Private School Admissions - 2020 (Dallas: moving to, campus, cities)

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by Dallasperson

Question:

Have any of the private schools said what school will look like in the Fall?

Not in any explicit terms. I halfway believe they are mustering the courage to let parents know that this will yet again, be a mostly virtual school year.

Really hoping I’m wrong, though I wouldn’t blame them if I wasnt.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by BLDSoon

Not in any explicit terms. I halfway believe they are mustering the courage to let parents know that this will yet again, be a mostly virtual school year.

Really hoping I’m wrong, though I wouldn’t blame them if I wasnt.

Our small preschool is updating us at the beginning of August. I assume since the church it’s housed in is still closed, that school will not open - at least not in early September as planned. And honestly I would rather them make the call than us have to. My kid needs the stimulation and socialization but I also don’t want to not see our high-risk parents for the next 7-8 months

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by CThopeful

Can you explain this a bit more? I'm new to all this and just curious what the differences are religious instruction wise between providence and one of the other episcopal or catholic options?

Episcopal and Catholic schools that require a class on religion tend to do one of two things. Treat it more like a history course, or else teach values like "love your neighbor" or "everyone is equal in the eyes of God" and things like that. Lessons that I would hope transcend the values of those who do and don't practice religion formally. There are definitely some Catholic schools that are super, super conservative and may not be welcoming to people of other faiths, but if you're just looking for private schools for your kid (and mostly in Dallas proper), you probably won't come across them. As TC80 said, the more conservative Christian schools will be making sure your personal faith aligns with their teachings before you get there. At Covenant, the faculty application asks "what is your favorite book, other than the Bible?" which speaks volumes.

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Our small preschool is updating us at the beginning of August. I assume since the church it’s housed in is still closed, that school will not open - at least not in early September as planned. And honestly I would rather them make the call than us have to. My kid needs the stimulation and socialization but I also don’t want to not see our high-risk parents for the next 7-8 months

Ours is one of the larger privates but they are doing quite a bit of hemming and hawing which leads me to think August is not happening. Maybe January.

Either way, the thought of homeschooling -because that's what it was last time- two elementary aged kids while somehow getting my own work done is breaking me out in hives.

[texstout]

To be fair, Providence very clearly lays out their philosophy and values on their website under 'Core Values'.


Quoted Excerpts include:

"We believe that God holds parents and, more specifically, fathers, responsible for the education and training of their children, and that this critical role cannot be abdicated to others"

"Providence...Encourages mothers to stay home with their students as much as possible and to be not overly involved in other activities;"


http://www.pcstx.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CoreValues.pdf


As such, I think they have quite different religious value requirements than other Christian private schools locally. We previously were in a local Catholic school and while most families were Catholic, many of our friends were quite liberal in their value systems.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by texstout

To be fair, Providence very clearly lays out their philosophy and values on their website under 'Core Values'.


Quoted Excerpts include:

"We believe that God holds parents and, more specifically, fathers, responsible for the education and training of their children, and that this critical role cannot be abdicated to others"

"Providence...Encourages mothers to stay home with their students as much as possible and to be not overly involved in other activities;"


http://www.pcstx.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CoreValues.pdf


As such, I think they have quite different religious value requirements than other Christian private schools locally. We previously were in a local Catholic school and while most families were Catholic, many of our friends were quite liberal in their value systems.

If the Dads are in charge of education I wonder what the Moms are doing since they can't work ?

[BLDSoon]

Originally Posted by texstout

To be fair, Providence very clearly lays out their philosophy and values on their website under 'Core Values'.


Quoted Excerpts include:

"We believe that God holds parents and, more specifically, fathers, responsible for the education and training of their children, and that this critical role cannot be abdicated to others"

"Providence...Encourages mothers to stay home with their students as much as possible and to be not overly involved in other activities;"

Wow. To each their own.

I grew up around/with a fair number of Muslims. This belief is pretty identical to theirs, which is not to say it's wrong or right- just, not modern.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by cordata

If the Dads are in charge of education I wonder what the Moms are doing since they can't work ?

There is local lifestyle blogger whose kids go to Providence. She is pretty candid about doing her blogging work before her girls wake up in the morning or when they are all at school. But their home life is simple and fairly sheltered - not a bad thing and not judging them, just passing on my observations.

She is truly a “homemaker” and views her role as molding the character of her girls, facilitating crafts / activities / projects to keep them occupied and learning at home, and providing a hospitable environment for her family through well-planned meals, holiday festivities, and memorable moments. Their younger girls don’t do any extracurriculars (or maybe 1 per season) and the older girl I think plays one sport and maybe an instrument.

Keep it simple - let children be young and innocent as long as possible and not over-schedule them. Spiritual and character development over resume padding. Very counter-culture to Dallas.



The other family whose kids are now at Hockaday & St Marks are a little more “mainstream” Dallas (aka the mom loves planning a good charity auction and the dad is a hedge fund guy, the girls will certainly follow mom’s footsteps right into a PKT house at UT after summering at the “right” camps) but they are very conservative Christians. Mom has a graduate degree and a big career but quit when her kids were born.

[texstout]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

There is local lifestyle blogger whose kids go to Providence. She is pretty candid about doing her blogging work before her girls wake up in the morning or when they are all at school. But their home life is simple and fairly sheltered - not a bad thing and not judging them, just passing on my observations.

She is truly a “homemaker” and views her role as molding the character of her girls, facilitating crafts / activities / projects to keep them occupied and learning at home, and providing a hospitable environment for her family through well-planned meals, holiday festivities, and memorable moments. Their younger girls don’t do any extracurriculars (or maybe 1 per season) and the older girl I think plays one sport and maybe an instrument.

Keep it simple - let children be young and innocent as long as possible and not over-schedule them. Spiritual and character development over resume padding. Very counter-culture to Dallas.



The other family whose kids are now at Hockaday & St Marks are a little more “mainstream” Dallas (aka the mom loves planning a good charity auction and the dad is a hedge fund guy, the girls will certainly follow mom’s footsteps right into a PKT house at UT after summering at the “right” camps) but they are very conservative Christians. Mom has a graduate degree and a big career but quit when her kids were born.

Ahhh.. I know that blogger that you refer to. I actually follow her, even though my lifestyle is quite different! Seems a sweet family and a relaxed way to grow up. Definitely counter culture for around here.



My kids are oversubscribed, but do better when they are busier. I have wanted to expose them to different clubs, sports, arts at a young age...since harder to pickup later if they love them. But I struggle with it personally.

[CThopeful]

Originally Posted by texstout

To be fair, Providence very clearly lays out their philosophy and values on their website under 'Core Values'.


Quoted Excerpts include:

"We believe that God holds parents and, more specifically, fathers, responsible for the education and training of their children, and that this critical role cannot be abdicated to others"

"Providence...Encourages mothers to stay home with their students as much as possible and to be not overly involved in other activities;"


http://www.pcstx.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CoreValues.pdf


As such, I think they have quite different religious value requirements than other Christian private schools locally. We previously were in a local Catholic school and while most families were Catholic, many of our friends were quite liberal in their value systems.

Wow, this is insanity. Glad we could find some liberal cohorts if we go private route though in the catholic options.