Parents all over the country are at some point faced with the question: public school or private school? It can be a difficult decision for parents to make, and should be made after careful consideration of what is best for your child and family overall. There are many advantages and disadvantages to both public and private educations, and even these may differ depending on the community in which you live. Your child’s education is important to you, which is why we’ve compiled the pros and cons of private schools and public schools to help you make an informed decision.
Private School Pros
Here are the pros of sending your child to private school:
- May offer alternative or enhanced teaching methods
- Flexible curriculum
- Independently funded
- Smaller class sizes
- Exclusive to accepted applicants
- Able to provide more structure/discipline
- More accepting of other minorities/backgrounds
- Statistically less instances of bullying
- Statistically produce higher standardized test scores
- Well established alumni network
- Better access to resources
Public School Pros
Here are the pros of sending your child to public school:
- Tuition Free
- State certified teachers
- State-set standards
- Free special education programs
- More diversity
- Typically offer more after-school programs
Private School Cons
Here are the cons of sending your child to private school:
- Must pay tuition
- Teachers don’t have to be certified
- May not have special education programs
- Less diversity
- Limited access to sporting facilities/fields unless privately owned
- May offer less extracurricular activities
Public School Cons
Here are the cons of sending your child to public school:
- Less flexible curriculum
- Larger class sizes
- Overcrowding
- Under funding
- Government mandated regulations
- Lack of discipline
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that there is no right answer for every student and their family. Every child is unique with different needs, strengths, and weaknesses. Given the varying qualities of each type of education, the best thing you can do to help you decide between sending your child to private school or public school is to compare the pros and cons of both public and private schools, and then make the best choice for your family’s specific needs.
