Why Choose a Private School?
You may be wondering how the benefits of sending your children to a private school may outweigh the initial costs of the education.
A private, or independent, school is independent in two critical ways:
- Independent in governance – Schools are organized as not-for-profit organizations governed by a board of directors.
- Independent in finance – Schools charge tuition and raise money to operate as opposed to being supported primarily by public monies.
It is the independence of private schools that offers the four essential freedoms that make them strong:
- The freedom to define their own mission (why they exist, whom they serve).
- The freedom to regulate admissions (admitting students who will best benefit from the school's mission).
- The freedom to define teacher credentials.
- The freedom to teach what the teacher decides is important (free from state curricular and textbook mandates).
Research shows that families new to independent schools choose our schools primarily because they perceive the quality of teaching to be exceptional and the moral climate to be appropriate. The typical independent school often has more diversity (racially, ethnically and socio-economically) than neighboring public schools. Park Tudor’s student body is 26 percent diverse.
The socio-economic diversity of independent schools is supported by a significant commitment to financial aid. Independent school students come from all family income levels, and one out of three students is supported by financial aid.
Independent schools are also different in terms of the effectiveness of the partnership between parent and school. We speak in a unified voice about a common set of goals and values, and it is this coalescing of parental and school voices that points students toward achievement and guides them toward decent behaviors and good citizenship.