To those saying just go to 321… I disagree. We are in park slope not 321 but I have friends there. We all have to do a lot of supplementing. It’s a lot. There is a push in many Brooklyn districts to end all gifted and talented programs and put “equity” above all else. There is a push to do integrated co teaching which means advanced kids with very disruptive kids “but it’s great because there are two teachers” (sarcasm). The result is even with a good teacher they are teaching to the bottom of the class most of the time. We are moving before middle or if we are here doing private. I love my community and neighborhood but even as a moderate democrat I am turned off by the education policies here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poly Prep and Berkeley Carroll are not hard to get into for middle school (5/6 grade). Most of the full pay students come from UMC families. Parents are lawyers, doctors, middle management, business owners etc. I don’t think you will see a huge difference in lifestyle, mostly comfortable but modest. Most notable difference will be the housing situation. Many kids come from the brownstone neighborhoods.

That’s a lie. They are hard to get into. You will be fine at that income level.

How is that a lie? Every kid on our block goes to one of these schools and often apply to both. Some kids got rejected by one of them but I don’t know anyone who didn’t manage to get into one. If you look at the ISEE scores needed for these schools vs. the Daltons in Manhattan you’ll understand.

To the earlier poster who said brownstone neighborhoods have a public school tradition, things have been changing, fast. Since the school lottery system started many parents have switched to private. Also the younger residents of Brownstone neighborhoods generally have the means to pay for private. After all a brownstone sells for $4m+ nowadays in many areas. My older neighbors still talk about the days when they worked hard to improve the local public schools. Sadly things seem to be heading in a different direction these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Packer is the most academic and thus has the most in terms of families who are really prioritizing being there. But honestly just buy in PS 321 and get grandparents to pay for summer camps, extracurriculars, college fund etc. Manhattan has way more private schools and it’s more part of the culture for non-celebs and hedge funders there.

Huh? I know two families that left Packer for Poly Prep due to lackluster academics.

This is made up. Packer academics are far superior to Poly. Poly is better for sports.

Anonymous wrote:Packer is the most academic and thus has the most in terms of families who are really prioritizing being there. But honestly just buy in PS 321 and get grandparents to pay for summer camps, extracurriculars, college fund etc. Manhattan has way more private schools and it’s more part of the culture for non-celebs and hedge funders there.

Huh? I know two families that left Packer for Poly Prep due to lackluster academics.

Anonymous wrote:Poly Prep and Berkeley Carroll are not hard to get into for middle school (5/6 grade). Most of the full pay students come from UMC families. Parents are lawyers, doctors, middle management, business owners etc. I don’t think you will see a huge difference in lifestyle, mostly comfortable but modest. Most notable difference will be the housing situation. Many kids come from the brownstone neighborhoods.

That’s a lie. They are hard to get into. You will be fine at that income level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poly Prep and Berkeley Carroll are not hard to get into for middle school (5/6 grade). Most of the full pay students come from UMC families. Parents are lawyers, doctors, middle management, business owners etc. I don’t think you will see a huge difference in lifestyle, mostly comfortable but modest. Most notable difference will be the housing situation. Many kids come from the brownstone neighborhoods.

Thanks! We would probably rent for a year before buying. It’s interesting to hear from a few posters that we should focus on Berkeley Carroll & Poly Prep vs. Berkeley Carroll & Packer Collegiate. I went to a school similar to Poly, so maybe I should be open to it.

Depends on what you are looking for. These are all good schools with slightly different strengths, weaknesses and communities. (for example Poly is more athletic, packer has more professional crowd) Financially speaking you will fit into all as Brooklyn schools with $350K income. We are a former Brooklyn private school family, now in Manhattan. If you are planning to stay long term...think about the school that will set you up for high school.

I would disagree entirely; moved from Manhattan to Brownstone Brooklyn and never looked back. It's far more green and tons of parks and lots of good energy and neighborhood feel.

As far as private schools are concerned: there are 5 established private schools in Brooklyn - in order of prestige roughly: Saint Ann's (Brooklyn Heights), Packer (Brooklyn Heights), Berkeley Carroll (Park Slope), PolyPrep (Park Slope/Dyker Heights), and Brooklyn Friends (Downtown Brooklyn). Saint Ann's is probably the only one with a citywide reputation. Not that reputation is all that matters of course.

Anonymous wrote:Poly Prep and Berkeley Carroll are not hard to get into for middle school (5/6 grade). Most of the full pay students come from UMC families. Parents are lawyers, doctors, middle management, business owners etc. I don’t think you will see a huge difference in lifestyle, mostly comfortable but modest. Most notable difference will be the housing situation. Many kids come from the brownstone neighborhoods.

Thanks! We would probably rent for a year before buying. It’s interesting to hear from a few posters that we should focus on Berkeley Carroll & Poly Prep vs. Berkeley Carroll & Packer Collegiate. I went to a school similar to Poly, so maybe I should be open to it.

Anonymous wrote:We are a M/C family in private (HHI $350K w/ F/A). If you have tuition covered, I would not give it a second thought. Class sizes are smaller. The curriculum is tailored and more creative. In our experience, the faculty and staff are happier (and thus, the kids). I don't find it socially challenging for the kids AT ALL.

Thanks, helpful to hear from experience. Do you mind sharing what school?

Anonymous wrote:Packer is the most academic and thus has the most in terms of families who are really prioritizing being there. But honestly just buy in PS 321 and get grandparents to pay for summer camps, extracurriculars, college fund etc. Manhattan has way more private schools and it’s more part of the culture for non-celebs and hedge funders there.

And what do you suggest for middle school?

Poly Prep and Berkeley Carroll are not hard to get into for middle school (5/6 grade). Most of the full pay students come from UMC families. Parents are lawyers, doctors, middle management, business owners etc. I don’t think you will see a huge difference in lifestyle, mostly comfortable but modest. Most notable difference will be the housing situation. Many kids come from the brownstone neighborhoods.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Packer is the most academic and thus has the most in terms of families who are really prioritizing being there. But honestly just buy in PS 321 and get grandparents to pay for summer camps, extracurriculars, college fund etc. Manhattan has way more private schools and it’s more part of the culture for non-celebs and hedge funders there.

Thanks for the info. Grandparents have already funded college, but it seems like it’s not the norm at our income level to do private. If we end up moving, I guess we can re-evaluate if he has trouble with public school.

It's not the norm b/c it is unaffordable to attend an independent school at that income level. However, if a grandparent covers tuition, you should run to private. There will be other students who are doing the same.

We are a M/C family in private (HHI $350K w/ F/A). If you have tuition covered, I would not give it a second thought. Class sizes are smaller. The curriculum is tailored and more creative. In our experience, the faculty and staff are happier (and thus, the kids). I don't find it socially challenging for the kids AT ALL.

Is your child very talented in a particular field or academically brilliant? Are you famous yourselves? If not, I think it will be hard to get into these schools from out of town, even if you are full pay.