Pros and cons of all boys catholic schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:at most coed schools, the top of the class is nowadays mostly girls. sure there are exceptions. but overall girls tend to perform better at school at this age. that is not all bad. but people want their sons during prime developmental years to also be confident in their abilities and motivated such that they are working hard and maybe you can find that at a challenging all-boys high school environment.

coed schools are currently ranked the best of the best in the country. These are challenging environments. I think the question is why pick all boys when coed schools are better.

[Anonymous]

If you are using Niche as your source, it is a lot of self-reported and qualitative data.

No ranking will tell if a school will be good for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:at most coed schools, the top of the class is nowadays mostly girls. sure there are exceptions. but overall girls tend to perform better at school at this age. that is not all bad. but people want their sons during prime developmental years to also be confident in their abilities and motivated such that they are working hard and maybe you can find that at a challenging all-boys high school environment.

coed schools are currently ranked the best of the best in the country. These are challenging environments. I think the question is why pick all boys when coed schools are better.

Because, as has been stated upthread, all-boys is better for some boys. Just as co-ed is better for some girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:at most coed schools, the top of the class is nowadays mostly girls. sure there are exceptions. but overall girls tend to perform better at school at this age. that is not all bad. but people want their sons during prime developmental years to also be confident in their abilities and motivated such that they are working hard and maybe you can find that at a challenging all-boys high school environment.

coed schools are currently ranked the best of the best in the country. These are challenging environments. I think the question is why pick all boys when coed schools are better.

This is a silly question on a DC private school forum. You may be able to get the answer you’re looking for if you name the coed schools currently ranked the “best of the best” in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:at most coed schools, the top of the class is nowadays mostly girls. sure there are exceptions. but overall girls tend to perform better at school at this age. that is not all bad. but people want their sons during prime developmental years to also be confident in their abilities and motivated such that they are working hard and maybe you can find that at a challenging all-boys high school environment.

coed schools are currently ranked the best of the best in the country. These are challenging environments. I think the question is why pick all boys when coed schools are better.

This is a silly question on a DC private school forum. You may be able to get the answer you’re looking for if you name the coed schools currently ranked the “best of the best” in the country.

Sidwell, Veritas, Choate up in CT, Lawrenceville in NJ, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Regis, Prep, Gilman, Strake, Collegiate..the best of the best all boys in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After going to an all-girls school where I was able to take a few classes at the neighboring all-boys school, I decided (at age 18) that I would never send any son of mine to an all-boys school. The sexism was abhorrent.

Diversity can be so helpful . . .

An all boys school with coed classes? Strange.

One period per day, opt in only. This is normal. Theater, band, and choral programs are often shared with a sister school. Also sports like swimming/track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regis, Prep, Gilman, Strake, Collegiate..the best of the best all boys in the country.

And there are coed schools that are better than every one of those. What is the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After going to an all-girls school where I was able to take a few classes at the neighboring all-boys school, I decided (at age 18) that I would never send any son of mine to an all-boys school. The sexism was abhorrent.

Diversity can be so helpful . . .

An all boys school with coed classes? Strange.

One period per day, opt in only. This is normal. Theater, band, and choral programs are often shared with a sister school. Also sports like swimming/track.

never heard of an all boys school doing one period per day coed. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of all boys school? You want them away from girls because girls are so overwhelmingly distracting..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After going to an all-girls school where I was able to take a few classes at the neighboring all-boys school, I decided (at age 18) that I would never send any son of mine to an all-boys school. The sexism was abhorrent.

Diversity can be so helpful . . .

An all boys school with coed classes? Strange.

One period per day, opt in only. This is normal. Theater, band, and choral programs are often shared with a sister school. Also sports like swimming/track.

never heard of an all boys school doing one period per day coed. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of all boys school? You want them away from girls because girls are so overwhelmingly distracting..

Have you ever heard of St. Alban’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:at most coed schools, the top of the class is nowadays mostly girls. sure there are exceptions. but overall girls tend to perform better at school at this age. that is not all bad. but people want their sons during prime developmental years to also be confident in their abilities and motivated such that they are working hard and maybe you can find that at a challenging all-boys high school environment.

coed schools are currently ranked the best of the best in the country. These are challenging environments. I think the question is why pick all boys when coed schools are better.

This is a silly question on a DC private school forum. You may be able to get the answer you’re looking for if you name the coed schools currently ranked the “best of the best” in the country.

Sidwell, Veritas, Choate up in CT, Lawrenceville in NJ, etc etc.

Veritas?? lol

[Anonymous]

it doesnt defeat the purpose. its not that girls are distracting or that socializing with girls has no usefulness. its more some boys may get academically lost and unmotivated in an environment that is not designed for boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regis, Prep, Gilman, Strake, Collegiate..the best of the best all boys in the country.

And there are coed schools that are better than every one of those. What is the point?

And there are all boys school better than every one of the ones you listed. What’s your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After going to an all-girls school where I was able to take a few classes at the neighboring all-boys school, I decided (at age 18) that I would never send any son of mine to an all-boys school. The sexism was abhorrent.

Diversity can be so helpful . . .

An all boys school with coed classes? Strange.

One period per day, opt in only. This is normal. Theater, band, and choral programs are often shared with a sister school. Also sports like swimming/track.

never heard of an all boys school doing one period per day coed. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of all boys school? You want them away from girls because girls are so overwhelmingly distracting..

Not one person on here has said they want boys away from girls because they are overwhelmingly distracting. Keep making things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with a recent graduate of an all boys catholic high school comment on the good and bad of these schools? We are looking at Gonzaga and DeMatha (we like price point of DeMatha) and access to learning center but what kinds of boys do well here or which types might struggle?

Our son is a current student going into his sophomore year at DeMatha, and like many families at our parish school, we found ourselves staring down that familiar fork in the road: DeMatha or Gonzaga.

We toured both. We asked around. We understand why people love both. And we ultimately chose DeMatha, not because it was perfect, but because it was the right fit for our son.

Why DeMatha?

To start, the price point mattered. DeMatha offered a more manageable tuition without sacrificing the primary benefits we were looking for in an all boys Catholic high school experience: structure, discipline, camaraderie.

But cost wasn’t the only factor. We also wanted a school that would meet our son where he was – a smart, curious, but sometimes disorganized kid.

DeMatha impressed us with its Academic Support Center, which doesn’t just exist on paper.

Coming from a parish school, we were used to a more curated Catholic bubble. DeMatha is different in a good way. It’s proudly Catholic, yes, but it’s also diverse in race, background, and personality. Our son has classmates who come from every corner of the DMV. It’s not a monolith.

It’s a high performance environmentbin arts, athletics and academis, but there’s less pretense than we expected. Kids aren’t competing to be the most polished or prestigious. There’s a groundedness to it. Yes, there are athletes who will end up on ESPN, but there are also band kids, artsy kids, science kids, and kids like ours who are somewhere in between.

Brotherhood. You’ll hear this word a lot at all-boys schools. At DeMatha, we’ve seen it show up in little ways. When our son was struggling, an older student offered to tutor him. When he joined a new club, he was welcomed without needing to prove himself. There’s accountability, but also encouragement. We’ve seen him become more confident, more vocal, and more comfortable in his own skin.

Why not Gonzaga?

We have nothing bad to say about Gonzaga. It’s a beautiful school with an incredible tradition and a strong identity. The commute would have been about the same. The tuition, while higher, would have been manageable. The atmosphere felt a little more polished, but also a little more pressure-filled.

At DeMatha, he’s allowed to grow at his own pace. He’s challenged, but he’s also seen and supported. That makes a difference.

DeMatha isn’t for everyone. But it’s absolutely been right for our son. It offers a mix of tradition and support, academic seriousness and real-world diversity, faith and flexibility.

I love the DeMatha love this thread is receiving! We have a DeMatha grad and that was the best choice we ever made for our son. Our son had plenty of interactions with girls during his time at DeMatha. A lot of all boys have sister schools, they take the bus and do other activities together during the school year. It’s not what some of you on here are making it out to be. These are teenage boys at the end of the day. Being at an all boys school doesn’t stop them from being teenage boys.