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February 3, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Why so many private schools in SCV?

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

When I came to Santa Clarita in 1992 as a pimply-faced sophomore,  I had exactly two options for high school. Hart High or Santa Clarita Christian (Alemany too, I suppose).

Now-a-days, SCV students and their parents face a plethora of private school choices in town. There’s Legacy Christian Academy (K-12), Trinity Classical Academy (K-?), Monticello Preparatory School (K-8), and, perhaps, soon Albert Einstein School, the Hebrew-language-but-not-quite-Jewish K-12 charter school under discussion in the Hart District.

There’s so many private schools in the SCV that public schools are feeling the pressure. The Saugus District,  for instance, is starting up an elementary school-cum-arts academy to attract students who might otherwise be sent to a private school.

I’m all for marketplace freedom, but I don’t understand what’s driving this. The schools mentioned above didn’t exist in Santa Clarita just 5-7 years ago. Our public schools are still some of the best in the state and they’re free. So what is it that’s driving the demand for private, often religious, schools? Obviously these schools wouldn’t be set up if it wasn’t profitable for the operators.

Is it a disdain for “government-run schools?” A desire for more religious education? Or, dare I say it, a 21st century version of white flight? Or is it related to a more macro trend in which parents seek specialized rather than general education early on?

Comments (26)

  1. mikeFebruary 3, 2010 at 11:05 am
    I would ask why so few? For our size, we don’t have many. I don’t think Legacy is quite K-12 yet, though I could be wrong. Monticello is very small time. Charter schools aren’t private. You missed the two Pinecrest elementary schools, OLPH and the Santa Clarita Christian high school. In all, I think it amounts to a very small percentage of the students in the valley. Some are for-profit, others aren’t. I would think religious reasons alone would have driven the creation of more such schools. Throw in some status-seekers and you have yourself a market.
  2. WalkerFebruary 3, 2010 at 11:06 am
    I’ve thought a lot about this in the past and I think one component you are missing is the expansion of the valley and the norms of our newest residents. Many of the families I know who have gone the private school route are those who were raised themseles at private schools in the valley/city of LA. There’s just this perception that private schools are ‘better’. Obviously there’s also the religious aspect of it, or we’d be seeing secular schooling options. I think part of that, though, is that the schools are the brain child of the churches congregation. It allows for start up costs and an instant ‘customer’ base, something that a secular institution would have a more difficult time procuring and sustaining. I think the ‘big government’ scare is out there, and the scary ‘theyre teaching my kids about the gays!’, but I do think it goes beyond that.
  3. WalkerFebruary 3, 2010 at 11:12 am
    Mike, I agree w/why so few. Our schools/districts reputation as ‘great’ have kept school choice out of the valley for too long. If you look into other areas w/similar demographics they often have far more private school options, even when there are great local schools. There are people out there that want choice. That realize that not every child fits into to that perfect little mold that we consider a proper education. They are willing to pay to ensure that their child is placed in the most appropriate environment. The newer Christian academies do a good job of catering to the ‘college prep’ crowd (for the religious set), but what about Waldorf or Montessori or Reggio Emilia approaches? Nothing. It’s home school or supplement a public school education if you want something outside of traditional learning.
  4. mikeFebruary 3, 2010 at 11:17 am
    Legacy is K-8. Walker, a key component to success for private schools is that they are self-selecting. They have no time, nor training for special needs kids. In fact, IIRC, the local school districts get money for assisting special needs kids who attend private schools.
  5. NielFebruary 3, 2010 at 11:56 am
    Our daughter attends one of the private schools mentioned in the blog. When it was time to enroll her in Kindergarten a few years ago, the local public school (which has an excellent reputation BTW) was full due to reserved spaces for out-of-area kids that were “grandfathered” in because of siblings. There was going to be a lottery to see which local school she would attend, as well as which session (morning or afternoon). So much for taking into account the local schools when buying a house! Anyway, due to the uncertainty, we looked at private schools, and found one we liked, and could afford. A couple of years ago we thought about saving the money and putting her back in the public school, so we picked up their syllabus for the upcoming school year. We were pretty shocked to find that she had already covered 90% of the upcoming school year in her current grade. Switching her to the public school would have been like repeating a grade. Needless to say, we stayed in the private school system. No regrets.
  6. Berta González-HarperFebruary 3, 2010 at 12:08 pm
    Private Schools are attractive because parents are concerned about class size, lack of input regarding curriculum taught, and continued cuts to public education further eroding their children’s ability to receive a great education in our public schools.
  7. scvfanFebruary 3, 2010 at 1:11 pm
    Everything comes back to race with you. I’m seeing a pattern.
  8. Need for Involved CitizenryFebruary 3, 2010 at 1:45 pm
    Quality of Education – While our schools continue to tout how great they are, with the exception of Newhall and Saugus school districts they do not compare to their peers with similar socioeconomic status. The number of kids who go on to 4 year schools from the Hart district is particularly disappointing. The folks on the school boards are all too often tools of the Superintendents. There is too much discussion of routine administrative matters that should be consent items and too little discussion of leveraging issues like test scores, graduation rates, acceptance to top or mid tier schools or 4 year universities, etc.
  9. JeffFebruary 3, 2010 at 1:49 pm
    I’m just asking questions SCVFan, just asking questions. Question boldly Glenn Beck tells me. White flight is a legitimate sociological event by the way. But I see your point. I’ll try to tone it down ok?
  10. Timothy MyersFebruary 3, 2010 at 2:06 pm
    Need for Involved: I have compared those numbers (graduation rates, 4 year universtiy matriculation, etc.) with peer or hoped for peer Districts like Irvine, San Juan Capistrano, Ventura, Conejo Valley, Las Virgenes, Simi Valley Unified, Moorpark Union, etc. and the Hart District is right in the there with those public districts, about in the middle. Incredibly, the Hart District does compare these as benchmark, but when they issue the press release they always compare to state and county wide numbers which are heavily influenced by the urban districts that struggle with lots of other issues. I don’t know why they don’t issue the benchmark comparisions–Maybe they are just lazy.
  11. Drive66February 3, 2010 at 2:26 pm
    We moved here for the public schools. It’s really hard to find better without living in BH or something. If we had stayed in SFV we would have had no other option then private.
  12. JackieFebruary 3, 2010 at 2:40 pm
    I can imagine that with budget cuts, schools closing (even temporarily) and the uncertainty of where public schools are going can drive some to private. There’s also a general complaint that while public schools meet the needs of average students and those with special needs, they can’t keep up with gifted students, whose academic needs are often neglected.
  13. Timothy MyersFebruary 3, 2010 at 3:17 pm
    My big issue with Legacy is that it costs $9,500 per year (about the same as a full year of tuition at a UC campus) and then the kids end up in public high school anyway because it is only K-8 WITHOUT the seering experience of public Middle School. On top of that the kids don’t take the same standardized tests so they are going to have a harder time getting into the Honors and AP classes.
  14. JeffFebruary 3, 2010 at 3:22 pm
    Legacy’s website recommends parents and students to read the 5000 Year Leap, that crazy book Glenn Beck touts
  15. mikeFebruary 3, 2010 at 3:45 pm
    NO WAY! Are you kidding me? Where?
  16. Timothy MyersFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:00 pm
    Jeff: Legacy was originally just Legacy Academy, founded by the people that ran Sunshine Daycare and pre-school. At some point “Christian” sneaked into the title which I imagine caused a lot of the Jewish families to bail, but it was still the Sunshine people and it was very unclear about their specific creed and it seemed like kind of a “roll your own” dogma. In 2006, right before the credit bubble burst they had arranged to sell the school to a school in the SFV affiliated with the Church on the Way for a significant amount of dough. That fell through, but I think they somehow merged with that school and some type of earnout is taking place. One thing that is not a good sign is that both Legacy and SC Chrisian are now actively adverstising for students, when these institutions generally pride themselves on long waiting lists. And the private schools should REALLY be frightened of the charter schools, because the charter schools can produce the conceit of elitism without ANY money.
  17. JeffFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:16 pm
    Ooops, I’m sorry, I meant Trinity, not legacy scroll to the bottom http://www.trinityclassicalacademy.com/main_page.html
  18. mikeFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:21 pm
    My kids were in Sunshine when it was sold, they claimed they were going to focus on Legacy, then a couple months later, Legacy was to be sold. My understanding from others is that there is a very hard sell for Legacy for Sunshine parents now, like arm-twisting hard.
  19. FredFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:22 pm
    Legacy’s website recommends parents and students to read the 5000 Year Leap, that crazy book Glenn Beck touts …and the problem with this book is…? You prefer them to read fantasy novelist, Howard Zinn?
  20. mikeFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:24 pm
    Self-parody watch!
  21. JeffFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:26 pm
    Wow Fred endorses Mormon lit & “scholarship”? Do you guys sell it on Grace To You? This is really an ecumenical moment. I’m getting teary eyed up in here.
  22. FredFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:43 pm
    Read THIS and then read THIS Beck’s book is more guilty of being a syrupy re-telling of America than a wacky, far-right Mormon one. You guys over react to everything. Self-parody watch indeed.
  23. FredFebruary 3, 2010 at 4:45 pm
    Sorry the HTML didn’t work. Try here: http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/09/glenn-beck-and-his-crazy-5000.html and then here: http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/09/i-was-wrong-about-5000-year-le.html Comments are worth the read as well.
  24. janeFebruary 3, 2010 at 5:27 pm
    I shake my head every time the driver of a black BMW suv cuts me off in the morning on Via Princessa. They have a Legacy Christian Academy sticker prominently displayed on the back – just goes to show you may support the school but you sure don’t internalize the message.
  25. JakeFebruary 4, 2010 at 10:01 am
    jane, Good point. You should contact Legacy and have them re-emphasize their “don’t cut people off when driving” class to the K-8 kids so they can go home and set their parents straight. Good observation!
  26. SCV GuyFebruary 5, 2010 at 3:55 pm
    Jeff, of course you’d feel one way about this, the public school system gives you a job!! Our gov’t was instrumental in bring education to the mass population of our country. The problem is that its way over due for an overhaul. Our Gov’t run school system is falling fast behind the rest of the world. India produces over 20% of all honor students in the world, that 20% is larger than the 100% of ALL OF OUR students. Isn’t that a problem? We put the school’s budgets almost dead last when countries like India allocate 50% of their budget to education. We need to privatize our schools, remove the gov’t control and allow our schools to compete (the old Lending Tree model – in this case, when our schools compete, our children win!) Private schools are on the rise because parents want their children to get the best education and there are those that have lost faith in the public school system. The fact that more and more are popping up everyday is a clear sign that our public system is failing.

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