Opinions on Lakehill Prep?

[MacDaddy2]

I believe some of the negative opinion that local Lakewood residents hold stems from the questionable history of the school as a way for people to avoid desegregation by hastily starting a new school. Lakewooder mentioned this as one of her first comments regarding the school. I can recall one other longtime Lakewood resident making similar comments. In my opinion, this at least partly falls in the category of "conventional wisdom," mixed with political indignation, which I think is misplaced. If you visit Lakehill, and go to a holiday program, or a play, you will get an idea of what the school is about. There is a solid community feeling, and to see all the different ages of kids there is pretty neat. Also, in my opinion, the minority mix is very good, and you do not see kids of different races hanging out in separate groups, as you would at a larger school. Hope this answers your question.
Note to the "oldtimers," let go of your preconceptions, it may help to consider the things the school adds to your community.

[debtex]

St. John's doesn't have a high school, and so doesn't provide all those statistics that people seem to be obsessing over.

[Lakewooder]

OK imagine this happening on the Andy Griffith show:

A black family moves into Mayberry. Clara Edwards, Martha Clark and Mrs. Sprague are upset. Helen Crump tries to allay their fears, but to no avail. The ladies use the church to start a new private school. They name the school, "Mayhill". Opie's best friend Arnold is enrolled in the new school by his high-achiever dad, saying he's afraid the kid will turn out like Goober. The ladies start putting on airs as if they are part of something prestigious and exclusive. Aunt Bea is distraught and crying as she feels she has lost her friends.

Of course this would have been concluded in 30 minutes, not 30 years but I think you can see that Andy would have been able to inspire ladies to close the school before they were seen as complete harpie villains. There would have been a nice happy ending where the ladies reedeem themselves contritely and all the kids were reunited and rooting for good ol' Mayberry High. Clara, Martha and Mrs. Sprague one by one join the crowd in singing the school song.

[autyger]

Thought this was interesting: Lakehill Walks Graduation Stage « East Dallas Times

[WhiteRockGirl]

There always seem to be many experts when discussing schools, although I venture to guess most is just speculation. The beauty of the Lakewood neighborhood is that there are many quality school options, both public and private. The best way to determine if a school is right for your child is to visit the school. Sit down with the Head of School and learn about the curriculum. In the case of Lakehill, I think you will find it highly challenging. As to Lakewooder's comments on Lakehill's National Merit Scholars, one only needs to look at the Class of 2011 - 1 National Merit Scholarship winner, 2 National Merit Finalists, 5 National Merit Scholars, a National Achievement Scholarship winner, a National Hispanic Scholar, and 5 AP Scholars. All this in a class of 32 students. These same 32 students also received over $3.5 million in academic scholarships.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by WhiteRockGirl

As to Lakewooder's comments on Lakehill's National Merit Scholars, one only needs to look at the Class of 2011 - 1 National Merit Scholarship winner, 2 National Merit Finalists, 5 National Merit Scholars, a National Achievement Scholarship winner, a National Hispanic Scholar, and 5 AP Scholars. All this in a class of 32 students. These same 32 students also received over $3.5 million in academic scholarships.

You DO realize that as a % of class, Lakehill's 2 NM Finalists, 5 AP Scholars, etc are very uncompetitive with other Dallas private schools, don't you?! That was LW's point (and mine) earlier in this thread. 6% of the class being a NMF frankly STINKS in the private school world, espcecially with the Hockaday's and St Mark's putting up 20-30% of the class as Finalists and many other schools in the 10-20% range.

Additionally, there is only ONE AP Award worth mentioning, the one for making a 4 on at least 8 exams- not one Lakehill student achieved that award. You are excited because a small handful of the class showed they could PASS AP exams (really that is what the AP Scholar award is...showing a senior can take 3 college level classes and keep a "C"/ 3 average), not EXCEL / ACE them

[gigiekstrom]

Everyone always wants to look at the numbers...these should shed some light on how Lakehill compares with other schools in Dallas and across the country.

The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) recently reported that average SAT scores
for 2013 graduates from religious and independent schools significantly exceeded the SAT College
and Career Readiness Benchmark, a combined score of 1550 on three SAT tests (critical reading, writing, and mathematics) that is associated with success in college.

For college-bound seniors in independent schools across the nation, the combined average SAT score was 1662 (112 points above the benchmark) while the average for religious school students was 1595 (45 points above the benchmark). Public school students scored 1474, which was 76 points shy of the standard.

Lakehill students had a combined average SAT score of 1782, which was 232 points above the benchmark, 120 points above the independent school average, and 348 points above the state average.

On the ACT, Lakehill students earned a composite score of 24, surpassing both the state and national averages. The average Texas composite score remained at a record high of 20.8, while the national average was 21.1.

[Considering Coming Back]

Originally Posted by gigiekstrom

Lakehill students had a combined average SAT score of 1782, which was 232 points above the benchmark, 120 points above the independent school average, and 348 points above the state average.

The 2400 score doesn't matter. What is the 1600 average?

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by Considering Coming Back

The 2400 score doesn't matter. What is the 1600 average?

Why doesn't it matter? The writing section is about 8 years old now, when are we going to stop ignoring it?

(I may be just a tad bitter. I got an 800 on that section in its first year, and nobody cared).

[Considering Coming Back]

Originally Posted by aggie972

Why doesn't it matter? The writing section is about 8 years old now, when are we going to stop ignoring it?

(I may be just a tad bitter. I got an 800 on that section in its first year, and nobody cared).

I don't make the rules. I just know that many (most? just selective?) colleges don't care. So I don't either.