Lakehill Prep vs. Stonewall Jackson (Dallas, Howe: private school, shop, best)

[elan]

more info

http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...hill-prep.html

[jennifw]

Originally Posted by Ramona72

I know a couple kids who transferred from public elementaries because they were struggling academically and/or socially and the parents wanted a smaller environment, which Lakehill can admittedly provide. It would stand to reason that those kids might need tutoring.

This is my experience also. (although admittedly, I only know two families with kids at Lakehill)

[autyger]

My apologies for highjacking the original poster's thread, but is St. John's more well regarded than Lakehill among East Dallas private schools? Just curious as to how those two schools compare. Thanks.

[Ramona72]

Originally Posted by autyger

My apologies for highjacking the original poster's thread, but is St. John's more well regarded than Lakehill among East Dallas private schools? Just curious as to how those two schools compare. Thanks.

Yes, I believe it is. I know several families there (particularly East Dallas families who live outside the Lakewood or Stonewall zones, like Forest Hills) and they are very happy with it. It seems to have very vibrant, involved school culture.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by autyger

My apologies for highjacking the original poster's thread, but is St. John's more well regarded than Lakehill among East Dallas private schools? Just curious as to how those two schools compare. Thanks.

Opinions are going to be really subjective...and it's not apples to oranges. Lakehill goes through high school, while St. John's stops at 8th grade.

We go to St. John's, and the high school admissions for last year's graduates are impressive. But honestly, I think if you tour them both, you'll get a better sense for whether YOU regard one as better than the other...and that's more important than whether admissions at Greenhill thinks so. I think this whole "tier 1/tier2" thing is ridiculous. Different schools, different families, different kids. Find your community and you'll be happy.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by debtex

Opinions are going to be really subjective...and it's not apples to oranges. Lakehill goes through high school, while St. John's stops at 8th grade.

We go to St. John's, and the high school admissions for last year's graduates are impressive. But honestly, I think if you tour them both, you'll get a better sense for whether YOU regard one as better than the other...and that's more important than whether admissions at Greenhill thinks so. I think this whole "tier 1/tier2" thing is ridiculous. Different schools, different families, different kids. Find your community and you'll be happy.

St. John's is great. That said no matter how much you wish that rankings, stats, diplomas, tiers and other educational differentiators didn't matter - they simply do. What the Greenhill guy thinks is critial and missing the implication is an error.

[debtex]

Originally Posted by EDS_

St. John's is great. That said no matter how much you wish that rankings, stats, diplomas, tiers and other educational differentiators didn't matter - they simply do. What the Greenhill guy thinks is critial and missing the implication is an error.

We'll agree to disagree. Pedigree only gets you so far in life, and most of the successful people I know didn't get that kind of leg up.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by debtex

We'll agree to disagree. Pedigree only gets you so far in life, and most of the successful people I know didn't get that kind of leg up.

Comparing a solid education with pedigree is missing the point.


Just the other day my son one of the boys below and I were speaking about some of his good friends from his tiny middle school.

Three are at US Military academies of one branch or another.
One studies bio-medical engineering at a fine school back east.
One is at the most techie Ivy studying some combination of materials science and space flight.
Five, including my son, are studying pre-med. One boy has good grades but not med-school good grades, the other four are on track.
The most impressive of the bunch is out west at a fine school. He'll have an EE BS and a EE MS before he's 22yo. This kid had a job offer from Microsoft at the start of his Jr. year. This kid's mom works low end retail and his dad is a tradesman, how's that for pedigree?


Not one of these kids had a pedigree of note. All of them had parents who were deeply involved. The kids knew early the best way to differentiate themselves from the pack was through classroom excellence - dare I say classroom domination. Great schools with great teachers and fully involved classmates are a part of that equation whether we like it or not.

[Big G]

Originally Posted by EDS_

St. John's is great. That said no matter how much you wish that rankings, stats, diplomas, tiers and other educational differentiators didn't matter - they simply do. What the Greenhill guy thinks is critial and missing the implication is an error.

It's only critical if you're trying to gain admission to Greenhill. Otherwise, it matters not a whit.

Originally Posted by debtex

We'll agree to disagree. Pedigree only gets you so far in life, and most of the successful people I know didn't get that kind of leg up.

If, by "pedigree", you mean the prestige of their educational institutions, I completely agree. Even a prestigious college degree is no guarantee of success in life, so being overly concerned about fine gradations in elementary or middle school quality is really overkill.

Originally Posted by EDS_

Comparing a solid education with pedigree is missing the point.
Just the other day my son one of the boys below and I were speaking about some of his good friends from his tiny middle school...

You've making debtex 's point for her. These kids have succeeded and will continue to succeed, even without the benefit of a Cistercian, St. Mark's, or Greenhill education in the middle school years. The key is finding a school where the child will best thrive, not the school with the largest endowment or the biggest parent egos, or even the highest SAT scores.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Big G

It's only critical if you're trying to gain admission to Greenhill. Otherwise, it matters not a whit.



If, by "pedigree", you mean the prestige of their educational institutions, I completely agree. Even a prestigious college degree is no guarantee of success in life, so being overly concerned about fine gradations in elementary or middle school quality is really overkill.




You've making debtex 's point for her. These kids have succeeded and will continue to succeed, even without the benefit of a Cistercian, St. Mark's, or Greenhill education in the middle school years. The key is finding a school where the child will best thrive, not the school with the largest endowment or the biggest parent egos, or even the highest SAT scores.

1. Except the Greenhill guy wants the same caliber of kids that the other private schools look for. The OP is talking about private schools, debtx's own kiddo goes to St. John's - a very fine private school I might add. Within the context of this conversation it's flatly silly to claim that where a kid goes to primary school does not matter.

2. IMO kids learn how to think in and study in middle school. Fall behind then and recovery is unlikely.

3. I'm certainly not making debtex's point. My point is that those kids all went to one tiny private school that was very difficult to get into and all of them are going to do well. These kids were told by teachers if you want to go to XYZ high school you need to earn these marks etc. The kid were placed in an environment where excellence was more or less expected everyday. I get the point that most kids can't tolerated those high expectations. I think being around other kids who refused to give up gave each of the boys encouragement to persevere.

Your parent's ego thing is just silly.

All of the kids I am talking about found schools where they thrived. And I will say "fit" does matter. Some kids who might do well in a smaller environment might well be lost at Plano West. Some kids who might thrive at Plano West due to the pressure and intensity might not do as well at smaller places. I get all that.

Quite frankly if certain middle schools didn't consistently crank out high achieving kids I'd agree with you more.


I think college is the arena in which the best/great/good/not so good is overrated significantly.