The fact that private schools are generally more successful in teaching young learners than public schools has more to do with its connection to its community than it does to do with the way the funding is received. Although studies have shown that student performance and involvement in private schools generally exceeds that in public schools, there is also evidence to support the idea that perhaps it is not about whether the school is public or private, rather how well it is enmeshed in its surrounding community (Coleman). Does it truly matter how a school is funded, or does the difference depend more upon its overarching values and how intrinsically woven it is within the lives of the families it serves? If the latter is true, when did public schools become so detached from their communities that private schools now have the edge, it least in reputation?
An important piece is the level of parental and community involvement. Coleman suggests that a successful school is defined by how strongly the community members reinforce the efforts of the teachers (Coleman). What it seems to come down to is that the parents and the teachers reflect the same values to the students, thereby delivering a cohesive message to learners. Regardless of population, if the parents of the students are involved in activities and if everyone values the school’s involvement in their community, all parties feel more supported, and learning may be more easily achieved.
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Catholic school happened to have some very effective elements that help their success. Coleman suggests that their success lies in their inflexible nature and in the fact that the families are usually involved in the church, making it a very rounded experience for the students. Everyone – students, staff and parents – knows their role and expectations, right down to their attire. Studies have also found that students are more dutiful in that type of environment and take pride in their roles.
Perhaps as a trickle-down result of the source of funding, public school boards often make decisions that lead public schools away from the very elements that make a school successful: community, integration and support. Large public schools offer free education, which is the only option for most American secondary students. Because they are funded by the government, however, they are often subject to budget cuts, which have resulted in larger schools. By their nature, these schools are often not conducive to community involvement, and the values the family may teach at home are not able to be reflected by teachers. Their lack of success, as compared to the success of private schools, seems to have more to do with the growing disconnect from communities than it does to do with the funding itself.
What public schools need to be more successful in teaching young people is to be managed more like private school in terms of how private schools integrate themselves into the community. It does seem possible for a student to receive equal education regardless of which type of school they attend but it is more likely if the school is made an intrinsic part of the community. That said, the way the public schools are currently funded and structured, they remain non-conducive to the kind of environment that private schools more readily present.
- Berliner, David C., and Bruce J. Biddle. The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on America’s public schools. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1 Jacob Way, Redding, MA 01867., 1995.
- Coleman, James Samuel, and Thomas Hoffer. Public and private high schools: The impact of communities. New York: Basic Books, 1987.
