Regents School of Austin vs. other private schools (Houston, Dallas: spring break, house)

[Raskolnikov]

We're thinking of sending our kids to private school. We really want them to be challenged and prepared for anything. I've repeatedly heard good things about the academic environment of Regents School. The Christian nature of the school to us, is a plus. But does anyone know more about it?

Also could you compare it academically to other private schools like St. Michaels, City School, St. Stevens, Hyde Park, etc. (I'm sure there are others)

thanks

[Raskolnikov]

I would like to bump this thread. Any thoughts?

[GreenPlastic]

From a purely academic standpoint, I believe St Stephen's and St Andrew's are better options. However, for parents who want a more substantial spiritual component, Regents is a solid choice.

[Raskolnikov]

But, help me out here - what I've heard about the reputation of St. Andrews (don't know about St. Stephens) is as a school for the ultra rich and elite of Austin. From the way it's been described to me, I imagine students with a grand sense of entitlement, driving BMWs or Prius' on their 16th birthday, and growing up to be huge jerks with no empathy for others, with the sense they are masters of the universe. That's just what I've heard, but does anyone with knowledge on St. Andrews have any thoughts on this?

[GreenPlastic]

Well, yes St Andrews students tend to be from well-off families, but my experience with the kids has been almost all positive. They take part in a lot of charitable functions and seem to be really nice, grounded kids. The criticism I have heard about the school is that the kids are given so much personal attention and are so cared for, that some kids may be unprepared for the real world. St Andrews takes pride in this family atmosphere, but I can see for some sheltered kids, it may not be so positive down the road when they leave for college.

And honestly, Regents draws from the same economic demographic. Regents may get more new money than old (St Andrews), but the parents of Regents kids I know are all upper class. Most of them reside in the Eanes district and are trying to shield their kids from the rich/drug culture of Westlake.

St Stephen's is a fairly liberal school and the students that I know are mostly liberal/progressive and are into charity/social issues. For the most part, they are from well-off families too.

[Raskolnikov]

Thanks, that's an interesting description and quite helpful. I don't dislike the idea of well-off families dominating the school, but I do dislike the idea of creating a bunch of 'Masters of the Universe' type kids. From what you are saying about St. Andrews, that's not much of an issue. What I picture, when I say this, is students from some Dallas schools like St. Marks, Country Day, or Hockaday, which I have a little bit of first hand knowledge of--- students who grow up to be snooty rich jerks. (No offense to alumni who read these boards!)

[GreenPlastic]

Austin private school culture is not nearly as old or developed than those in Houston and Dallas. St. Andrew's probably IS the St.Mark's or Kinkaid of Austin, but Austin culture in general is less concerned about money and status. In addition, St.Andrew's did not have a high school until 7-10 years ago, so most of the kids went off to Westlake, Austin High and St Stephen's in the 9th grade and consider themselves Chaps, Maroons, or Spartans. This may change as kids now graduate from St.Andrew's but right now, the school doesn't seem too snooty or uppity.

[Raskolnikov]

Thanks GreenPlastic, you seem very knowledgeable about Austin schools. From what I've seen you post on other threads, I gather your a fan of the Eanes ISD. Would you go so far as to say the best bet in Austin for a top education is just living within Eanes ISD? Are the schools there better than any of the private schools? I don't know too much about Eanes, but I did used to live in the area. My main impression of Westlake High School students revolves around car accidents that their students had with either myself or friends.. Kids driving BMWs in every case, students talking on their cell phones being the cause of the wrecks. Also in one wreck that happened right in my neighborhood, some Westlake HS students driving a BWM were drunk and crashed into a telephone pole.

Needless to say this is probably not the best way to judge Westlake, but as someone with no other knowledge about it, this has certainly helped me to have a negative impression, and to also want to 'shield my kids' from those influences while still giving them a good education.

Added: I do realize that there are probably a lot of smart students at Westlake who don't go out drinking and driving, crashing their BMWs into our cars. But I want to avoid the source of the problems, which I believe are the parents of those kids. So I'd like to be at a school where there aren't those kinds of parents, if at all possible. (Materialistic, ultra rich, workaholic, detached from their kids lives, etc.)

[GreenPlastic]

I think the best public education is at Eanes, but my wife and I did not move there ourselves for the same reasons you cited. My wife substitute taught there right after college, and she didn't care for the attitude of the kids. At one point, we did make an offer on a house in Westlake, but my wife wasn't heartbroken when the deal fell through. We decided on one of the better AISD areas, with the thought that we could always go the private route if necessary. But one thing I have noticed is that wherever you go, the best schools will have a large population of rich kids, some of whom are going to have an entitled and privileged attitude. As you said, there are some great kids at Westlake and the education is terrific, but it wasn't the slam dunk we anticipated when we factored in the social and peer aspects. It was fairly high on the list, especially given its proximity to downtown, but we just decided to go in another direction.

We considered the Lake Travis area b/c those schools are fantastic too and housing is very reasonable, but the commute would have been a killer. There are some great Round Rock and Leander schools too, but we didn't want the commute that came with living that far out. We picked a close-in area b/c the short commutes gave us more time with the kids (especially now when they are young), and the schools are very good. We are a little concerned with Austin High but overall are happy with what we hear about it.

Again, Regents is in no way a bad school, and many parents find comfort in its more traditional and conservative outlook. But from a purely educational standpoint, I really do believe it is behind St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's.

[mimimomx3]

I can tell you a little bit about the Episcopal middle/high schools in town because those are the only private schools I'm familiar with, and I went to Episcopal schools myself growing up.

I think that both St. Stephens and St. Andrew's are great private schools where community service is a strong part of their curriculum. By reinforcing the community service and the Episcopal tradition, kids do have a heavy dose of being aware of everyone arorund them.

Both schools are expensive, so their student body tends to be the economic class who can afford them, but there are a variety of families who attend. Both schools have academic types (from UT, etc..), high tech, politicos, and just plain ordinary people.

There are some 'snooty' types there, of course, but you will find the same level of snootiness in Eanes and Casis/O Henry/Austin High...perhaps more so, because the $$ they would spend in private school tuition can be used to buy fancy cars, trips, clothes, etc.

Both schools have very small class size, the teachers know all the kids and their parents. This is great for writing those college letters and college prep in general. Both schools have great athletic, dramatic and artistic opportunities that are available to everyone...not only the 'most' talented as you'd find in public school.

If your goal is to get your kid into a good college- or any college! - then I think you can't beat these two schools. Yes, you'll have to pay $$ and you might have to explain to your kids that not everyone goes to Europe for spring break, but their education will be solid. Good luck!