Would you send your kids to private school?

It all depends. If you are in a market where there are a variety of school options and there are decent private schools around, yes. why not? UK is a good example, there are good public, private schools and also boarding schools around. they have a different focus depending on curriculum and it may help the child. In the UK there are also many different price points for private education.

If you live in the US and the public school where you live is excellent, why send your child away to another place? Most parents consider the schools before buying a home.

Then there are school system where effectively all (or most) schools are public and acceptable, like in Sweden or Germany. the private schools are most likely too expensive, or too far away, or too "alternative" in these markets - unlikely it would be a valid option for most.

It all depends on circumstances, the child, and more. Every parent would account for different traits when raising a child and sending it to a school, there are too many factors.

distance, cost, quality of school/teachers, focus of education (academic, athletic, artistic), demographics of school/race, languages, which college network is the school linked to, income, future career plans, etc

Also, what are the family values of said family? Are they religious? What political direction are they leaning conservative/liberal/left etc - plays a huge role.

If am going to pay taxes to support the public schools and they are good, I would send the kids to the public schools.

K-8 public in a very good district, 9-12 private or magnet of some sort.

Grew up in Manhattan which is where the bulk of this community lives/works so my answers will be NYC based. I think NYC has some phenomenal public schools. As someone who went private K-12, I had several close friends who switched out to the top public schools for high school. NYC has public high schools that are internationally recognized like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science and as someone who went to one of the big day schools in NYC, still make mine and most people who grew up here's top 5 high schools in NYC. I know those schools are difficult to get into, but still show the strength of public school education. District 2 which spans much of manhattan is also known for having phenomenal public schools. My parents regretted not sending me to public because of how good they were in my area, and I understand their dilemma. Personally, I feel like it really depends on my child and where I think they would flourish. If they need a more nurturing, more intimate, more personal environment, I would prefer to send them to a private versus if they liked the more big school environment, having a larger community in which case I would aim to hopefully get them into Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech etc. 

Private schools puts kids into a bubble, bad for their perceptions of society as a whole

I went to good public schools my entire life and wouldn’t have wanted anything different.  So assuming I end up in a neighborhood with a good public school system (which would be a major consideration for where i live in the future), then that would be my preferred route.

If the public school systems in the neighborhood are poor then without a doubt. If covid has taught me anythign it's that teacher's unions run the k-12 education process and like many unions it subsidizes the weak and the expense of the top teachers.

Coming from a very middle class public school kid - private school 100%.  College placements are infinitely better and like it or not there is a ‘club’ in this world and public school kids are def not part of it.  To all the private school kids on here saying you’d send your kids to public - I’d be interested to see if you actually end up doing it (doubtful) even though I’m sure it makes you feel better to say it like you’d actually consider it.

The elementry school I went to was a great school, small class sizes, great teachers, etc. However, middle and HS were a different story. Very shitty public schools in Philly. Luckily was in a separate section and could focus on school, not that there was that much to focus on since it wasn't very hard lol. If I had the choice I would send my kids to a top private school. Looking at myself and my buddies from HS and seeing the private school kids at college there is a world of difference.

No kids yet, but if and when that time comes, I'd send them to private school if the public schools were bad. Public would be the first choice assuming they were rated highly enough. I did public schools most of my life. The only downfall I see is that some kids are not pushed enough. Too much of it can be about "passing" students to meet minimal state standards. However, I think if you're active in your kids' life and willing to guide them or provide resources for more challenges and college prep, they can be successful in the public system.

Preferably a Catholic school for the kids.

Depends on the city. If I stay in NYC, highly likely because of how shitty most public schools are (excluding the top selective ones). But I'm not too sold on the private school life. I went to public schools K-12 and yeah, we usually didn't have textbooks for all the kids (and sometimes not even enough chairs/desks), and I didn't have a pre-calculus teacher for 25% of sophomore year but.....it taught me to teach myself a lot of the time, which is beneficial.

If you're talking university, 100%. Even the top public schools in the like Berkeley have constrained funding (students can't get into the classes that they need to graduate, only a limited amount of students can get into a certain major, etc.). Private schools give you greater variety of opportunities (like research) and peace of mind.

Nope. I would do the homeschool co-op. I saw how my cousins did with it--they're all well-adjusted and successful adults. They all had a better social life than me and did more diverse and interesting things. For me, it comes down to the values. Both public and private schools are overrun by crazy people. 

no, I'll send them on girls' backs (i.e. childfree life)

Absolutely I live in Chicago and all the public schools here are brutal.

Coming from a middle class HS public school background:

It depends, but most likely K-8 public and 9-12 prep. I don't see much of a reason especially in elementary to send kids to private, elementary school is in general more nurturing and morals are taken seriously. At public high school it is very different imho. At a decent school someone was being arrested for fights or drugs ~ once a month. I have a good friend who attended a top public school near Pittsburgh and he said nothing was special except there being a large contingent of Asians super obsessed with SAT and GPA. (We both are Asian American btw.)

I honestly feel that above a certain threshold what separates the topmost public high schools is not quality of teaching, but the academic competitiveness of students (and to some extent concentration of Asian overachievers). If you are ok with not getting a 1550+/35 I would steer clear of these schools.

Now why private over public 9-12? Main thing is quality of teaching. Huge difference between 15 and 30-student classrooms. Especially in literature/English classes, assignments are more essay/critical thinking based. That and morals taken much more seriously. Character development is huge for succeeding in the business world today.

A lot of my peers who went to private schools underperform substantially, but some are super-elite (Phillips/Princeton/Goldman). Amongst my peers they are either doing SUPER well or are not doing shit. 

I grew up in Ireland and had the benefit of going to public school until I was 10 then got moved to private school for the rest. I think pretty much all kids should go to public school for the first few years (private school when you’re that young is just a waste, the education isn’t that different and you’ll really appreciate going to a private school when you move).

However I think it’s really important to go to a private school for high school - the most important thing being the network you get and the education. The majority of kids from my class went on to the top 2 Irish universities (Trinity and UCD) and some went abroad. This doesn’t happen at public schools. Also for IB recruiting in London they only look at Trinity and sometimes UCD, and it’s very hard to get in to these universities without going to a private secondary school.

In terms of the network I went to public school with kids who’s parents were mostly working class, honest people, and who’s kids have now gone on to be working class, (mostly) honest people. Nothing wrong with that but it’s not the social circles you want to be in if you want to be successful. Whereas in private school most parents are working professionals, lawyers bankers engineers CEO’s etc and a lot of them are in very senior, high paying roles. It’s much easier to be successful coming from a successful environment. Success breeds success.

UK Perspective:

I went to a 600+ year old grammar school which had a royal charter in the 1400s. This school was free to all students however you had to pass an entrance exam to get in, which was easily done. Students were from a range of backgrounds - low income families through to wealthy land owner families. some friends of mine went to a male only private school, which is where many bankers / lawyers / CEOs sent their kids. Getting in was very tough (several rounds of exams and interviews) and high fees make it very selective. 

The opportunities my school had were virtually none; you had to go out and find your own. The private school I describe however, had trips to various international financial districts, had pre university placement programmes with banks and also had guest speakers similar to the oxford and cambridge union. 

Private schools like the one I mention are worth every penny as you have access to a network and opportunities. Private school from secondary school onwards is the way to go imho

Definitely. I myself went to private school my whole life K-12, including 4 years at TASIS (boarding school in Lugano, Switzerland). They were not only awesome years but I received a great education and made lifelong friendships I keep to this day. My best friends are from boarding School even though we went to college in different countries and live apart. I traveled the world during high school, partied , got into a target and made into banking. Some people might say I live in a bubble, that I have a biased worldview due to my whole social circle being from the same “privileged” background but the upside is incomparable.

Public schools will never be at the same level, provide de same experiences and also set up connections for life like a elite private/boarding will.

Definitely. I myself went to private school my whole life K-12, including 4 years at TASIS (boarding school in Lugano, Switzerland). They were not only awesome years but I received a great education and made lifelong friendships I keep to this day. My best friends are from boarding School even though we went to college in different countries and live apart. I traveled the world during high school, partied , got into a target and made into banking. Some people might say I live in a bubble, that I have a biased worldview due to my whole social circle being from the same “privileged” background but the upside is incomparable.

Public schools will never be at the same level, provide de same experiences and also set up connections for life like a elite private/boarding will.

I split my k-12 time about halfway between decent public and good private — I didn’t really think they were that different, experience-wise. Kids are kids. 
 

I’d send my kids to private school if it was better academically, but would counterbalance that with proximity as I think it’s great when kids from school live nearby.

Would never. Don’t want my son growing up to be a pussy.

yes phillips andover or exeter 

Definitely, Winchester or Eton only tbph

I'm thinking of converting to Mormonism and sending my kids to Mormon-run community homeschools for K-8, regular private high school with a gap year in at a junior military academy, followed by attendance at a prestigious non-Ivy (Chicago, Stanford, MIT, etc.).

I feel like sending your kids to an American public school in the 2030s would be tantamount to child abuse and brainwashing.

I'm thinking a mixture of private and public school so my kids get exposure to the 'real world' but also the many benefits of private education (extracurriculars etc.)