Is it worth it to pay for a private school education vs the free public school? Is the tuition really worth the money?

Our oldest is about to start kindergarten.

I know moms who have a boo-hoo/yahoo breakfast that day. The little one is now growing up, and they save a ton on childcare.

We're thinking about sending her to private school. Is private school worth the money?

Are you stuck in a horrible inner city school district, where you fear for your child's safety and know she will graduate from high school with an 8th grade education?

Of course not. We live in a good neighborhood.

Then school safety and quality, two of the biggest reasons to send a kid to private school, aren't reasons for you to spend the money.

I would like to ensure that she gets a good, moral foundation in life.

You can do that now by reinforcing your values as life lessons arise, not just assuming that they'll take what they learn Sunday morning through the rest of the week.

Private schools tend to be prestigious.

Imagine saving that money you would have spend on childcare and putting it back for college for twelve years. Graduating a kid from college without any debt, that would be prestigious.

Private schools tend to have smaller class sizes and more flexible scheduling.

Your child has fewer course selections, and you may be stuck with the one kindergarten teacher in the school instead of switching classes if they butt heads.

She'll have a more controlled environment and higher academic standards.

It is true that private school students, even average ones, do better on standardized tests.

The biggest shocker for me is the sticker shock.

Yeah, private school can run from 3K to 10K per kid, with Catholic schools being cheaper and secular and Jewish ones being most expensive.

What could I do to save money on private school? They have loan programs and payment options, but I'm still balking.

You could pick the schooling option with the most flexibility and ultimate in low student-teacher ratios.

What is that?

Homeschool.

Oh, good God, no. What else could I do?

Save up for military school, the last resort of the maladjusted kid.

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