Reply to Current vibe at St. Andrew’s DE?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Parent of a recent grad here and I just had to write a long response. We loved it as a family and my DC excelled in the environment. It is a magical place and a must attend if accepted. It is a place that really focuses on values, integrity, and community. A few differences and highlights for us:

1. Athletics: good program, but not as intense as the dmv privates. No travel team participation allowed (or very limited). DC can pick up a new sport and accepting of all who want to try. A few programs stand out IMO Crew, squash, lacrosse. Our DC picked up two new sports and excelled.

2. Responsible for own academic success. I loved this one. No tutoring - paid outside help is against the honor code. This was something I didn’t even think about, but can really change the academic environment. It forces engagement with teachers and peers to discuss homework and trouble spots. Builds relationships and levels the playing field. Also makes the kid learn how to solve their own problems and take responsibility for their academic success (or failures). Excellent life lesson IMO.

3. High school is the foundation for college… not the on ramp. They don’t talk about grades or college. Ever. My DC never knew how other kids were doing or even when kids got in to college. Crazy? Maybe, but their success record is pretty good. Not too good for west coast elites- no one has gone to Stanford in years. If that is a goal, I would not send a kid there. But if HPY, SLACs, and flagship state schools are the goal… they are wildly successful.

3. Community - 100% boarding is magical. No outside day student influence and all are focused on building a community. Including the teachers and staff. Very strict rules and the mark system is taken seriously. Takes some freshman a few months to realize they mean business. It’s all about respect for the community and each other

4. Close to the DMV. We were up there all the time for athletic games or to take the kids out to dinner. We both work high level jobs and travel. So, driving two hours to spend quality time with our DC sitting on the front lawn at school was better than the rat race of high schools and sports in DMV.

5. No phones - mentioned above, but I will reiterate. My DCs emotional intelligence was leaps and bounds above her dmv peers. The ability to sit down and have dinner conversations with anyone was remarkable. It also cuts down on the drama that cell phones bring. I thank the school for the cell phone policy, but also the assigned lunch table policy. It is not just for one meal, but weeks at a time. They build relationships with every, single, student and faculty.

6. Class warfare. I will say that there are really, really wealthy kids at the school and lots of kids on financial aid and then us in the middle. There was never a brand or class issue (ie, are you wearing the right shoes, jeans, etc. Are you vacationing at the right places, etc). The girls swapped clothes all the time. There was never stress about what to wear to winter formal, etc. much different than my experience in the 80s at a NE boarding school. And much different than the middle school environment she came from.

7. Finally… parties, friends, drinking, weekends. I’m so grateful that I did not spend four years driving my kid to try to see friends all over the DMV every weekend. We heard crazy party stories in the DMV from her middle school peers. Parents allowing drinking, pre and post parties from dances, etc. That is just not the culture up there.

Good luck on decision day and happy to answer any specific questions. We all cried on graduation day. Head of school is great and really cares about the kids and their futures. [/quote]

Exactly. All of this. My DC is a student there and we are so grateful for her experience so far. I also agree about #7 and anyone is who is going to push back about "not parenting" can just step off. This is about putting your kid in an environment where it's cool to study and cool to be off your phone and cool to go cheer your friend on at their JV soccer game. This is what these kids do. They get excited about sledding and playing on the lawn and being kids.  It's so nice to see. I also have a kid who is at a day school here and it's a totally different experience. People who bash the boarding school experience, particularly at SAS, have no idea what they're talking about.[/quote]

You find these positive attributes to be so unique to the boarding school experience? [/quote]

I find these attributes to be unique to SAS. As I said, I have other kids in local private schools and the experience has been totally different. Locally we are navigating parties, excessive screen time, and trying to figure out how to get kids together with their friends who live in different states, as examples. SAS is 100% boarding and they have a strict cell phone policy which allows kids to get to know each other and really get involved with the school. I do think that is unique and a huge value-add.[/quote]

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