Private schools - Westminster vs Pace? (Atlanta: taxes, tuition, pools)

[AtlJan]

Agreed. And many of the teachers at all three of these are PhD academics who may be left-leaning personally, but hold those cards close to their chests in order to create a truly open forum of ideas in the classroom. All three schools are very innovative in their curriculum and teaching philosophy, so by that measure, I would not consider them conservative. As a parent and graduate of said schools, I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal. It is my sense that all three schools are traditional in some ways; very open-minded in terms of learning and teaching; and extremely diverse in terms of the political views of the families. I never assume the politics of another parent I meet on campus.

In terms of ethnic diversity, my child's class at one of said schools is 69% white, 31% people of color. He hears Spanish and Chinese spoken in the halls every day. For comparison, our local public elementary school is 76% white. It feels pretty ridiculous to break his class down this way, though, as there are many kids of multiple ethnicities in his class, parents from around the world including India, Europe, East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean. . .so he is really getting a view of the world that extends far outside the bounds of 285.

[LLORT3]

Originally Posted by RMAA2H

Hello,
We are applying to Pace and Westminster for kindergarten, and have a few questions regarding both schools.

Westminster:
We have heard from many people that even though it's a Christian school, the atmosphere is not very religious. We are not Christian and while we don't have a problem with religion in small doses, we are not looking for a school that puts extreme emphasis on religion. Is Westminster considerate of people with a different religious background?

Are the academics at this school as intense as the rumors say? I am not averse to rigorous academics, but also am not in favor of dumping my kid in a school where he will always feel like he can't keep up.

Pace:
How are the academics at this school? I have heard that their main emphasis is on sports.

After our child's kindergarten observation we received a call from them saying they loved meeting our child and that he was great. Is this standard procedure or a positive sign? Not sure what to think at this point.

The private school admission process is frustrating and stressful. Any input would be much appreciated!!

You should move out of state. It sounds like you are an atheist and liberal and a hypocrite. If you want to send your child to private school and hate the public school system then you are a hypocrite. Westminster will convert your atheist family into Christians. They hate liberals.

[JoeP]

You should move out of state. It sounds like you are an atheist and liberal and a hypocrite. If you want to send your child to private school and hate the public school system then you are a hypocrite. Westminster will convert your atheist family into Christians. They hate liberals.

Someone should listen to less hate radio and FOX infotainers. Wow.

[LLORT3]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Someone should listen to less hate radio and FOX infotainers. Wow.

Mother Jones and Slate are my favorite publications. No hate there. Just love (well, unless you have a different viewpoint but that doesn't count right?)

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by LLORT3

You should move out of state. It sounds like you are an atheist and liberal and a hypocrite. If you want to send your child to private school and hate the public school system then you are a hypocrite. Westminster will convert your atheist family into Christians. They hate liberals.

Put down the mouse and move away from the keyboard...

[LovelySummer]

Dod anyone say there were no left-leaning parents at the school? I am quite sure at any school you can find at least some parents of differing political views. My question was regarding the majority, overall feel. It is quite easy to say "look, there are liberals," but that does not mean the school feels liberal. Do you understand what I am saying?

Others have chimed in on the conservative feel so that essentially answers the question.

Originally Posted by CMMom

If you think that there aren't far left-wing progressive Democrats at the elite private schools in Atlanta, you're fooling yourself. It's not even close to "Trumpland." Now, if you're talking one of the uber-conservative Christian private schools (e.g., Greater Atlanta Christian, Whitefield, Wesleyan), that may be a different story. But Lovett and Westminster, you bet there are left-wing parents at both.

[LovelySummer]

LMM,

No, I am not a native or a southerner, although I have lived here for many years now and these are the impressions. Please let me know the reason for your question. Could it be that these schools come off this way only when you are not from the south?

Thanks for your insights below.

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Did you grow up here or in the South?

I think that many of the families at the Buckhead elite private school are fiscal conservatives. However, they likely aren't as conservative in other areas of their believes.

The very most conservative families are generally at church based school where religion plays a large role in the curriculum. These schools generally have a litmus test of affiliation for those who attend.

Pace isn't a religious school at all. Westminster and Lovett have ties to a denomination, but each of those schools have a relatively diverse student population.

[LovelySummer]

Got it. Thank you. What about the Republican, southern, white part of things? Is that part of the old way also that has gone to the wind?

Originally Posted by mmcgrayland

This. My husband and I both attended one of the religious (albeit non-denominational) "conservative" top privates in Atlanta. We are fiscally conservative (although you might not know it if you looked at my spending habits, but I digress), but very socially liberal. We did not vote for Trump. Nor (as far as I can tell) did any (or at least many) of our former classmates (at least according to their frequent posts on social media). We also don't attend church, though we were both raised in Christian households.

I think many of the philosophies and beliefs that were the core of these schools 30 years ago have likely changed a lot. I do think there are those who are more conservative, and attend church, so people can find a niche that suits their ideologies at any of the top tier schools.

[CMMom]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

Dod anyone say there were no left-leaning parents at the school? I am quite sure at any school you can find at least some parents of differing political views. My question was regarding the majority, overall feel. It is quite easy to say "look, there are liberals," but that does not mean the school feels liberal. Do you understand what I am saying?

Others have chimed in on the conservative feel so that essentially answers the question.

What you said was, "I always thought Westminster, Pace and Lovett were all pretty much primarily white, Christian, republican, southern,basically Fox News/Trumpland in feel and demographic."

I think that we were trying to tell you that Lovett, Pace, and Westminster are not nearly as homogeneous as you seemed to be implying. I would venture to guess that the populations are approaching 50/50 in terms of political viewpoints. Remember that having a religious viewpoint on the world does not equate to a conservative viewpoint. I've known quite a few socially liberal Christians in my time, as I'm sure you have. The overall feel to me in all three of these schools is pretty much neutral. There is no overarching political "vibe." Now, like I said, GAC would probably feel more Republican, whereas a school like Paideia would feel pretty close to exclusively Democratic. I'm just pointing out that your descriptors do not all naturally follow each other (Being Christian does not necessarily equal Republican, being Republican does not necessarily equal "Trumpland").

[LovelySummer]

Arjay, perhaps those are parents at the public schools (those that went for Clinton) bc it sounds like everyone is saying the schools are conservative, if I am understanding correctly.

Originally Posted by arjay57

That's true. Large areas of Buckhead went heavily for Hillary and even in precincts where Trump got a majority there were still lots of Democratic voters. Not that all the kids at the "elite privates" live in Buckhead but they do draw heavily from there.