Baltimore Privates

[Anonymous]

What grade were you applying to PP? My DS was accepted in KG but they didn't offer any FA to me either.

[Anonymous]

KK. Maybe they’re just stingy with K? J any case, it made for an easy decision. There was no way we were affording a Friends sans FA. Tuition was higher than Gilman and Calvert! And by all accounts those two have superior academics.

[Anonymous]

That should say K (Calvert 5th Age) not KK.

[Anonymous]

The families I know at Friends are full pay also. But FA depends on so many factors, including how many other kids etc. Hard to say in any case what the wealth (not income) of families at these schools are.

[Anonymous]

Our family jogged through the K admissions process at several schools. You should visit, as the schools do give off different vibes in person.

I really liked Gilman and Park and originally considered them my top choices. They are excellent schools. However, we ended up enrolling our oldest at Boys' Latin, and he is having a lovely time. The school is traditional but small and very warm, and keeps the boys active. Our somewhat sensitive, shy child seems to love the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Wilkes School is a less pricey alternative to the Roland Park private schools and also very convenient for people living/working downtown.

NP. Do you have recent experience with Wilkes? If so, do you mind sharing? I am curious about it, but have not heard much about the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Baltimore and are considering privates for our girls. It would be nice if the many knowledgable posters here could go over the options. Thank you!

What grades? Religious or secular? Co-ed or single sex? Any particular extra curricular needs or wants? Any concerns with learning or behavior issues or support? Any geographical constraints?

Nothing is going to beat visiting the schools though. Also consider approaching it with an open mind. I wasn't going to consider single-sex to begin with, but that would have been a mistake for one of my children.

To be honest, we were looking at Bryn Mawr as a top choice but this is based on online research only. This is for HS - we are not there yet. Religious is ok, I guess, we really haven't thought about it (we are atheists but not aggressively so). Co-ed and single-sex are both fine. No behavioral issues so far.

My dd is at Bryn Mawr and has been since 5th grade. Definitely the most academic of the girls schools with excellent college placement. Strong athletics and arts. Probably the most racially diverse of the Baltimore private schools, and among the more liberal. The school is currently building a new student center/athletics complex/cafeteria which is going to be fantastic. My dd has been very happy there, and did not consider applying out for high school. In her grade, I believe only one girl is leaving for a different high school. Lots of emphasis on girl power.

RP was historically similar academically but that changed a generation ago when they started to market themselves more as a school for girls who would flourish in a less rigorous academic environment, All the other girls schools are far more conservative politically.

Saint Paul’s has been increasing in popularity and has a beautiful campus. Garrison Forest is becoming less popular because it is not affiliated with a boy’s school and all the others are.

I also have a son at Gilman. I would rank the schools based on academics and college matriculation as follows:

Tier one: Gilman, Bryn Mawr, Park

Tier two: Saint Paul’s, McDonough (maybe a bit better than others in this tier, but strong emphasis on athletics that some find results in segregated student body, athletes, and then everyone else), Friends, Loyola, NDP

Tier three: Boy’s Latin, Roland Park, Garrison, Maryvale,Calvert Hall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wilkes School is a less pricey alternative to the Roland Park private schools and also very convenient for people living/working downtown.

NP. Do you have recent experience with Wilkes? If so, do you mind sharing? I am curious about it, but have not heard much about the school.

I’ve lived in Baltimore for twenty years, have kids currently in Baltimore private’s, and have never heard of the Wilkes school. Draw your own conclusion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Baltimore and are considering privates for our girls. It would be nice if the many knowledgable posters here could go over the options. Thank you!

What grades? Religious or secular? Co-ed or single sex? Any particular extra curricular needs or wants? Any concerns with learning or behavior issues or support? Any geographical constraints?

Nothing is going to beat visiting the schools though. Also consider approaching it with an open mind. I wasn't going to consider single-sex to begin with, but that would have been a mistake for one of my children.

To be honest, we were looking at Bryn Mawr as a top choice but this is based on online research only. This is for HS - we are not there yet. Religious is ok, I guess, we really haven't thought about it (we are atheists but not aggressively so). Co-ed and single-sex are both fine. No behavioral issues so far.

Bryn Mawr is an excellent school. It has a reputation as being competitive, and my observation would back that up. I do not have a child there. I have friends who have children there or have had children there. A Bryn Mawr girl is going to get an excellent education. I'd recommend visiting, and have her do the visiting day - and do it more than once if she needs to to get a feel for it. Bryn Mawr is part of the tri-school consortium, so your daughter will have the opportunity to take classes at Gilman (boys) or RPCS (girls) as well. Bridges connect the schools so it's safe and easy for the kids to go to the different campuses. The tri-school consortium means that while your daughter will have her home school as her school, she'll have access to a much broader array of classes and experiences if she should want them. Something that's a concern for many when they consider private schools and the necessarily more limited courses or opportunities when compared to what the huge public schools can offer. Bryn Mawr has great academics and arts. Kids who are more focused on athletics seem to be ending up at McDonogh these days.

RPCS is also an excellent school, and has a reputation for being a bit more nurturing than Bryn Mawr. One of the concerns I've encountered is how a child entering in high school will do at these K-12 schools, and my observation is that the kids welcome the new kids. The classes expand quite a bit for upper school, and the lifers are eager to meet new kids. And upper school brings a lot more freedoms and responsibilities, and the new kids fit right in. The schools do a good job of working to integrate everyone into a cohesive class. RPCS tends to be ranked slightly below Bryn Mawr when it comes to test scores, so if you have a highly competitive academically focused kid Bryn Mawr might be a better fit. On the other hand, with the ability to take classes at all 3 schools, your child will be challenged. I love the Latin program at Gilman, although Bryn Mawr girls tend to stay on their own campus for latin.

Friends is also right near Gilman, Bryn Mawr, and RPCS. It does not share classes with the other 3, but the kids can all be found after school on each other's campuses or at the Starbucks. My observation is that Friends is an open, welcoming school. They are focused on the whole-child, and have great opportunities for the arts. It seems like Friends might be slightly easier for a child to get into lately, but I'm basing that entirely on anecdotes. I wouldn't assume admission is guaranteed at any of these schools, even with excellent scores, recommendations, visits, etc.

St. Pauls School for Girls I'm not very familiar with. I understand that the Boys and Girls schools are merging under one umbrella. The St. Pauls kids I know are nice kids, but all boys.

McDonogh is a lovely school, but it feels big to me. They have amazing athletics programs, good arts and good academics. It's in the county so it's somewhat apart. Like Park, they have transportation through the school, rather than through the Kangaroo Coach, if you're looking at transportation. McDonogh has in the past had a reputation of being the school where you went if you didn't get into Gilman/Bryn Mawr, but that is not my experience. The children I know there are top notch; some say there's been too much focus on athletics in recent years.

Park is different. If Friends is a more casual version of the traditional privates, Park wrote its own rules. You've seen the back and forth here already, but if you have a child who needs the ability to go deep and far in math, Park is your school. If you have a kid who wouldn't just rebel against uniforms, but argue they're a tool for caging the mind, body, and spirit, check out Park. If you have a kid who might need some encouragement, or might have a tendency to fly under the radar, Park might not be the best fit, depending. But I think you should visit, even if you're mostly considering more traditional schools like Bryn Mawr.

IND and NDP, both catholic, are excellent schools as well. I have the impression that IND is the more academic, and NDP the more athletic, of the two. But I know great girls at both.

None of these schools are a shoe-in for getting in. I know kids who get shut out every year, even applying to 3 or 4 schools. I know kids who took a few application cycles to get into the school they really wanted. If you visit Bryn Mawr, and walk away knowing Bryn Mawr is the right school for your daughter, you may not want to wait to apply for 9th grade. If there are openings, kids start in 7th and 8th, when they know what they want for HS. Sometimes going through the application process in 8th and not getting in can light a fire under a child for the 9th grade admissions cycle.

If you're in the city, there are also some great public schools. The kids at City and Poly also interact with the Friends/Gilman/Bryn Mawr/RPCS/Boys Latin kids. My observation is they're getting a solid education and there are some really great opportunities available to them - check out the JHU Baltimore Scholars program. BSA is also a one of a kind opportunity. I know children who have left all of the above schools over the years for the experience they could get at BSA.

This is vastly overselling the Baltimore publics. The city school system is broken, and while there smart kids at City and Poly, the facilities are decrepit. There is little interaction between the city publics and the private schools, different athletic conferences, amd social scenes. Baltimore school of the arts is excellent if your child wants a career in the arts (Tupac and Jada Pickett Smith are alums) but is not known for academics.

Saint Paul’s has always operated under the same organization, not sure what pp is referencing. Co-Ed lower school, single sex thereafter but share a cafeteria.

Park is very progressive in education philosophy— tends to be strong in the arts, and weak in athletics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP saying Park is too permissive, too liberal, too etc. posts very frequently. Frankly I find that person's posts to be very overgeneralized with no specifics about the school apart from that and the Jewish stereotype. Historically, Park was the "Jewish" schools because other elite private schools in Baltimore would not accept Jewish students due to anti-Semitism. I wouldn't exactly call it "#1 school for elite Jews" -- that doesn't really explain why Jewish people went there.

You must be confusing me with someone else. I have only posted about Baltimore schools a handful of times as the topic doesn't come up very often and I don't recall talking about Park.

I think Park is a fabulous school. It's not for everyone or for every family. By Baltimore standards it's on the liberal side. The most common feedback I get from parents comparing Friends and Park is that while Friends is also liberal it is also a bit more structured and many families like that balance better for their kids. But every Friends family also thinks highly of Park too.

If I brought up the comment about Park's historic affiliation with the Baltimore Jewish community it was to highlight Park's reputation as a progressive and liberal private school, just as Baltimore's vibrant Jewish community has a history of progressive liberalism. Beyond that I'm sorry for mentioning it as it is probably not relevant at all, so you have my apologies.

I’m really confused by this post. “Progressive” in Park’s sense means inheriting the educational philosophy of John Dewey et al. As far as I know, Baltimore’s Jewish community has nothing to do with Dewey.

Nor is the Jewish community particularly liberal in a political or social sense. Not that this maps onto political affiliation, but Baltimore has the largest growing Orthodox community outside of Israel and Brooklyn.

In any case, saying Park is the “Jewish” school as many old Baltimoreans is a totally ignorant way of describing the deep anti-semitism that is part of the history of all the other elite private schools. Park admitted Jews when other schools wouldn’t. I think calling it the Jewish school and suggesting that the manners of the kids are lax is a total mischaracterization of the school’s culture and philosophy. The only time I’ve seen kids lying on the floor there is when they were measuring velocity of vehicles they built in physics class. I would be fine with that as a parent. I visited many other “progressive” schools in Baltimore — Waldorf, Montessori, and Greenmount — and they were much more unstructured, if you like that. In contrast Park is much more conventional and incorporates a lot more teacher-led classroom learning. I was told it is one of the most rigorous from an academic point of view.

You know what, give it a break won’t you? Park has historically carried a lot of cachet in Baltimore’s Jewish community. If you want to somehow turn this into an axe to grind it’s not going to make you good. You are coming across as judgmental and intolerant and unforgiving.

By the way, Friends was the other school that admitted Jews going back to the early 20th century. Jewish students have been attending Gilman since the 1950s.

Dp, but Park has definitely historically been the “Jewish” school, which has nothing to do with its educational philosophy and everything to do with Baltimore’s long history of racial and religious segregation. The school is located adjacent to Pikesville, which is the heart of Jewish Baltimore. Currently, the school is about two-thirds Jewish, and they have been working on increasing diversity for the last decade. Baltimore also had two Jewish religious schools located near Park, Beth Tfiloh, and Krieger Schechter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wilkes School is a less pricey alternative to the Roland Park private schools and also very convenient for people living/working downtown.

NP. Do you have recent experience with Wilkes? If so, do you mind sharing? I am curious about it, but have not heard much about the school.

I’ve lived in Baltimore for twenty years, have kids currently in Baltimore private’s, and have never heard of the Wilkes school. Draw your own conclusion

It used to be called Grace and St. Peter's but they changed the name sometime after 2005 when I interviewed for a teaching position there. I liked it but it is definitely traditional. It reminded me a bit of a traditional Catholic school in its teaching methods. The class sizes are small and I believe they are departmentalized after 1st or 2nd grade so each teacher is a specialist. If I lived closer, I would have thought about it for my DS. It is lacking in outdoor space since it is located near Mt. Vernon in Baltimore (think lots of row homes). But they are close to the Peabody, the Walters and the Enoch Pratt library so I think they take frequent walking field trips.

[Anonymous]

Wilkes / Grace and Saint Peters is an Episcopalian school and has been around since the 1950s I think. It’s always been quite small. It’s in Mount Vernon near the Walters. They place most of their graduates into the prep schools and the top magnet programs so that says the teaching is solid. But the facilities are old and not fancy. But the tuition is very affordable and it is a great option for people who can’t use their local schools but don’t want to swing the higher tuition at the big private schools. Lunch is included in the tuition. High percentage of AA students. Small and very tight student body. Worth visiting. I do remember the head of St. David’s pre-school, which is a major conveyor belt to the big private schools, saying she wished more people would look at Grace and Saint Peters.

One caveat is that the school is small enough that one does always wonder if it will survive. I have a feeling it’s on a year to year basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wilkes School is a less pricey alternative to the Roland Park private schools and also very convenient for people living/working downtown.

NP. Do you have recent experience with Wilkes? If so, do you mind sharing? I am curious about it, but have not heard much about the school.

I’ve lived in Baltimore for twenty years, have kids currently in Baltimore private’s, and have never heard of the Wilkes school. Draw your own conclusion

It used to be called Grace and St. Peter's but they changed the name sometime after 2005 when I interviewed for a teaching position there. I liked it but it is definitely traditional. It reminded me a bit of a traditional Catholic school in its teaching methods. The class sizes are small and I believe they are departmentalized after 1st or 2nd grade so each teacher is a specialist. If I lived closer, I would have thought about it for my DS. It is lacking in outdoor space since it is located near Mt. Vernon in Baltimore (think lots of row homes). But they are close to the Peabody, the Walters and the Enoch Pratt library so I think they take frequent walking field trips.

I have heard of Grace and Saint Peter’s. Weird move to change the name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP saying Park is too permissive, too liberal, too etc. posts very frequently. Frankly I find that person's posts to be very overgeneralized with no specifics about the school apart from that and the Jewish stereotype. Historically, Park was the "Jewish" schools because other elite private schools in Baltimore would not accept Jewish students due to anti-Semitism. I wouldn't exactly call it "#1 school for elite Jews" -- that doesn't really explain why Jewish people went there.

You must be confusing me with someone else. I have only posted about Baltimore schools a handful of times as the topic doesn't come up very often and I don't recall talking about Park.

I think Park is a fabulous school. It's not for everyone or for every family. By Baltimore standards it's on the liberal side. The most common feedback I get from parents comparing Friends and Park is that while Friends is also liberal it is also a bit more structured and many families like that balance better for their kids. But every Friends family also thinks highly of Park too.

If I brought up the comment about Park's historic affiliation with the Baltimore Jewish community it was to highlight Park's reputation as a progressive and liberal private school, just as Baltimore's vibrant Jewish community has a history of progressive liberalism. Beyond that I'm sorry for mentioning it as it is probably not relevant at all, so you have my apologies.

I’m really confused by this post. “Progressive” in Park’s sense means inheriting the educational philosophy of John Dewey et al. As far as I know, Baltimore’s Jewish community has nothing to do with Dewey.

Nor is the Jewish community particularly liberal in a political or social sense. Not that this maps onto political affiliation, but Baltimore has the largest growing Orthodox community outside of Israel and Brooklyn.

In any case, saying Park is the “Jewish” school as many old Baltimoreans is a totally ignorant way of describing the deep anti-semitism that is part of the history of all the other elite private schools. Park admitted Jews when other schools wouldn’t. I think calling it the Jewish school and suggesting that the manners of the kids are lax is a total mischaracterization of the school’s culture and philosophy. The only time I’ve seen kids lying on the floor there is when they were measuring velocity of vehicles they built in physics class. I would be fine with that as a parent. I visited many other “progressive” schools in Baltimore — Waldorf, Montessori, and Greenmount — and they were much more unstructured, if you like that. In contrast Park is much more conventional and incorporates a lot more teacher-led classroom learning. I was told it is one of the most rigorous from an academic point of view.

You know what, give it a break won’t you? Park has historically carried a lot of cachet in Baltimore’s Jewish community. If you want to somehow turn this into an axe to grind it’s not going to make you good. You are coming across as judgmental and intolerant and unforgiving.

By the way, Friends was the other school that admitted Jews going back to the early 20th century. Jewish students have been attending Gilman since the 1950s.

Dp, but Park has definitely historically been the “Jewish” school, which has nothing to do with its educational philosophy and everything to do with Baltimore’s long history of racial and religious segregation. The school is located adjacent to Pikesville, which is the heart of Jewish Baltimore. Currently, the school is about two-thirds Jewish, and they have been working on increasing diversity for the last decade. Baltimore also had two Jewish religious schools located near Park, Beth Tfiloh, and Krieger Schechter.

Where do you get this number? Literally every family I know at Park is not Jewish so I'm pretty sure that can't be true. One third Hopkins faculty, I could believe.

BT and KSDS are not really near Park. They are about as close as Boys Latin or St Paul's from Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP saying Park is too permissive, too liberal, too etc. posts very frequently. Frankly I find that person's posts to be very overgeneralized with no specifics about the school apart from that and the Jewish stereotype. Historically, Park was the "Jewish" schools because other elite private schools in Baltimore would not accept Jewish students due to anti-Semitism. I wouldn't exactly call it "#1 school for elite Jews" -- that doesn't really explain why Jewish people went there.

You must be confusing me with someone else. I have only posted about Baltimore schools a handful of times as the topic doesn't come up very often and I don't recall talking about Park.

I think Park is a fabulous school. It's not for everyone or for every family. By Baltimore standards it's on the liberal side. The most common feedback I get from parents comparing Friends and Park is that while Friends is also liberal it is also a bit more structured and many families like that balance better for their kids. But every Friends family also thinks highly of Park too.

If I brought up the comment about Park's historic affiliation with the Baltimore Jewish community it was to highlight Park's reputation as a progressive and liberal private school, just as Baltimore's vibrant Jewish community has a history of progressive liberalism. Beyond that I'm sorry for mentioning it as it is probably not relevant at all, so you have my apologies.

I’m really confused by this post. “Progressive” in Park’s sense means inheriting the educational philosophy of John Dewey et al. As far as I know, Baltimore’s Jewish community has nothing to do with Dewey.

Nor is the Jewish community particularly liberal in a political or social sense. Not that this maps onto political affiliation, but Baltimore has the largest growing Orthodox community outside of Israel and Brooklyn.

In any case, saying Park is the “Jewish” school as many old Baltimoreans is a totally ignorant way of describing the deep anti-semitism that is part of the history of all the other elite private schools. Park admitted Jews when other schools wouldn’t. I think calling it the Jewish school and suggesting that the manners of the kids are lax is a total mischaracterization of the school’s culture and philosophy. The only time I’ve seen kids lying on the floor there is when they were measuring velocity of vehicles they built in physics class. I would be fine with that as a parent. I visited many other “progressive” schools in Baltimore — Waldorf, Montessori, and Greenmount — and they were much more unstructured, if you like that. In contrast Park is much more conventional and incorporates a lot more teacher-led classroom learning. I was told it is one of the most rigorous from an academic point of view.

You know what, give it a break won’t you? Park has historically carried a lot of cachet in Baltimore’s Jewish community. If you want to somehow turn this into an axe to grind it’s not going to make you good. You are coming across as judgmental and intolerant and unforgiving.

By the way, Friends was the other school that admitted Jews going back to the early 20th century. Jewish students have been attending Gilman since the 1950s.

Dp, but Park has definitely historically been the “Jewish” school, which has nothing to do with its educational philosophy and everything to do with Baltimore’s long history of racial and religious segregation. The school is located adjacent to Pikesville, which is the heart of Jewish Baltimore. Currently, the school is about two-thirds Jewish, and they have been working on increasing diversity for the last decade. Baltimore also had two Jewish religious schools located near Park, Beth Tfiloh, and Krieger Schechter.

Where do you get this number? Literally every family I know at Park is not Jewish so I'm pretty sure that can't be true. One third Hopkins faculty, I could believe.

BT and KSDS are not really near Park. They are about as close as Boys Latin or St Paul's from Park.

Every private school in Baltimore is about 1/3 Hopkins.