Also, part of my time growing up was with kids going to private schools. In fact my three best friends all went to different private schools while we went to public schools. Speaking from experience I never saw any social segregation between us and them.

I’ve argued before about the value of bringing kids of different values and belief systems together. In my home town up to the late 1920′s, there was a great rift between Mormons and non-Mormons who lived in parralell communities. It was a football coach, who later became a school administrator, who by recruiting the Italians, Greeks, Yugoslavs and others to his team and getting them attending school on a more regular basis that helped bring the community together.

I’ve heard others express fear about the monopoly of public ed creating a homogenous culture. However, even within the realm of public ed, I don’t see it. Even public schools are prone to cliquishness and dividing into factions. Creating gated communities as you refer to them won’t improve the situation, only exacerbate them.