Lamplighter School (Dallas, Plano, Allen: appointed, new home, catholic schools)

[Tex88]

My husband and I attended the Lamplighter School open house last weekend, and while we had expected to love it, we were quite disappointed. We noticed large screen televisions in the all of the classrooms (even for pre-k), and many tablets. The teachers said they don't use screens "that much," but I'm not sure kids so young should have any screen time in school. The very open floor plan of the classrooms in each grade seemed like it would be very loud and chaotic. Doing some googling, I see there was also a recent lawsuit against the school (which has been dismissed, but is still concerning) and past controversy with the headmaster.

If anyone could share their experience with the school we'd so appreciate it.

Thank you!

[TurtleCreek80]

If it helps confirm your experience, we were so disappointed in our Wednesday AM tour earlier this fall that we didn’t even attend the Open House on Sunday. I thought LL would be one of our favorites and we are not even submitting an application.

That said —
1. I do know several families with kids currently enrolled in LL who absolutely LOVE the school. I know another family who recently left because they felt the school’s inclusivity / community narrative is not necessarily how all families feel…they found a new home at another very well thought of private and love it!

2. Screens…that was my immediate reaction on our early tours at every school. The admissions director at one school had a great answer…if you are of a certain age (like me!) your elementary school classrooms probably had a chalkboard and an overhead projector. Neither of those exist anymore and they have been replaced by the whiteboard screens you see in all the schools. That answer satisfied me as long as there isn’t a ton of individual tablet use going on in the youngest grades.

[75214Dad]

Dallas private schools are way behind the curve on technology. They advertise 1:1 device ratios while true elites attend schools on the coasts with no technology (the NYT wrote a decade ago about how Silicon Valley tech leaders send their kids to schools without technology). It’s just one of many reasons why DFW private schools are a waste of money.

I know you won’t agree and I hope your kids enjoy the $500,000 you spend to get them into a college with a low yield rate.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

Dallas private schools are way behind the curve on technology. They advertise 1:1 device ratios while true elites attend schools on the coasts with no technology (the NYT wrote a decade ago about how Silicon Valley tech leaders send their kids to schools without technology). It’s just one of many reasons why DFW private schools are a waste of money.

I know you won’t agree and I hope your kids enjoy the $500,000 you spend to get them into a college with a low yield rate.

Man. You seem like a pretty decent guy but your hang-ups vis a vis this topic/local private schools and downrange economics is epically wrongheaded.

HTG if I didn't know better I'd think your playing a gag.

[cordata]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

Dallas private schools are way behind the curve on technology. They advertise 1:1 device ratios while true elites attend schools on the coasts with no technology (the NYT wrote a decade ago about how Silicon Valley tech leaders send their kids to schools without technology). It’s just one of many reasons why DFW private schools are a waste of money.

I know you won’t agree and I hope your kids enjoy the $500,000 you spend to get them into a college with a low yield rate.

I would definitely agree that at a school for younger grades like Lamplighter there should be little screen time. But weren't you saying in other posts that you thought elite universities were desirable? Are you suggesting that a person living in Dallas needs to send kids to boarding school or that they should just use public school for the goal of elite college admission?

[75214Dad]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Man. You seem like a pretty decent guy but your hang-ups vis a vis this topic/local private schools and downrange economics is epically wrongheaded.

HTG if I didn't know better I'd think your playing a gag.

I have found that most people make their schooling choices in a silo, thinking the “best” route is the route their social circle takes. Which makes sense, we tend to have the same political views as our friends, weigh the same, have similar commutes, etc. It is hard to see life outside our normal and even harder now that we’re all so siloed. So when people come here asking questions and get the same three answers over and over I find that it’s not very helpful for anyone. So I’m providing an alternate view. Is it a bit heavy handed? Probably, but this forum isn’t really for nuance, is it?

I find, outside of this issue, that I agree with the bulk of what you say here about Dallas. I think it’s fair to say we both love this city and want what’s best for it. Cheers!

[75214Dad]

Originally Posted by cordata

I would definitely agree that at a school for younger grades like Lamplighter there should be little screen time. But weren't you saying in other posts that you thought elite universities were desirable? Are you suggesting that a person living in Dallas needs to send kids to boarding school or that they should just use public school for the goal of elite college admission?

No. In fact I think, for whites people, living in Dallas is an advantage for elite admissions. I read yesterday that 40% of whites admitted to Harvard last year were legacies, athletes, or “deans list” aka donors. Those kids are disproportionately from DC, NYC, Boston so white kids without a hook aren’t going to get in from those places. So the generic white kids who get in are from flyover country.

I find Dallas privates offer no competitive advantage for admission compared to TAG/SEM/Woodrow/HP/PlanoISD. And let’s be real- maybe a dozen kids get into Harvard from DFW each year- at least half of those are non-white. Expand to the 8 Ivies and the roughly 40 “elite” colleges and universities (those with the highest yield) we’re taking about maybe 500 kids a year (it should be much higher, but local kids aren’t applying to Trinity in CT, they’re applying to Trinity in SA).

Those number mean the vast majority of private school graduates in Dallas are going to less competitive colleges. There is nothing wrong with that, but when you paid $500K for junior to go to private K-12 and he ends up at OU I am laughing behind your back. Here, at least, it’s to your face!

[DFWGuy422]

Originally Posted by 75214Dad

No. In fact I think, for whites people, living in Dallas is an advantage for elite admissions. I read yesterday that 40% of whites admitted to Harvard last year were legacies, athletes, or “deans list” aka donors. Those kids are disproportionately from DC, NYC, Boston so white kids without a hook aren’t going to get in from those places. So the generic white kids who get in are from flyover country.

I find Dallas privates offer no competitive advantage for admission compared to TAG/SEM/Woodrow/HP/PlanoISD. And let’s be real- maybe a dozen kids get into Harvard from DFW each year- at least half of those are non-white. Expand to the 8 Ivies and the roughly 40 “elite” colleges and universities (those with the highest yield) we’re taking about maybe 500 kids a year (it should be much higher, but local kids aren’t applying to Trinity in CT, they’re applying to Trinity in SA).

Those number mean the vast majority of private school graduates in Dallas are going to less competitive colleges. There is nothing wrong with that, but when you paid $500K for junior to go to private K-12 and he ends up at OU I am laughing behind your back. Here, at least, it’s to your face!

The private schools that would cost $500k for a student's entire time there A. do provide competitive Ivy chances per the websites of Cisterican, St. Mark's, and Hockaday (listed below) and B. rarely, if ever, send kids to the OUs/Techs/Arkansas of the world. The Catholic schools save Cistercian might not provide as elite matriculations, but I'd take the bottom 1/3 there going to OU etc over Collin College or nowhere, which is where the bottom 1/3 at PISD/Frisco/Allen/Lovejoy go.

https://school.cistercian.org/academ...cian-students/
https://www.smtexas.org/academics/college-counseling
https://www.hockaday.org/academics/college-counseling

[DFWGuy422]

Originally Posted by DFWGuy422

The private schools that would cost $500k for a student's entire time there A. do provide competitive Ivy chances per the websites of Cisterican, St. Mark's, and Hockaday (listed below) and B. rarely, if ever, send kids to the OUs/Techs/Arkansas of the world. The Catholic schools save Cistercian might not provide as elite matriculations, but I'd take the bottom 1/3 there going to OU etc over Collin College or nowhere, which is where the bottom 1/3 at PISD/Frisco/Allen/Lovejoy go.

https://school.cistercian.org/academ...cian-students/
https://www.smtexas.org/academics/college-counseling
https://www.hockaday.org/academics/college-counseling

Adding to this that $500k is way high for Cistercian - $22k x 8 years is $176k, an absolute bargain.

[75214Dad]

Originally Posted by DFWGuy422

Adding to this that $500k is way high for Cistercian - $22k x 8 years is $176k, an absolute bargain.

I’m taking about what someone looking at K admissions will be paying through 2038. It’ll be $500K for the 13 years.

Re: comparing the bottom third of St Marks to the bottom third of Plano West- lol. If your kid is going to be bottom third at Plano West, but you are paying for St Marks just admit you are paying for the social network.

And no, none of the Dallas privates offer a leg up when you control for HHI. Though I will concede Greenhill has excellent college counselors.