[lovelyivy84]

My mother is a teacher in public school and sent me to private for pretty much the same reasons that Wonderful listed.

I went to a Catholic school first and when they wanted to skip me two grades she decided she needed to dfind someplace that was academically challenging for me, and in NYC that meant a private school. I HATED it and bear a lot of emotional stuff from my time there but I know that she was doing what was best for me at the time and I can't argue with that.

But to parents who are sending their kids to private school, especially ones where they are minorities, PLEASE be careful and above all talk to your kids to see what is going on! It can be overwhelming for a child to enter an environment where they are always the other and you will have to compensate at home.

You can't shield your child from what they will encounter but you have to prepare them for it and talk to them about it. Make sure that they always retain confidence in themselves because in that environment it's very easy to let your sense of self slip away.