It seems that the private school DS attends has higher expectations from the teachers and the students. A lot of the teachers seem to have no credentials in teaching and go through the school's certification and training process. But they more than make up for that with the passion and energy that they put into their work. They seem to be able to take on more tasks on a day to day basis. Which include both teaching tasks as well as non-teaching tasks. The level of customer service we receive from the administration and the teachers themselves is far superior to what we encountered at the local PS. And there is a lot of focus and time spent on developing the student's character, preparing for contests (for those interested), teaching many soft skills and enrichment activities in addition to rigorous academics.