Bishop Ireton vs. SSSAS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placements for both ebb and flow with the years, but Ireton has definitely seen an uptake as of late, and being almost half as much as SSSAS, Ireton is the better value. Where else can you guarantee almost $100 k savings over the period while still having a quality high school education without going into DC? Easy choice go with BI.

My child seems genuinely uncomfortable with the overly religious aspects of BI so that is something we will be mulling over more once we hear about possible acceptances from these schools. Financially, we can afford either one, but I also worry about SSSAS having a culture of too much wealthy and exclusivity.

BI would not be a good fit if you describe your child as "genuinely uncomfortable" with the religious nature of the school. A student being non-Catholic is not a big deal. Like, at all. Being anti-religious is a different matter altogether.

My child is not anti-religious. But I will note that the March for Life signs in the classrooms at BI made her really uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS is second tier private at best. Ireton is better.

NP. Looking at both because we don’t want to drive into DC for school. Why is BI better? Honestly, I thought they are both considered second tier?

What I mean here is that SSSAS has a reputation as one of the least academically rigorous and least prestigious of the independent schools in the DMV. It's for rich families in Arlington/Alexandria who aren't Catholic and whose kids can't get into the "real" private schools in this area but feel the need to escape public schools. Ireton is different; it's a Catholic school for Catholic families interested in Catholic education. It has a mission. SSSAS doesn't, or at least not a good one.

I think you are overlooking a major appeal of SSSAS for many families. There are lots people who live in Alexandria, can afford a $45-50k tuition and don’t want to drive 30+ minutes a day (each way) into DC for school! This is a big factor for many families.

St. Stephen's parent here. I'll add to this that we looked at schools all over the DMV as we lived in the district at the time and picked SSSAS. It's an excellent school and we wanted to provide a more suburban experience for our kids. All the "real" private schools (as the PP so put it <eye roll> are urban (including those in Bethesda). We also considered Potomac but McLean wasn't our scene.

Also the trashing of SSSAS on DCUM is really weird. My kid is in the lower school and half their class has parents with Ivy league degrees (and the other half graduated from schools like William and Mary or UVA), a huge number of parents are equity partners at top law firms, and many others have high-profile jobs. I'm not saying these kids definitely would have been admitted to Sidwell or anything but it's not as if they had no chance of being admitted to DC private schools. Most of them openly talk about a) really liking Alexandria, and b) wanting to raise kids outside the district.

Excuse me while I laugh. You say that many of the parents are rich and well credentialed. Ok. Now, compare the colleges that the SSSAS graduates themselves are accepted to to the DC and Bethesda ones -- and Potomac -- and they're laughable. You'd do just as well going to Alexandria City High, Ireton, O'Connell, or any of the Arlington public high schools.

So all you've done is prove my point that it's a school for rich kids with white flight parents.

Np. ^ you need to take your meds or get la*d. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like on average 4 graduates a year (out of a typical class of 115) get into an Ivy. Yea, that's worth $45k.

When did education become all about college admissions? You sound like an angry parent that went to PS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placements for both ebb and flow with the years, but Ireton has definitely seen an uptake as of late, and being almost half as much as SSSAS, Ireton is the better value. Where else can you guarantee almost $100 k savings over the period while still having a quality high school education without going into DC? Easy choice go with BI.

My child seems genuinely uncomfortable with the overly religious aspects of BI so that is something we will be mulling over more once we hear about possible acceptances from these schools. Financially, we can afford either one, but I also worry about SSSAS having a culture of too much wealthy and exclusivity.

BI would not be a good fit if you describe your child as "genuinely uncomfortable" with the religious nature of the school. A student being non-Catholic is not a big deal. Like, at all. Being anti-religious is a different matter altogether.

My child is not anti-religious. But I will note that the March for Life signs in the classrooms at BI made her really uncomfortable.

Why would a sign encouraging people to choose life make someone uncomfortable? She doesn't have to participate. Perhaps a sign that says choose abortion would make her more comfortable??? huh??

[Anonymous]

OP, which school is the best fit for your DC and your family? Go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like on average 4 graduates a year (out of a typical class of 115) get into an Ivy. Yea, that's worth $45k.

When did education become all about college admissions? You sound like an angry parent that went to PS.

That’s not what it’s all about. However, it is the endgame of K-12, PK-12, 6-12, 4-12, 9-12, and can be a goal of many students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placements for both ebb and flow with the years, but Ireton has definitely seen an uptake as of late, and being almost half as much as SSSAS, Ireton is the better value. Where else can you guarantee almost $100 k savings over the period while still having a quality high school education without going into DC? Easy choice go with BI.

My child seems genuinely uncomfortable with the overly religious aspects of BI so that is something we will be mulling over more once we hear about possible acceptances from these schools. Financially, we can afford either one, but I also worry about SSSAS having a culture of too much wealthy and exclusivity.

BI would not be a good fit if you describe your child as "genuinely uncomfortable" with the religious nature of the school. A student being non-Catholic is not a big deal. Like, at all. Being anti-religious is a different matter altogether.

My child is not anti-religious. But I will note that the March for Life signs in the classrooms at BI made her really uncomfortable.

Why would a sign encouraging people to choose life make someone uncomfortable? She doesn't have to participate. Perhaps a sign that says choose abortion would make her more comfortable??? huh??

Oh, come on! Nobody is asking for a sign that says choose abortion. My kid, who has only attended secular schools (public and private), was just taken aback by seeing that type of thing inside a classroom. I’m not sure how she’d feeling going to a school that buses kids to the March for Life. It’s very different from the educational environment she’s accustomed to. This is one factor we are weighing.

[Anonymous]

The school sends a ton of kids to March for Life. Trump won the mock election at the school in 2016. The religious piece is pretty heavy there, since of course it’s a Catholic school. The math instruction has got to be better than that at BI since so many of the better math teachers left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College placements for both ebb and flow with the years, but Ireton has definitely seen an uptake as of late, and being almost half as much as SSSAS, Ireton is the better value. Where else can you guarantee almost $100 k savings over the period while still having a quality high school education without going into DC? Easy choice go with BI.

My child seems genuinely uncomfortable with the overly religious aspects of BI so that is something we will be mulling over more once we hear about possible acceptances from these schools. Financially, we can afford either one, but I also worry about SSSAS having a culture of too much wealthy and exclusivity.

BI would not be a good fit if you describe your child as "genuinely uncomfortable" with the religious nature of the school. A student being non-Catholic is not a big deal. Like, at all. Being anti-religious is a different matter altogether.

My child is not anti-religious. But I will note that the March for Life signs in the classrooms at BI made her really uncomfortable.

Why would a sign encouraging people to choose life make someone uncomfortable? She doesn't have to participate. Perhaps a sign that says choose abortion would make her more comfortable??? huh??

Give me a break. The abortion debate isn’t about life. That is gaslighting at its finest. The debate is about whether women, females, have the right to make their own healthcare decisions. If men got pregnant this would never even be an issue. Further, if the debate were honestly about life, those who claim to be be pro-life would also be about supporting single parents, about free healthcare for poor kids in this country, about getting everyone vaccines who is medically allowed in order to prevent unnecessary deaths from communicable disease, and more. Instead the so/called “right-to-life” movement is really about controlling women and girls.

[Anonymous]

You pay double the money and get half the facilities…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS is second tier private at best. Ireton is better.

NP. Looking at both because we don’t want to drive into DC for school. Why is BI better? Honestly, I thought they are both considered second tier?

What I mean here is that SSSAS has a reputation as one of the least academically rigorous and least prestigious of the independent schools in the DMV. It's for rich families in Arlington/Alexandria who aren't Catholic and whose kids can't get into the "real" private schools in this area but feel the need to escape public schools. Ireton is different; it's a Catholic school for Catholic families interested in Catholic education. It has a mission. SSSAS doesn't, or at least not a good one.

They can’t get into the real ones? I that that was the deacon Flint Hill and Bullis? Those two are now spoken highly of and it looks like SSSAS has taken over that description.

I would send my child to SSSAS over Flint Hill any day.

[Anonymous]

There's a bigger issue differentiating the two schools. St Stephen's, is a toxic culture focused on money, Belle Haven and girls lacrosse. If your child doesn't fall into one of those three categories, he or she won't be very happy, and the Administration will treat you like a second class citizen. Simple as that. Ireton is half the price. More blue collar for sure. Not a country club vibe. Ireton has updated its facilities without increasing its price. St Stephen's hasn't updated its facilities and increased its fees to just under $50 k. Save yourself $100,000 and get a good education and stay away from the St. Stephen's toxic culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a bigger issue differentiating the two schools. St Stephen's, is a toxic culture focused on money, Belle Haven and girls lacrosse. If your child doesn't fall into one of those three categories, he or she won't be very happy, and the Administration will treat you like a second class citizen. Simple as that. Ireton is half the price. More blue collar for sure. Not a country club vibe. Ireton has updated its facilities without increasing its price. St Stephen's hasn't updated its facilities and increased its fees to just under $50 k. Save yourself $100,000 and get a good education and stay away from the St. Stephen's toxic culture.

SSSAS parent here. We have had a great experience. We are Catholic but did not like the BI vibes. It has improved a lot so I think they are about the same now. BI may even have the edge in college placements. We would still pick SSSAS. Have not seen the toxic culture and kids do not play lax. SSSAS college results have been so so. Again not why we went there. We are also not in Alexandria so did not flee public there. For what it is worth I agree college outcomes better at public for top 10% of class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a bigger issue differentiating the two schools. St Stephen's, is a toxic culture focused on money, Belle Haven and girls lacrosse. If your child doesn't fall into one of those three categories, he or she won't be very happy, and the Administration will treat you like a second class citizen. Simple as that. Ireton is half the price. More blue collar for sure. Not a country club vibe. Ireton has updated its facilities without increasing its price. St Stephen's hasn't updated its facilities and increased its fees to just under $50 k. Save yourself $100,000 and get a good education and stay away from the St. Stephen's toxic culture.

Did your kids attend either school? If so, which one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a bigger issue differentiating the two schools. St Stephen's, is a toxic culture focused on money, Belle Haven and girls lacrosse. If your child doesn't fall into one of those three categories, he or she won't be very happy, and the Administration will treat you like a second class citizen. Simple as that. Ireton is half the price. More blue collar for sure. Not a country club vibe. Ireton has updated its facilities without increasing its price. St Stephen's hasn't updated its facilities and increased its fees to just under $50 k. Save yourself $100,000 and get a good education and stay away from the St. Stephen's toxic culture.

SSSAS parent here. We have had a great experience. We are Catholic but did not like the BI vibes. It has improved a lot so I think they are about the same now. BI may even have the edge in college placements. [i]We would still pick SSSAS. Have not seen the toxic culture and kids do not play lax. SSSAS college results have been so so. Again not why we went there. We are also not in Alexandria so did not flee public there. For what it is worth I agree college outcomes better at public for top 10% of class.

Doesn’t BI track your kid immediately upon entering based upon HSPT scores? Is there a way to move into Honors and AP classes if you aren’t placed in them initially Freshman year? I assume the top college placements are the kids that load up on AP and honors classes to get very high GPAs. Maybe I am wrong? SSSAS seems to allow everyone into AP classes if they want to try it. Can any current parents provide insight?