St. Andrews Episcopal school and rigor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine attended years ago. It had a rep for being for kids who needed extra help. She did not need that, so I am not sure why she went.

She found the school a bit too easy and transferred back to public. She was accepted at an excellent college.

This has been addressed already in this and other threads. This reputation is out dated. SAES is one of the only schools in the area whose mission it is to take a broad spectrum of learners to foster a diverse learning community. The school regularly sends graduates to just as diverse a selection of colleges and universities, with those on the honors track regularly attending schools from the Ivy League and the top SLACs. The St. Andrew’s of today owes much to its history, but it is not the same school it was just 7 to 10 years ago. Read about it in the many positive threads here, on its web site and - most important - visit and assess for yourself. It is a truly entrepreneurial educational environment and the families that choose it understand and value its dedication to mission and excellence.

Nobody believes this

What an odd post. If you have substantive comments, share them. Otherwise, have some respect for yourself and those who appreciate meaningful dialogue and keep your valueless statements to yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine attended years ago. It had a rep for being for kids who needed extra help. She did not need that, so I am not sure why she went.

She found the school a bit too easy and transferred back to public. She was accepted at an excellent college.

This has been addressed already in this and other threads. This reputation is out dated. SAES is one of the only schools in the area whose mission it is to take a broad spectrum of learners to foster a diverse learning community. The school regularly sends graduates to just as diverse a selection of colleges and universities, with those on the honors track regularly attending schools from the Ivy League and the top SLACs. The St. Andrew’s of today owes much to its history, but it is not the same school it was just 7 to 10 years ago. Read about it in the many positive threads here, on its web site and - most important - visit and assess for yourself. It is a truly entrepreneurial educational environment and the families that choose it understand and value its dedication to mission and excellence.

I had kids who attended St. Andrew's between roughly 2008 -2017. Actually, I'd say that academically the high school is substantially similar to the school it was about 7 years ago -- meaning that for students aspiring attendance at the most selective or rigorous universities they can be well prepared at SAES. It has continued to innovate and evolve since then like all schools should, of course, but the major transformation academically was occurring about 7-10 years ago. It's just that many private school-looking families in the DMV didn't take a serious look at the school until they saw improved physical facilities which came a bit later.

[Anonymous]

I know Ivy League educated alumni from SAES from the 90s and also from the last few years. If it's true that graduates matriculated at (gasp) lesser colleges for a while, is it possible that the school relaxed its standards during the recession (as many schools did) but then became more selective again after it weathered that enrollment storm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine attended years ago. It had a rep for being for kids who needed extra help. She did not need that, so I am not sure why she went.

She found the school a bit too easy and transferred back to public. She was accepted at an excellent college.

This has been addressed already in this and other threads. This reputation is out dated. SAES is one of the only schools in the area whose mission it is to take a broad spectrum of learners to foster a diverse learning community. The school regularly sends graduates to just as diverse a selection of colleges and universities, with those on the honors track regularly attending schools from the Ivy League and the top SLACs. The St. Andrew’s of today owes much to its history, but it is not the same school it was just 7 to 10 years ago. Read about it in the many positive threads here, on its web site and - most important - visit and assess for yourself. It is a truly entrepreneurial educational environment and the families that choose it understand and value its dedication to mission and excellence.

If they were hand held that much, then they should be going to top colleges, no? More should be going, not less.

Public school kids aren't hand held, and many get into those top colleges. Imagine if all the public school kids were hand held as much as private school kids. How many more of them would end up at top colleges?

Would those same private school kids be able to hack it in a large public school and still attend top colleges?

[Anonymous]

Ivy League alum and SAES parent here. Having come from a "W" school, we were seeking a school with high expectations, but without an "Ivy League-or-Bust" emphasis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine attended years ago. It had a rep for being for kids who needed extra help. She did not need that, so I am not sure why she went.

She found the school a bit too easy and transferred back to public. She was accepted at an excellent college.

This has been addressed already in this and other threads. This reputation is out dated. SAES is one of the only schools in the area whose mission it is to take a broad spectrum of learners to foster a diverse learning community. The school regularly sends graduates to just as diverse a selection of colleges and universities, with those on the honors track regularly attending schools from the Ivy League and the top SLACs. The St. Andrew’s of today owes much to its history, but it is not the same school it was just 7 to 10 years ago. Read about it in the many positive threads here, on its web site and - most important - visit and assess for yourself. It is a truly entrepreneurial educational environment and the families that choose it understand and value its dedication to mission and excellence.

If they were hand held that much, then they should be going to top colleges, no? More should be going, not less.

Public school kids aren't hand held, and many get into those top colleges. Imagine if all the public school kids were hand held as much as private school kids. How many more of them would end up at top colleges?
Would those same private school kids be able to hack it in a large public school and still attend top colleges?

If the above poster thinks s/he is sharing some new insight here or casting a dispersion on private school kids, not so. Everyone knows that private high schools do more hand holding if you will. And I've got news for you, so do top liberal arts colleges (which is why one of my private school kids did not want to go to one; he wanted to be a in place where things were kids had to fend more for themselves) and sometimes even top private universities probably hold hands sometimes a bit more than big state schools. No one doubts that many kids in many public school could do better in college placements if they attended private schools -- not just for these reasons, but because of better guidance counselors, more carefully worded teacher recommendations, etc. All that said, while self-reliance is an excellent skill to develop, it is not the only skill that matters. If you have smaller classes, teachers who are not spread so thin, counselors, peers and administrators who support a kid but also make known their high expectations of effort, many kids will try harder, learn more, and be better academically prepared for college. Not every kid -- some kids are incredibly self motivated in public schools and, by the way, some are like that in private schools too and don't need the hand holding if you will -- but there are many reasons why private schools place a hugely disproportionate share of kids in the most selective colleges, and it isn't all explained by legacy favoritism.

[Anonymous]

They take too many kids in special education.

[Anonymous]

PP clearly knows nothing. The school grows less accommodating each year.

[Anonymous]

Amazing how some parents are willing to pay a lot for so little. I guess there are few options when you can't get into the Big 3, IAC, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They take too many kids in special education.

Yes, I see your point. I can think of two kids in my DC's SAES graduating class who before coming to SAES for middle school had been in some type of "special education" through MCPS for some of their elementary school years. After SAES, one of them attended one of the most selective universities in the country (think, single digit admissions rate) with a near perfect GPA from a competitive major that required a separate application after proving himself for three semesters, and is now thriving in his chosen field. Another is now getting a PhD from a major national university that is ranked in the top 10 in that student's chosen STEM program. They both still have many friends from SAES who they try to see when they are all back in town, and both periodically go back to SAES to visit their favorite teachers. They are both very interesting, hard working, and polite young adults. Yup, they must have been just awful influences on their high school classmates and the entire school, so I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want your children to attend any place that would be welcoming to these two scoundrels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They take too many kids in special education.

Yes, I see your point. I can think of two kids in my DC's SAES graduating class who before coming to SAES for middle school had been in some type of "special education" through MCPS for some of their elementary school years. After SAES, one of them attended one of the most selective universities in the country (think, single digit admissions rate) with a near perfect GPA from a competitive major that required a separate application after proving himself for three semesters, and is now thriving in his chosen field. Another is now getting a PhD from a major national university that is ranked in the top 10 in that student's chosen STEM program. They both still have many friends from SAES who they try to see when they are all back in town, and both periodically go back to SAES to visit their favorite teachers. They are both very interesting, hard working, and polite young adults. Yup, they must have been just awful influences on their high school classmates and the entire school, so I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want your children to attend any place that would be welcoming to these two scoundrels.

Totally made up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazing how some parents are willing to pay a lot for so little. I guess there are few options when you can't get into the Big 3, IAC, etc.

Sorry, PP is clearly outside looking in.

[Anonymous]

Oh my, 21:47. I'm going to assume you had a bad day and have gotten carried away, rather than that you are really a callous individual with no interest in facts or learning new things. I invite you to post an email address here -- you can set up a new one for privacy if you'd like with a made up user name -- and I will email you privately and invite you to talk by phone or meet in person. Every sentence of my post above (21:33) is absolutely accurate.

[Anonymous]

(I should have said above every sentence except the last sarcastic one in my 21:33 post).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They take too many kids in special education.

Yes, I see your point. I can think of two kids in my DC's SAES graduating class who before coming to SAES for middle school had been in some type of "special education" through MCPS for some of their elementary school years. After SAES, one of them attended one of the most selective universities in the country (think, single digit admissions rate) with a near perfect GPA from a competitive major that required a separate application after proving himself for three semesters, and is now thriving in his chosen field. Another is now getting a PhD from a major national university that is ranked in the top 10 in that student's chosen STEM program. They both still have many friends from SAES who they try to see when they are all back in town, and both periodically go back to SAES to visit their favorite teachers. They are both very interesting, hard working, and polite young adults. Yup, they must have been just awful influences on their high school classmates and the entire school, so I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want your children to attend any place that would be welcoming to these two scoundrels.

Totally made up.

This PP must be the same who includes less than one liner derogatory comments on this thread, other SAES Threads and even unrelated threads every few days. Someone who clearly has no direct engagement with these various schools. With regard to the SAES posts, all of the substantive comments clearly come from individuals with direct or reliable indirect exposure to the school and for the most part accurately reflect the unique nature of the school and it’s track record of nurturing active, successful students for life. For all who respect and honor what makes this and similar dialogue helpful, Thank you.