The U.S. is home to 30,861 private schools. These school represent just under one-quarter of the nation’s schools and serve 10% of the PK-12 student population, which translates into 5.3 million students. Many parental hours are spent each year sweating over whether or not to send their son or daughter to private school. It’s not an easy decision to make, but it can be life altering for your child.
Enrollment in private school usually begins at one of three points in a child’s life: From the outset with private preschool; starting with private kindergarten schools; or in the teen years with private high school. But what about private middle school? If you opted out of private preschool and elementary school, but want to send him or her to a private high school, you could be doing your child a huge disservice by waiting until Freshman year to begin his or her private school education.
Top 5 reasons to enroll your child in private middle school:
- It’s already a transitional period
Middle school is like the in-between time in a youth’s adolescence. She’s no longer a child but also not a teen. She’s just beginning her rough ride through puberty and desperate for a place to fit in. It’s an awkward time for everyone, so we give her the awkward moniker of “tween.”
A lot of change is happening in her life, not the least of which is switching from the familiarity of the elementary school playground to the rotating class schedule of middle school. Since change is already in the air, this is a perfect opportunity to introduce your child to private school through a private middle school. - Preparation for high school
The goal of middle school is to prepare students for how things are done in high school. If you’re at all considering private high school, it only makes sense to enroll your son or daughter in private middle school first. Sending her into the fray of the public middle school is a great way to help her get lost in the crowd. It’s also a great way to help her adjust to a way of doing things that will be completely different from how they’re done at her private high school. - Class size is smaller
Thanks to its better funding, private schools can afford a lower student-to-teacher ratio. On average, private school classes offer a neat 12.5 students per teacher, whereas public schools come in at an average 15.4 students per teacher. A private middle school is likely to be less than half the size of a public one. The vast majority of private schools (86% in fact) have under 300 students in total. What this means for your son or daughter is a more individualized attention from his or her teacher to help him or her through the transitional tweens. - More dedicated teachers
What makes that individualized attention even better? The caliber of the teachers at private schools. The main reason 91% of parents choose a private middle school over a public one? They believe private school teachers are more dedicated. If you think this is because private school teachers are paid better, the reverse is actually true. The average public school teacher earns around $50,000 per year whereas private school teachers are lucky to make more than $36,000. This means that when you attend parent-teacher conferences at your child’s private middle school, the teacher sitting across from you won’t be there for the paycheck; he or she is there because he cares about his or her work and believes in the private school system. - More likelihood he’ll make a go at college
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a whopping 88% of students who attended a private high school applied to college. Only 57% of their public school counterparts did the same. The first step towards a college degree is actually applying, right? Help your son or daughter get the best possible start early on with a private middle school.
Private school is a leg-up your child deserves and you won’t regret. The question is, when to begin your son or daughter’s private school education. To give your child the best chance of success, enroll him or her in private middle school.
