Columbia Private Schools vs Public Schools (Forest Acres, Lexington: middle-class, appointed, 2010)

[Wildflower-222]

Hi - We'll be moving to Columbia this summer. Can anyone tell me about the schools in the area? I have a Kindergartener and a 4th Grader. Normally, I would look for a Private Secular School, but it looks like my only options are Hammond (expensive) and Timmerman. I can find very little information about Timmerman on the internet. Heathwood Hall likes nice also, but expensive.

Which are the best public schools in the Richland 2 district, and which should we avoid? Should I just fork out the money for the expensive private schools? Should we put the kids in a Catholic school like St John Neumann even though we're not Catholic? Any news on Timmerman? Thanks for any help!

[snapdragon]

My niece and nephew go to Hammond. They and their parents love it, even though they can barely afford it. They tried out a public school nearby, and were disappointed. Sorry I don't know the name.

[Nausikaa]

Also Ben Lippen school in Columbia

[waccamatt]

Timmerman is very small, but I've known people to have gone there and gotten a good education. When I was growing up, kids that went to Hammond were generally considered to be the "stuck up" sorts. (my apologies if you went there) The people I knew that went to Heathwood seemed to be much more down-to-earth. There are alot of good public schools in the Columbia area - for your kids' ages, the Dreher High School (in-town) feeder schools are good as are the Ridge View (NE), Spring Valley (NE) and Dutch Fork (NW) feeder schools. The Lexington area (W) also has good schools.

[Chi2Midlands]

Waccamatt gives some good advice (he's more familiar with the area than I am as he's lived in Columbia for a long time while I'm a recent transplant).

The private schools are generally good in Columbia, but you will not find a large number of secular private schools like you might up North (e.g., fewer "independent college prep" academies, "Country Day" schools, etc.). This is particularly true in Columbia compared to larger cities in the Southeast like Atlanta, Charlotte, & Raleigh.

Hammond and Heathwood are considered the premier private schools. Both are very good although they may have different "flavors" as Waccamatt alluded to. As with any private school, they're not all perfect. Hammond's was originally (I think) a "seg academy" in that it was founded during public school desegregation in the 1960s, although today it is definitely open-minded about diversity (I know of at least a couple of Asian Indians and an African American who have attended there). Heathwood is an Episcopal school, although I don't sense that religion is taught in heavy doses there. Many non-Episcopalians go there (probably a majority, even). They seem to have a somewhat progressive vibe as they have a decent number of minorities and regularly advertise on the state NPR affiliate. I've heard the nickname "Heathweed", probably referring to (some) kids' illicit behavior, but all schools will have that issue to some extent. My sense is that Heathwood is a bit more "old money" and perhaps that is why it is more laid-back/relaxed. Now, there are folks who can get neurotic about Heathwood. I do know of one insecure mom who is practically obsessed with eventually sending her 1-year old to Heathwood, but unfortunately for all the wrong keeping-up-with-the-Joneses and status-oriented reasons ("but all the rich people at church send their kids there!"). I also know one guy who wants to send his 1-year old to Heathwood eventually, but only because he wants the best education for her.

Coming from Chicago, I am somewhat familiar with Catholic schools and the types of education they provide (everything from service inner-city non-Catholic kids to middle-class suburban Catholic kids to upper-middle-class non-Catholic kids, ranging from back-to-basics to elite college prep). Unfortunately in Columbia I sense that kids that go to the Catholic schools are just another wannabe-elite clique (this is not an indictment of the parishes or diocese, just my observation). Cardinal Newman High School seems to want to compete more with Hammond than creating a genuine Catholic learning environment. When the issue of school vouchers has come up over the past few years, one Cardinal Newman parent was quoted as being against them because they didn't want "those people" from the public schools coming in. Also, the obsessed "future Heathwood" mom above sent her step-son to St. John's Neumann in NE Richland and was very unhappy with the experience, as the step-son started attending there in, oh, maybe 3rd or 4th grade, but the other established kids wouldn't socialize with him as he wasn't part of their little clique. My co-worker who also lives in NE Richland is a fairly involved Catholic but has sent his daughter to good Richland 2 schools instead.

I'm not as familiar with the Ben Lippen Schools, but they are definitely cheaper and I believe they are Baptist-oriented (and so probably the least secular of the private schools in the area). The vibe I get is that it is more middle-class families who want a structured, disciplined learning environment rather than the more upper-middle-class focus on small class sizes and individualized instruction methods.

That being said, there are plenty of very good public schools in the Columbia area. Lexington 1, Lexington/Richland 5, and Richland 2 are considered the best districts. Richland 1 has a handful of good schools, particularly the ones that feed into Dreher High School (SE Columbia area) and A.C. Flora HS (Forest Acres area). In Richland 2, the "outer" schools in the newer areas are very, very good. Lake Carolina is probably the best elementary school, and the Lake Carolina neighborhood is highly sought after by families for this reason. Other good elementary schools are Bookman Road, Round Top, and North Springs. Spring Valley is probably the best high school, although Ridge View and Blythewood are also very good. Richland 2 is also renouned for their wide variety of magnet programs, which I believe is particularly helpful during those awkward middle school years, but they have magnet programs from K through 12. Spring Valley's math/science magnet is probably one of the most elite in the state. Moreover, many of these programs aren't just geared to the most academically advanced - there are programs for leadership, technology, arts, etc., so that each student regardless of raw academic ability can find their schooling/learning niche.

[anonymous]

I'd agree with Chi2Midlands assessment. I grew up not far away, and went to a school in another town that competes with Hammond, Heathwood, Cardinal Newman, and Ben Lippen. All of those are good schools, with Hammond & Heathwood being slightly more prestigious.

I can't say whether it's worth the money or not, since Columbia has some good public schools. But he's dead-on with the categorizations of the different schools. Hammond is more conservative and Republican, and representative of mainstream South Carolina. Heathwood is more socially liberal, with many families that are old money and somewhat eccentric. Cardinal Newman just wants to keep up with those two, and Ben Lippen is the most religious and rules-oriented.

Although the majority of families are good people, private schools have a tendency to sometimes draw neurotic parents, moreso than public schools. In a sense, the schools are sort of 'driven' by parent involvement, and from time to time you get some problematic ones. Overall, my opinion is that if you have the money, the private schools will probably offer a better education.

[Wildflower-222]

Everyone - thanks for this great information. My husband and I have been "in discussion". LOL I grew up attending only private schools in Tennessee, while my husband is a public school guy - but from the Boston/Cambridge/suburbs area. We are both coming into this with preconceived notions based on our own educations.

Does anyone have anything they can share about Timmerman?

[KTEJC]

We are also trying to move to Columbia from Chicago and need to assess school situations. Is it very hard to get into Heathwood/Hammond/Lippen if the parents are not alumni? We have great public schools up here and the school situation is my biggest concern with our move to SC. Any advice or thoughts would be helpful. thanks

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by KTEJC

We are also trying to move to Columbia from Chicago and need to assess school situations. Is it very hard to get into Heathwood/Hammond/Lippen if the parents are not alumni? We have great public schools up here and the school situation is my biggest concern with our move to SC. Any advice or thoughts would be helpful. thanks

While South Carolina as a whole has a poor educational reputation, the schools in the greater Columbia area are very good for the most part. Expansion magazine ranked the Columbia MSA 9th in the country for areas with between 100,000 and 250,000 students so there has been outside recognition. I am a big proponent of the greater diversity one encounters in public schools since you will need to have the ability to interact with many different kinds of people when you reach college and then employment age.

As far as getting your children into the private schools here, I don't believe it is terribly difficult, but I'm not terribly knowledgable about private schools.

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/s...ver%20100K.pdf

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by KTEJC

We are also trying to move to Columbia from Chicago and need to assess school situations. Is it very hard to get into Heathwood/Hammond/Lippen if the parents are not alumni? We have great public schools up here and the school situation is my biggest concern with our move to SC. Any advice or thoughts would be helpful. thanks

I am originally from Chicago so hopefully I can offer you some perspective.

The private schools, to my estimation, are not "hard" to get into other than the rigorous admission criteria typical for a private school (at least this is the case for Heathwood and Hammond). My guess is that if you can make the financial aspect of tuition work out for you, it should not be a problem. I do not get the impression that you really have to be a parent alumni to get a massive leg up. However, these are general impressions from friends we have talked to, since we plan on sending our children to Richland 2 public schools.

P.S.: I was born in Chicago and raised in Skokie. I attended public schools there, although I knew kids who went to Loyola Academy. I also lived for 5 years in Fairfax County, Virginia near DC, and would have sent our kids to public schools there had we stayed. Hopefully this gives you some perspective of my educational background.