Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The HW is kinda crazy to be honest. Why does my kid need to be up to 11 each night? To what end?

Yes! Especially since most girls have after school commitments inside and outside school. I'm a SR mom and other SR parents I know say that their kid is already experiencing burnout. Not to mention how much of a hassle it is if you miss a class.

I don’t understand why they have so much HW. They are in class for 80 minutes and should be able to get a lot of work done in that time unless teachers are just using it to double up lectures. What PD does the faculty get for teaching in 80 minute blocks every other day?

I can understand reading, annotating and studying for HW. But in the age of AI teachers need to have students do most of their writing in class.

The idea is for them to get work done in class and that’s what we were sold last year when we applied but my daughter tells me the ENTIRE 80mins is spent lecturing in most classes.

This is great PR for the school. It shows that they mean business academically. The school does not promise time to do homework during class. You were surely misinformed.

This is what we were told on our tour and shadowing with students. In fact, everyone we met before applying told us that it’s one of the perks of block scheduling. In fact, I’m surprised you’ve never heard it mentioned

I think it is contingent on the teacher. My daughter takes a rigorous courseload with many APs and honors classes. By and large, there is no time to do homework during class. There are times when a teacher will give them time to do work in class, but it isn't on a regular basis. If you were told that by a student, it was probably one who is taking a very light courseload.

[Anonymous]

This place is a total pressure cooker. Hours upon hours of HW every day. Detention after 3 tardies, even if DD is 1 min late. Social pressure too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This place is a total pressure cooker. Hours upon hours of HW every day. Detention after 3 tardies, even if DD is 1 min late. Social pressure too.

What year is your DD? When did she start at SR? I ask because we saw quite a few new girls struggle to acclimate during DD’s freshman year. The transition was a lot for some girls if their previous school had different expectations.

And yes, one minute late is late. You have to draw the line somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This place is a total pressure cooker. Hours upon hours of HW every day. Detention after 3 tardies, even if DD is 1 min late. Social pressure too.

What year is your DD? When did she start at SR? I ask because we saw quite a few new girls struggle to acclimate during DD’s freshman year. The transition was a lot for some girls if their previous school had different expectations.

And yes, one minute late is late. You have to draw the line somewhere.

Its not military school FFS. Detention?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To prospective parents reading this thread : please take everything you read here with a grain of salt. Most of us come here because it’s one of the few places we can anonymously vent about the things that frustrate us about the school. But let me be clear: we all love Stone Ridge.

My daughter has dealt with some mean-girl behavior and definitely feels the pressure from the workload at times. As parents, that’s hard; there’s only so much we can do, and often the stories we get from our girls are only part of the picture. In my experience, Stone Ridge genuinely does its best to address issues when they’re made aware of them. The school is also intentional about fostering inclusivity, both in terms of racial and socioeconomic diversity.

It’s easy to complain on an anonymous forum, but let’s be honest, none of us would last a week doing what the teachers and administrators do every day with these girls. There’s a reason Stone Ridge has such a stellar reputation. It’s not an “easy school,” and that’s by design.

I’ve talked to parents at Field and Burke whose upper schoolers have no homework and that’s great for them, but Stone Ridge is a different kind of environment. The academics are demanding, the girls can be catty (because middle and high school girls everywhere can be), but it’s still a fantastic place to raise strong, thoughtful young women.

Don’t let our venting scare you off. This is just the one space where we can be real, without the polished smiles we all wear at drop-off or school events. We don’t always feel comfortable unloading to administrators, though I’m sure they’d listen. Sometimes it just feels good to get it out. And it’s always easier to focus on what’s hard than to stop and celebrate all the incredible things happening at this school every single day.

Fellow parent here and for the most part I agree. But it's also important for prospective parents to hear what people are really going through. It's not necessarily just about venting. People do need to know what it's like to be a student or parent there.

[Anonymous]

My child’s dream school is Notre Dame. We’ve heard that kids who go to SR have a better chance to get in (though obviously not crazy high due to the competitiveness of ND). How many girls apply there? Would my DD have a better chance there or if she is a standout at another- non Catholic- school?

[Anonymous]

If most parents think SR is this hard, I really have to wonder where they went to school and whether they ever worked hard academically. SR is rigorous, but it is by no means the “academic pressure cooker” that these comments portray. Our dd worked at a level well below her capabilities and still got As. She’s now working much harder in college in a tough major. SR prepared her very well, but she had plenty of free time in HS. My guess is that there are a few parents on here who are trying to push the school’s reputation for rigor up by trading these posts, maybe to keep people from applying, or as some kind of p—-ing context with Holton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s dream school is Notre Dame. We’ve heard that kids who go to SR have a better chance to get in (though obviously not crazy high due to the competitiveness of ND). How many girls apply there? Would my DD have a better chance there or if she is a standout at another- non Catholic- school?

Applicants are compared to students at their school so unless she’s a superstar, she might have better chances applying to ND from another school. That said, I’m guessing other Catholic schools also have quite a few kids who apply to ND.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If most parents think SR is this hard, I really have to wonder where they went to school and whether they ever worked hard academically. SR is rigorous, but it is by no means the “academic pressure cooker” that these comments portray. Our dd worked at a level well below her capabilities and still got As. She’s now working much harder in college in a tough major. SR prepared her very well, but she had plenty of free time in HS. My guess is that there are a few parents on here who are trying to push the school’s reputation for rigor up by trading these posts, maybe to keep people from applying, or as some kind of p—-ing context with Holton.

Awesome humble brag! Im glad your DD is so smart and thought SR was easy (and that you went you wuch a hard school; nice subtle reference).

SR is a hard school with performative levels of HW. And yes, its a pressure cooker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The HW is kinda crazy to be honest. Why does my kid need to be up to 11 each night? To what end?

Yes! Especially since most girls have after school commitments inside and outside school. I'm a SR mom and other SR parents I know say that their kid is already experiencing burnout. Not to mention how much of a hassle it is if you miss a class.

I don’t understand why they have so much HW. They are in class for 80 minutes and should be able to get a lot of work done in that time unless teachers are just using it to double up lectures. What PD does the faculty get for teaching in 80 minute blocks every other day?

I can understand reading, annotating and studying for HW. But in the age of AI teachers need to have students do most of their writing in class.

The idea is for them to get work done in class and that’s what we were sold last year when we applied but my daughter tells me the ENTIRE 80mins is spent lecturing in most classes.

Isn’t that what you’re paying $55,000 a year for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If most parents think SR is this hard, I really have to wonder where they went to school and whether they ever worked hard academically. SR is rigorous, but it is by no means the “academic pressure cooker” that these comments portray. Our dd worked at a level well below her capabilities and still got As. She’s now working much harder in college in a tough major. SR prepared her very well, but she had plenty of free time in HS. My guess is that there are a few parents on here who are trying to push the school’s reputation for rigor up by trading these posts, maybe to keep people from applying, or as some kind of p—-ing context with Holton.

Awesome humble brag! Im glad your DD is so smart and thought SR was easy (and that you went you wuch a hard school; nice subtle reference).

SR is a hard school with performative levels of HW. And yes, its a pressure cooker.

Not a humble brag. It’s more challenging than the other all-girls Catholics but less than Holton / NCS. This is just a fact. They are selective for a reason, but it is not a “pressure cooker.” It’s a good school with very reasonable levels of homework. Why are you so obsessed with making it out to be this way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If most parents think SR is this hard, I really have to wonder where they went to school and whether they ever worked hard academically. SR is rigorous, but it is by no means the “academic pressure cooker” that these comments portray. Our dd worked at a level well below her capabilities and still got As. She’s now working much harder in college in a tough major. SR prepared her very well, but she had plenty of free time in HS. My guess is that there are a few parents on here who are trying to push the school’s reputation for rigor up by trading these posts, maybe to keep people from applying, or as some kind of p—-ing context with Holton.

Awesome humble brag! Im glad your DD is so smart and thought SR was easy (and that you went you wuch a hard school; nice subtle reference).

SR is a hard school with performative levels of HW. And yes, its a pressure cooker.

Not a humble brag. It’s more challenging than the other all-girls Catholics but less than Holton / NCS. This is just a fact. They are selective for a reason, but it is not a “pressure cooker.” It’s a good school with very reasonable levels of homework. Why are you so obsessed with making it out to be this way?

+1, I have two girls at SR and while they work hard it’s manageable and seems about the right amount of work to prepare them for a rigorous college. Their cousins in honors / AP classes in public have more work than my girls at SR. It’s not for everyone though, if you’re not efficient and can’t keep up with academic demands this is not the school for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If most parents think SR is this hard, I really have to wonder where they went to school and whether they ever worked hard academically. SR is rigorous, but it is by no means the “academic pressure cooker” that these comments portray. Our dd worked at a level well below her capabilities and still got As. She’s now working much harder in college in a tough major. SR prepared her very well, but she had plenty of free time in HS. My guess is that there are a few parents on here who are trying to push the school’s reputation for rigor up by trading these posts, maybe to keep people from applying, or as some kind of p—-ing context with Holton.

+1

SR waitlist and rejects girls every year and it's getting more and more harder to get into. Middle school is even starting to get more competiive beacuse a lot of familes see it as an easier way to get into upper school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This place is a total pressure cooker. Hours upon hours of HW every day. Detention after 3 tardies, even if DD is 1 min late. Social pressure too.

Not even. When my daughter is 3 min early she is marked as late. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2029 new parent. The workload is a lot and having only 2 frees every 8 day makes it tough for girls trying to balance after school activities. When touring we were told work would be minimal with 80 min block going 50 min lecture and 30 min class work/homework but that is not the case.

SR comms is a bit off. There was a fall fest last Friday and the new freshman girls had no idea what it was or what to expect. More comms please SR even more of presence on social media would be great!

The girls all seem great BUT new girls definitely have a hard time getting in the girls who have been there. Also, even parents are hard to break into those circles.

Not sure who gave you the information about doing work during class, but this is simply not true. It might be the case in some situations, but not on an ongoing basis. We were never told this and we enrolled because the school is rigorous. My daughter likes the block schedule because it gives her the opportunity to plan her homework ahead of time and sometimes get ahead of it. Of course if you are getting homework from an 80 minute class, it would be on the heavy side. You have two days to get it done. If you have kids who will whine about it, you should look at another school because it will get heavier when they start doing honors and AP classes. My daughter had a fairly easy freshman year (easy to get As) compared to her later years. Get ready or consider transferring to Holy Cross or some other easier school.

WOW how welcoming you are. How about those who play sports and have games?

As a new parent to SR the divide between those coming into the school and those who have been there a long time is shown beautifully in this post. Empathy costs you nothing and maybe even talking to new parents at things costs you nothing as well. Instead, most of you sit around and talk about country clubs and do not make an attempt to know new families let alone have your daughters know our daughters. For those looking at this school it's a great school and if you are new entering the school the new parents are great. The parents who have been there awhile (especially moms) are not great. The fathers could care less and are kind and wonderful. Just be prepared if your daughter chooses here (and I hope she does) you too will be going back to high school with mean girl moms.