Maret and St. Albans High school
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Anonymous
Honestly a lot has changed. We’ve been really happy. |
Anonymous
You're making the erroneous assumption that the beahvior one or two classes is indicative of the entire culture of a school. You're wrong. This is true at all private schools. Some classes are outliers in terms of having an obnoxious group of kids who egg each other on in bad behavior. The last few classes have been more typical. The new headmaster has only been there a year; it's not like he radically changed the culture. There is one class currently at STA that a number of parents and faculty have observed is another outlier class. The school can only do so much with kids who have been raised permissively by families that believe themselves to be so special as to be above accountability. |
Anonymous
Can you be specific, what has changed other than the head? Heck some of those kids from five years ago still have younger siblings and parents who presumably failed at raising decent little humans. What am I missing? |
Anonymous
this ^^^ |
Anonymous
| Schools cannot control how parents raise their kids but they can control how they handle behavior/discipline problems. How the school responds to these kids is key. How does STA respond to these outlier classes? Do they impose consequences? Do they counsel kids out? Or do they sit back and watch these cohorts move through the school until graduation? |
Anonymous
| People have this idea that Maret has a bunch of artsy kids who are not athletes. Maybe that's how the school used to be, but that it not true anymore. Of course it varies from class-to-class, but I wouldn't pick Maret expecting a bunch of non-sporty boys. As for STEM, there are challenging classes and very smart kids, so your kid will find a cohort. But that cohort will likely be smaller than at STA. |
Anonymous
A lot has changed in one year? Sure it has. And even if that’s true, if it was so bad before that “a lot had to change” to make you so happy, what the heck was your kid doing there in the first place? |
Anonymous
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Sigh. OP please note there are a couple of private school haters who post in every thread about XXXX school whatever they can find. Some also carry personal grudges for whatever reason.
STA is fine. Maret is fine. Neither are hiding from their pasts. STA even went out of their way under the new head to examine the last 50 years of claims against teachers just to clear the air post Kavanaugh. |
Anonymous
| Your DS will excel academically at both, but they are worlds apart culturally. Would he prefer co-ed or all boys, no dress code or uniforms, progressive or more conservative, diversity in terms of race/socio-economic status/sexual orientation/gender identity, etc.? |
Anonymous
Yes, I agree. On all counts. |
Anonymous
This. The changes involve an examination of past issues and a commitment to change. Every school has issues; every school should strive to improve. The new head at sta has shown commitment to that. The deep haters have been out in force the last few days. |
Anonymous
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I agree with several posts here
- both schools will provide academic challenge for a strong student, but STA has a more challenging base curriculum and will a larger cohort of very strong students per grade - both schools have sports, both have sports requirements, and both have a mix strong athletes and not - playing on a team sport will take a lot of time after school at either - both have lighter options but do not underestimate the time sports will take in a day/week at any school - that said, sports is a much "bigger deal" as StA - varsity teams/coaches are pretty hard core and (probably because it's all boys) the culture around/within the teams is strong. This isn't a bad thing for a kid who loves sports, but it's not for everyone. And, since academics are still hard core - playing a team sport and keeping up with academics is no small feat - the culture is very different at these two schools - part of that is due to coed - but also by nature of the institutions themselves - both are hard to get into - if you have a choice, lucky you - but if you get into just one, also lucky you |
Anonymous
Spot on. You may also want to check college matriculation lists. Both are excellent. But there is a discernible difference if that is important to you. |
Anonymous
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St. Albans plays in the IAC conference, which features the following schools :
Bullis Georgetown Prep St. Stephens and St. Agnes Episcopal Landon Some of these schools are sports powerhouses. They recruit vigorously for certain sports, while STA generally does not. As noted by pp, STA does very well in cross country, but they also do well in other sports. Here is a list of their IAC titles in the last 10 years. Baseball (4) Cross Country (10) Football(1) Soccer (6) Tennis (6) Track and Field (5) |
Anonymous
"Worlds apart culturally?" Please. The few items you mention are not indicative of anything except current policies of the two schools. The fact is, they are both well-established NW DC prep schools that serve the kids of the so-called elite of the city, who like to club around with colleagues and friends and chit chat about private school life. In a lineup, you couldn't tell a Maret kid from a St Albans kid if your life depended on it. These schools are less than a mile apart geographically and "culturally," in any true sense. The idea that there is such a vast difference in DMV area schools - private and most public too, for that matter - and that one can so carefully hand pick a school based on "fit" and "culture best for our family" is a DCUM created myth that gives parents something to talk about. |