We live in Philly and send our kids to private.

OP, in general I really like the Friends schools, of which there are many. I also appreciate the elementary only schools--Plymouth Meeting Friends School is an incredible small school that runs pre-K to 6th grade--love love love this school. Greene Street Friends is another strong school that runs through 8th.

Other options that go through high school that you might want to investigate: Germantown Friends, Friends Central, Abington Friends, Penn Charter, Friends Select (downtown). It really depends partly on your location and how far you're willing to travel. I consider all of these fairly progressive.

And to the pp you would almost certainly be able to find spots for kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:NP here also moving to Philadelphia but soon. Is there any hope of getting my K son in a private at such a late date? We are really unsure of what to do since we just found out we'll be moving.

You'll almost certainly be able to find something. The schools are competitive, but not nearly so cut-through at the big name DC schools, and frankly - there are a lot more really good options in Philly suburbs than in DC.

Anonymous wrote:grew up on Main Line.

Baldwin or Shipley for Girls ( Baldwin)

Haverford for Boys

Friends Central for Co-Ed

and Notre Dame if you are Catholic

There is no comparison to DC Privates though for the main reason: Montgomery County ( Main Line is Mont Co) has excellent public schools ( regularly send 20-30 % of class to Ivy)
while occasionally fielding a future NBA player or Olympic Athlete. Free laptops for everyone MS on up , sports facilities to rival Sidwell's and all funded, not by tuition, but by property taxes in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the country .

Mostly everyone in the public schools on Main Line will be Jewish ( think GDS, but voting heavily center Republican)

Privates are more WASPY and Friends Central is probably the most diverse politically and racially

What you won't find in Private schools in Phila : a big social scene for parents . Why ? Because Philadelphia is mostly Medicine and Pharma based and not POTUS, Lobbyist based and no one cares or has the time.

Why pay for private ?

Grew up on the Main Line and went to one of the schools on the above list.

Absolutely everything in this post is spot-on. I would just add Episcopal Academy to the list.

Anonymous wrote:What is Penn Charter like?

I know several families at Penn Charter. It's very old (oldest Friends school in the country, I think?) so there are lots of traditions and a huge endowment, meaning they have tons of resources and are generous with aid. Very into art - Pre-K has its own studio with art, photography, etc. Strong academics. I don't know exactly how "exclusive" it is (far less than DC for sure) but there is a wait pool and I know families who did not get in or put in the wait pool. Athletics are a big deal. I think every upper school student has to participate in a sport or maybe even two (though to be fair I have no idea if this is atypical compared to other privates). It seems like there are always a few Ivy athletic recruits. Very Quaker, mostly very liberal - more conservative families tend to choose CHA/ Springside, although not exclusively so. I know they have a night when the parents get together and compete in events, as part of bringing the families together. Everyone seems to love the HoS, but I haven't heard any specifics, just that people think very highly of him. Campus is beautiful and I think they're going to be building a new lower school soon.

In general, the Philly privates are less about cachet (although there's a bit of that) and more about escaping the colossal failure of the public schools in the city. I know tons of families in private - several of the Friends schools, many of the Catholic schools (Norwood, OMC, etc), and a couple at French International. Everyone I know is very, very happy with their decision. I really don't think you can go wrong w/ any of them once you find a good fit for your family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd say Penn Charter and Germantown Friends are Sidwell-esque, or so I gather. They're right next to one another and both really great options. There are several other Friends schools in the area as well, such as Greene Street (which is a small K-8), Miquon, Abington Friends, Friends Central. I'm less familiar w/ the privates on the Main Line. Main Line is very keeping-up-with-the Joneses and that's fine if it's your cup of tea. If not, check out Chestnut Hill. It's in the city - technically speaking - so the only drawback is the Philly school system - but if you're thinking private, you obviously don't have to worry about that. GL!

Of these, only Friends Central makes any sense if she moves to Ardmore. Ardmore (Lower Merion side) also has excellent public schools.

Why would you move to Ardmore ? Its mostly a commercial strip and its on the border of West Phila.

Main Line is Gladwyne, Bryn Mawr, Penn Valley and Narberth

incorrect

Anonymous wrote:NP here also moving to Philadelphia but soon. Is there any hope of getting my K son in a private at such a late date? We are really unsure of what to do since we just found out we'll be moving.

I think you've got a decent chance. There are tons of schools and, outside of the city, very strong publics. You might have a better shot at some of the suburban schools, but it's worth calling everywhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:stay away from Chestnut Hill..sorry typing too fast

Why?

Chestnut Hill is right next to one of the roughest areas of the city..walk the direction and you have a problem...a large problem. Too many nice areas to have to deal with this. Sad but true. Ardmore also has some crime issues but nowhere near what you would see close to Chestnut Hill area. I would stick to Haverford esp if you are looking at private school because a lot people will send their kids to privates. If you want to consider not sending to Private, then consider Radnor--beautiful and most people send their kids to public. I also feel like staying sw of the city gives you easier access to DC and 95--the northern burbs are just not as ideal.

This is not an informed post. chestnut hill is fine, mt airy (which borders the area) is fine. Ardmore is totally, unquestionably fine. I have no idea what the poster means by "staying sw of the city" - down near the airport? That would not be my recommended area.

There was good info earlier in this thread and a lot of weird postings later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:stay away from Chestnut Hill..sorry typing too fast

Why?

Chestnut Hill is right next to one of the roughest areas of the city..walk the direction and you have a problem...a large problem. Too many nice areas to have to deal with this. Sad but true. Ardmore also has some crime issues but nowhere near what you would see close to Chestnut Hill area. I would stick to Haverford esp if you are looking at private school because a lot people will send their kids to privates. If you want to consider not sending to Private, then consider Radnor--beautiful and most people send their kids to public. I also feel like staying sw of the city gives you easier access to DC and 95--the northern burbs are just not as ideal.

I live in Chestnut Hill. It is not right next to one of the roughest areas of the city. Do you mean Mt Airy? It's hippies and young families. Granted, next to Mt Airy you have Germantown, which isn't great. But I've never seen - or even heard of - crime in Chestnut Hill. There's no doubt some exists, of course, as it does everywhere, but there certainty isn't more than anywhere else. I suppose it depends on what you want. I'm not a suburbanite. I like walking to shop, go to the neighborhood pub for dinner or drinks, etc.

Ardmore is ok. Old. The entire ML is old.

Episcopal Academy is where a lot of the doctors at the hospital where I work send their kids. I work at chop and live in the ML (wayne).

Many live in Bryn Mawr and send their kids there. It's the best school districts in the country but everyone goes to private school. Weird.

Havertown is where all the young families are living now - really great community. Being built up a lot! You get much more house for your money further down the line. Paoli, malvern, even out in Chester Spring farmland. It's 15 minutes from King Of Prusdua/Wayne and beautiful homes in the 400's.

Anonymous wrote:Germantown Academy. http://www.germantownacademy.net/

I went there in the eighties.

Nice mix of tradition and progressive teaching. A good number of my teachers are still there !
Strong leadership.
Very competitive in all sports.
Excellent drama department.
Spectacular campus.

Tuition seems like bargain compared to DC privates !

BradleyCooper's alma mater.

Anonymous wrote:What is Penn Charter like?

Old, very old and on the other side of town a little pocket of wealth , surrounded by Mt Airy and Germantown , which can be pretty sketchy and N Phila is not far away : mega ghetto

In DC, it would be like if there was this beautiful private school on the grounds of St Elizabeth's in Anacostia and you lived in Chevy Chase and tried to drive there every day or send you kids on bus, train and automobile to get there...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd say Penn Charter and Germantown Friends are Sidwell-esque, or so I gather. They're right next to one another and both really great options. There are several other Friends schools in the area as well, such as Greene Street (which is a small K-8), Miquon, Abington Friends, Friends Central. I'm less familiar w/ the privates on the Main Line. Main Line is very keeping-up-with-the Joneses and that's fine if it's your cup of tea. If not, check out Chestnut Hill. It's in the city - technically speaking - so the only drawback is the Philly school system - but if you're thinking private, you obviously don't have to worry about that. GL!

Of these, only Friends Central makes any sense if she moves to Ardmore. Ardmore (Lower Merion side) also has excellent public schools.

Why would you move to Ardmore ? Its mostly a commercial strip and its on the border of West Phila.

Main Line is Gladwyne, Bryn Mawr, Penn Valley and Narberth

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for all of this information. It is too premature for me to visit any schools, but I would like to start getting a handle on my lists of where to look. Without outing myself, I would like schools similar to Sidwell and GDS. No single sex, please.

If you want a progressive Quaker school on the Main line with GDS level of diversity : Friends Central

But don't expect to find a school like Sidwell as there won't be any WAPO, POTUS staff, media circus , policy wonks in sight , just a bunch of Quakers like was originally intended.

Also, you won't find " a GDS" because the Main Line publics are majority Jewish , so no need to pay $35/K a year for a GDS . That plus most of the Main Line Jewish community is Republican leaning.

Translation : Main Line is not Washington . If you want a great education with excellent Ivy matric: send them to Harriton HS for free.

If you want to hob nob with the powers that be , don't move from Washington because that just isn't the scene up there . No one cares and the old money will never be interested in you unless you are Pearl Buck or a Nobel Physicist or something.

NP here also moving to Philadelphia but soon. Is there any hope of getting my K son in a private at such a late date? We are really unsure of what to do since we just found out we'll be moving.

I went to George School, in Newtown, not on the mainline. Also a Quaker School. I was a boarder. Loved it. We competed against all those schools listed, Friends Central, Friends Select, Germantown Friends + Westtown School. All Quaker.