Michael Jackson's Children Thriving in the Classroom
Prince Michael and Paris are attending mainstream classes with bodyguards.
Sept. 6, 2010— -- After a lifetime of homeschooling two of the most famous children in the world have hit the books in a classroom with their peers -- and their bodyguards.
Prince Michael Jackson, 13, and Paris Jackson, 12, the two eldest children of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, have broken away from the famously secluded education they received with their father.
The children are attending the exclusive and private Buckley School, where Jackson himself attended along with other members of the Jackson clan. Their two bodyguards wait outside their classrooms and follow them around the campus.
Family attorney Brian Oxman said Prince and Paris have adapted so well that he predicted the bodyguards would be gone in a matter of weeks. He also dismissed reports that the other Buckley students were lectured never to ask Jackson's children about their family.
"I don't know what the instructions were that the school gave to other kids," he said. "I do know that these kids can handle anything."
The school boasts an elite student population about 770 from kindergarten through high school. Famous graduates include Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Natalie Cole and Matthew Perry. The tuition for the Jackson kids is nearly $30,000.
"Academics are really important," Oxman said. "But as to social atmosphere -- throwing papers and what not -- listen, these kids have a real good time."
The idea to put the kids in school with other children was Prince's suggestion and was approved by family matriarch Katherine Jackson, the children's legal guardian. The youngest Jackson sibling, 8-year-old Blanket, will continue to be homeschooled for now.
