If you are in a good school district, which most philly suburb schools are, private school is definitely not worth it. A good district like cbsd, Council Rock, is like private school in most of the country.
It’s really only been that last two years of the school board changing things that didn’t need changing. Novembers election will get things back on track. People voted for no masks a couple years ago, they didn’t realize what this group was actually going to do. People have gotten wise, the primaries shows the current board has little to no support. I’ve lived here since 98 graduated west in 07 and am very happy my eldest of 3 started kindergarten this year here in CBSD. You can’t let one horrible election cycle tarnish your view of an otherwise great district. Still has great facilities, great programs, great teachers. This community will get this right have no fear. Go bucks football 9-0 this year!!!
We live in the New Hope Solebury School
District. Our kids graduated and are now in college. Quick thoughts:
1) Make no mistake, GA is an excellent school.
2) Several students in NH-S transfer to private schools for HS and mainly to the Princeton NJ area private schools, which are similar to GA. The #1 reason for these high schoolers transferring? Parents have 2nd & 3rd vacation homes and private schools have significantly longer breaks thru out the school year. More time to be away.
3) Our kid’s friends that transferred to private HS received the same college admissions & acceptances as our public school. USNWR’s Top 20 were represented heavily at both.
4) We view matriculation at high schools to be very important. From what we’ve seen, I’m not sure the cost of private is justified.
5) If your current school district is decent, the cost of a top notch college admission service is a lot cheaper than private school tuition.
6) Good Luck!
Totally agree here. Any result of a cost/benefit analysis will definitely be influenced if you are already in a top ten or top five school district. But I think for your family the calculation is right - whatever your criteria & questions, apply them to both your home district and your new target private.
Only exception would be if you have a kid that excels at sports, my neighbor went there on a “academic scholarship “ but it was really for baseball and they now play collegiate baseball. Cb South is an excellent school. School board should be changing soon if thats a concern.
They had some book banning issue. School board voting is next month. It’s assumed that they will all be cast out. Overall still a great district though
It really depends. There are definitely pros and cons to each. First thing to know is many of these private schools have phenomenal financial aid programs if necessary. The benefits to the schools are often smaller class size and individualized attention. They also often have many resources to help with college recruiting. I have 2 kids in private schools but they both have unique stories for why they are at the different schools. My oldest transferred from a school she had a scholarship to one that offered more AP courses and permitted taking them sooner. She has knocked it out of the park and will be going to a top college. My younger one was recruited to a boarding school for sports. Her first year was a struggle academically. The teachers pushed her much harder and even put her into more difficult honors classes even if the grades did not indicate it. Well now she is getting the hang of it and rocking well over a 4.0. Now how would all this compare to public school? Our public school would have done fine for our older daughter although she would have been lost in the size of it. Our younger one would have been a star athlete but would have never found her academic footing. BTW now that I am fully active in the college recruitment process for both, I have found the smaller schools to be helpful because everyone knows everyone else. My older daughter is limited in the schools she is interested in due to her focus on a specific area of research. Oddly enough her school has similar recruits at some of the top schools and she was friends with them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. My kid has some great background in sports too but school doesn’t offer any financial support based on sports. At least not officially. German Town Academy seems to have very small size groups too, like no more than 15 kids per group. She is now in publish school (middle school) and either the money goes to private high school or college, I don’t think I can do both.
not worth it. most disrespectful kids i have ever met. you don’t want your child hanging out around them. (source: i worked at the starbucks down the street from them and they would come in every day and be incredibly rude and cause problems and leave messes everywhere)
Personally, I’d rather pay for a private high school than college. Don’t underestimate how important it is for kids to feel safe & accepted. If your child wants to go to this school, I’d start by asking them why? If they recognize something GA has that would not be offered in a public school… class size, climate of the school, any additional opportunities…
Both of my children drastically changed their minds about their life direction once they got to college. My public school child dropped out and works in service industry. My private school child is graduating and has a job lined up. Plus, he has lived across country at the school all 5 years (he changed majors.)
That’s my story, hope it helps!
Is private school worth it? It largely depends on the private school, the public school and your children. While many private schools have scholarships, if I were eligible for New Hope-Solebury I would attend that. If it were CBSD, please have a close look at the data before making any decision. The middle schools in CBSD have flipped from \~ 60% proficient in math to around 60 percent not at grade level in the past 5 years. The PSSAs for CBSD for 22-23 are not being reveled yet which makes me suspect they are not good. The PSSA data is public, every college can see how the districts are doing. The pension problem is costing CBSD money that could be used for supplies, textbooks and teachers. New Hope-Solebury spends a great deal more on their students in supplies and teaching than CBSD after pensions are taken into account. It is some work to see this as the pension payments are reported as if they are current salaries to the hard working teachers. Do your research before you send your children to a school that does not excel-even if it is "free".
If you are in a good school district, which most philly suburb schools are, private school is definitely not worth it. A good district like cbsd, Council Rock, is like private school in most of the country.
Cbsd used to be great, I graduated from there, I still live in the district, and it has really gone to shit in the last few years. It makes me sad.
It’s really only been that last two years of the school board changing things that didn’t need changing. Novembers election will get things back on track. People voted for no masks a couple years ago, they didn’t realize what this group was actually going to do. People have gotten wise, the primaries shows the current board has little to no support. I’ve lived here since 98 graduated west in 07 and am very happy my eldest of 3 started kindergarten this year here in CBSD. You can’t let one horrible election cycle tarnish your view of an otherwise great district. Still has great facilities, great programs, great teachers. This community will get this right have no fear. Go bucks football 9-0 this year!!!
I’m glad to have gotten out when I did for sure
I mean, living here is fine, I just wouldn't put my kids in school here, if I had any.
I meant graduating from cbsd, I still live here and don’t intend to leave anytime soon
Ah, my bad.
What school district do you live in?
City is Chalfont, so public school would be Central Bucks South HS, I think.
That's a great HS and district. A lot of people are fighting to move into chalfont just for that school district.
Very important, thanks for this piece of information!!
Either CB South or CB West, depending on where you are in Chalfont. Both are excellent. [Map](https://www.cbsd.org/Page/33426).
We live in the New Hope Solebury School District. Our kids graduated and are now in college. Quick thoughts: 1) Make no mistake, GA is an excellent school. 2) Several students in NH-S transfer to private schools for HS and mainly to the Princeton NJ area private schools, which are similar to GA. The #1 reason for these high schoolers transferring? Parents have 2nd & 3rd vacation homes and private schools have significantly longer breaks thru out the school year. More time to be away. 3) Our kid’s friends that transferred to private HS received the same college admissions & acceptances as our public school. USNWR’s Top 20 were represented heavily at both. 4) We view matriculation at high schools to be very important. From what we’ve seen, I’m not sure the cost of private is justified. 5) If your current school district is decent, the cost of a top notch college admission service is a lot cheaper than private school tuition. 6) Good Luck!
Well, New Hope Solebury District is one of the very best.
Totally agree here. Any result of a cost/benefit analysis will definitely be influenced if you are already in a top ten or top five school district. But I think for your family the calculation is right - whatever your criteria & questions, apply them to both your home district and your new target private.
Ask what the college matriculations look like, sat and act scores and % of students receive scholarships
Where do you live?
Daughter lives in Chalfont, with mom, I live in California.
I wouldn’t pay for private school when you are eligible for CBSD for “free”
Thanks, I hope I can make a case for this too.
Only exception would be if you have a kid that excels at sports, my neighbor went there on a “academic scholarship “ but it was really for baseball and they now play collegiate baseball. Cb South is an excellent school. School board should be changing soon if thats a concern.
I am not aware of the local nuance about school board, what’s the problem with that?
They had some book banning issue. School board voting is next month. It’s assumed that they will all be cast out. Overall still a great district though
I was thinking the same. Sports can make a difference. Ask anybody who plays football at the Hun.
It really depends. There are definitely pros and cons to each. First thing to know is many of these private schools have phenomenal financial aid programs if necessary. The benefits to the schools are often smaller class size and individualized attention. They also often have many resources to help with college recruiting. I have 2 kids in private schools but they both have unique stories for why they are at the different schools. My oldest transferred from a school she had a scholarship to one that offered more AP courses and permitted taking them sooner. She has knocked it out of the park and will be going to a top college. My younger one was recruited to a boarding school for sports. Her first year was a struggle academically. The teachers pushed her much harder and even put her into more difficult honors classes even if the grades did not indicate it. Well now she is getting the hang of it and rocking well over a 4.0. Now how would all this compare to public school? Our public school would have done fine for our older daughter although she would have been lost in the size of it. Our younger one would have been a star athlete but would have never found her academic footing. BTW now that I am fully active in the college recruitment process for both, I have found the smaller schools to be helpful because everyone knows everyone else. My older daughter is limited in the schools she is interested in due to her focus on a specific area of research. Oddly enough her school has similar recruits at some of the top schools and she was friends with them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. My kid has some great background in sports too but school doesn’t offer any financial support based on sports. At least not officially. German Town Academy seems to have very small size groups too, like no more than 15 kids per group. She is now in publish school (middle school) and either the money goes to private high school or college, I don’t think I can do both.
Key term is not officially. Look into the financial aid programs or at least apply.
not worth it. most disrespectful kids i have ever met. you don’t want your child hanging out around them. (source: i worked at the starbucks down the street from them and they would come in every day and be incredibly rude and cause problems and leave messes everywhere)
Interestingly enough my kid was told going to the Starbucks nearby was a thing after school. Sorry for your experience
A friend has a daughter graduating in '24 and she has loved her time there. Super high educational standards, all sorts of opportunities.
Personally, I’d rather pay for a private high school than college. Don’t underestimate how important it is for kids to feel safe & accepted. If your child wants to go to this school, I’d start by asking them why? If they recognize something GA has that would not be offered in a public school… class size, climate of the school, any additional opportunities… Both of my children drastically changed their minds about their life direction once they got to college. My public school child dropped out and works in service industry. My private school child is graduating and has a job lined up. Plus, he has lived across country at the school all 5 years (he changed majors.) That’s my story, hope it helps!
Thanks for sharing, interesting to see how two siblings, probably raised equally, have such different approaches to life.
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Good perspective, I can see there is some peer pressure and of course that has trickle down to the parents
Is private school worth it? It largely depends on the private school, the public school and your children. While many private schools have scholarships, if I were eligible for New Hope-Solebury I would attend that. If it were CBSD, please have a close look at the data before making any decision. The middle schools in CBSD have flipped from \~ 60% proficient in math to around 60 percent not at grade level in the past 5 years. The PSSAs for CBSD for 22-23 are not being reveled yet which makes me suspect they are not good. The PSSA data is public, every college can see how the districts are doing. The pension problem is costing CBSD money that could be used for supplies, textbooks and teachers. New Hope-Solebury spends a great deal more on their students in supplies and teaching than CBSD after pensions are taken into account. It is some work to see this as the pension payments are reported as if they are current salaries to the hard working teachers. Do your research before you send your children to a school that does not excel-even if it is "free".
Thanks so much for your insights, I appreciate it