Packer and Village Community School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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...

We went private for 6th grade and our kid hated it so much - snobby lazy rich kids - that we went right back to public for 7th.

Full-pay private school makes sense if:

a) You're wealthy enough that the money doesn't matter and you can easily keep up with everyone;
b) Your kid is a rock star in ways that would allow them to stand out even at a TT school, and they get into a TT school;
c) Your kid is right on the edge of Ivy level and a good private school would give them that extra bump; for a non-rockstar kid it's not a huge impact - the matriculation numbers are badly distorted by the wealth/connections of the kids applying - but it might take your kid from #2100 to #1900 in Brown's freshman admissions pile
d) Your kid is particularly disadvantaged by the public school system, for example if they can't concentrate in a class of more than 12 kids or they need a lot of hand-holding with executive function stuff or they're smart but don't test well

[Anonymous]

(my older kid is in group b but turned out to be too much of a rockstar for that particular school and we're hoping to do better for 9th; my younger kid is currently in group c but we're optimistic by the time they reach high school they'll be #900 in Brown's pile and no longer need the boost)

[Anonymous]

The problem is that there isn't the equivalent of a really good suburban public high school. Options for HS are:

1) SHSAT schools which are pressure cookers, big classes, lots of FGLI kids who study 24/7. Generally big schools (except HSMSE which is too small).
2) Top Gen Ed public schools. Not many of them. Big classes. Need a top lottery number to get something like ElRo. Most of them have at least one major gap. Worried about your life being at the whim of the unpredictable DOE.
3) TT schools. Pressure cookers. If you are not off the chart smart or connected you will just be some person struggling to pay tuition and they might not go to bat for you for TT colleges.
4) Next tier privates. Top kids get into top schools but often they are hooked. More meh kids mixed in so have to block out the noise. Still a huge expense.

For elementary and middle the public options can be better so often worth saving your money, though locking in the private earlier cuts down on stress in 8th grade. But if money is or could be an issue, saving all those years of private could be a game changer.

Not sure what the answer is.

[Anonymous]

Good points, but I wouldn't necessarily rank good suburban schools quite that high - the mean SAT at Staples High School in Westport e.g. is 1260, which is like 40 points lower than LaGuardia's and 100 points lower than ElRo's. (most of their matriculation lists are pretty bleak too)

LaGuardia incidentally is an interesting option missing from that list - it's not a pressure cooker, but it's certainly academically equivalent to a good suburban school, and if your kid already has some aptitude in music or singing or acting or dance, pursuing that more seriously in middle school and working with an audition coach could easily get them to LaGuardia level. We know a bunch of kids who went that route and had a marvelous experience.

SHSATs I wouldn't say are all pressure cookers - Stuy certainly is, but Bronx Science less so and Brooklyn Latin/Tech less still. You're not wrong about Gen Ed, but if your kid is a strong writer they might be able to overcome a bad lottery number with a good essay - we know kids who've managed that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good points, but I wouldn't necessarily rank good suburban schools quite that high - the mean SAT at Staples High School in Westport e.g. is 1260, which is like 40 points lower than LaGuardia's and 100 points lower than ElRo's. (most of their matriculation lists are pretty bleak too)

LaGuardia incidentally is an interesting option missing from that list - it's not a pressure cooker, but it's certainly academically equivalent to a good suburban school, and if your kid already has some aptitude in music or singing or acting or dance, pursuing that more seriously in middle school and working with an audition coach could easily get them to LaGuardia level. We know a bunch of kids who went that route and had a marvelous experience.

SHSATs I wouldn't say are all pressure cookers - Stuy certainly is, but Bronx Science less so and Brooklyn Latin/Tech less still. You're not wrong about Gen Ed, but if your kid is a strong writer they might be able to overcome a bad lottery number with a good essay - we know kids who've managed that.

You don't look at averages when looking at suburban publics. You look at volume. Really good suburban publics are getting a bunch of kids into top schools. By nature they have to handle whoever walks in the door so there will also be a cohort of much weaker kids. But usually they have good tracking so can accelerate top kids while also supporting less academic kids. Of course, there are some suburban publics which are pressure cookers - some schools I wouldn't send my kid to.

Bronx Sci is definitely more sane than Stuy but still huge, remote and a pressure cooker. Brooklyn Tech is gigantic so not for everyone. Brooklyn Latin was freaky and it has a very odd curriculum - works for some but not others - we were a hard pass (my kid far exceeded the threshold).

Not many essay schools I would consider. And the rubric for that is odd - I wouldn't rest my hopes on it. Though I do agree that it broadens the potential options as there are some that are OK.

[Anonymous]

Staples in Westport isn’t a good reference point—Scarsdale High School, where you could love and still have a reasonable commute, would be. And their SAT avg is 1440, with their Class of 26 Instagram indicating tons of impressive ED admits.

[Anonymous]

Interesting; I actually didn't realize Connecticut's top-tier districts were so much weaker than Westchester's, I had assumed they were more similar. (though if we're talking Scarsdale specifically I've heard that that's also something of a pressure cooker?)

Definitely very different kids, though, and a very different lifestyle, for better or worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Probably not be relevant to your decision, but my mom is in her 80s and is a Packer graduate. She STILL goes to reunions, keeps in touch with former classmates, and fondly remembers her time at Packer. It's not often here in DMV I am hearing about the school, so I had to comment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting; I actually didn't realize Connecticut's top-tier districts were so much weaker than Westchester's, I had assumed they were more similar. (though if we're talking Scarsdale specifically I've heard that that's also something of a pressure cooker?)

Definitely very different kids, though, and a very different lifestyle, for better or worse.

Scarsdale is a pressure cooker. No thanks. Like Millburn in NJ. Lots of great outcomes but not sure if it is worth the misery. My mental health and my kid's are worth too much, as is my self-esteem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scarsdale is a pressure cooker. No thanks. Like Millburn in NJ. Lots of great outcomes but not sure if it is worth the misery. My mental health and my kid's are worth too much, as is my self-esteem.

I wouldn't even assume the pressure cooker produces the outcomes, it's more that a lot of the people who volunteer for the pressure cooker are also the sort of people who are destined for good outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scarsdale is a pressure cooker. No thanks. Like Millburn in NJ. Lots of great outcomes but not sure if it is worth the misery. My mental health and my kid's are worth too much, as is my self-esteem.

I wouldn't even assume the pressure cooker produces the outcomes, it's more that a lot of the people who volunteer for the pressure cooker are also the sort of people who are destined for good outcomes.

Good point - totally agree. Chicken and egg. I'm guessing in many of these places the kids the "average" kid might end up at a "worse" school than their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that there isn't the equivalent of a really good suburban public high school. Options for HS are:

1) SHSAT schools which are pressure cookers, big classes, lots of FGLI kids who study 24/7. Generally big schools (except HSMSE which is too small).
2) Top Gen Ed public schools. Not many of them. Big classes. Need a top lottery number to get something like ElRo. Most of them have at least one major gap. Worried about your life being at the whim of the unpredictable DOE.
3) TT schools. Pressure cookers. If you are not off the chart smart or connected you will just be some person struggling to pay tuition and they might not go to bat for you for TT colleges.
4) Next tier privates. Top kids get into top schools but often they are hooked. More meh kids mixed in so have to block out the noise. Still a huge expense.

For elementary and middle the public options can be better so often worth saving your money, though locking in the private earlier cuts down on stress in 8th grade. But if money is or could be an issue, saving all those years of private could be a game changer.

Not sure what the answer is.

Brooklyn Heights-er back. I think the option I was thinking of was pubic for k-5 (or k-8) and then move to private. I literally don't know a single person who wanted Packer who didn't get Packer. Not hooked, unless you consider full pay a hook. But let's say, I raised kids through some weird times - covid, etc. Spots opened up. Okay, but there's Grace or similar T2 schools. Not sure if this is the #4 choice on your list and it's certainly expensive but a lot less than private for k-12 which is what the OP is considering. You won't get a better education than 234, I really think that. My kids did k-5 at PS8 and I was never even a tiny bit envious of the work the kids at Packer were doing - and my kids had plenty of friends in all the local privates. But the convenience of the kids moving from school to the playgroundor to a friends house - or being able to text a friend to see if they/their nanny could help pick up a kid etc. It's just a blessing in those years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Brooklyn Heights-er back. I think the option I was thinking of was pubic for k-5 (or k-8) and then move to private. I literally don't know a single person who wanted Packer who didn't get Packer. Not hooked, unless you consider full pay a hook. But let's say, I raised kids through some weird times - covid, etc. Spots opened up. Okay, but there's Grace or similar T2 schools. Not sure if this is the #4 choice on your list and it's certainly expensive but a lot less than private for k-12 which is what the OP is considering. You won't get a better education than 234, I really think that. My kids did k-5 at PS8 and I was never even a tiny bit envious of the work the kids at Packer were doing - and my kids had plenty of friends in all the local privates. But the convenience of the kids moving from school to the playgroundor to a friends house - or being able to text a friend to see if they/their nanny could help pick up a kid etc. It's just a blessing in those years.

I don't think you're correct about Packer admissions. I think they get many more applicants than they have seats. We went to a lot of open houses last fall and Packer's definitely was the most zoo like, and they closed RSVPs early. It's also not easy to get an interview slot at Packer. I think Packer has become much more popular over the past 10 or 15 years. We know many kids that have Packer on their lists this admission cycle and not all will get in. At least in the HS, Packer has man unique programs imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Brooklyn Heights-er back. I think the option I was thinking of was pubic for k-5 (or k-8) and then move to private. I literally don't know a single person who wanted Packer who didn't get Packer. Not hooked, unless you consider full pay a hook. But let's say, I raised kids through some weird times - covid, etc. Spots opened up. Okay, but there's Grace or similar T2 schools. Not sure if this is the #4 choice on your list and it's certainly expensive but a lot less than private for k-12 which is what the OP is considering. You won't get a better education than 234, I really think that. My kids did k-5 at PS8 and I was never even a tiny bit envious of the work the kids at Packer were doing - and my kids had plenty of friends in all the local privates. But the convenience of the kids moving from school to the playgroundor to a friends house - or being able to text a friend to see if they/their nanny could help pick up a kid etc. It's just a blessing in those years.

I don't think you're correct about Packer admissions. I think they get many more applicants than they have seats. We went to a lot of open houses last fall and Packer's definitely was the most zoo like, and they closed RSVPs early. It's also not easy to get an interview slot at Packer. I think Packer has become much more popular over the past 10 or 15 years. We know many kids that have Packer on their lists this admission cycle and not all will get in. At least in the HS, Packer has man unique programs imo.

I still have kids in high school so quite familiar with admissions trends up through last 5 years, and I agree that it's tough for K admissions. I do know people who went get in for K. But I don't know anyone who didn't get in later. It helps if you tour and apply and even if you're not accepted just keep you file in play. Call over there in fall and then late in the year about off-cycle admissions. That helps. If not then, in high school. And once one kid is in, they all get in.

[Anonymous]

Packer has debt rated by Moody's so has to publicly disclose a lot of information, which is quite interesting. Data is school wide so it is hard to parse out what grades they are referring to, but overall they reject a lot more kids than they accept, then have a pretty strong yield on those who are accepted.