Pre-pandemic, there were a host of differences between public and private schools that parents needed to weigh before deciding which of the top elementary schools they should send their children. Some of the benefits provided by affordable private schools include:
– Size: Smaller class sizes provide teachers with a greater ability to track each child’s progress, and gives them an opportunity to work more one-on-one with students when they need additional help.
– Curriculum: Private schools have more flexibility in what and how they teach. Through tuition fees and endowments, they also have more resources for enhancing the learning experience through newer methods such as virtual reality, to provide a more “hands-on” tool to learning.
– Success: Public schools generally strive to meet mandated minimum educational requirements to reach accreditation. Private schools are more focused on the student as a whole—not only pushing the boundaries of their educational opportunities, but also about emotional development and creating good citizens of the world.
– Longevity: With smaller class sizes and teaching methods that go beyond memorizing dates and figures from a book, private school students tend to make deeper, longer-lasting relationships with their peers. These relationships are often lifelong, providing opportunities for these students to be able to continue to help each other professionally after graduating from higher educational pursuits.
– Accomplishment: On a national level, private schools enjoy a nearly 100% graduation rate, compared to 80% from public schools. While graduating from high school is not necessarily a measure for success, it does lay the foundation for taking the next steps toward greater accomplishments.
Now that we’re firmly entrenched in the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one other important factor to consider. While public schools in the area are still pondering whether they will be going back to the classrooms this fall, providing lessons online, or some sort of hybrid of the two, Strelitz International Academy is fully planning on being back on campus. We can accomplish this because we have smaller class sizes and can more closely monitor the safety of each of our students.
Distance learning is a great alternative during these uncertain times. However, we still believe nothing can take the place of our highly qualified instructors interacting directly with their students.