Possibly More Than You Want To Know About Private Schools

Originally posted at I Speak of Dreams January 5, 2005

Are the Challenger Schools "private schools"? What's the difference between traditional parochial schools and Sacred Heart schools? What makes a school a "private school", anyway? How are they different from public schools? Are all private schools better than public schools?

In the United States (at least in some circles) "my kid goes to private school" has become a chant of status. However, not all private schools mean "highly selective institution of highly rigorous and demanding curriculum".

The penultimate question, "How are they different from public schools?" is the easiest to answer: Governance, Fees, and Selectivity.

• Governance: Public schools answer to the public, and have a complex layer of administration, including state-wide, county, and local (district) layers of managment, some of which are appointed and some of which are elected. A good description of elected school boards.
• Fees Government schools may charge minor fees (an example being participation fees in a program such as music) but the cost of education is borne by the government. Private schools, on the other hand, typically cover costs by charging fees (tuition) and in the case of not-for-profit schools, also soliciting donations from the community.
  
• Selectivity Essentially, government-run K-8 schools on the whole are not selective (in the sense of refusing to enroll students who do not meet performance or familial criteria) although they may have an admissions cap, and therefore a process for reducing the number of students who apply. Private schools may, on the other hand, set any number of limitations on the type of student they will accept.

Non-government schools have one of three types of governance: answering to a religious body; a for-profit structure, or a self-perpetuating, independent board.

The "private school" universe should be properly segmented into

• RELIGIOUS
• Parochial schools of the Roman Catholic Church
• Doctrinally strict Roman Catholic educational institutions independent of a parish
• Religious-affiliation schools requiring (or putting a strong emphasis on) attendance at a given church, membership in a given sect, or a recommendation from an approved pastor
• Religious-affiliation schools associated with a particular religion or sect, but which accept non-members of that sect (an example would be the Sacred Hearts, and schools run by the Sisters of Mercy and other teaching orders. In other words, these schools have a religious core and include a religion curriculum, but have humanist values and accept students of all (or no) religion.


• PROPRIETARY OR FOR-PROFIT-- Unlike religious and independent schools, tuition includes a profit for the proprietors. Typically there is no board of directors, but a manager or owner (examples include the Carden Schools, Challenger Schools, http://www.challengerschool.com/ Chancellor Beacon: http://www.chancellorbeacon.com/aboutUs/default.asp.
• Stand-alone
• Chain or franchise


• INDEPENDENT--Truly independent schools, usually with membership in the National Association of Independent Schools Independent schools are non-public, not-for-profit, pre-collegiate institutions governed by boards of trustees. There are about 2,000 of these.

But What Does This All Mean?

First of all, what schools are we talking about here? I am restricting this discussion to kindergarten through 12th grade--elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. I am also restricting this discussion to schools for the more-or-less neurotypical--in other words, this discussion is not about schools specializing in education for dyslexics or people with autism or any other specialized population.

If there are these different kinds of schools, who determines if they are any good? There is a process called accreditation, which does and does not answer the question. In other words, if a school is not accredited, it may mean: 1. It is too young to go through the process; 2. The school declines to participate; or 3. The school won't meet the criteria.

(There are some very fine schools (Peninsula, on the San Francisco Peninsula, comes to mind) that have never sought accreditation for philosophical reasons.

What is Accreditation?

The United States has no centralized authority over educational institutions, whether public or private. To insure a level of quality in educational institutions and programs, there is a voluntary, peer review program, known as "Accreditation". This system has evolved over time. As it is used now, it tends to mean that the school has publicly announced some goals and has accepted some standard operating procedures, and has a plan for meeting those goals and certifying the procedures are being followed. A full description can be read at WASC's Accreditation Overview page.

There are six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States: WASC(California, Hawaii, and the Pacific);, SACS(the American South), NEASC(New England); MSA (Middle States); NCACASI (North Central); and NAAS (Northwest).

The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national organizations and state affiliates serving private elementary and secondary schools. There are 27,000 private schools in America; in fact, one in four of the nation’s schools is a private school. More than six million students attend them. CAPE member organizations represent about 80 percent of private school enrollment nationwide.

The National Independent Private Schools Association is an association of propriety elementary through high school institutions ineligible to join the National Association of Independent Schools.

Another type of private school is the proprietary academic school organized as a for-profit corporation. There are about 1,000 in the country, according to Jim Williams of the National Independent Private Schools Association.

"We are the tax-paying schools," Williams says. "Most schools start with an idea, the vision of someone. Many of the people who start proprietary schools are disenchanted public-school or disappointed independent-school teachers who don't want to deal with a board of directors or a school board." He points out that most of the elite prep schools of the 19th century began as proprietary schools with fees paid to headmasters. "People who get involved with proprietary schools are pleased with what they see," Williams says.

Other on-line sources of information

Private School FAQs from Robert Kennedy

A Partial List of Associations

• Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) strives to enable and equip Christian educators and schools worldwide to effectively educate children and young people with the mind of Christ. An evangelical Provides accreditation and other services.
  


• Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Educationis to promote excellence in Jewish education across the spectrum of Jewish life.
  


• Friends Council on Education founded in 1931, promotes the theory and practice of Quaker education, supports Friends schools in maintaining their values-based learning environments, and provides a professional development network for educational issues, philosophy and practice in Friends schools.


• National Association of Episcopal Schools.


• National Association of Independent Schools Serves schools that are established (in operation for at least 5 years) independent (not part of a larger organization such as a church) are not for profit (i.e., not proprietary) are accredited. and demonstrate financially sound operations and nondiscriminatory hiring and admissions practices.
  
  
• NAPCIS--this is a relatively new which serves to support and accredit private (not associated with a parish) Catholic K-12 schools, typically more orthodox than NCEA schools


• National Catholic Education Association an association of all Catholic schools, to improve both secular and theological education.


• National Lutheran School Association, provides an accreditation service for Lutheran schools.


• Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE)
exists to provide information and tools for improvment to Jewish schools.


• Solomon Schechter Day School Association provides guidance and support to Jewish day schools in the Conservative tradition.
  

How Do You Choose A School?

That is a huge subject. About Private Schools 101 has a pretty good start. NAIS has a thorough, online parents' guide.

Disclosure: I have been active in independent schools for the last 23 years, as an alumna, a volunteer fundraiser, as a board member, as a member of board committees, and as a parent. I do not believe that education is an either-or choice. Having a diverse set of schools to choose from enriches the community. I believe that the school's governance and fee structure (independent school or private school) is no guarantee of educational quality.