Afterward, encourage them to join the military to help pay for college. Coast Guard, Marines, Army..you know better than anyone which branch they'd fit right into.
Private schools are great but they are very expensive. I would guess that most families cannot begin to afford the tuition, especially if they have more than one child. We have 3 kids in Catholic school and pay over 25,000 in tuition. It is a huge sacrifice that I hope will be worth it. If we were not able to afford it, I would volunteer as much as possible at the public school. It provides a lot of information that can help your kids get a good education and avoid many of the potential problems.
This is good advice for some kids. But remember that about 75% of young people aren't eligible to join the service becasue of health issues, academic reasons, aptitude test restults, etc. Let's not make a kid be surprised or feel bad if he can't get in.