Public schools versus private schools. The differences are obviously many, and have been weighed and compared for ages, at least since Ohio’s first private school, Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, was founded in 1826.
In February, Ohio lawmakers held hearings on a proposed universal school choice system throughout the state which, if eventually ratified, could lead to a school voucher program for all students to attend their school of choice, regardless of affiliation.
At the moment, the Ohio Department of Education’s EdChoice Scholarship Program allows students from selected public schools the opportunity to attend selected private schools.
How stark are the differences in curriculum between public and private schools? And, would a universal system force private schools to change their offerings? Larry Goodman, head of school at Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby and Megan Weiskopf, director of teaching and learning at Laurel School in Shaker Heights, discussed the virtues of private school curriculum and how a potential universal landscape might affect what private schools offer their students.
With regard to curriculum, private schools have long been able to offer, in some cases, more specialized classes than their public school counterparts, due to the lessening of regulations for schools that do not draw from public funds.
“Our coursework has great depth and breadth,” Weiskopf said “Upper school students can take math courses up to
multi-variable calculus or even linear algebra and differential equations; we offer classes in six world languages, including French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Latin and Greek.
“As a founding member of One Schoolhouse (a supplemental educational organization that provides courses and programs for students) we can offer our students access to a broad array of electives even beyond the many we teach in our own classrooms. But what truly sets us apart is how learning happens, not just what classes are available,” she said.
“Laurel students engage in learning that is enduring and transferable, distinguished in particular by curriculum that leverages experiential, interdisciplinary and community and place-based learning,” Weiskopf said.
One of the selling points at a program like Andrews Osborne is the way the curriculum is presented.
Andrews Osborne Academy “is the only school in the region to teach students to think divergently (creatively) as well as convergently (analytically),” Goodman said in an email.
“We do this by including divergent thinking skills – generating new ideas, filling in new scenarios, etc. – in our daily curriculum as well as the more traditional convergent thinking skills – understanding the connections between two known concepts, etc.,” he said.
“Students are evaluated on a 4-point scale,” Goodman said. “Thus, students have both a GPA and a CTI (creative thinking index). This prepares students for thinking divergently when they encounter new paradigms throughout college and life.”
But, would universal school choice eventually force private schools to alter curriculum that has, for the most part, been left for respective schools to oversee?
Goodman said that he does not want to politicize his response and no doubt other private school educators feel the same way about addressing the sometimes controversial topic.
“It would not change at Andrews Osborne Academy – or any other private, we use the term ‘independent,’ school ‘worth its salt,’ he said. “We don’t alter our curriculum to attract customers. To the contrary, we believe our curriculum is what serves students best, and that (doing what serves students best) is what draws the customers.”
If a voucher program were to become universal, use of the term “customers” may become a universal term in the lexicon of education. That all depends on the future of House Bill 290, more commonly known as the “Backpack Bill,”which would allow for such vouchers.
Steve Mark is a freelance journalist.