Comparing all boys schools in the area.

[Anonymous]

The reason the poster mentions it is that wp is so anxious to post on all the bad landon news, it would seem that good news might get recognition. But just like here, anything good is not interesting or wanted news.

[Anonymous]

I've made these observations of prep school boys in the wild.

On the Metro, the Gonzaga boys are always animated, but when they realize their volume is getting too much, they quickly take it down a notch. You boys have no idea how much we other riders appreciate that. What a study in contrasts for other school-age teens commuting on the Metro.

Around the Brookland Metro Station, St. Anselms boys. They always seem to be reading. I've never seen them rambunctious in all of the years I've been working in that area. Future scholars, for sure.

At the Chipotle on Wisconsin Ave., the St. Albans School boys are the same way as the Gonzaga boys. Always seemingly relaxed. Usually with a book in the hand. Always wearing their STA sweatshirts, shorts, or jackets - don't they dress in anything without the logo? But they always clean up after themselves and I never see them fail to hold open a door for another customer.

Out front of Landon when driving by in the car - beware. I've always been struck at how often the boys either could care less about the passing traffic when they are crossing the street, assuming that you will stop for them, whether you see them or not. Oblivious? Arrogant? I don't know. But it does make you wonder.

[Anonymous]

PP, I like the anthropological approach! One minor critique: it may be that the Landon obliviousness/arrogance is b/c you are seeing them close to campus rather than out and about--sort of like kids will be messier in their own home than if they are a guest. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

True PP, kids behave differently around friends than they do around adults and in the community. I am sure Landon boys are as respectful as others from STA, Gonzaga, and GP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've made these observations of prep school boys in the wild.

On the Metro, the Gonzaga boys are always animated, but when they realize their volume is getting too much, they quickly take it down a notch. You boys have no idea how much we other riders appreciate that. What a study in contrasts for other school-age teens commuting on the Metro.

Around the Brookland Metro Station, St. Anselms boys. They always seem to be reading. I've never seen them rambunctious in all of the years I've been working in that area. Future scholars, for sure.

At the Chipotle on Wisconsin Ave., the St. Albans School boys are the same way as the Gonzaga boys. Always seemingly relaxed. Usually with a book in the hand. Always wearing their STA sweatshirts, shorts, or jackets - don't they dress in anything without the logo? But they always clean up after themselves and I never see them fail to hold open a door for another customer.

Out front of Landon when driving by in the car - beware. I've always been struck at how often the boys either could care less about the passing traffic when they are crossing the street, assuming that you will stop for them, whether you see them or not. Oblivious? Arrogant? I don't know. But it does make you wonder.

STA guys you see usually are starving upperclassmen and have come from sports practice hence logo items.

[Anonymous]

Looks like Landon's reputation is slowly but surely heading back up in the community. Good for them, hopefully the Landon Administration are conducting changes.

[Anonymous]

Landon boosters seem to be putting on an organized full-court press to create a new and different reputation for the school by immediately and forcefully countering any negative comments. This is fine and hopefully they have made meaningful changes that over the long term will support their PR campaign. However, if the core remains rotten at Landon, it will all just be Madison Avenue style window dressing and Landon boys will again in the future engage in destructive behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Boys at other schools including prep, STA, even Sidwell, are biased against Landon kids who they say act entitled and arrogant. Incidentally, these kids don't have any issues with students from other schools-it's landon boys they single out for their a-hole behavior.

[Anonymous]

pp and i do have one gripe about STA boys at Chipotle. They are mostly fine, but they do jump the line by joining friends already waiting. I have seen six kids join a single kid ahead of me. But you are right, STA mostly really nice kids. I ride the red line and have always admired the Gonzaga kids who seem like a good bunch.

[Anonymous]

Another one to consider is St. Anselm's Abbey Academy School in Brookland. It is one of the top ranking all boys school in the area (if not the highest), and average SAT scores are extremely high. It provides a very rigorous academic program for boys in grades 6-12. I don't know about the rankings of their sports teams, but they do have an incredible sports facility that was built a few years ago. The school also sits on a huge wooded campus with loads of outdoor space.

[Anonymous]

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings

Thought you might be interested in the new rankings that came out.

HYP, Penn, Columbia and Dartmouth are ranked at the top. However, Duke, Univ of Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins and Wash U are all ranked before Cornell and Brown.

Go to the website to see additional rankings. Universities are ranked separately from Liberal Arts Schools. (ie Williams)

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for some quite insightful information about a lot of these all boys schools. My husband and I have gotten a better idea of where our son might fit. We are leaning towards Landon at the moment as our #1 school for the following reasons:
1. Its academics seem to be intact and not to down compared to St. Albans.
2. Its arts program is fantastic compared to other schools in the area and its athletic program as a whole is quite all-rounded.
3. It happens to be secular school so we don't have to worry about our DS feeling a little "awkward" during other sort of religious activities or ceremonies.
Heck, anything can change though. I would like to take a look at all the schools closely because these high school years usually turn out to be 4 pivotal years in a child's life.
For those who are a little more know about these schools(Landon, GP, Gonzaga, STA, St Anslems); which school do you think would suit my DC better?
My DC happens to play D1 soccer right now and plays a few other sports as well but in a less competitive manner. He is an excellent student and gets straight A's with an occasional B. From my husband and I's observations, he seems to do well in school but sometimes if the pressure mounts too high, it can get a bit irrupting for DC but he copes. So I believe a very very pressure cooker type school wouldn't suit him too well but he can deal well with pressure, just not a whole lot of it(not sure if that made sense). He is a social kid, involved in SCA, and is well liked among his peers. We have sat down and discussed the private school option and public school option with him and he seems to be very open to the idea of switching for high school. Thank you for all of the help in advance.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Landon would work pretty well--they don't emphasize soccer though, it's pretty macho football-ish in the fall. But if you are cool with that, the academic environment sounds good for what you are thinking.

[Anonymous]

Each of these schools are excellent academically. Do not be deceived by the pumpers who would have you believe that Landon, GP, and even Gonzaga are significantly inferior to STA, Sidwell, etc. They may be slightly stronger but the reality is that they are very very close. The difference is not so great that anyone should make a decision based on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have done my share of criticizing Landon--I think their Board is over-involved in the day-to-day running of the school--but I've been fairly impressed by the curriculum and what I've heard about the teaching. They have a great Humanities course (in the junior year, I think?), for one thing. I do think that STA is probably a bit more rigorous, and that perhaps the student cohort is stronger across the board (Landon's top kids would certainly shine anywhere), but Landon's academics are good. Culturally there are maybe some issues, but I have met boys of all different personalities who have thrived there--I think just continue to investigate, visit, etc.

Of the four boys schools you list, I think STA has one feature that is distinct and I would consider an advantage--they have very close coordination with NCS, the girls' school, even to the extent of having all junior English classes co-ed (most electives in the upper school are also co-ed). The performing arts, and some teams, are also functionally co-ed. I think it offers a healthy opportunity to interact and form platonic friendships with girls.

Just reading all of the posts... I find that really interesting about STA. It seems like a very neat thing which I haven't heard in other brother/sister schools. I've heard Landon has a few classes shared with Holton starting in junior year. How else do boys from Gonzaga, GP, Landon, and STA meet with girls from like say Madiera, (I don't know GP's sister school), Holton, and NCS? Just for the OP, more specifically Landon+Holton. I am guessing through dances?