Public Versus Private: Which Will Grow A Better Child?

by Nikia Davis

"Better" is as subjective as the debate of public versus private. Ask your three year old who she likes better, Elmo or Dora, and you can be sure her answer will differ from that of her 5 year old sibling. Yet many parents face this public versus private dilemma from kindergarten on through high school.

For Judith Wolstan, Director Admissions at Chadwick School, the best determinant is "finding a school where the child will thrive." She believes that every school, private or public, has something different to offer a child, but a parent must find the best match for their child.

Every school, just like every child, is different.

Wolstan suggests one criterion a parent should take into account is class size. Private schools stand out because they offer smaller class sizes. And smaller class sizes, in her observations, allow for the formation of more personal relationship between not only the student and the teacher, but between the teacher and the parent as well.

Donna Dombroski, director of All About Kids Preschool and Daycare in Woodland Hills, expresses a similar belief. She notices how her students thrive in the smaller class settings. "With a smaller class size, the teachers are more attentive to the individual student and to her needs." Donna also feels it allows for better rapport and contact with the child, and, just as important, with the child's parents.

When searching for the "right" school for her own child, Jessica Vincent, director of ABC Little School in Van Nuys, made sure this factor was present at the schools she had narrowed her choices down to. Vincent began her search looking for (affordable) schools that were not only academically driven but schools that were also ethnically diverse. Her opinion: in the debate of public versus private, parents need to determine what their own needs are. Do they want a more "structured" learning environment, she asks, or one that is more "artsy" or open in their learning process?

After narrowing her choices to schools that reported good test scores over a two year time period, Jessica says she conducted her most important step – on-campus visits. She describes how important it is to see the schools beyond the paper. Observing the school, the teachers, the students…for her, they were all "pivotal in deciding which school would provide the best environment for my child."

This idea, of which school is the best environment for your child, is what the debate boils down to. "Growing a successful child depends on the whole team," Dr. Megan Scannell, of Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, says. "Any situation in which the parent is engaged and involved," Scannell stresses, "Any school where the teacher, the staff, the faculty can be focused on who is ready and who needs help, can be your 'right' school."

Ultimately, your decision must be based on careful research. The following are some suggestion questions directors and principals recommend parents ask to help them make their final decision:

Teacher to Student ratio: Which class size does my child seem to work best? Will my child have access to his teacher?

Does my child experience greater success in "structured" environments, or in more "alternative" ones?

Is there diversity in activities, and in student and faculty population?

Remember, it is vitally important to visit the school and OBSERVE how the faculty, administration AND the students interact.

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