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Public And Private Schools
from: Kyle BesserUnlike most other industrialized countries, the United States does not have a national educational system. K-12 students in most areas of the country have a choice between public schools or private schools. The majority of students attend the free tax-funded public schools. A smaller percentage of students attend privately funded private schools.
Public Schools
Public school systems are funded by a combination of local, state and federal government funding. Because a large portion of school revenues come from local property taxes, public schools vary widely in the resources they have available per student. Class size also varies significantly from one district to another. Generally, schools in more affluent areas are more highly regarded.
Curriculum decisions in public schools are made mainly at the local and state levels. The federal government has limited influence. In most districts, a locally elected school board runs the school district. The school board appoints an official called the Superintendent of Schools to manage the schools in the district.
The largest public school system in the United States is in New York City, where more than one million students are taught in 1,200 separate public schools. Because of its immense size, the New York City public school system is nationally influential in determining standards and materials, such as textbooks.
All public school systems are required to provide an education free of charge to everyone of school age in their districts. Admission to individual public schools is usually based on residency. To compensate for differences in school quality based on geography, school systems serving large cities and portions of large cities often have magnet schools that provide enrollment to a specified number of non-resident students in addition to serving all resident students. This special enrollment is usually decided by lottery with equal numbers of males and females chosen.
Some magnet schools cater to gifted students or to students with special interests, such as the sciences or performing arts. Admission to some of these schools is highly competitive and based on an application process.
Private Schools
Private schools in the United States include parochial schools affiliated with religious denominations, non-profit independent schools and for-profit private schools. Private schools cost vary depending on geographic location, school's expenses and the availability of funding from sources other than tuition. For example, some churches partially subsidize private schools for their church members.
Some people argue that when their child attends a private school, they should be able to take the funds that the public school no longer needs for their child and apply that money toward the private school tuition in the form of vouchers. This is the basis of the school choice movement.
Private schools have various missions. Many of them take sports very seriously and recruit athletes heavily. Some cater to college-bound students seeking a competitive edge in the college admissions process. Others are for gifted students, students with learning disabilities or other special needs or students with specific religious affiliations. Some cater to families seeking a small school with a more nurturing, supportive environment.
Unlike public school systems, private schools have no legal obligation to accept any interested student. Admission to some private schools is highly selective. Private schools also have the ability to permanently expel unruly students, a disciplinary option not always legally available to public school systems.
Private schools offer the advantages of smaller classes and a higher teacher/student ratio resulting in greater individualized attention to students. A typical elementary classroom in a private school will typically have under 20 students. The more competitive schools may have expert college placement services. Unless they are specifically designed to do so, private schools usually cannot offer the services required by students with serious or multiple learning, emotional or behavioral issues.
Private schools have the reputation of paying lower salaries than public school systems, but private schools often attract teachers by offering high-quality professional development opportunities, including tuition grants for advanced degrees. According to elite private schools, this investment in their faculty development helps maintain the high quality program that they offer.
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