regular.
Too bad that the priorities are different in California. A state with so much potential.
Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread.
In FL, there are separate gifted classes at every grade level, and while maybe in K-5 only one out of 3 students should be in that gifted class, once they hit 6th grade (middle school), the difference is remarkable (well, at least in our former district). There are actually 3 levels: regular, advanced and gifted. Some schools even have the Cambridge or the IB program. Many kids (and their parents) who were in gifted in elem. know they won't handle the rigorous curriculum in middle, and go back to regular.
Too bad that the priorities are different in California. A state with so much potential.
Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread.
RandomG said:
the fad nowadays is trying to bring everyone up to a minimum level of mediocrity, rather than diverting scarce public resources to the gifted. :-\ There's a lot of kids in california that need remedial help to get up to that minimum. Irvine may not have a lot of those, but its public school curriculums are affected by the mandates. Part of the problem is that such a heterogeneous group of young kids are starting out from such uneven playing fields.
I think in Europe, at least in certain countries (not sure which one you're from) there is more acceptance of tracking and giving good practical vocational education to those who are not really cut out for and may not be interested in abstract "book learning" and university education.
European style tracking wouldn't work here because:nyc to oc said:
1) Europe is much more homogeneous. Here, it would be unconstitutional if minorities are overrepresented on the vocational track.
2) There is little income difference in Europe between skilled vocation vs college grad. Here, there is huge income disparity between college grad and trade school so tracking would again be challenged on constitutional grounds.
3) There is little societal prestige difference in Europe between skilled vocation vs college grad. Here, the credentialed elite mock the "working class" every day and everyone thinks their kid is elite.
B2FiNiTY
Active member
I had a lot of friends that went to and graduated from St. Margarets. They went on to pretty good schools like USC, Berkley, UCLA etc etc . This was most likely because of their study habits and them taking school seriously rather than the school system.
That said, I was in private school from 3rd grade till 8th grade. I didn't get into Margarets. There were only like 3 kids that didn't make it in from my 8th grade class at St. Johns. You gotta take a test, write an essay and all that jazz.
So then suddenly I was in public school for 9th grade, high school freshman. I had a really really hard time keeping up at first. REALLY HARD. Everything was different. I felt like I almost never went to school before.
So my conclusion was that either the private school system I was in 3-8th grade was terrible or it's just completely different teaching and direction compared to public school.
The thing I missed about private school was the cleaner and newer facilities and smaller student size. Especially the bathrooms. Public high school bathrooms were terrible.
That said, I was in private school from 3rd grade till 8th grade. I didn't get into Margarets. There were only like 3 kids that didn't make it in from my 8th grade class at St. Johns. You gotta take a test, write an essay and all that jazz.
So then suddenly I was in public school for 9th grade, high school freshman. I had a really really hard time keeping up at first. REALLY HARD. Everything was different. I felt like I almost never went to school before.
So my conclusion was that either the private school system I was in 3-8th grade was terrible or it's just completely different teaching and direction compared to public school.
The thing I missed about private school was the cleaner and newer facilities and smaller student size. Especially the bathrooms. Public high school bathrooms were terrible.
I must admit, my experience with the European educational system is a little old, I was in school there in the 80's and 90's (most of my school years were during Communism in Eastern Europe). The Soviet system was a pretty darn good one, and btw the Chinese did a good job at copying it.
I am not a fan of private school, I think they are just a profitable enterprise that partly takes advantage of the fact that the government can't provide an adequate level of support to what should be the country's biggest investment: our children's education. But then, it's a little more intricate than just the government providing support. As I probably said before, it starts at home, that's the foundation for building a child's interest in learning.
Anyway, good luck to the family who has to shell out close to $30k a year per child, only to discover that if they for some reason have to put the child in public in the middle of high school, they won't be able to keep up.
I am not a fan of private school, I think they are just a profitable enterprise that partly takes advantage of the fact that the government can't provide an adequate level of support to what should be the country's biggest investment: our children's education. But then, it's a little more intricate than just the government providing support. As I probably said before, it starts at home, that's the foundation for building a child's interest in learning.
Anyway, good luck to the family who has to shell out close to $30k a year per child, only to discover that if they for some reason have to put the child in public in the middle of high school, they won't be able to keep up.