Charlotte Private Schools

[Anonymous]

All 3 are equally wierd - cult like bs, demented alums, more arrogant than intelligent. Parents with too much time meddling in school affairs and athletics does not make a school better.

If you decide on a private, just pick the closest one to your house.

Ask to speak to some of the teachers and you may change you mind.

[Anonymous]

Latin alum here who finished 10 years ago. I wouldn’t change it as it definitely prepared me well for living in DC - major pressure cooker and a lot of academic snobbery. Less bullying around money and more around academics.

From what I’ve heard though it’s become a warmer environment in recent years though. Their middle school was definitely their strong spot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Latin alum here who finished 10 years ago. I wouldn’t change it as it definitely prepared me well for living in DC - major pressure cooker and a lot of academic snobbery. Less bullying around money and more around academics.

From what I’ve heard though it’s become a warmer environment in recent years though. Their middle school was definitely their strong spot

As a CCDS alum, that matches my impression of Latin. CCDS was the inverse - academics were very strong if you wanted that but the school culture was much more focused on money and sports. I would probably have fit in much better at Latin, but what can you do.

[Anonymous]

My cousin who used to live in Georgetown is in Charlotte now. She sends her children to Latin and is very happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience being legacy and asked to "wait to apply" next year for one of the big three schools in Charlotte?

[Anonymous]

My kids are at CCDS-- the new head of school is amazing and making lots of changes to keep up w the times. It is a school rooted VERY deep in tradition and she is working hard to make things better. THere are a TON of alumni kids and they are very cliquey and it can be very hard to break into the social scene if you are new to town. The academics and teachers are top notch though, for the most part. Definitely not a perfect school and a lot of parents are insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience being legacy and asked to "wait to apply" next year for one of the big three schools in Charlotte?

Assuming this is one with a TK (CCDS or PD)? Just shows how high the demand is that they are filling the spots and having legacies applicants spill over to the next year.

[Anonymous]

It’s interesting someone mentioned backwoods rednecks and wealth.
Well let me tell ya “padner” - The rednecks as you call them with the wealth (who have given the private schools more than half of their current endowment $) are far better than the other private school parents. Much better than the financial/banking and even doctor parents that send their kids to private schools in Charlotte. Those types think only their kids are the best, when actually they are the lowest performing academically.
Look at what happened at one on the privates (previously mentioned in another post) that kicked out one nasty parents.

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about the family that Latin kicked out a few years back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Charlotte and have worked with most of the privates here (as well as Cannon School in Cabarrus County and Gaston Day in Gaston County), including the top K-8s.

I found Latin to be the most insular, and others here have said the same thing. The sort of place that if you didn't go to Latin, the parents who did will have no time for you. Beautiful campus, but hands down my least favorite because it's just so unwelcoming. They put a big premium on lifers, as well.

CCDS is a bit less insular, but definitely a lot of legacy kids like Latin. The middle school is a separate campus from lower and upper school. Some love that and some hate it (although the kids almost universally love it). The closest of the Big 3 to the old money neighborhoods.

PD is big into their sports. Some legacy kids but less than the others. Not quite as close to the center of things, but way closer than Latin.

For K-8s, the two best ones are Trinity Episcopal and Charlotte Prep. TES is downtown ("Uptown") which is super convenient for some people, but very small campus. They take the fact that they're Episcopal seriously; they're the only religious-affiliated top school, and they have weekly chapel and faith studies. Very welcoming, they place kids into CCDS, PD, and Latin for 9th every year. CP is close to PD, and uniquely among top tier privates, they have a Montessori early school and take kids as young as 2. Kids can do Montessori or traditional kindergarten, and then from first grade on is traditional. They also have good outplacement.

Charlotte Christian and Charlotte Catholic are definitely a step below CCDS, PD, and Latin for high school (the Catholics here are...... interesting). I'll admit I have no experience with Davidson Day and British International.

Curious about Charlotte Christian - does it tend to be right wing / Christian conservative types, or not really?

And what do you mean when you say the Catholics in CT are interesting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll elaborate (I'm not the one who said "definitely not Latin" but I am the one with experience with lots of Charlotte privates).

Its incredibly insular, to a disturbing degree, imo. Did you go to Latin? No? Okay, then they'll never be fully welcomed by the parents who did. To the point where I've heard stories about non-legacy kids being purposefully excluded, starting in kindergarten. Faculty and staff who are not Latin alums report similar dynamics, and there are a ton of Latin alums who work there. And heaven forbid you look different, sound different, or have the audacity to not live in the right neighborhood.

They talk a lot about increasing and celebrating diversity, but they have a known problem with retaining African American employees and families. Many wealthy black families just flat out wouldn't consider Latin.

I have cousins who are Latin alum who sent their kids to Latin and I absolutely picked up on this dynamic. My cousins kids are very close to the kids of their friends who are also alum. They all grew up going to Charlotte Country Club together for both generations, etc. Honestly, seeing that dynamic kept me from moving to CLT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love the culture down here! We just moved from a big 3 in dc and aren’t looking back. We have one at CCDS and one at Latin - and friends at PDS. I don’t think you can go wrong! Would you be new to the area?

Backwoods red neck living. Oh joy. Not appealing to some of us.

Its funny how people have no idea about southern wealth. And I am not talking about the generational type. I consult on home construction for high net worth families and the new estates, quality of build and design in the south put the mid Atlantic and North East to shame.

Yeah, the housing stock in Charlotte is way nicer than the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Charlotte and have worked with most of the privates here (as well as Cannon School in Cabarrus County and Gaston Day in Gaston County), including the top K-8s.

I found Latin to be the most insular, and others here have said the same thing. The sort of place that if you didn't go to Latin, the parents who did will have no time for you. Beautiful campus, but hands down my least favorite because it's just so unwelcoming. They put a big premium on lifers, as well.

CCDS is a bit less insular, but definitely a lot of legacy kids like Latin. The middle school is a separate campus from lower and upper school. Some love that and some hate it (although the kids almost universally love it). The closest of the Big 3 to the old money neighborhoods.

PD is big into their sports. Some legacy kids but less than the others. Not quite as close to the center of things, but way closer than Latin.

For K-8s, the two best ones are Trinity Episcopal and Charlotte Prep. TES is downtown ("Uptown") which is super convenient for some people, but very small campus. They take the fact that they're Episcopal seriously; they're the only religious-affiliated top school, and they have weekly chapel and faith studies. Very welcoming, they place kids into CCDS, PD, and Latin for 9th every year. CP is close to PD, and uniquely among top tier privates, they have a Montessori early school and take kids as young as 2. Kids can do Montessori or traditional kindergarten, and then from first grade on is traditional. They also have good outplacement.

Charlotte Christian and Charlotte Catholic are definitely a step below CCDS, PD, and Latin for high school (the Catholics here are...... interesting). I'll admit I have no experience with Davidson Day and British International.

Curious about Charlotte Christian - does it tend to be right wing / Christian conservative types, or not really?

And what do you mean when you say the Catholics in CT are interesting?

Charlotte Christian definitely tends to be a good bit more of the "I LOVE JESUS!" types than the other schools. I'd say the vibe is way more nondenominational mega church than mainline Protestant. There aren't too many hardcore right wing MAGA types in Charlotte itself, but Charlotte Christian is conservative, and not in the business leaders/country club set way that CCDS, PD, and Latin are.

As to Catholics in Charlotte.....I've found southern Catholics tend to be much more conservative than DC area Catholics (even discounting the fact that it feels like half of Maryland considers themselves culturally Catholic but politically liberal). All Catholic schools in Mecklenburg County are run by the diocese. For the past couple of decades there's been this simmering tension in the diocese and the schools between the old school conservatives and the more liberal cafeteria catholics who moved south. It burst out in the open a few years back, a more progressive-minded Bishop (a Franciscan born in Baltimore, in fact) was appointed by Pope Francis in early 2024. Now it's practically an all out war between the conservative and progressive wings of the Catholic church here. Schools are still pretty firmly in the hands of the conservatives. There was a big blow up when Charlotte Catholic High School switched its accreditation to Lumen, which was created by Catholic University. Previously accreditation was done through Cognia, which is much larger and not Catholic-only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love the culture down here! We just moved from a big 3 in dc and aren’t looking back. We have one at CCDS and one at Latin - and friends at PDS. I don’t think you can go wrong! Would you be new to the area?

Backwoods red neck living. Oh joy. Not appealing to some of us.

Its funny how people have no idea about southern wealth. And I am not talking about the generational type. I consult on home construction for high net worth families and the new estates, quality of build and design in the south put the mid Atlantic and North East to shame.

Yeah, the housing stock in Charlotte is way nicer than the DC area.

Depends on what you like. Huge stick-built suburban new construction? Charlotte has it everywhere. Solid masonry with plaster walls that's stood the test of time? Very very very few options. But if you love flashy "estates" that scream "NEW MONEY! NO TASTE!" Charlotte has plenty of options for you.