Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like you are set on private but there are a few excellent downtown public elementary schools. Have you considered these?

+1 for this, particularly since the class size law is about to mean that even the most in-demand ones have K-3 classes <= 20 and 4-5 <= 23 kids; PS3/40/41/281/340 all worth looking at, assuming from the references to Friends/Grace that you're not way downtown below Houston.

Thanks. I looked at our zoned school and did not like it. Also, we have a boy who just turned 5 and we like that in the private school system he will be in Kindergarten next year vs being in it this year if we did public school. He needs the extra year.

Anonymous wrote:There is much less teacher-in-front-teaching at Dalton vs. somewhere like St B or Trinity. Of course there are some instances of it, but it is not the majority of the lessons. These are obviously generalizations, but progressive teaching is usually more student-centered and and focused on experiential learning, while traditional teaching is more teacher-led and focused on memorization. Both the progressive schools (Dalton) and the traditional schools (St B) have some elements of both philosophies in their curriculum, so it is not surprising that you may have seen a teacher led lesson at Dalton during your visit.

This is very helpful, thanks. My inclination would be to want something in between progressive and traditional - the learning of practical skills with a deeper understanding in a structured environment. It's really hard to get a real feel of these school from their open houses and such.

Anonymous wrote:It seems like you are set on private but there are a few excellent downtown public elementary schools. Have you considered these?

+1 for this, particularly since the class size law is about to mean that even the most in-demand ones have K-3 classes <= 20 and 4-5 <= 23 kids; PS3/40/41/281/340 all worth looking at, assuming from the references to Friends/Grace that you're not way downtown below Houston.

There is much less teacher-in-front-teaching at Dalton vs. somewhere like St B or Trinity. Of course there are some instances of it, but it is not the majority of the lessons. These are obviously generalizations, but progressive teaching is usually more student-centered and and focused on experiential learning, while traditional teaching is more teacher-led and focused on memorization. Both the progressive schools (Dalton) and the traditional schools (St B) have some elements of both philosophies in their curriculum, so it is not surprising that you may have seen a teacher led lesson at Dalton during your visit.

It seems like you are set on private but there are a few excellent downtown public elementary schools. Have you considered these?

Anonymous wrote:If you really can't move in the foreseeable future, I echo the poster above. Choose a school close to home. We commuted 40 minutes to school for several years-- it was really exhausting and we ended up moving close to the school. If that isn't an option for you, I'd reevaluate all the uptown schools for high school.

Also re: these schools, the pedagogy is all over the place. Are you looking for a more traditional or progressive education? What structure do you think your child would thrive in for the elementary school years?

When people talk about progressive vs traditional, what exactly does that mean in the younger years? When we looked at Dalton, who describes their education as progressive, I didn't see that as the classrooms were traditionally taught (teacher in front teaching). I am assuming the progressive and traditional do have round table-like/Harkness discussions in both educational settings so I am having a hard time in understanding the difference.

Agree with others. Don't get too caught up in brands. If you are downtown, look at Grace and Friends. I am more familiar with them from the HS perspective and don't know younger grades as well but your characterization is fairly accurate. Friends on the average is slightly more academically rigorous and continues to lean woke (I am a Democrat who hates that word but it is accurate). The wokeness isn't overwhelming but the administration just won't give it up. Let's see what the new leadership does.

Grace has been trending more academic in recent years. Average kid is probably slightly less academic but if your kid is super smart they will make it work - they have honors math and science in the HS which splits out the smarter kids, and other options. So the average college there might not be as good as Friends, but they still get their fair share of kids into top schools. Head of school is incredible and the vibe is warmer (without being super touchy feely).

Lower school kids tend to be more downtown so easier for playdates, etc. Both schools absorb a decent number of new kids for upper grades (more for Grace than Friends) who come from all over.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older, but my advice to you for the early years is to choose a school close to where you intend to live. It’s easier for everyday life, playdates, and making connections with other families. I sent my DCs to a neighborhood K-8, and it was great. They ended up at HM and NBS for high school— both great fits for them at that stage in their lives.

And adding to this, even though both of my kids had great high school experiences, I would not change a thing in hindsight and start them at those schools in kindergarten. While there are “lifers” at all of the ongoing privates, it’s just as common for kids to switch schools—especially for high school. Applying out isn’t fun, but it also isn’t the nightmare you might think it is. For my kids it was a good learning experience that prepared them well for the college application process.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are older, but my advice to you for the early years is to choose a school close to where you intend to live. It’s easier for everyday life, playdates, and making connections with other families. I sent my DCs to a neighborhood K-8, and it was great. They ended up at HM and NBS for high school— both great fits for them at that stage in their lives.

This!! I cannot recommend this enough. We are a five minute walk to our kid's school. It is so good for everything - chiller mornings and afternoons, being able to volunteer or pop over for the insane amount of events private schools have, making friends at the school gates, the kids and parents like to walk over to the park together after school, etc. It has made our lives so much easier.

If you really can't move in the foreseeable future, I echo the poster above. Choose a school close to home. We commuted 40 minutes to school for several years-- it was really exhausting and we ended up moving close to the school. If that isn't an option for you, I'd reevaluate all the uptown schools for high school.

Also re: these schools, the pedagogy is all over the place. Are you looking for a more traditional or progressive education? What structure do you think your child would thrive in for the elementary school years?

My kids are older, but my advice to you for the early years is to choose a school close to where you intend to live. It’s easier for everyday life, playdates, and making connections with other families. I sent my DCs to a neighborhood K-8, and it was great. They ended up at HM and NBS for high school— both great fits for them at that stage in their lives.

Anonymous wrote:We live downtown and casted a wide net on schools and we love them all and don't know how to narrow them down. Our top choices are Collegiate, St. Bernard's, Dalton, Friends, Grace. I know they are all different in so many ways but we love them all. Our top choice (even though long a long shot) would be Collegiate, but we worry about the commute. We cannot move due to other circumstances. Dalton seemed surprisingly down to earth. I like St. Bernard's but worry that most of the kids will want to go to boarding school after. Friends seems more academically rigorous than Grace, but love Grace's community. Friends also seems a little too wokey, but not sure. Any thoughts on these? I know they are all drastically different (all boys, co-ed, K-12, K-8), but any personal experience woudl be great!

Have you heard any feedback from any of these schools yet? If not, I would try not to get your heart set on any one of them, since realistically, your son will likely end up going where he gets in (except you might end up with a choice between the one of the downtown schools and one of the uptown schools).

Dalton and St B are about as different as you can get from an educational philosophy perpsective. Collegiate is probably somewhere in between. We have kids at Dalton and are very happy FWIW, but we also have friends who are very happy at St B and Collegiate.

Anonymous wrote:We live downtown and casted a wide net on schools and we love them all and don't know how to narrow them down. Our top choices are Collegiate, St. Bernard's, Dalton, Friends, Grace. I know they are all different in so many ways but we love them all. Our top choice (even though long a long shot) would be Collegiate, but we worry about the commute. We cannot move due to other circumstances. Dalton seemed surprisingly down to earth. I like St. Bernard's but worry that most of the kids will want to go to boarding school after. Friends seems more academically rigorous than Grace, but love Grace's community. Friends also seems a little too wokey, but not sure. Any thoughts on these? I know they are all drastically different (all boys, co-ed, K-12, K-8), but any personal experience woudl be great!

With TTs, how many schools should an applicant apply to in order to be reasonably sure they land somewhere? 6? 8, 10?

Write a love letter to your first choice and then reevaluate after you see where you get in. Accepted students/families often have a chance to revisit the schools before making a choice to enroll.

We live downtown and casted a wide net on schools and we love them all and don't know how to narrow them down. Our top choices are Collegiate, St. Bernard's, Dalton, Friends, Grace. I know they are all different in so many ways but we love them all. Our top choice (even though long a long shot) would be Collegiate, but we worry about the commute. We cannot move due to other circumstances. Dalton seemed surprisingly down to earth. I like St. Bernard's but worry that most of the kids will want to go to boarding school after. Friends seems more academically rigorous than Grace, but love Grace's community. Friends also seems a little too wokey, but not sure. Any thoughts on these? I know they are all drastically different (all boys, co-ed, K-12, K-8), but any personal experience woudl be great!