Is St. Alban's the best high school for very smart, very athletic boy? Who else?

[Anonymous]

It looks to me that few schools do boys very well these days! The Landon issues make it clear that the "boys will be boys" approach is inadequate, but I've heard that some of the other, less traditional, more liberal high schools often mentioned on this board are so biased in favor of artistic, angsty, quirky boys that your more traditional athletic, smart-but-not-a-pundit, sweet-but-not-emotive boy gets overlooked and underestimated. And I have one of those whom I love very much!

[Anonymous]

St. Albans could be a great school for your son, but I wouldn't rule out all of the less-traditional-than-STA schools. I have a son very much like your description who is thriving at Sidwell, and he has smart athletic friends who are thriving at Maret, GDS, and WIS, among others.

[Anonymous]

Ignore all the hype and go check out Landon for yourself. Our son is doing well there. There are some spoiled types, but they tend to stick together. Great teachers, great campus and many nice parents. We're staying. Can't let a few bad apples spoil everything.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell and Georgetown Prep are also worth a look.

[Anonymous]

Potomac boys always strike me as well-balanced.

[Anonymous]

We are very lucky in the DC area because of the many wonderful day school options we have here. I'm from the Boston area where you had to send your son off to school to get the kind of education that Landon, STA, Potomac, etc. provide. My wisdom as the mom of three VERY different young men--Landon is great, but my kids tried to support the notion of a gay student alliance, not because they were gay, but because they wanted gay students to feel comfortable there. While the Administration did not shut the idea down, completely they didn't encourage it, and when my last son graduated, the idea had died on the vine. perhaps it has been resurrected. Landon did hire a counselor few years ago who took it as his mission to help any boys who thought they might be gay, but the upshot was that the boys were afraid to go into his office for fear they would be so labelled. As to sports, it is wide open , even mandated, for everyone--a plus. musicians anbd would-be thespiians are at home there, but no one had any success starting a literary magazine when my kids were there--very recently.
Gonzaga where some of our family attend, will help boys who think they might be gay, "come out" without opprobrium. Sports tend to be very competitive there--make sure you have a son who can make the team if that is important to you.
We had one at STA. This school accommodates a wider range of personalities. you can be eccentric there and blend. So if your kid is off-beat in any way, consider it. It is more gay-friendly but sports are mediocre. the all-male atmosphere is ameliorated by the presencce of girls just across the close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the Boston area where you had to send your son off to school to get the kind of education that Landon, STA, Potomac, etc. provide.

Sorry to wander off-topic, but this strikes me as an odd statement. What about Roxbury Latin, Milton Academy, BB & N, not to mention the excellent suburban public schools?

[Anonymous]

PP, you say that your boys aren't gay, but your whole post is preoccupied with a gay student alliance at Landon, gay counselors, gay boys at Gonzaga, gay-friendly atmosphere at St. Albans. If one of your boys is gay, that's fine and I would hope that you are proud of him. I just wonder why you would try to hide it on an anonymous message board.

Anonymous wrote:We are very lucky in the DC area because of the many wonderful day school options we have here. I'm from the Boston area where you had to send your son off to school to get the kind of education that Landon, STA, Potomac, etc. provide. My wisdom as the mom of three VERY different young men--Landon is great, but my kids tried to support the notion of a gay student alliance, not because they were gay, but because they wanted gay students to feel comfortable there. While the Administration did not shut the idea down, completely they didn't encourage it, and when my last son graduated, the idea had died on the vine. perhaps it has been resurrected. Landon did hire a counselor few years ago who took it as his mission to help any boys who thought they might be gay, but the upshot was that the boys were afraid to go into his office for fear they would be so labelled. As to sports, it is wide open , even mandated, for everyone--a plus. musicians anbd would-be thespiians are at home there, but no one had any success starting a literary magazine when my kids were there--very recently.
Gonzaga where some of our family attend, will help boys who think they might be gay, "come out" without opprobrium. Sports tend to be very competitive there--make sure you have a son who can make the team if that is important to you.
We had one at STA. This school accommodates a wider range of personalities. you can be eccentric there and blend. So if your kid is off-beat in any way, consider it. It is more gay-friendly but sports are mediocre. the all-male atmosphere is ameliorated by the presencce of girls just across the close.

[Anonymous]

Give Sidwell a look; I know a lot of extremely athletic boys there who are passionate about their academics. Despite the beliefs of some, Sidwell sports are taken very seriously (soccer, wrestling, basketball and cross country are all extremely competitive). It also depends on the sports he's interested in, I suppose. St. Albans is fantastic of course, but the fact that it's single-sex does make a big difference.
Check out Episcopal as well, and Prep.
But based on what you've said, it's looking like it's gonna be either Sidwell or St. Albans. Best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, you say that your boys aren't gay, but your whole post is preoccupied with a gay student alliance at Landon, gay counselors, gay boys at Gonzaga, gay-friendly atmosphere at St. Albans. If one of your boys is gay, that's fine and I would hope that you are proud of him. I just wonder why you would try to hide it on an anonymous message board.

I think that it is nice to know that there are boys' schools in the area that do not demonize gay youth. I don't understand your criticism.

Anonymous wrote:We are very lucky in the DC area because of the many wonderful day school options we have here. I'm from the Boston area where you had to send your son off to school to get the kind of education that Landon, STA, Potomac, etc. provide. My wisdom as the mom of three VERY different young men--Landon is great, but my kids tried to support the notion of a gay student alliance, not because they were gay, but because they wanted gay students to feel comfortable there. While the Administration did not shut the idea down, completely they didn't encourage it, and when my last son graduated, the idea had died on the vine. perhaps it has been resurrected. Landon did hire a counselor few years ago who took it as his mission to help any boys who thought they might be gay, but the upshot was that the boys were afraid to go into his office for fear they would be so labelled. As to sports, it is wide open , even mandated, for everyone--a plus. musicians anbd would-be thespiians are at home there, but no one had any success starting a literary magazine when my kids were there--very recently.
Gonzaga where some of our family attend, will help boys who think they might be gay, "come out" without opprobrium. Sports tend to be very competitive there--make sure you have a son who can make the team if that is important to you.
We had one at STA. This school accommodates a wider range of personalities. you can be eccentric there and blend. So if your kid is off-beat in any way, consider it. It is more gay-friendly but sports are mediocre. the all-male atmosphere is ameliorated by the presencce of girls just across the close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the Boston area where you had to send your son off to school to get the kind of education that Landon, STA, Potomac, etc. provide.

Sorry to wander off-topic, but this strikes me as an odd statement. What about Roxbury Latin, Milton Academy, BB & N, not to mention the excellent suburban public schools?

I'll bet whoever posted that is from the suburban area. That is where you find St Grottlesex and Exeter and Andover.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell. All kinds of kids there -- it's not a place where you're put in a box and labelled. Our son is in the upper school and he's an athletic, bright, hard-working kid with a great sense of humor and lots of curiosity about the world. He has many friends -- male and female -- whom I'd describe that way. Sure there's some angst -- they're teens, after all, -- but on the whole, a lot of cheerful kids whom I really enjoy having around. As for quirkiness, I think it's what makes people, and life, interesting, so I'm happy to see it encouraged in all kids, whether they're jocks, theatre geeks, science nerds, earnest student government types, all of the above, or any other mix of high school types you can think of.

[Anonymous]

I don't believe this poster is real. There are suddenly three sta related posts floating around the top of this forum. I think they are all aimed at distracting from Landon.

[Anonymous]

Yeah--the poster mentions smart and athletic as though they are the only values that matter. It would be interesting to know where best a more sensitive and artistic boy, not to mention a gay one, might thrive -. Hate to think all boys' school options would be bad choices for such a young man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah--the poster mentions smart and athletic as though they are the only values that matter. It would be interesting to know where best a more sensitive and artistic boy, not to mention a gay one, might thrive -. Hate to think all boys' school options would be bad choices for such a young man.

Maybe the OP only mentions smart and athletic because those are words that describe her child. If she's looking for a good fit for her DS it really wouldn't help to ask for schools that are good for artistic types