Private school options

Lowcountry parents considering a private school are faced with a legion of choices.

Private schools offer fewer students per teacher, fewer discipline problems, generally higher academic standards and a better chance of getting into an elite college.

But private schools can be expensive, especially the older ones in downtown Charleston.

Ashley Hall, an all-girls school behind a wrought-iron fence on Rutledge Avenue, has been teaching girls the secrets of success for more than a century. Tuition in the high-school grades is $18,800 a year.

If you have a son, or you want your daughter around mixed company, or you want a more spiritual dimension in the school day, you might consider Porter-Gaud. It’s an Episcopal school for grades 1-12 just across the Ashley River. Tuition is $17,830 for grades 6-12 and $15,180 for grades 1-5.

Porter-Gaud’s alumni include comedian Stephen Colbert, world-renowned street artist Shepard Fairey, East Coast Hockey League founder Henry Brabham and Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie P. Mughelli.

Charleston Day School at 15 Archdale St. costs $14,950 a year. The school started in 1937 in the carriage house at 48 South Battery and moved to the present site in 1986. The school reports 191 students in grades 1-8.

Mason Preparatory School is off Lockwood Boulevard near the downtown hospitals. Tuition is $10,295 for grades 7-8 and $9,895 for grades 1-6. Attorney and preservationist Nancy Hawk started the school in her home at 1 Meeting St. in 1964. The school moved to its present campus in 1965 and reports 327 students.

First Baptist Church School of Charleston is one of the better-known church-run schools. It’s been at 48 Meeting St. since 1949. Tuition is $4,514 to $7,645. The school reports 430 students in K3-12.

Off the peninsula, there’s Charleston Collegiate School on Johns Island. Founded as Sea Island Academy in 1970, it was renamed in 2002. Tuition ranges from $7,000 for preschool to $13,650 for high school, with financial aid available. The school notes its diversity, with a 25 percent minority enrollment.

For those looking for a small school with an international approach, there’s the three-year-old University School of the Lowcountry for grades 3-8. All students learn Spanish and Latin, and older students also learn Mandarin. The school rents space at Hibben United Methodist Church in Mount Pleasant. Tuition is $8,500, which includes a laptop for every student.

Parents looking for a nontraditional approach also might consider the Montessori schools as well as The Cooper School in West Ashley.

A number of churches run private schools and enroll hundreds of students all the way through high school.

The most famous local Catholic school is Bishop England High School, home of the Battling Bishops. The school moved from Calhoun Street to a 40-acre campus on Daniel Island in 1998. Tuition is $6,900 for parishioners and $10,060 for others.

Addlestone Hebrew Academy in West Ashley teaches classes through high school from a Jewish perspective.