North Shore Country Day School vs. Lake Forest Country Day School (Chicago: houses, pre-school)

[skontoller]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts comparing these two schools. I know LFCDS is PS-8th grade and NSCDS is PS-12th grade but I was hoping to hear more about what people have heard about the places or personal experiences. Is one consider more rigorous than the other? Are the school demographics different (SES, ethnicity, town of origin, etc.) Any dirty little secrets about either? Thanks

SK

[Suburban Mom of 2 Kids]

Our children both attend LFCDS, and this Fall will be our 7th year as part of the school.

Benefits:

• For the North Shore, diversity of student base is pretty decent; look at their website for a reflection of the communities represented...
• Class sizes are modest, allowing for personalized attention of students; most teachers get and take opportunities to learn about the student as an academic, social and general 'person' perspective
• School emphasizes development of the whole student, and overall, delivers....
• W/O experience with another school system, its tough for me to compare academics....I have heard that LFCDS curriculm is rigorous, and preps students well for high school; my own experience with two kids has reflected rigorous curriculm and expectations...
• Communication from the school is getting better....communication with individual teachers is (mostly) awesome
• Great access to the latest in technology and liberal arts (music, art, drama),

Opportunities

• Despite propaganda, curriculm is not as seamlessly linked as it should be; conttinued effort going on in this area to address the gaps
• While the majority of teachers are caring, and take extensive interest in all of their students, there are some additional opportunities to continue to prune 'dead wood'

LFCDS is all you would expect from a "clique" perspective (both parents and students) ...if you are not that into cliques, it won't bother you...if you are sensitive to it, it will probably bother you a lot. The school itself is very family oriented, and provides lots of opportunities for parents to be involved. If you, as a parent, are into that kind of stuff you will enjoy it. Sibling relationships are recognized, supported and encouraged throughout the day.

Let me know if you have additional questions or topics I haven't touched on.

[skontoller]

Thanks! This is the insight I was trying to gain. When you decided on LFCDS did you consider NSCDS? Will you send your kids to LFA or NSCDS for 9-12?

SK
#2
08-20-2010, 12:59 PM
[SIZE=5]Suburban Mom of 2 Kids[/SIZE]

[coric]

Originally Posted by skontoller

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts comparing these two schools. I know LFCDS is PS-8th grade and NSCDS is PS-12th grade but I was hoping to hear more about what people have heard about the places or personal experiences. Is one consider more rigorous than the other? Are the school demographics different (SES, ethnicity, town of origin, etc.) Any dirty little secrets about either? Thanks

SK

Our four children will be attending NSCDS in September. This will be our third year. We "shopped" around before deciding on NSCDS. Our experience has been excellent. We will have children in all three divisions this year, HS, MS and Lower School. Our decision to choose NSCDS was driven by the school's approach to educating the total child. There are sports requirements, fine arts requirements, community service requirements as well as strong and rigorous academics. We felt that upon graduation our children would be well prepared to enter the world and extremely well rounded. In addition children are noticed. No one falls through the cracks. At the conclusion of teacher conferences we are amazed at how insightful faculty members are and how well they know our children.

The school draws primarily from Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka. It also has students from other communities and the city of Chicago. There is a very strong sense of community. Expectations are high and children are encouraged to do their best and are sometimes asked to step out of their comfort zone to try new and challenging things. I have found the faculty to be extremely accessible and receptive to parents. Our children have blossomed here as students and young people.

We have a HS senior and we have found the college counseling to be outstanding. They have incorporated several unique programs which have well prepared our child to take on the college application process in an independent and productive way.

We could not be happier and highly recommend this school.

[skontoller]

Thx,

I am torn between these two schools. I really appreciate the input I've recieved. I'm suprised given the size of the schools that there weren't more comments. It seems like everyone on the NS has gone to or knows someone who went there. The biggest downside I can see is that LFCDS doesn't go all the way through 12th grade so there's another application process.

SK

[chet everett]

Total enrollment is actualy very small. Coupled with enormous costs, and being surroundd by excellent public school, I am surprised there as many folks willing to comment on their experiences. Financial commitment for having four children in either school is substantial, with tight economy for even formally free-spending types I can only imagine that their resources would place them in an almost incalculably small minority. You might have more luck finding people that send their kids to school in Gstad...

[Suburban Mom of 2 Kids]

We did not consider North Shore Country Day school when selecting LFCDS for our children...we do not live what one could consider "close to" Lake Forest, so considering North Shore was an even greater haul for us....the commitment we make as a family to LFCDS is substantial (notwithstanding the financial commitment, the commitment we make to transport them, ensure they are engaged in after school activities, playdates, etc). I will tell you that the community representation outside of LF and Lake Bluff for LFCDS is respectable, so there are more families just like us who are willing to make the commitment necessary.

We primarily selected LFCDS in the pre-school year for our son almost 7 years ago, as there were no comparable schools in the area we live in now for what we were looking for, which was.... Academic experience and rigor (not in PS, but as children continue to get older), opportunity to develop the whole child, social interaction, full day kindergarden, experienced, talented, warm teachers, etc...the school emphasizes participation by the entire family in activities and events, and conducts tons of stuff for parents, children and families to participate. In one way, shape or form, it is highly encouraged that parents become an active member/partner in the education/guidance of their children.

I have never been concerned that after 8th grade I will have to move the kids someplace else...there are so many considerations about who our children are today, and will become that I'm not sure that any decision about where they will be after 8th grade today will be the same decision I'd make when they get older. Each and every year, for our family, becomes an opportunity to assess whether or not our kids are in the best place possible to facilitate their academic, social and personal success. High school might be a terrific opportunity, if they remain in their current environment to expose them either to a good public school option, or continue their private school experience at a different institution, in order to provide them a broader, richer experience.

As you can imagine, communication from the school on high schools selected by 8th graders in the last several years runs the gamut from public high schools to boarding schools out of state and in state to private high schools. LFCDS does a remarkable job of preparing students for their next academic experience.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance. I am happy to put you in contact with administration at the school so you can get a fuller picture of what LFCDS is like and how it might best fit the profile of your family and your children.

[skontoller]

Thanks so much for the offer. I know a few the teachers at the school and they're great but I was hoping to get anonymous non-biased info. I feel as if school admins have a vested interest in promoting the school and parents whom I've met at open houses are by default (selection bias) more invested and therefore motivated to promote the school. I really appreciate your insight. It supports what I've been hearing from people I have spoken with thus far.

SK

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Total enrollment is actualy very small. Coupled with enormous costs, and being surroundd by excellent public school, I am surprised there as many folks willing to comment on their experiences. Financial commitment for having four children in either school is substantial, with tight economy for even formally free-spending types I can only imagine that their resources would place them in an almost incalculably small minority. You might have more luck finding people that send their kids to school in Gstad...

Le Rosey does have very competitively priced summer programs.

[skontoller]

Huh? What's "Gstad. . . ." and "Le Rosey"?

SK