Landon vs. Georgetown Prep Upper School

[Anonymous]

What does homework driven mean? My friend whose son is a GP freshman told me that the school was described that way at a back to school night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to break it you but Prep has a much higher emphasis in athletics than any of the IAC schools, hence they have a $44million athletic complex. How much did the new George academic center cost to build? $18million. Prep was voted out of the IAC for a wide array of reasons and some of which involved blatant recruiting of other members of the IAC's players.

The Prep community can claim all they want how similar they are in nature to their friends at Gonzaga, ie Jesuit roots, Catholic parishes etc. etc. but the demographics of a St. Albans, Landon, and Prep student are probably more similar than of a kid at Gonzaga. (dont take this the wrong way but there are some very affluent people at Gonzaga who choose to send there kid there vs Prep) Gonzaga pulls in kids from all over the area, from a much wider socioeconomic base, than you say a Prep, STA or Landon - just look at the tuition difference between the schools.

I thought GP was surely going to make a move to the WCAC for good under the reign of Father George. Anyone who knew Father George well will tell you he loved athletics and how it brought in fundraising dollars to the school. Now that he was forced out, (the Prep community will deny this), the new headmaster seems less focused on the athletic excellence at Prep and trying to build its academic reputation. (Prep already has excellent academics).

From an athletic standpoint, Prep would have no business competing in the WCAC other than lacrosse, swimming and wrestling and hockey.

Prep is in the IAC in every sport but football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to break it you but Prep has a much higher emphasis in athletics than any of the IAC schools, hence they have a $44million athletic complex. How much did the new George academic center cost to build? $18million. Prep was voted out of the IAC for a wide array of reasons and some of which involved blatant recruiting of other members of the IAC's players.

The Prep community can claim all they want how similar they are in nature to their friends at Gonzaga, ie Jesuit roots, Catholic parishes etc. etc. but the demographics of a St. Albans, Landon, and Prep student are probably more similar than of a kid at Gonzaga. (dont take this the wrong way but there are some very affluent people at Gonzaga who choose to send there kid there vs Prep) Gonzaga pulls in kids from all over the area, from a much wider socioeconomic base, than you say a Prep, STA or Landon - just look at the tuition difference between the schools.

I thought GP was surely going to make a move to the WCAC for good under the reign of Father George. Anyone who knew Father George well will tell you he loved athletics and how it brought in fundraising dollars to the school. Now that he was forced out, (the Prep community will deny this), the new headmaster seems less focused on the athletic excellence at Prep and trying to build its academic reputation. (Prep already has excellent academics).

From an athletic standpoint, Prep would have no business competing in the WCAC other than lacrosse, swimming and wrestling and hockey.

Wow! What a fountain of misinformation.

Your point about GP spending on athletic facilities equalling athletic emphasis is easily debunked. For decades, GP had the worst athletic facilities and were greatly outspent by the other schools. If facilities were a guide to emphasis during the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's then GP -- by your measure -- would have had the least amount of emphasis on athletics. Poor facilites = low emphasis, right?

On the expulsion of GP football from the IAC - The Bullis and St Stephen's people led that charge. Landon would never, ever vote GP out (and I'm sure it's Landon you are talking about with the "blatant recruiting charge"). Playing GP appears to be the raison d'etre of Landon athletics.

The similarities between Gonzaga and GP student bodies are "cultural" not "demographic" And they are based on family connections, attending the same Catholic grammar schools, experiences in the parishes, and athletic teams like CYO basketball and Maplewood football. When your father and uncles went to GP or Gonzaga or St. Johns (during its heyday) it doesn't matter what your zip code is.

We agree on Fr. George's departure. But the reasons were tied to managing the financial challenges created by the huge amount of facilities spending. George's interest in Athletics seemed to be rooted in an interest in fund raising, not any intrinsic interest in athletics. At the games I attended, the crowd watched the games and George watched (and worked) the crowd.

I would like to see GP in the WCAC for a number of reasons including getting as much distance from Landon as possible. It's a bad relationship that teaches nothing of value. In my high school sports career, the opponents were kids in different color uniforms. We didn't know them. They were just opponents. We weren't facing players and coaches obsessed with beating us.

How well GP would do in the WCAC in sports besides lacrosse, hockey, swimming and wrestling (a pretty good sport) is a matter of conjecture. In football they could compete with Gonzaga and St. Johns, but maybe not DeMatha and Good Counsel. But MIAA schools like Gilman are at a similar level to DeMatha today and GP plays them. Not winning the WCAC every year in every sport wouldn't be a disaster.

As you may know, there is quite a bit of disatisfaction in the WCAC as it currently exists. DeMatha generally wins everything and no one wants to be in the same Division as the Stags. The rise of Good Counsel notwithstanding. The St. John's president tried to engineer a "split" a few years ago. So don't assume the WCAC will always be the same as it is today.

Catholic schools everywhere seem to emphasize sports . Sports are part of the "culture". So GPs sports program reflects the natural interest of the student body and their families.

Prep is in the IAC in every sport but football.

[Anonymous]

Why do GP families not like the tradition of shaking hands after a game? Isn't that what every other school in the nation does?

[Anonymous]

I don't have a DS in either schools but we did apply and chose Episcopal because of their soccer program. Anyways, when our Episcopal varsity team played Landon, they displayed sportsmanship as any other school in this area. Respectful but disappointed in their loss. When the varsity team played Prep, rowdy game on the field and off the field not the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do GP families not like the tradition of shaking hands after a game? Isn't that what every other school in the nation does?

You misunderstand.

Of course the Prep players shake hands after the games. The coaches line them up and they do it as a matter of course.

You may be confusing this with an attempt to explain the decades old antipathy that exists between the players, alums, families, etc of the two schools.

An outsider might wonder what all the fuss is about and think it all might be smoothed over. There have been a few lame and highly unproductive attempts.

The bitter athletic rivalry and the sometimes desperate struggles on the field and on the court spill over to their overall relationship. Based on my experience these hard feelings are especially acute on the Prep side. It sometimes appears that the Landon students are a little bit confused by the reaction. They are, afterall, doing what they do. They want to win badly and when the game is over the reasoning that there is a wall between the game and the rest of it. That's not the way it works with the GP gang.

If you want to see the definition of "uncomfortable", watch Landon students watching a game on the GP campus. When they aren't in the stands, they stand together in tight knots very much like penguins. They know they are in :hostile" territory.

[Anonymous]

The animosity between the two schools is a direct result of the coaching staffs assembled both at Landon and Prep. Its pretty clear the coaching staffs for one another, regardless of the sport, do not like one another. You can see this in football, baseball, hoops and most definitely in lacrosse. Anyone who seems to think its either all of Preps fault or Landon's fault has "dog in the fight" and a slight bias to them.

[Anonymous]

Geez. Who really gives a shit?
Your talking about immature rivalries that most of us outgrow and overcome as adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The animosity between the two schools is a direct result of the coaching staffs assembled both at Landon and Prep. Its pretty clear the coaching staffs for one another, regardless of the sport, do not like one another. You can see this in football, baseball, hoops and most definitely in lacrosse. Anyone who seems to think its either all of Preps fault or Landon's fault has "dog in the fight" and a slight bias to them.

It's nobody's fault. It just is.

And people considering sending their sons to either school should know it exists.

And it goes way beyond the coaches to alumni. students, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Geez. Who really gives a shit?
Your talking about immature rivalries that most of us outgrow and overcome as adults.

It's a life long thing. The animosity subsides, of course.

But you are either in one camp or the other for life.

Choose your sides carefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I thought I'd let this whole thread die out. However, I was looking at more threads concerning all boys schools to help us start getting a taste of what lies ahead next year. We finally chose Landon for various reasons. From recent conversations with friends and current parents, their senior class and rising senior class seems to be composed of bright young men. Thus, they'll have a strong core of upperclassmen to help lead the show for the underclassmen. The administration seems to be heading in the right direction with a few key decisions which I learned through current Landon parents. Their arts programs seems to be solid and there is promise in their soccer and track programs. In contrast, Prep was also great with a stellar campus, almost equal to Landon in all aspects(some are better and some are worse). In response to 14:04 and other posts, I will just say, every family has their own requirements and tastes. DS did not like Georgetown Prep at all after conducting another shadow visit after acceptance, he specifically pointed out that most of the Prep kids were "cocky" and "too full of themselves." After visiting Landon, he said "it felt right." Now I'm not exactly sure the specific details of the day, but at the end of the day, I wan't to send DS where he's comfortable because of the fact that high school plays a vital role in developing a child. Thus, we chose Landon.

It's a life long thing. The animosity subsides, of course.

But you are either in one camp or the other for life.

Choose your sides carefully.



This seems like an ominous and somewhat frightening warning. Was this the intent of the poster?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like some people are taking themselves and this issue way too seriously. Time to move on from your arrested adolescence.

[Anonymous]

It's ugly that these schools get so wound up about each other. It seems that the rivalry is not healthy. Poor reflection on staff, parents and students and both schools.

[Anonymous]

This seems like an ominous and somewhat frightening warning. Was this the intent of the poster?


Shouldn't be "frightening".

But these are insular communities.

Since this thread is about choosing between schools this is presented as "data".

I'm still shocked by the whole idea of "applying to both schools". I can't think of a reason why the natural constituencies of one would consider applying to the other. Unless, of course, they were new to DC or were unfamilar with the schools.

In DC, where you go to high school is much more important than where you go to college. Assuming that you stay in DC to live and work, your life-long friends will be those you went to high school with.

That's a foreign concept to almost every other area of the US. There's a whole thread about it attacking it and defending it as a concept.

But its real. And refusing to agree with it or believe its how things work has a price associated with it.

[Anonymous]

PP:

Very well said. I do think many of families who look at both Landon and GP are recruited athletes for lacrosse, football, hoops etc. etc. I thought I had heard 3 Mater Dei kids were coming to Landon next Fall as freshman which is the first in a very long time.