Packer and Village Community School

[Anonymous]

We’re considering Packer & VCS for kindergarten and would love to hear from parents who have direct experience with the school. I’d be grateful for thoughts on:

-What you genuinely love about the school

-Any tradeoffs or downsides you didn’t anticipate

-The learning experience over time (depth, challenge, support as kids grow)

-The overall community/parent culture
How your child has done socially and emotionally

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Which school do you live closest to? I would not consider Packer for K if you don't live in Brooklyn. It's much easier to live close to the school for elementary. I don't have direct experience but my kid is in the application process right now for 9th at Packer and I've been impressed with them. It's a beautiful campus and it seems to be a warm environment. Again, no direct experience with VCS but my kid is at a progressive k-8 that is similar and it's been a good experience.

[Anonymous]

Following

[Anonymous]

Agree. I wouldn't schlep my kid to another borough for elementary school if there is a good option much closer by. No brainer. Don't overthink this. The daily grind would be brutal plus activities, playdates, etc.

You can apply to both and if you only get into the one in the other borough then the decision is made for you and you deal with it. But try to avoid it.

[Anonymous]

In a vaccuum, I would choose Packer since it is K-12, but agree with others that I would really only consider it if you live in Brooklyn.

[Anonymous]

We live in Tribeca and would consider moving to BK Heights if end up loving the school. We have soft offers at both so trying to figure out which one to commit to

[Anonymous]

How do you have "soft offers?" Are you special? I wouldn't move out of Manhattan for Packer. I would have applied to Friends and Grace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you have "soft offers?" Are you special? I wouldn't move out of Manhattan for Packer. I would have applied to Friends and Grace.

I don’t know much about the lower schools at any of these places but we have applied to Packer, Friends and Grace for 9th and I will say that Packer HS more closely resembles a TT school in terms of the opportunities available to students. Not sure I would necessarily move for Packer though.

[Anonymous]

Soft offer? Are these not ISAAGNY schools?

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that for MS and US, Packer offers a TT education and that MS for VCS is nowhere near as good. We know someone who started at VCS and applied out, ending up at Brooklyn Friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Tribeca and would consider moving to BK Heights if end up loving the school. We have soft offers at both so trying to figure out which one to commit to

I would do Packer in this case. We have friends who commute from Tribeca to Packer, and it’s been fine for them.

[Anonymous]

I know there’s a lot of Manhattan students at Packer in the upper school. VCS is very underwhelming from things I’ve heard.

[Anonymous]

I live in Brooklyn Heights and know a ton of packer families. The k-12 model is appealing, but Packer's classes are not large and almost every "lifer" I know was really over it by 10th grade.

I also don't know anyone who wanted Packer later on who wasn't able to get a spot.

I dont know VCS, but if it were me and if I was zoned for it, I'd consider PS 234 for a while. Local friends = best friends at that young age.

My kids are in high school and college and when we began, private schools were 25-30k and now they're double. There's every chance schools like Packer will be 120k a year when you get there and college 200k or more. I know many families for whom the tuition became a real problem. They started out assuming their income would rise in a way that it didn't, they didn't expect tuition to keep going up, they had a third kid, they found themselves supporting a parent or other adult in their family, or something. Some left the private, which is hard. Some got aid, which you can't count on. Some grew sour they couldn't afford the summer camps and vacations and homes their peers could. Keeping your powder dry is not a terrible idea, those tribeca publics are great, apply to packer for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you have "soft offers?" Are you special? I wouldn't move out of Manhattan for Packer. I would have applied to Friends and Grace.

I don’t know much about the lower schools at any of these places but we have applied to Packer, Friends and Grace for 9th and I will say that Packer HS more closely resembles a TT school in terms of the opportunities available to students. Not sure I would necessarily move for Packer though.

Interesting. Same schools for us and we felt that way about Grace. There are some kids there who kind of float through but if your kid wants a rigorous, TT-type education they seem to provide it really well. The HoS is really thoughtful and is constantly looking to improve and evolve. And it is a more chill environment. Your kid needs to be self-motivated to take advantage of these things but if they do, it is an elite education. But if they fade in with the others, it is admittedly not as stellar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Brooklyn Heights and know a ton of packer families. The k-12 model is appealing, but Packer's classes are not large and almost every "lifer" I know was really over it by 10th grade.

I also don't know anyone who wanted Packer later on who wasn't able to get a spot.

I dont know VCS, but if it were me and if I was zoned for it, I'd consider PS 234 for a while. Local friends = best friends at that young age.

My kids are in high school and college and when we began, private schools were 25-30k and now they're double. There's every chance schools like Packer will be 120k a year when you get there and college 200k or more. I know many families for whom the tuition became a real problem. They started out assuming their income would rise in a way that it didn't, they didn't expect tuition to keep going up, they had a third kid, they found themselves supporting a parent or other adult in their family, or something. Some left the private, which is hard. Some got aid, which you can't count on. Some grew sour they couldn't afford the summer camps and vacations and homes their peers could. Keeping your powder dry is not a terrible idea, those tribeca publics are great, apply to packer for middle school.

As an Upper Middle Class family at a private who is full pay but it isn't easy, I agree. It is a huge rat race and these schools feel the need to keep up with each other. They have very wealthy family for whom money is no object and make huge demands. They donate a lot but it is not enough - tuition still goes up a lot every year. They see some other school has something so they want it too. These schools spend a fortune on sports, trips, and various other "perks." It doesn't have to be like this. But supply and demand...