Finding the right high school experience for your children is not always an easy task. Especially for parents who live in a part of the country where the public schools are struggling to meet the needs of a economically diverse group of learners with a budget that continues to shrink, there are many times when parents feel forced to make the decision to send their children to private high schools. For some, however, the decision to go to consider a private education happens long before the high school years.
Some families, even though they live in an area that is known for strong public schools, make the decision to send their children to private elementary schools because they want religion to be part of the school day. In fact, Catholic schools across the country serve the purpose of not only teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also the sacraments, and the basics of confession. For many of the parents who send their children to a private religious school, there is also the hope that these children will be in classes that are smaller and that they will have a better teacher to student ratio.
Private Education Is an Option for Many Families
Depending on where you live and what the public school system in like, for many parents private school seems like a very good investment. As more and more private schools add personal tablets and online textbooks to their curriculum, there are a number of families who see the technology alone as an advantage that can make a difference.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the importance of education and some of the factors that play significant roles in the success of students:
- Every part of the country may be a little different, but overall 25% of all schools in the U.S. are private.
- Day long preschool programs continue to grow in popularity as more and more families have two working parents. In fact, among three- to five-year-olds who were enrolled in preschool programs in 2015, some 51% attended full-day programs.
- Unless you live in a city where the public school are really struggling, you may not always realize how many private schools there are in this country. According to the latest data, however, nearly 2.63 million students were enrolled in private elementary schools in the U.S. in 2016.
- Counselors at private schools report that they spend 55% of their time on college-related counseling. Public high school counselors, in comparison, report they spend only 22% on college-related counseling.
- According to the latest research, 21% of public school teachers indicate that student apathy is a problem in their school, while only 4% of private school teachers report this as being a problem.
- The national average SAT score at a private school is approximately 1235. This is higher than the national average across all schools, which is 1060.
- In the year 2015, 87% of five-year-olds in America were enrolled in preprimary programs.
- One indicator of a high school’s success is the number of students who go on to college. For instance, as many as 95% of non-parochial private high school graduates go on to four-year postsecondary institutions compared with 49% of public school graduates.
- Nearly 24% of public school teachers report that lack of parental involvement is a problem in their school. This number compares to only 3% of private school teachers reporting this same problem.
Finding the right EDUCATION for your child is an important part of being a parent. Carefully considering all of the available options can help you decide about what kind of setting will serve as a place where your son or daughter can gain a firm foundation for their future.
