Puncturing the Bum Rap Laid on Private Schools

Before I moved to Los Angeles and had children, I never dreamed that 20 years after graduating from a public high school I would not even be willing to discuss the possibility of sending my children to our local public school. But things have changed, and so have I.

No matter what my reasons, I’m tired of hearing everything that’s wrong with my decision. First, many people “accuse” private school parents of being rich, as if this were a sin. As if the possibility of becoming rich wasn’t the reason immigrants pour into this country.

For the record, I am not rich. As our tax return would show, my husband and I grossed $69,000 in 2001. This is quite a bit more than the migrant farm worker’s family makes and quite a bit more than the minimum-wage earner’s family makes. But this is not rich.

Yet we’re fairly typical of families at my daughter’s private religious school. Since tuition payments are roughly the same as a new car payment, we will forgo the new cars to send our children to private school.

Second, many express the desire to expose their children to the diversity of public school. Implication: Private schools lack diversity. If such people mean by diversity a wide range of colors and ethnicities--and if simply sitting next to a little African American boy and a little Korean American girl qualifies as exposing our children to diversity--then our private school wins, hands down.

Our house sits between two public elementary schools in different neighborhoods: One is heavily Latino, and most of its students are English language learners; the other is almost purely white and middle class.

In my daughter’s class, her best friends are Latino and Korean. Of the 30 students in her class, it appears that only eight are “white.” I haven’t polled the parents as to their official color, but when I pick my daughter up, the gathering of parents is a cornucopia of accents, dress and ethnicities.

How about religious diversity? I haven’t belonged to a church since leaving home at 18. So I am not concerned with the details of Christianity as much as with the imparting of values. I want my children to care about others, take responsibility for their actions and their lives, and work hard. And I am not all that concerned that they be exposed to those who do not share these values. But public school children are not exposed to a variety of religions, either. In fact, in the name of diversity, each religion is equally ignored.

Finally, religious institutions may be exempt from the Americans With Disabilities Act. Yet my daughter, who has Type 1 diabetes and requires insulin shots and multiple daily blood tests, was welcomed in the private school world. The teachers and staff embraced her, accommodating her schedule and maintenance requirements.

So to those so offended by stereotypes, do me a favor: Please discontinue stereotyping private schools. Those of us who send our children to private schools are as diverse as any group. And we are the same as other parents--we want what we believe is best for our children.