Best Private Schools in St. Louis?

[KCLucymom]

I haven't copied and pasted anything. Hmmmm. Just curious where you saw the same post twice. I've commented on other threads asking about private schools, but never copied and pasted.

When we moved here, this site helped me tremendously in several areas. I'm so thankful for the help I got, so I occassionally look on here to see if I can answer other people's questions. But, I usually sit and visit a bunch for a day or two, then don't even get on again for a few months.

[caet]

Hello, prospective private school parents! (say that 5 times fast)
I myself am a private school alum; i attended private grade school, private high school, and private college. I loved my experience, that's that, and I would like other parents to know that it is a good choice to make to send a child to private school.
As for the argument private vs. public, there's a few simple differences: private schools have more teachers that have more creative control with their curriculum (since it is not government standardized), which results in more hands-on learning. Also, since private schools are considerably smaller, the atmosphere is more like a home than an institution. And of course, a religion class.
I have mainly only heard of schools in West County, but each separate school has a reputation. In the realm of grade schools, some are definitely better than others. I know that Holy Redeemer in Webster Groves, Our Lady of the Pillar in Ladue, St. Alban's, Mary Queen of Peace in Webster, St. Peter's in Kirkwood, Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Clement in Des Peres, Oak Hill in Frontenac, Gateway in Chesterfield, and Holy Infant in the Ballwin-ish area are all very very reputable schools as far as parish schools go. If a person wasn't Catholic or was just looking for a different way of schooling without a parish, I would recommend the College School in Webster Groves. It is a very new school for preK-to-8th-grade aged children that uses more hands-on techniques and adventures to teach children their lessons. it is about as expensive as a Catholic private high school, though, rolling in at near $13,000 a year for kdg on up, while most parish schools are usually around $5,000 or $6,000.
As for the private Catholic High Schools, many of these also have distinct repuatations. For boys, the schools that are most academically renowned are SLUH, Priory, and Chaminade. Now this isn't to say that other boys schools like St. John Vianney and CBC aren't "smart" schools, but they may not have as strong a rep for academics.
For girls, one will hear that Cor Jesu is the top choice for academics. However, Cor Jesu has a grading scale that has much leeway. 90-100 is an A, 80-90 is a B, 70-80 is a C, and so on. And in reality, the curriculum is nearly the same as other all-girls schools of its rank. For a more athletically talented girl, St. Joseph's is the way to go. That school was near breaking a record for holding state titles just a year ago when I attended, and I'm sure they've won more since then. St. Joseph's Academy wasn't too terribly hard academically, but their grading scale is ridiculous. An A+, or 99-100, is a 4.3, an A, or 98-95, was a 4.0, and an A-, or a 94-92 was a 3.6. Thus, a person with a 3.6 average at this school was an A- student, not a B student as it would be at other schools. This complicated system was confusing and unneccesary. But St. Joseph's was a great school and I really enjoyed my academic, social, and spiritual life while I was there. As for other girl's schools, Visitation Academy is a very good school, as is Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill. Villa is one of the more academically renowned schools as well. Nerinx Hall is known for its more liberal approach to learning and loose rules. Ursuline Academy is either not challenging or too challenging for some girls because it uses a track system. In a track system, the school is divided into a low track, mid track, and high track which is designed to correspond with the student's capability of learning. Once you are in a track, it is difficult to switch.
That's my speel on private Catholic grade & high schools.
If you were looking for something non-religious, go with the College School for grade school and John Burroughs for high school.
I knew a girl who went to the College School and she said it was literally the best time of her life. And I knew another girl who went to Burroughs and was very, very intelligent. Burroughs is a little epensive though, at about $20,000.
k. just thought i would try and divulge all of the secrets of the schooling world.

[davidzhang]

send her to Kennard. its a blue ribbon school a very hard award to
get. i personally went there it was not fun but you learn alot
of things. its in the city too

[TGS]

Originally Posted by davidzhang

send her to Kennard. its a blue ribbon school a very hard award to
get. i personally went there it was not fun but you learn alot
of things. its in the city too

Please say that this is a joke and not a true representation of the education you received at Kennard.

[inahandbasket]

Originally Posted by TGS

Please say that this is a joke and not a true representation of the education you received at Kennard.

I thought the same thing, too. Perhaps it's a young person forgetting that's s/he's not texting. Maybe that's the only kind of written English s/he uses on a regular basis. S/he didn't mention Metro High or college so I'm going to assume she didn't go to either institution.

Guess that burger flipping job at Mickey D's can buy her enough texting $.


inahandbasket