St. Patrick’s vs NPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NPS bc 6th is a better time to apply out, the upper grades at st Patrick’s are weak, and do you really want to be stuck w/ some of those st pats parents for 10 years? There are some awful families that dominate the social scene

You do not know what you are talking about. St pats had great admissions from 8th last year- Sidwell, both Cathedral schools, Maret, etc. The kids say the new schools are intense but not as hard as st pats upper school.

I am not referring to the outplacement. I’d say they are fairly equal. I am referring to how well prepared these kids do at their next stop. Speaking from experience, the NPS grads at our k-12 are incredibly well prepared in everything except Spanish, are often in advanced math, etc. It’s in sharp contrast to the kids who come from st pats. They’re very social, often good athletes, but are at a different level academically. They’re not well prepared for presentations, group projects, etc. If all you care about are ex-missions, I’d say they’re probably equal, but I’d talk to some graduates and see how their high school or MS experiences have been.

How do they compare to beauvoir kids? We are trying to decide between NPS And beauvoir. Thank u!

Our experience has been that the Beauvoir kids are well prepared, well rounded, adjust well, etc. It’s a little bit harder to tell academically bc 4th grade is a lot less rigorous than 7th or 9th, but truly the st pats kids stand out and not in a good way! Again, this is just my perspective from having 3 kids at a k-12 and living in nw.

I would not believe a word of this because our experience has been the opposite of this. The lifers(the ones who started in k) struggle academically to keep up with the new admits in the class. This is true at any of the highly selective schools. The kids(excluding siblings) coming in 9th are academic all stars because there is so much competition for the limited spots. The kids from St Pats at our “big 3” are like all the other 9th grade admits -well prepared and excelling.

I mean thing about it. Why would Sidwell, GDS, STA, NCS, Holton, Maret, Potomac, a bunch of highly selective boarding schools continue to take multiple kids every year from a school that was not up to their standards?

+1
This is also just so mean-spirited in tone. Are all NPS parents as snide and judgemental as this poster (taking their personal experience at who-knows-what school to suggest that all past and current STP grads are ne'er do wells)? Oh no, wait, that would be using the example of one person (or small number) to generalize about a whole category of individuals. Hmm.

[Anonymous]

Back to OP’s original question. You have two *amazing* options. We’ve loved our time at St Pat’s. We have many friend at NPS and they equally love it there. You really can’t go wrong. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to OP’s original question. You have two *amazing* options. We’ve loved our time at St Pat’s. We have many friend at NPS and they equally love it there. You really can’t go wrong. Good luck!

+1

[Anonymous]

St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

I completely agree. Go visit. The STP middle school is awesome. My DC had a great middle school experience there in a state-of-the-art new facility and went on to a Cathedral school. A top-notch education in a smaller middle school environment where the bad eggs can't hide. Check it out for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

No outdoor space? That's weird. I keep driving by this huge field on Foxhall with a giant St. Patrick's sign.

Why wouldn't they let the middle school students use that field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

I completely agree. Go visit. The STP middle school is awesome. My DC had a great middle school experience there in a state-of-the-art new facility and went on to a Cathedral school. A top-notch education in a smaller middle school environment where the bad eggs can't hide. Check it out for yourself.

Oh the true colors come out. It’s a St Pats troll.

[Anonymous]

Trust your gut, and both great choices OP.

[Anonymous]

Current NPS parent here, so I can not speak to STP. The academics at NPS are fairly weak, but there seems to be a strong emphasis on social emotional development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

I completely agree. Go visit. The STP middle school is awesome. My DC had a great middle school experience there in a state-of-the-art new facility and went on to a Cathedral school. A top-notch education in a smaller middle school environment where the bad eggs can't hide. Check it out for yourself.

Oh the true colors come out. It’s a St Pats troll.

Right, the person saying go check it out for yourself is the troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Pats middle school is awful. Go visit. So small and no room or outdoor space. Just a heads up. The middle school head was also not great. Left after grade 6. Should have never went to the new campus. We should have done outplacement after grade 5. Grade 6, 7, 8 is at the new building.

No outdoor space? That's weird. I keep driving by this huge field on Foxhall with a giant St. Patrick's sign.

Why wouldn't they let the middle school students use that field?

Do you think the kids walk a half hour to go use that field? Do you know where the middle school is located?

[Anonymous]

The St P middle school outdoor space is that big open field next to the school, which is part of the national park service. They also go by school shuttle over to the fields they own for PE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t comment on St. Pats but have experience at NPS. We did not have a good experience. When you have classes of 12-14 kids, you are stuck with the social dynamics which might be good or might be bad. It is luck of the draw. Your kid has maybe 5 options for friends of the same gender in the classroom. If you get placed in a class with a troublemaker or bully, they dictate friendships. Last year, we learned 8 kids left one of the middle grades. I know so many families that have pulled kids out of there over the years due to bullying or just not feeling like it was worth the price. We came in with such high hopes and were so disappointed by the reality.

Current NPS parent. Yes the sizes are 12-14 but 3 classes that do recess amongst other things together. Never had an issue with bullying and what grade had 8 kids leave? I have kids in 3 grades and this doesn't seem real. However, to each is own. We have had a great experience and also great success this year with applying out for 7th grade.

Goodluck. Both schools are good options!

8 kids left 3rd grade last year. It’s hit or miss. I know families that have had a great group of classmates and other years where there are lots of problems. You don’t always know what you are going to get. Hope you get lucky.

This is a little misleading. That class had several kids who had parents who were teachers at other independent schools and they left to go to their parent’s schools at an entry year. Another child left to join a sibling at a K-12 and one kid moved out of the area. The current 4th grade class is a really nice class.

I agree with this. I am a St. Pat's parent and we lose a chunk every year at 3rd grade as well to go to NCS/St A at 4th. A chunk of St. Alban's staff have kids at St. Pat's (and I know of some at NPS in past years, but don't have current knowledge of that) and I think that says more about Beauvoir than St. Pat's or NPS.

I think both St. Pat's and NPS are wonderful schools that are a great fit for many students. Each has specific areas where they are stronger/weaker, but overall, they are both fine schools. We were choosing between both a few years ago and I found the decision to be tough. For our family, the bigger size of St. Pat's felt right for us, while for another, the smaller school would be a better fit. Some of what I thought about NPS was that some of their culture and methods might be better for a more introverted child, and my child that was applying at the time was not (and still is not) an introvert. I felt that the extreme extrovert children would be a better fit at St. Pat's. This isn't a value judgement saying that one is better than the other. You are in the position of being able to choose. Good luck and I am sure you will settle on the right fit and your child will love either St.P or NPS!

[Anonymous]

This post has been so mixed so I’ll just say the best thing is to get off an anonymous board and ask people who will tell you a real and full perspective of either school. It could be half these posts are from someone living in Kansas having a laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t comment on St. Pats but have experience at NPS. We did not have a good experience. When you have classes of 12-14 kids, you are stuck with the social dynamics which might be good or might be bad. It is luck of the draw. Your kid has maybe 5 options for friends of the same gender in the classroom. If you get placed in a class with a troublemaker or bully, they dictate friendships. Last year, we learned 8 kids left one of the middle grades. I know so many families that have pulled kids out of there over the years due to bullying or just not feeling like it was worth the price. We came in with such high hopes and were so disappointed by the reality.

Current NPS parent. Yes the sizes are 12-14 but 3 classes that do recess amongst other things together. Never had an issue with bullying and what grade had 8 kids leave? I have kids in 3 grades and this doesn't seem real. However, to each is own. We have had a great experience and also great success this year with applying out for 7th grade.

Goodluck. Both schools are good options!

8 kids left 3rd grade last year. It’s hit or miss. I know families that have had a great group of classmates and other years where there are lots of problems. You don’t always know what you are going to get. Hope you get lucky.

This is a little misleading. That class had several kids who had parents who were teachers at other independent schools and they left to go to their parent’s schools at an entry year. Another child left to join a sibling at a K-12 and one kid moved out of the area. The current 4th grade class is a really nice class.

I agree with this. I am a St. Pat's parent and we lose a chunk every year at 3rd grade as well to go to NCS/St A at 4th. A chunk of St. Alban's staff have kids at St. Pat's (and I know of some at NPS in past years, but don't have current knowledge of that) and I think that says more about Beauvoir than St. Pat's or NPS.

I think both St. Pat's and NPS are wonderful schools that are a great fit for many students. Each has specific areas where they are stronger/weaker, but overall, they are both fine schools. We were choosing between both a few years ago and I found the decision to be tough. For our family, the bigger size of St. Pat's felt right for us, while for another, the smaller school would be a better fit. Some of what I thought about NPS was that some of their culture and methods might be better for a more introverted child, and my child that was applying at the time was not (and still is not) an introvert. I felt that the extreme extrovert children would be a better fit at St. Pat's. This isn't a value judgement saying that one is better than the other. You are in the position of being able to choose. Good luck and I am sure you will settle on the right fit and your child will love either St.P or NPS!

Current NPS parent here and I second this. Both are really wonderful options. Congrats to your child and your family!