Posted on 06/07/2016 7:53:09 AM PDT by MichCapCon
LANSING — Due to their nature as independent, self-supporting institutions, private schools do not disclose data about themselves in a standardized format, which sometimes clouds the public's understanding of them. A new report, though, sheds some light on the private school landscape in Michigan.
Rachel White, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, gave a presentation on Thursday about her new study of the private education sector. White spoke at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s Issues and Ideas Forum.
While 601 private schools serving 113,000 students operate in Michigan, little research has been done to understand these institutions. When discussing her new study, White said, “The children in the private school system are not an insignificant number. … This data provides a unique look and valuable information about the state of our private schools.”
Despite the popular perception that private schools are pricey institutions, they are, in fact, significantly less expensive than public schools. The average tuition for private school primary students is $4,700 while high schools charge $7,800. In contrast, the state foundation allowance for every public school pupil is about $7,400 while the total spending of the average district is around $13,000 per student each school year.
The lower spending levels do not come from employing an uneducated or unqualified workforce, however. The study found that 98 percent of private school educators hold at least a bachelor's degree, and 82 percent are accredited by the state of Michigan. Additionally, private schools constantly administer student achievement tests — exams which measure students against their peer groups — to ensure that education standards are met. They tend to rely more on private assessments, such as the ACT or SAT examinations, than on Michigan’s official test, the M-STEP.
More importantly, said White, "Private schools are not taking a one-size-fits-all approach to tuition.” Many schools use a sliding scale based on income, and some charge each family a percentage of its income. The study also found that private schools that serve more underprivileged children cost less and provide more financial aid than private schools serving fewer underprivileged students.
“Private schools educate over 100,000 students in Michigan. Thus, it is important to understand the makeup and characteristics of these schools,” White said. “This report provides new information about private schools that should be useful for policymakers, educators and parents.”
The study, "Survey of Michigan's Private Education Sector," is published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which also publishes Michigan Capitol Confidential.
You are correct in most instances.
Our public schools have become so bad, so/so private schools are charging an arm and a leg due to the high demand. They have waiting lists of students, whose parents are willing to pay 20,000 $ +, just to get their kids out of public schools.
Another example, this time a K - 8 school.
Tuition & Fees: 2015-2016 School Year Blue Oak School
Annual Tuition: Blended Kindergarten $21,600
Grades 1 - 8 $22,400
Blue Oak’s tuition covers all expenses related to a student’s education. There are no additional charges for books and supplies, field trips, graduation expenses, transportation, participation in athletics or technology use.
Additional Charges
Families who participate in the Neighborhood Program (after-school care) or enroll in classes in the After School Program are billed separately for these expenses. Limited financial assistance for these programs is available for families receiving an Indexed Tuition contract. Blue Oak also offers an optional hot lunch program for which there is an additional fee.
Blue Oak families are asked to make annual donations to the Acorn Fund, Blue Oak School’s annual fund. These gifts help fund such areas as technology initiatives, library acquisitions, tuition assistance and professional development. We ask that all families support this fundraising effort at a personally significant level; every gift is appreciated and meaningful. As we are a 501c3 organization, unrestricted gifts are tax-deductible, and some employers may match their employee’s gifts. For more information about the Acorn Fund and its use in the school budget, please contact the Development Office.
I once saw some stats on Catholic schools. They spend 40% of what a public school would and turn out better test results.
FWIW, in British Columbia, Canada, we have a system whereby about 60% of the cost of public schooling is covered by the province. The rest of the cost is covered by tuition. That is how our small private religious school operates.
Our school has reasonable tuition of about $4000 per child. How it is done is the compensation package is way way lower than the public system. The teachers are paid around $40,000 with no pension. In public school I believe starting wage is $49,000 but add to that $15,000 in benefits.
The teachers take that lower compensation because they care about getting the children having a Christian education. Also, in our coastal city, finding a full time job in the public system is next to impossible.
The teachers unions of course despise that private school get any money.
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