Decide what kind of school you want.
There's a private school for just about every need. So, once you have reached a clear understanding with your child about academics, sports and the enrichment which private school education offers in general, you need to answer these four questions:
- Is a small or large school preferable?
- Should it be single-sex or co-educational?
- Should my child be a day student or a boarder?
- Should the school be denominational or non-denominational?
Size
Private schools can range in size from less than one hundred students to over one thousand. Is your child somewhat shy or does she make friends easily? Will she be comfortable at a large school or is the more family-like atmosphere of a small school preferable? Be sure to assess your child's social skills very carefully. Regarding size, most private boarding schools have dormitory arrangements which encourage the kind of close bonding usually found in a family. So, in reality, a large school could very well create the feeling of family which is so beneficial to a child's happiness.
Single Sex versus Coeducation
Many parents and educators feel that children benefit from the advantages offered by a single sex school setting. Other parents feel just as strongly that a coeducational school offers young people a valuable social laboratory in which to practice the skills so necessary in today's politically correct world. Again you have to know your child and his needs before you make that decision.
Discipline
Let's be very clear about the supervision aspect of private schools: it is strict. Rules are generally rigidly enforced, and no one has the slightest compunction about dismissing a student for a major rules infraction. Ask around and you will find countless examples of seniors who decided to push the envelope just a bit too far a few weeks prior to graduation. They were expelled in a nanosecond. What tempted them? The usual: sex, drugs and alcohol. As a parent you might be inclined to bend the rules a bit. Unfortunately your surrogate parent - the school - will not. It cannot and will not.
Social Life
In most private schools the administration tries very hard to ensure a well-balanced social life with weekends, dances and other social events. Most single sex schools will have some sort of long-standing arrangement with a sister or brother school close by, so that your child will have the opportunity to socialize with members of the opposite sex regularly.
Day Student or Boarder?
Many years ago it was quite common to send children off to boarding school at a very young age. First Form in fact was equivalent to our modern 7th grade. That's why you will still find some schools referring to 9th grade as Third Form. These days it is much more common to send children off to boarding school in 10th grade.
Day Schools
Major urban areas like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and so on have always had a wealth of fine local private schools. As the population expanded to the suburbs, additional impressive schools were founded outside the city center. If you live within commuting distance of one of these institutions, you can have your cake and eat it too as a day student.
The self-contained, no-driving-required aspects of a boarding school have great appeal. Everything your child could possibly want (except for you) is right there in one convenient, well-organized package. Sports, academics, enrichment, facilities and supervision are just some of the advantages a boarding school affords.
Tuition for day students is a significantly lower than tuition for boarders.
If getting to the school from some distant place is an issue, you have to consider that carefully both from the logistics and the cost point of view.
Denominational or Non-denominational?
Your personal religious requirements are the key to this choice. The more zealous denominational schools will be very forthright in letting you know that all students are expected to practice the faith embraced by that school. Most denominational schools merely require students to attend chapel, but will make only a minimal effort to proselytize. Non-denominational schools make no claim to adhere to one particular faith, but are, as a rule, Christian in their basic religious persuasion. In sum, then, if you insist on bringing your child up with a solid grounding in your faith, then factor this requirement into the choice equation.
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