Two-ition

As public education in the United States is facing the greatest crisis in decades – recession-driven underfunding that is cutting teachers, programs, and repair budgets – the private school alternative is drifting farther and farther away from “possible” for most Americans. As job loss remains high, I know of many families who have had to inform their children that they are going to have to leave their chi chi world of private school for the often less-desirable public alternative. In some cases even in better schools in major urban venues, once well-heeled high school (er… prep school) students are learning new words, like “pocket check,” in which a tough guy (often with gang affiliation) relieves the nascent student of the cash in that “new” kid’s pocket.

But if there were money in the former-preppy’ pocket, since he/she probably were forced back to a public school system, there’s probably not too much cash to remove. With too many public districts in a severe downward spiral, private school is still out of reach for most, and despite the recession, their tuition is still rising well beyond the inflation rate. In the last decade, the average cost of a private primary or secondary education has exploded by a whopping 79%. “Right now, the cost of a private school education averages out to $21,695 per year, [a] princely sum is roughly 44% of the annual income of the average American household.” DailyFinance.com, June 22^nd. Even if a family could afford the rate, add in more than one child, and the double or triple, etc. cost makes college look cheap.

The extreme example is the country’s priciest: Riverdale Country School in New York, with a $40,450 annual cost, higher than seven of the Ivy League’s tuition rates, blows even Harvard’s $33,696 off the map. It’s a great school with wonderful facilities and an excellent reputation, but hey! The larger, more expensive cities in the United States, places like Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, have rates well above the national average. “Riverdale may lead the pack in the tuition game, but it's only slightly ahead of the competition. Across the country, many top schools charge more than $30,000 per year. In New York, the median cost of tuition for senior year at a private school is $35,475. Even the Blue Man Group, famous for its playful shows, is dead serious when it comes to charging parents: A year of kindergarten at the Blue School founded by its members costs a whopping $29,820.” DailyFinance.com

Why the accelerating costs? It may be nothing more than a case of supply and demand as so many public schools no longer provide the required academic background needed for the highly competitive race to college. While charter schools are public school surrogates, the prep schools and academies still offer solid educational values for ambitious parents who know that the track to college starts early. For many, not getting onto the private school path – where admission standards are rising fast – early in the game generally means that a lateral transfer to a private prep school later in life becomes almost impossible. Students who began “private” earlier have already filled the virtually all the available slots, and many of those seeking transfer are often simply kids who are relocating to a new city… who have already begun their schooling in the private school system. How many of us know of parents of two and three-year-olds sweating bullets that their child is not getting into the right private school, sitting on waiting lists years before the first pre-school or kindergarten class?

I’m Peter Dekom, and that we have to struggle to find a place to educate our children, that so many don’t even have the slightest ability to make the sacrifice to place their kids in good schools, is one of the greatest modern betrayals of our American values.