According to the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), 11.5 percent of elementary and secondary school students in the United States attended private schools during the 2003-2004 school year. Falcon District 49 has only one private school within its physical boundaries – Hilltop Baptist School, with approximately 200 students and an average class size of 16. El Paso County has 30 private schools.Advantages of private schools are numerous. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that most private schools are small. Eighty percent have enrollments of less than 300. Classes tend to be somewhat smaller, though nationwide, the teacher-to-student ratio in private schools is only slightly lower than public schools. The smaller school size may allow teachers to get to know students and their needs better.Another advantage of private schools is academic. Overall, private school students score higher on standardized tests. According to National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results, the percentage of private school students testing “proficient” in various subjects is consistently 10 percent higher than public school students. This is likely attributable to motivation level; most students in private schools are there because either they or their parents are highly motivated toward success.A higher percentage of private school graduates than public school graduates attend higher education. In 2000, the most recent year for which records are available, 65.9 percent of public school graduates went on to attend a college or university, compared with 89.7 percent of private school graduates. Leah Ramzy, director of admissions and marketing at St. Mary’s High School in Colorado Springs, said that one of the greatest advantages of St. Mary’s is that they are a “college prep” high school. Because of their smaller class sizes and emphasis on academics, many St. Mary’s graduates go on to the best colleges in the United States. Ramzy said, “Our students get personalized attention helping them to focus on academics in addition to their extracurricular activities. They get specialized attention from counseling; they get extra help to focus on and pick the best college for them.” St. Mary’s goal is to turn out well-balanced moral leaders that are prepared for successful college careers and beyond.Closely corresponding to parental motivation is parental involvement. According to the NCES, parents of children in private schools are more likely to be involved in school activities, with 81 percent of parents attending a class event in 2003, compared to 63 percent of parents with children in public schools.Another advantage of private schools is the emphasis that is often put on community service. According to the CAPE Web site, “Private high schools are four times more likely than public high schools to have a community service requirement for graduation.”Parents whose children are in private schools have less concerns about with whom their children are socializing. By putting their children in a private school that caters to their own beliefs, they somewhat narrow the student’s peer group to children of families with beliefs similar to their own.One aspect of private schooling that falls into both the advantage and disadvantage categories is class choice. Private schools tend to offer courses specific to their own focus. While offering special focus courses, though, because of limited resources, they lose the ability to offer specialized courses outside of their own focus. For instance, religious schools may offer Bible courses but may not offer Shakespearean literature.Another point that could be considered negative or positive is that private schools have stricter behavioral standards. With no government funding, private schools are able to set their own standards for behavior and their own methods of punishing misbehavior.The most obvious disadvantage of private schools is the cost. According to NCES, the average yearly cost of private schooling in the United States is around $4,600. For children with multiple school-age children, the cost of education can easily become one of the largest items in the family budget. In addition to tuition, private schools often require their students to participate in fundraising for athletics, music, and other extra-curricular activities.For families in outlying areas such as Falcon, transportation may be a major drawback to private schools in Colorado Springs. With no public transportation to Falcon and no private schools offering bus service, parents are solely responsible for transportation.This inconvenience adds an extra financial and time burden. Most private schools publish a directory of their families and encourage those in the same neighborhoods to carpool. At least three of the major private schools in Colorado Springs offer some transportation once the families are in town. Colorado Springs School, a secular private school, has a shuttle bus that picks up and drops off students on the eastern edge of town at Constitution Avenue and Powers Boulevard. They also have an activity bus that drops off in several places after 5 p.m.Colorado Springs Christian School and Evangelical Christian Academy have more than one campus and offer shuttle service between their campuses, allowing families to make just one stop.Another disadvantage of having students attend private school in Colorado Springs is that it fosters a “disconnect” to one’s own neighborhood. Often a neighborhood becomes acquainted and sometimes united around the concerns of the local school. When a family’s school ties and activities are not in their local community, it’s harder to maintain relationships with those living nearby.Most private schools require an application and an application fee or deposit and transcripts for transferring students.(If you are homeschooling in the Falcon area, please e-mail us at ml@jazzwireless.net. We’d like to include you in a survey for our next edition.)
