What my research told me

The defining distinction between public and private schools is
their different sources of support. Public schools depend primarily on local, state, and federal government funds, while private
schools are usually supported by tuition payments and sometimes
by funds from other nonpublic sources such as religious organizations, endowments, grants, and charitable donations. In some
states, private schools receive public funds for certain services
(e.g., transportation).



• Private schools are attended by choice, but
choice is not limited to the private sector.


• Families with annual incomes over $50,000
have the most choice.


Children from the lowest income families (less than $15,000)
were more likely than those from families with incomes over
$30,000 to attend a chosen public school. However, the net
result of the various types of choice was that children from
families with incomes over $50,000 were much less likely than
children from families in lower income categories to attend an
assigned public school over which they had not exercised any
choice.


Public schools tend to have more racially and
ethnically diverse student populations.


Racial and ethnic diversity can enrich the school experiences of
students and teachers in many ways. However, a heterogeneous
school population creates additional challenges for school teachers
and administrators, who must be sensitive to different cultural
backgrounds and the interactions among individuals (students
and teachers) from different backgrounds. In 1993, 28 percent of
public school students in grades 1–12 were black or Hispanic, compared to 17 percent of those in private schools. Private schools are
changing, however, as evidenced by the increase in the percentage
of black and Hispanic students between 1985 and 1993