Reply to Landon (Upper School) academics, how do they compare with GP, STA, SFS, GDS

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[quote=Anonymous]There are some misconceptions out there on this thread.  While agreeing that no one answer can be definitive (because people don't know five schools equally well), I will chime in.

First, to the poster who identified facilities, environment (which was defined mainly as single-sex or co-ed or religious or secular), and faculty, I will add two more (1) strength of the student cohort; and (2) content of the curriculum.

On the first point, by way of analogy, my intellectual experience in college was significantly enhanced by being surrounded by some truly brilliant people (I'd say I hung in there as "bright").  The only real metric available for strength of the student cohort is the percentage of National Merit Semifinalists (NMSFs)/Commended students (and perhaps the overall number of those students) -- admittedly, of course, this is an imperfect measurement not every bright, creative mind excels on these kids of standardized tests.  The DC independent schools have a structural advantage in terms of drawing the very bright students in that the DC public schools are not as well regarded as schools in MoCo or Fairfax County, and the NMSF percentages for Sidwell, GDS, and St. Albans are all generally the highest in the area for independent schools.  (St. Anselm's, although not on the OP's original list, also does very well in this regard.)  On the issue of the overall numbers of NMSFs, because Sidwell and GDS are about 50% bigger in the Upper School than St. Albans, the same percentage of NMSFs would translate into more students (possibly relevant in terms of who is making up top level classes).  Landon and Prep tend to have a lower percentage of NMSFs (some years they do not have any) but are comparable to each other.

In terms of the content of the curriculum, all of these schools are relatively small so there are some limits on what they can offer (e.g. the breadth of foreign language offerings).  But there are some differences -- for example, because St. Albans has a religion requirement (three semester-long courses in Upper School) that effectively cuts into the range of history/social science offerings -- and many schools have a "jewel in the crown" course or department that is particularly strong.  Landon, for example, has a very well-regarded humanities class in the Upper School.  It's worth asking around what interesting course offerings/curricular wrinkles there are and seeing if it matches up with your child's interests.

A few additional points.

First, I'm not sure what is up with the people taking shots at GDS.  A generation ago it was not seen as a peer school with St. Albans or Sidwell or NCS but it is now among the school communities in terms of intellectual rigor (even if culturally it is very different from a school like St. Albans).  The number/percentage of NMSFs at GDS is also very good (beat everybody a few years ago).  Not everyone likes the vibe there (first names for teachers, informality of dress) but it is very well-regarded.

Second, geography tends to be a very important factor.  The number one competitor for St. Albans for Upper School students is Sidwell, and they also have plenty of applicants who are also applying to GDS and Maret (and sometimes pick those schools over St. Albans, and vice versa).  Although there are some families who say "we want an all-boys environment so we will focus only on Landon, Prep, and St. Albans," it is fewer than you might think.

Finally, to get back to the original point.  Landon is a good school.  Because of the structural issue -- competition from very strong Montgomery County schools -- it does not appear to draw the same number of top students (as measured, imperfectly, by testing) as the top independent schools in DC.  The faculty is strong, but you might see more PhD's and more "academic" types at a school like Sidwell or GDS which does not go in for the "teacher-coach" model (which has many advantages as well).  There is a perception, in terms of school culture, that athletics, and most of all lacrosse, are extremely important at Prep and Landon -- that may also influence away some more academically focused students.  But certainly not every boy at Prep and Landon is sporty.     [/quote]

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