Standardized testing requirements and large class sizes in public schools cannot be overcome, even by great teachers. Public school systems in this area are very large, slow-moving, and tightly-constrained institutions. In recent years, the pressure to produce standardized test scores at the requisite level has come to greatly influence if not dominate what schools, teachers, and students do. All too often, what they are doing is not what is most enriching, engaging, and educational, and not what will best prepare students for long-term success. This harms all students, but likely harms the most committed and exceptional students most dearly. There are many extraordinary teachers and academic leaders in public schools, but implementing the best possible educational opportunities is too difficult given the size of the institution, the number of stakeholders, and the constraints imposed by legislation emphasizing test scores, particularly since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Traditional private schools are not beyond criticism, however, for in many cases they too often rely heavily on an uninspired traditional approach to education that does not work for most students.

The world is highly competitive, so give your child the best possible high school education. At Ideal Schools, we believe high school is where students must learn what they need to succeed in college and what college will not teach about long-term success. The core dispositions (e.g., working hard), practices (e.g., seeking reliable evidence before making decisions), skills (e.g., research and study skills), and knowledge (in academic content areas) that students need to do well in college and to be strategic and goal-directed after college should be addressed directly and with great care in high school. The college curriculum is in many ways as fractured as the traditional high school curriculum. Only a very well-designed high school that is built around and for the learner will succeed in preparing students well for an increasingly competitive educational and professional world.

Learning by doing works best. A project- or problem-based approach to instruction, as implemented by Ideal Schools, is the best way to teach students, because it teaches information and skills in the ways and in the contexts that students will actually use them. Knowledge is no longer inert and uninspiring; instead it is relevant and enabling. Innovation of this kind in curriculum design has not taken place at most schools and, for this reason, students at most schools do not achieve or learn as well as they can.

Traditional schools should be ideal too, but they are not. Appearances can be deceiving: even if a school building looks clean and new, with computers visible, and with pleasant teachers, these signs do not mean students are learning what they need to know to succeed. What matters most is more subtle: How well does the school spark each student's unique academic and social strengths? Can a larger institution ever accomplish this? Public schools are noble institutions that have many limitations, and for many students these limitations mean a mediocre education and a disappointing experience.

For many students, a small private school is the only option. We understand the financial burden or paying property taxes to finance public schools while paying private school tuition for your own child(ren). Still, if you want the best possible education for your children, an education that will teach the critical content and skills that are not taught in college or high school in a manner designed to capture and hold students' attention and to draw out their focus and effort, then this private school is the best choice.