Seeking feedback from St. John’s/Benilde parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the open house. That’s when the size of the school really hit my kid, who was accepted to Benilde. He quickly decided it wasn’t right for him. But each kid is different.

Same experience here. Sounded good until my child (and I) visited. Also seemed more like study hall where student has time to work on homework but not actual teacher support where teachers can work with them to understand in the manner they learn. We didn’t apply and found a school with smaller class sizes which has made a huge difference.

Benilde is not just an extra study hall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the open house. That’s when the size of the school really hit my kid, who was accepted to Benilde. He quickly decided it wasn’t right for him. But each kid is different.

Same experience here. Sounded good until my child (and I) visited. Also seemed more like study hall where student has time to work on homework but not actual teacher support where teachers can work with them to understand in the manner they learn. We didn’t apply and found a school with smaller class sizes which has made a huge difference.

This is why Good Counsel’s Ryken is 100% better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the open house. That’s when the size of the school really hit my kid, who was accepted to Benilde. He quickly decided it wasn’t right for him. But each kid is different.

Same experience here. Sounded good until my child (and I) visited. Also seemed more like study hall where student has time to work on homework but not actual teacher support where teachers can work with them to understand in the manner they learn. We didn’t apply and found a school with smaller class sizes which has made a huge difference.

This is why Good Counsel’s Ryken is 100% better.

Can you provide feedback on Ryken? Are the classes smaller?

[Anonymous]

To the parent of the current Benilde student who is struggling in honors - what kind of self advocacy is required? Are the honors classes at SJC very hard?Do you disagree with the poster who said Benilde period is like a study hall or do they actually get extra help and useful instruction? Thank you so much for your insights. This is a very stressful process and I feel like I’m flying blind on a very high stakes decision.

[Anonymous]

My son is a senior in the Ryken program. At this point, he’s only in one Ryken class - Spanish, but he’s also in an AP class.

Ryken accepts 40 students to be program. You have small class sizes and teachers who are very well trained to teach students with moderate learning disabilities. I have found the teachers to be extremely supportive, knowledgeable, accommodating, and kind. My son has a 3.92 GPA and was accepted to all of the colleges he applied with the exception of UMD which was his REACH.

I can’t say enough about how the Ryken program has changed my son’s life. He scores in the 92% on the HSPT in 8th grade. He’s always been bright, but he also struggled in other ways. He needed teachers who cared. Who would understand his learning profile. His Catholic K-8 left a lot to be desired there.

I don’t know anything about the changes in Benilde.

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard about the changes in Benilde. It is a class period for support/ and sometimes tutoring or reviewing for certain subjects. They also review grades and help navigate with teachers if the student wants them to help. They also offer a homework club afterschool.

The students take one less class (history) to make their workload less and make up the class in the summer for a few weeks.
The school offers accommodations like extra time/ typing, but does not modify assignments.
The modified schedule has helped my student greatly.

[Anonymous]

Because these two programs offer different levels of support, they try very hard to figure out if a student is the right fit for that program. A particular student may do better in one than the other, depending on what works for that student. Doesn’t mean one program is better than the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the parent of the current Benilde student who is struggling in honors - what kind of self advocacy is required? Are the honors classes at SJC very hard?Do you disagree with the poster who said Benilde period is like a study hall or do they actually get extra help and useful instruction? Thank you so much for your insights. This is a very stressful process and I feel like I’m flying blind on a very high stakes decision.

The student needs to recognize that he/she would benefit from help. The honors teacher reached out via email several times inviting our student to meet. We strongly encouraged this at home but our student thought she was doing fine without help. Now that our student knows the honors program might not be in their future, our student is meeting with the teacher and the relevant tutor from the Benilde program. I guess the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink" really applies in our situation. Much harder to "force" interaction in high school generally and at a much larger school than our student and us parents are used to attending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because these two programs offer different levels of support, they try very hard to figure out if a student is the right fit for that program. A particular student may do better in one than the other, depending on what works for that student. Doesn’t mean one program is better than the other.

I agree, which makes it difficult if you have a child that got into both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because these two programs offer different levels of support, they try very hard to figure out if a student is the right fit for that program. A particular student may do better in one than the other, depending on what works for that student. Doesn’t mean one program is better than the other.

My impression is that HC offers more support as long as you get into the actual learning differences elective. And also that they have a writing specialist on staff. Writing is my daughter’s weak point. Do you agree with this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the parent of the current Benilde student who is struggling in honors - what kind of self advocacy is required? Are the honors classes at SJC very hard?Do you disagree with the poster who said Benilde period is like a study hall or do they actually get extra help and useful instruction? Thank you so much for your insights. This is a very stressful process and I feel like I’m flying blind on a very high stakes decision.

The student needs to recognize that he/she would benefit from help. The honors teacher reached out via email several times inviting our student to meet. We strongly encouraged this at home but our student thought she was doing fine without help. Now that our student knows the honors program might not be in their future, our student is meeting with the teacher and the relevant tutor from the Benilde program. I guess the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink" really applies in our situation. Much harder to "force" interaction in high school generally and at a much larger school than our student and us parents are used to attending.

Thank you so much for your help and these details. It is really kind of you to take the time.

[Anonymous]

SJC also has student supports open to all like the writing center and math tutoring. You just make an appointment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SJC also has student supports open to all like the writing center and math tutoring. You just make an appointment.

Is the writing center staffed by professionals or just older students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC also has student supports open to all like the writing center and math tutoring. You just make an appointment.

Is the writing center staffed by professionals or just older students?

There are teachers, including the head of the English department. Ask for the schedule to find out when certain teachers are scheduled to help.