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ER as a matter of fact no. I have tried to make a point in various ways that I would actually really appreciate
some insight into the social fabric of the schools.
A few people have raised some points about the culture
between the UK and the US being similar " teens are teens" I think
the phrase was.. And others have delved a little deeper.
I think I'll start a new thread under a different name!
See how far that gets me...( sorry if my punctuation's off... I'm currently cruising round Highland Park ! Give me a wave if you see me!
ER as a matter of fact no. I have tried to make a point in various ways that I would actually really appreciate
some insight into the social fabric of the schools.
A few people have raised some points about the culture
between the UK and the US being similar " teens are teens" I think
the phrase was.. And others have delved a little deeper.
I think I'll start a new thread under a different name!
See how far that gets me...( sorry if my punctuation's off... I'm currently cruising round Highland Park ! Give me a wave if you see me!
Feel free to send me a private message. I have a daughter at the high school and a son at the middle school here in Highland Park. Happy to tell you our experience in a more private manner. This May will be 2 years that we moved to Dallas from Atlanta, GA.
It doesn't matter if Joe Schmo has the same name recognition for St Marks or Hockaday as he does Exeter or Andover. What does matter is what the elite college admission offices think (since no one really knows where you went to high school in college/ grad school / the workplace) and I can assure you St Marks and Hockaday are in the same league as the NYC privates, the top boarding schools, Harvard-Westlake, etc. Do NOT underestimate the role the college counselors at these top schools play in brokering college admission and ensuring high matriculation rates for those who are accepte.
Not in the same league according to the rankings or the college placement results.
Not in the same league according to the rankings or the college placement results.
And here's another list from the Wall Street Journal from a few years ago. They looked at the freshman classes of a cross-section of eight schools -- Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins -- that had similar selectivity and SAT scores of admitted students and saw how many grads from each school attended.
St. Marks is down there near the bottom. Hockaday isn't on there at all. For all the benefits of St. Marks and Hockaday, it is ludicrous to say that you utter "Hockaday (or St. Marks) of Dallas" in the same breath as "Exeter of Massachusetts." The prep school powerhouses are in the NE, where the university powerhouses are. It is doubtful if Dallas would ever get a truly national prep school unless it had a truly national university here.
Edited to say: The fact that a Dallas school is on here at all is impressive considering that that closest thing Texas has to a top-tier private university is Rice, and even that's not here and it's got a tech bent rather than a liberal arts one. Without the Stanfords and CalTechs and Berkeleys on the west or the UChicagos and Northwesterns of the midwest or the Ivy powerhouses and small liberal arts of the NE, Dallas as a whole is not going to jump into the big leagues, but that's a city-data discussion for a different day.
Collegiate School
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Chapin School
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Trinity School
Phillips Academy
Delbarton School
Phillips Exeter Academy
Milton Academy
Groton School
Winsor School
Lawrenceville School
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Kent Place School
Rivers School
Saint Ann's School
United World College-USA
San Francisco University High Schoo
Menlo School
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University Laboratory High School
John Burroughs School
Webb Schools
Rye Country Day
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Korean Minjok Leadership Academy
Princeton High School
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Ramaz Upper School
Head-Royce School
Pingry School
Stuyvesant High School
Regis High School
Illinois Math and Science Academy
Blake School
Hotchkiss School
Branson School
Bishop's School St. Mark's School of Texas
Lakeside School Seattle
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Park School
St. John's School
Deerfield Academy
Castilleja School
Boston Latin School
Tabor Academy
Episcopal Academy
Sidwell Friends School
Choate Rosemary Hall
Li Po Chun United World College
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Dalton School
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Horace Mann School
Bard High School Early College
ER as a matter of fact no. I have tried to make a point in various ways that I would actually really appreciate
some insight into the social fabric of the schools.
A few people have raised some points about the culture
between the UK and the US being similar " teens are teens" I think
the phrase was.. And others have delved a little deeper.
I think I'll start a new thread under a different name!
See how far that gets me...( sorry if my punctuation's off... I'm currently cruising round Highland Park ! Give me a wave if you see me!
Lol!! I thought you had made it politely clear, but others with obsessive agendas, well...what can you do???
Unfortunately, I have boys and they have been schooled differently than the norm. Still trying to figure out is best for their emotional well being myself. It's best I don't offer advice as its always a work in progress...emotional well being and all.
Please do contact Mami, who kindly suggested you contact her privately. I know she will have good info for you. If I recall correctly, she has a daughter around the age of your's.
I wonder if anyone could educate me a little...? I'm a Brit, currently living in the States but moving to Dallas in the next six months probably. I have three sproglets..two boys, 6 and ten and a girl 13. They will hopefully go to St. Marks and Hockaday.
I've had trouble feeling at home so far here ( living in AR, yes I know, not the best choice for a plummy Brit from the Home Counties I agree..but it has been very...em..horizon broadening shall we say.)
We come from a very tight knit village deep in the beautiful wolds of Surrey (just under London). At home my friends and my children's friends lived in each others pockets, and we raised our children..well..like a village. I'd very much like to try to get something close to that here. I've heard lovely things about HP but I'm a bit confused, not difficult to do that I hear you say...I've read here that 80% of children go to HPISD ( I'm pretending I know what that means and really I don't..something about Highland Park School District something something..) I'm wondering whether the other 20% go private and if so is there a great yawning chasm of otherness about the social groups? Does anyone have experience of sending their kids privately in HP? I love the idea of having children all over the place but I don't want mine to feel left out because they don't go to the local High School. Would this be an issue do you think?
I know that PH has more families that go private but starting out in a new community I'm not sure I'd want the whole separation thing too much. I'd love a real neighbourhood.
Do share with me any thoughts you might have..I like the idea of lower taxes in HP especially as we'll be paying for three at private school...but I'm open to what the best fit might be.
Other bits to consider are..I need some greenery, will simply die without it. so the parks of HP appeal, but so does Lakewood..is PH green?
Also, the wretched heat..it's the biggest negative for me. I simply wilt in the heat..so what do you DO in the Summer to stay sane? I must say, I've never faced this problem before coming from England. Our Summer lasts all of five minutes and even then you'd better bring your brolly just in case.
Regarding the heat on a lifelong Texan.
1. Wear light colored cotton and tropical weight wool when possible. Loose fitting beats tight fitting. Shorts beat long pants etc.
2. Find a straw hat that you can tolerate fashion- wise and wear it when outside. Straw hats really help a lot.
3. Wear sandals
4. When it's hot drink more water 8-10 glasses of water per day.
5. Don't hide from the heat - get out in it an do things. 1/2 the heat problem for noobs is psychological.
6. A bandana or towel soaked in cool water wrapped around ones neck helps a lot when gardening etc. Cool not cold.
7. If you get too hot grab ice with your hands or run cool water over your wrists. Keep cold packs in your freezer. If someone is seriously over heated wedge cold packs in the overheated one's arm-pits.
Also it's not just hotter here the sun is much more intense than what you are used to. For reference London is in very rough terms latitudinally (sorry) parallel to Toronto and Dallas closer to Casablanca. Ergo you need to pick a seriously good sunscreen and use it religiously for a long while. Also you will need high quality polarized sunglasses to be worn by you and yours every second outside from day one. You will need a good car with exquisitely performing air conditioning as well.
For comfort. Dallas sports a strong contingent of English expats. My great friend Marvin, also of Surrey, loves it here. I just had a Shepherd's pie and London's Pride for lunch.
The net is your forefathers made a go if it in India and all over Africa - Dallas is a snap comparatively.
Forgive all typos and Queen offending grammatical errors. I'm on my phone and left my glasses at home.
[quote=EDS_;28721453]Regarding the heat on a lifelong Texan.
1. Wear light colored cotton and tropical weight wool when possible. Loose fitting beats tight fitting. Shorts beat long pants etc.
2. Find a straw hat that you can tolerate fashion- wise and wear it when outside. Straw hats really help a lot.
3. Wear sandals
4. When it's hot drink more water 8-10 glasses of water per day.
5. Don't hide from the heat - get out in it an do things. 1/2 the heat problem for noobs is psychological.
6. A bandana or towel soaked in cool water wrapped around ones neck helps a lot when gardening etc. Cool not cold.
7. If you get too hot grab ice with your hands or run cool water over your wrists. Keep cold packs in your freezer. If someone is seriously over heated wedge cold packs in the overheated one's arm-pits.
Also it's not just hotter here the sun is much more intense than what you are used to. For reference London is in very rough terms latitudinally (sorry) parallel to Toronto and Dallas closer to Casablanca. Ergo you need to pick a seriously good sunscreen and use it religiously for a long while. Also you will need high quality polarized sunglasses to be worn by you and yours every second outside from day one. You will need a good car with exquisitely performing air conditioning as well.
For comfort. Dallas sports a strong contingent of English expats. My great friend Marvin, also of Surrey, loves it here. I just had a Shepherd's pie and London's Pride for lunch.
The net is your forefathers made a go if it in India and all over Africa - Dallas is a snap comparatively.
Forgive all typos and Queen offending grammatical errors. I'm on my phone and left my glasses at home.
Above all,
Welcome to Texas!
Ps - I'll chime in about schools later.[/QUOTE
SHEPHERD'S PIE!! Fantastic! I'll be heading over there TODAY!
Your post, kind sir was extremely helpful, I shall follow your advice to the letter.
Especially the part about not hiding from the heat , that very sentiment occurred to me
actually, is it possible do you think, for one to become acclimatised?
I will look forward to hearing further chimes from you!
And I'll be expecting to meet Marvin for a pint in the London Pride!
I just replied to your private message. Please excuse the ramblings, I was trying to cover as many topics as were coming to mind while I was writing. If you have other specific questions do let me know. So many people on this forum were helpful to me when I was moving here, and I am happy to return the favor to another newbie.
Did every student at Woodrow go straight into a 4 year university?
No. About 88% of the class of 2011 went to college. Not all of them went to 4-year schools, but that's a large improvement.
The point is that you have different types of students at Woodrow. You have to think of it as a small town school where everyone comes together. We have some kids with parents who didn't get past third grade in Mexico.
If you are not wanting to 'expose' your kids to those students then don't send your kids to Woodrow.
Some of us however, think that is a good idea and that the graduates are well-rounded, having learned things and made friends which would be impossible at some of the schools touted here.
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ER as a matter of fact no. I have tried to make a point in various ways that I would actually really appreciate
