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"Really, how do you figure that? If you think that our kids are getting quality education from public schools, then you are the one that is ignorant."

Painting with a broad brush like this is the true ignorance. There are, in fact, public schools (look at some select schools in Norhtern Virginia) that are better than any private ones. There are also some very bad ones.

I have a daughter who will be leaving soon for college. Three years ago I talked with two college admissions officers I know personally and asked them about a private school she had just been accepted into and the public school she would go to. Both officers, one from a good state school and one from a HIGHLY competitive private university, said she would get just as good an education at the public high school (in the advanced program) and that going to the private one would not give her an admissions advantage. We decided to save the $8,000 per year for college and haven't regretted it.

"There are, in fact, public schools (look at some select schools in Norhtern Virginia) that are better than any private ones. There are also some very bad ones."

I agree that there are some public schools that are very good, the one my kids attend is one of the best in the state. Ignorance is not facing facts and the fact is the quality of education that the majority of kids get today is not on par with what I got or my parents got. We are scoring in the middle of the pack when comparing literacy against other nations. See http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=15pisabox.h21 for the facts.

My son got a far better education in our public high school than our daughter got at her private school.

When he entered Carnegie Mellon he placed out of calculus, biology, and english thanks to doing well on the AP courses. Some students from a pretigious NJ private school were far behind in those subjects.

Our daughter was in private school for cultural issues just three years later. Drugs, violence, abortions, sexual agenda from the school 'health' services, etc.