Experiences entering Stone Ridge upper school.
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Anonymous
| My DD entered the ninth grade this year coming from a local parochial school. Unle most of the girls in her class, she did not come as part of a group from another school. She loves the teachers and has met a few nice girls in passing, but after three weeks she feels not mostly isolated since it feels very cliquish to her. She has actually been briefly targeted by a few girls from one particular school. Nothing that raises to the level of bullying, but it's not making her feel very welcome. i am wondering if others have had a similar situation and how it goes over the longer term. |
Anonymous
| Two of my neighbors attended SR. Both started in ninth grade. Neither liked the school. They described it similar to what your DD is experiencing. I thought the saddest thing they complained about was that FA kids were excluded from lunch tables and forced to sit with other FA kids. The neighbor girls didn't mind but I thought it was awful. (I don't know how FA info. got out.) Both girls had younger sisters and none of the sisters considered SR. |
Anonymous
| This is not personal experience, but I have two good friends with daughters in Catholic school. Both families chose not to apply to Stone Ridge, and one cited the cliquish reputation your daughter is experiencing. |
Anonymous
| My started SR as a freshman as well and did not come in with friends either. She has had a very good experience, but I do think it was an easier transition for the girls who played on a team in the fall of freshman year (she did not) -- gave them a good circle of friends right away. She's made some really nice friends and is very comfortable there, but it did probably take her a little while. I actually don't believe SR is perceived to be particularly cliquish compared to other girls' schools in the area, from the inside or the outside; I think it's seen as a less social and more academic school. Although at any girls' school you probably have some challenging social dynamics, from what I can tell the SR girls are supportive of one another, and friendly even to those who are not among their closer friends. I have heard about a lot more social pressure and drama at some of the other girls' schools. I am really surprised to hear that about lunch -- I don't want to completely discount someone's experience but I find it really hard to believe. My perception is that there are a lot of families receiving financial aid, so good economic diversity compared to some other girls' schools, and overall less of a "rich girls" atmosphere, or haves vs. have nots, than you might have at some other schools. |
Anonymous
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She has actually been briefly targeted by a few girls from one particular school.
This seems odd to me. Are these girls new to the school as well? Does your daughter have any idea why this has occurred and would she tell you if she did? |
Anonymous
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Stone Ridge costs a fortune. For that you'll get elitist snobs. Other Catholic schools which are not concerned with huge profits, will probably serve you better.
signed a Catholic. |
Anonymous
Aka a Catholic who has no experience with Stone Ridge and isn't really trying to help |
Anonymous
| It's not odd that she's targeted by a group from one particular school. I refused to attend a particular because a large group from K-8 were accepted also. The mean girls stay in their group. Probably because no one else wants them. |
Anonymous
I disagree, its a fair point. |
Anonymous
| I'm surprised and sorry to hear this. My dd started last year in 9th, also with no friends from her parochial school, but seemed to make friends pretty quickly. She played a fall sport so that helped a lot, but generally said that other girls went out of their way to include her. |
Anonymous
The OP already decided to pay the tuition at Stone Ridge . . . and is looking for advice from parents of students who have attended Stone Ridge, to hear how their experiences were over time. And there are no independent schools around here making "huge profits" -- that doesn't even make sense. |
Anonymous
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I wish I could say this surprises me. My daughter was at SR for lower and middle and our class definitely had a mean girl clique. My DD wasn't targeted but it made for a terrible dynamic and the school did little to fix it even though teachers knew about the issue. Several of the girls had older sisters at SR and their moms did a lot of volunteer work at the school so I guess they got a pass for behavior. We left before high school because we saw that those girls would be added to cliques of girls from parochial schools we already knew to be not very kind - bad combination. There are nice girls and families for sure but it's tricky to navigate and we didn't want that for our daughter.
I hope it gets better for your daughter. |
Anonymous
It remains a valid point, and i hate to break it to you, but a school charging 30k or more per child in th burbs is definitely making profit. Those charging 10k are definitely not. |
Anonymous
The ones charging $10K are supported by a parish, which is how they keep the priced so low. Stone Ridge is independent, hence the hefty price tag. |
Anonymous
If your child attended a school with a 30K tuition, with very small class sizes, you would know that it's often communicated and understood by parents that the tuition does not actually even cover the operating costs of the school, financial aid, etc. Fundraising closes the gap. |