Public vs. private school in san francisco

San Francisco, California. The Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Lombard Street are just some of the attractions San Francisco boasts. But what about the actual residents? How is permanent life in the big city? Well, it sure is expensive; the price of living in San Francisco is 199% of the national average (greatschools. org). But does all this expense pay for great schools? For parents trying to send their kids through school in San Francisco, there is a very tough choice.

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) only rates a 6 out of ten on a common rating system (zillow. com). However, the private school option is also daunting: the average tuition is $16, 459 per year (privateschoolreview. com). 90 percent of San Francisco students are in public school (publicschoolreview. com). What is it that makes these 6/10 rated schools so desirable? There are many factors people consider when deciding where to send their kids for education. Some of these include student to teacher ratio, price, minority enrollment, rating of schools, and teaching certifications. SFUSD has many benefits, but the private schools also shine. The California average student to teacher ratio for public schools is 18: 1.

org). On the Common Core website (corestandards. org), it also states that the new standards are, “…the first step in providing our young people with a high quality education” (corestandards.

org). SFUSD is currently moving towards Common Core. Hopefully these standards will succeed in bringing up the public school systems, including SFUSD. Another solution public schools are trying is charter schools. Charter schools are kind of like free private schools, but not exactly. The best charter school in SFUSD is KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy.

All in all, whether a student chooses to apply for a private school or ends up going to a public school depends on the student. If the student likes having a more personal relationship with all their teachers and classmates then they might enjoy the environment of a private school. But if a student enjoys being surrounded by many students whom they can choose to befriend or not befriend and does not need a teacher to monitor their learning, then they may prefer a private school. Price, curriculum, and student to teacher are just some of the other factors students and parents consider. In the end, the choice is up to the student: is the price of education really worth it? Sources: • cds-sf. org • corestandards. org • greatschools. org • kippbayarea. org • latimes. com • lwhs. org • privateschoolreview. com • publicschoolreview. com • sffriendsschool. org • sfusd. org • zillow. com