Private vs Public School in California: An Honest Comparison

We run a private school, so you might expect this article to be a sales pitch. It isn't. California public schools do some things very well, and for many families a good public school is the right answer. But as a school board that talks with parents making this decision every week, we've learned that most private-vs-public articles are written to scare you in one direction or the other. This one is written to help you think clearly.

What Public Schools Do Well

First, credit where it is due.

Facilities and funding. California public schools are funded at a scale no small private school can match. Many districts have science labs, athletic complexes, performing arts centers, and stadium fields that are impressive. If your child is a serious athlete in a mainstream sport, a large public high school often offers more teams, more levels, and more exposure.

Breadth of programs. A high school with 2,000+ students can staff a marching band, a robotics team, twenty AP courses, three languages, and a culinary program all at once. Sheer size buys variety, and for a self-directed teenager who knows exactly what they want, that variety is real value.

Diversity and scale. Large public schools bring together students from a wide range of backgrounds, and learning alongside that range is its own education.

Cost. Public school is free. That is not a small thing, and we won't pretend it is.

If your local public school is strong, your child is thriving there, and you feel heard by the teachers, you may not need to change anything.

Where a Small Private School Is Different

The case for a school like ours is not that everything is better. A few specific things are structurally different, and for some children those things matter more than anything else.

Class size. California public school classes typically run 25–30+ students, and often more in middle and high school. Our classes run 10–15, and that changes the daily mechanics of school. In a class of 12, the teacher reads every student's work closely, notices a bad week by Tuesday, and can't lose track of a quiet child. In a class of 32, even an excellent teacher is doing triage.

Values-based education. Public schools are, by law, neutral on faith. We are a Christian school, and character formation (honesty, service, how you treat people when no one is grading you) is taught deliberately, woven into chapel, classrooms, and discipline. Families of all backgrounds are welcome here; what they share is wanting character taught rather than absorbed by accident.

One school, PK through 12. In most California districts, your child changes schools twice, elementary to middle and middle to high, resetting teachers, friends, and culture each time. At South Hills Academy, a student can go from preschool to graduation within one school community: our Lower School Campus (PK–Grade 8) and Upper School Campus (Grades 9–12). The teachers who taught your child to read can watch them graduate.

Individual attention. Small scale means the adults actually know your child, not a file or a student ID. Course planning, college guidance, and extra help happen with someone who has known your child for years, not a counselor responsible for hundreds of students.

Parent communication. In a small school, you are not routed through a system. If something is going on with your child, you hear about it directly and quickly, and when you email, a person who knows your child answers.

Let's Talk About Cost

Cost is where most families stop reading about private school, so let's put real numbers on the table.

Tuition at South Hills Academy starts at $8,400 per year for K–Grade 8 and $8,900 per year for Grades 9–12 on the one-payment plan; two-payment and monthly installment plans total up to $9,200 and $9,800. Private school tuition in the Los Angeles area commonly runs two to four times that, and at many well-known schools far more. We keep tuition where it is so that working families in the San Gabriel Valley can actually consider us, instead of competing on prestige pricing.

On the monthly plan, that's roughly $770–$820 a month; for many families that is comparable to what they already spend on tutoring, enrichment classes, and after-school care layered on top of a public school.

Tuition assistance also exists. We have an application process for families who need help making it work; ask before you assume the door is closed.

Is it still real money? Yes. We won't tell you it's nothing. We will tell you exactly what it buys: a class of 10–15 where your child is known, and a school small enough to answer for every student.

A Better Question Than Private vs Public

The reframe we offer parents who visit us: stop asking which type of school is better. Neither wins in the abstract. Ask instead: which environment fits this particular child?

A confident, self-directed teenager who wants twelve AP options and varsity football may genuinely do better at a big public high school. A child who goes quiet in crowds, who needs an adult to notice them, who is still becoming who they'll be: that child often becomes a different student in a room of 12.

You know your child. Visit both. Sit in a classroom, watch how adults talk to students, and trust what you see over anything you read, including this article.

If you'd like one of your visits to be with us, we'll show you real classrooms on a real school day, and you can bring every hard question in this article with you.