If you have a school-aged child, you might already be considering a private school option. While the public school system is functioning quite well in many areas of the country, sending your child to a private school is a possible option that you might not have considered before. Many parents from all around the country are finding that a private school education is just what their child needed in order to excel. When they way all of the options, many parents consider three criteria for deciding whether or not they want to make the investment in a private school for their child. Those three criteria are class size, safety, and academic standards. 1. Class size Among the many benefits of private school education is the fact that most of the private schools around the country are small. In 86% of schools that are private, the student body numbers only 300 students. This means that the class sizes from preschool through high school will be significantly smaller than public schools. In private schools, the average class size is 12.5 students per class compared with 15.4 students per class in the public schools. Studies on education have come back time and again showing that smaller class size gives the teacher more individual time with each student and this definitely leads to better academic performance. 2. Safety In a recent Fraser Institute study, 72% of parents surveyed felt that their child was safe in a private school. Because of the smaller class sizes and the desire to stay in a competitive environment that comes with the private school experience, safety is not a large concern for most parents. 3. Academic standards According to significant data from NCES, more private school students go on to attend college than do those that attend public schools. Only 57% of public school students go on to attend college, but if young people obtain a private education, that number jumps up to 88% who go to college. In addition, if you look at all of the data obtained from placement tests in the Untied States, the scores are significantly better in the private sector than they are in the public school system. Education is important. You would be hard-pressed to find a parent who would tell you that they don’t care about giving their child a quality education experience. The public school system in the United States is doing the best it can with what it has. Some areas of the country are better than others when it comes to public school, but a private education is an option in virtually every part of the country. Private schools offer a number of different advantages over private schools. The class sizes are smaller, the schools are often quite a bit safer, and the academic standards are, by many measures, more rigorous than public schools. If you are a parent with a school-aged child, it might not be a bad idea to look into a private school option.

When it comes to where your child goes for high school, you usually have two choices. You can send your child to regular public school or you can send him or her to a private high school. There are pros and cons to each option, and where you live, your religion and your financial situation will play big roles in where you send your child.
Most private schools are religion-based, especially in smaller cities and rural areas, so your religion could play a big role in where you send your child for his or her final years of school. Catholic schools are the most common, but non-denominational Christian schools also are popular. Lutheran congregations run their own schools in some parts of the country, especially the Midwest and Plains. Though many of these religious schools do not require students to practice that religion to attend, they do offer required religious instruction that follows their faith, so that is a major consideration for many people.
A big drawback of private schools is that they often aren’t available in small towns. In rural areas, sending your child to private school could mean having to drive an hour or more. Throw on top of that the tuition required and it can be a burden that many families can’t afford.
Private schools also have many benefits. One of those is smaller class sizes. Since private schools aren’t free and are selective in enrollment, they have fewer students, which means a lower student to teacher ratio. Another advantage to private schools is that kids who attend them tend to do better academically. Private school students are more likely to apply to college — 88% vs. 57% of public school students. Private school students also score higher on standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT.
Of course, there are advantages that public schools have over even top ranked private high schools. For one thing, public high schools don’t cost you anything more than the property taxes you pay to support your local school district. In larger public high schools, they often have better facilities such as a larger school library and offer programs that may not be available in small private high schools, such as Russian or Chinese language programs.
Whatever choice you make for your child’s high school education, make sure you do your research so you can feel confident you are making the right decision.