We are moving to the Baltimore area and are interested in both of these schools. Does anyone have information on them to share? Particularly, we are interested in the school "culture", the availability of financial aid, whether the schools are extremely difficult to get into on off years (we would have kids in 3rd and 5th grades), and anything else about the experiences there. Any help is most welcome - thanks! |
We went to visit Park as we are interested in progressive education. Campus was lovely. Not super impressed with classrooms or faculty we met. Just my 2 cents.
DH and I are from Baltimore and Park has a good reputation. Maybe we just got a bad impression? |
We also visited Park. They really toot the "progressive" horn, but to be honest, they seemed pretty traditional to me. Not that that's bad, but there's nothing particularly progressive about their approach that I can see. Certainly no more progressive than your typical independent. Seemed like a nice school and a nice bunch of kids, though. |
PP here-- forgot to mention, I know someone who teaches at Friends who loves it there and thinks it's a great community. I don't know much about the school beyond that though. |
Friend has a child at Friends, very happy, sounds like a wonderful community. |
We are coming from NYC where the admissions scene for private school is terrifying. Is it similarly competitive in Baltimore? |
No it is not, there are a few fairly selective schools. The DC area is more selective than Baltimore as well.
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Park School is REALLY progressive. DH and his brother went there k-12 and are both still somewhat involved. If sports are very important to you and you want an academically competitive environment, Park is not the place. It is a little hippy dippy and loosey goosey. It was great for DH who is super motivated, but not so great for his little brother who is more of a slacker (bro's experiences there are more recent, he graduated from college in 2011).
The community at Park is WONDERFUL. Seriously nurturing and welcoming. Whatever latent talent your child has, someone at Park will figure it out and encourage it. MIL is still pretty involved with many of the parents she became friends with there and the kids stay friends for life (that is also how Baltimore is though, too. People don't leave). Park has a stronger academic reputation than Friends, but Friends is still a wonderful school. Park is known for being historically progressive and liberal. It was the first independent school in Baltimore to admit AA students. It is predominantly Jewish. In BIL's HS graduating class of 56 students in 2007, more than half were Jewish. (not saying this is a problem, just noting it. We are AA). |
Thanks so much everyone for the feedback. If a child has a learning disability, but is also very bright, do you have any idea if either of these schools provide support services? My child has dysgraphia (which is a fine motor related problem that affects his writing) but is academically average to above average. We are currently at a very progressive school and like the approach so are comfortable with that. |
Friend went to Park. He said it was hard to fit in, because he was not of their ilk. With that being said, I know he has friends today from Park and is very close with the administration. The education seems outstanding. He is a double ivy league grad. |
Park is Progressive and very different from other schools in the area. You notice it right away.
1) Dress - no uniforms, teachers dress down, it is difficult to tell them from the kids.2) kids roam free with a decent amount of free time 3). They have a lot of class choices, electives that they decide upon not the typical ones at schools 4) Very few rules and structure. 5)I doubt you will find kids diligently working out of workbooks to practice their handwriting. 6) Lots of independence, in freedom, in work 7) you will not find neat and tidy classrooms. It actually reminds me of a liberal college. |
We have a kid starting lower school at Friends in the fall - coming from a different co-ed private with a strong reputation (leaving only for logistical reasons). I don't therefore have tons of experience, but based on what we've seen first hand and what we've heard from friends with kids in local privates, I would say that lots of schools in the lower grades are willing to work with kids with some "extra" needs, though not probably discipline problems. From what I can tell, the real competitive schools here are Gilman (all boys) and Bryn Mawr (all girls) - I know of younger siblings turned down at each who are doing great at Boys Latin, Roland Park Country Day, or Friends , all of which are very good schools. Typically, all of the schools in the region have "learning specialists" on staff and if you look carefully, you'll see that many have been added in just the past 5 years. I think that the downturn in the economy here has made the schools have to look more carefully at the applicants and try to figure out how to accomodate and challenge a wider range of kids.
We chose Friends in particular for a couple reasons: 1) we wanted co-ed at least for lower school, 2) we wanted less emphasis on sports - at Friends, everyone starting in middle school has to play an after school sport, which means that my unathletic kid will likely not be the worst on the team, 3) all kids learn an instrument in 3rd grade and must be in band or orchestra for the following TWO years - which has the added benefit of showcasing the musical kids and not just the athletes, 3) Friends is upfront on its website about trying to accomodate kids with learning differences - couldn't find that on any other school site, and since we have a younger DC with learning differences, we wanted a place that at least potentially will welcome him/her, 4) Friends also claims to do quite a bit of differentiation, which I asked about at length as one DC is quite advanced in math , 5) every single person who's ever said anything to me about Friends (and this does not include a single alum) has told me that the Friends grads are among the nicest kids s/he knows. College placements are not as strong as some of the other schools (Gilman's is quite impressive) - but that's because it isn't the school's overriding purpose, which I like (not that I won't change my mind in the upper grades...). I haven't had the sense that Friends is particularly progressive, if that is what you are looking for in particular. It does though seem to be a lovely community. I definitely recommend that you talk to Amy Mortimer, who is in charge of lower school admissions. She has 3 kids there in upper/middle/lower school and she can definitely talk to you about all of your questions. Re getting in during off-years - we arrived in B'more unexpectedly at the last minute last August and had no problems whatsoever at all the schools we looked at, including some of the very competitive ones. FYI, the schools in B'more do their own testing rather than rely on WISC, but we had just had DC's done and we shared that so they only did a bit of supplemental testing, but if your kid hasn't done well on the WISC, no one here will ever know. Good luck!!! |
I went to Park in the '80's. I loved it and think I got an excellent education. The faculty was extremely dedicated to the students, and most everyone went above and beyond. Can't say about now, but back then, they were more than willing to work with kids with different learning styles, including doing one on one independent study in certain subjects instead of certain classes. Having said that, most of the kids I went to school with were very upper-crusty entitled types, with a good handful of oddballs thrown in. Now, 20+ years later, my best friends are still some of my Park School classmates.
Really, if it's anything like it used to be, it's pretty fantastic. I wish we lived closer so I could send my kids there. |
PP, Park struck me as a little chaotic and disorganized. I liked the school a lot but they did not have very neat and organized classroom, it seemed messy. Even the teachers area was not neat, papers, empty cups, papers an snack wrappers on the floor. Was it like this in the 80s? Do this happen every so often but is not the norm? I really liked the school but my DC is pretty neat and I thought that this would distract my child not sure how it doesn't distract the teachers.
TIS. |
PP, Park struck me as a little chaotic and disorganized. I liked the school a lot but they did not have very neat and organized classroom, it seemed messy. Even the teachers area was not neat, papers, empty cups, papers an snack wrappers on the floor. Was it like this in the 80s? Do this happen every so often but is not the norm? I really liked the school but my DC is pretty neat and I thought that this would distract my child not sure how it doesn't distract the teachers.
TIS. |