Reply to in your mind, is STA worth it for high school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Short answer for us is clearly Yes - worth every penny.  We are academically-focused and the academics are strong.

Longer answer: If - and only if - one lives a long (time) commute from StA, then one should consider how that would intersect with mandatory school sports until 6pm and with the school start time.  Adding a long (time) commute could make for sleep schedule pressures given the length of the school day there.  This is personal preference, but something to think about.

Opinion: We would be MUCH happier if the after-school sports were optional, such that school ended at 4pm at all grades (for those not on competitive sports teams).   My own (more ancient than StA) school did have intra-mural sports through Form III (9th grade), but those always occurred within an overall school day which always ended at 4pm.  Inter-school competitive sports teams (JV or V) practiced from 4pm-6pm,  but those were purely optional.  Our DC has documented fine motor limitations, which don’t impair daily life but do mean he always will be bottom in any sport.  So he has no interest in sports.  The mandatory-for-all 4pm-6pm sports are just a colossal waste of time for those not desiring to participate in competitive sports teams.

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I'd counter that the fact that sports participation is mandatory- adds to the development of the Boys- and the school culture that sets that as an expectation underlines that.

After all, no one gets anywhere in life without many of the qualities sports participation develop: perseverance, dedication to a goal, commitment, team work, guts, hopes/ aspirations...and let's not forget good CV exercise.

I can think of a LOT of things that are " a waste of time" - challenging oneself in athletics is an obvious exception[/quote]

DP: Some mandatory sports is good for the exercise part, but for a kid who also gets "perseverance, dedication to a goal, commitment, team work, guts, hopes/ aspirations" from non-athletic pursuits, the emphasis on all sports all the time cuts into time for pursuing those other wonderful activities, which may be where the boys' true talent lies.[/quote]

There are plenty of other elite private schools where the sports requirement is not as arduous and allows non-athletic pursuits instead.  Apply to those.  Obviously STA won’t be a good fit.  It’s easier to find a school with your child’s preferences about sports than complaining about STA.[/quote]

There are not "plenty" of elite schools in DC, and certainly not "plenty" that are meaningful alternatives for many of the boys who largely like STA. Academically, STA/NCS and SFS are in a league of their own in DC. Yes, GDS and maybe Maret have high flyers, but for someone who lives in DC and whose son is very academically strong, STA and SFS are the obvious choices.

There are numerous boys for whom SFS (or GDS or Maret) isn't an obvious alternative. For example, a very strong academic boy in DC who wants single sex--ok, STA is it. A very strong academic boy in DC who is strong in one sport but also very musically talented and would like to do both--tougher call, because SFS is not strong in sports except where it recruits (basketball). A very strong academic boy in DC who doesn't want (or whose parents don't want) a social-justice-heavy education, but who wants a more classical education--ok, STA. You could mix and match those combos or make new combos and you still land in the same spot: SFS not an obvious alternative, GDS and Maret definitely not an alternative for any of those combos.

No one here is saying STA should not have a sports focus. They are simply saying that a 3-season sports requirement means that the ONLY EC these boys tend to have is sports-related. These boys are super-talented, and many of them are academically strong, strong at one sport (maybe two), and many want to be/could be/are talented musicians, dramatists, mathematicians, etc. and would like more time to do the non-sports EC. STA is unique even among peer all-boys schools in having a 3-season requirement. Most we know of have a 2-season requirement. These are schools similar to STA with very similar educational models and commitment to "mens sana in corpora sane" (the only differences being that the other schools are even more highly ranked!), and with incredible reputations and outplacement. Yet they give boys a season off to either rest or pursue a non-sports EC that makes for a more well-rounded boy (and if we're being purely cynical, a better college applicant).

In short, no, there aren't "plenty" of elite school alternatives generally, and there certainly aren't "plenty" for many of the possible sorts of boys I mentioned. STA's commitment to sports would be fully honored if they allowed boys to take one sports season to do another EC, if they so chose, and it would strengthen their commitment to the whole boy.     [/quote]

It is not true that sports is the only option for EC.  Our recently graduated class went all in for the arts.  A huge portion of the class was heavily involved in music, drama and visual arts.  It does mean that these boys will be at the school until 9 p.m. most nights as rehearsals begin after dinner.  This means that the academically weaker members of the class probably won't choose these activities, but please don't portray the school as only fixated on sports.  My own DS was not a huge athlete, but I appreciated the sports requirement for pushing him out of his comfort zone, building team camaraderie and exhausting the boys so much that they were less likely to get into mischief (doubly so for the boys involved in the arts.)

I will say that admissions under Tyler Casertano has tended to place to emphasize athletes more, rather than other talented kids, so there may be a shift going on.[/quote]

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