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For my son who is nearing HS age, I am considering Chaminade HS. How does Chaminade compare to the better Nassau school districts like Jericho and Syosset?
People who go to Chaminade feel that nothing beats it, but most of them have never been anywhere else. I know someone who was expelled a month before graduating for dealing drugs and I know a couple other kids who dropped out of college because they couldn't handle it, even though Chaminade is supposedly harder than most colleges. It's got a better alumni network than most colleges, but it's not immune to the same problems as any other school. I'm not totally pooh-poohing it, but I don't believe that you can't get a comparable education elsewhere...just MHO....and all that said, I would've sent my kids there if they got in, but I think you need to keep your eyes and ears as open there as anywhere else.
Funny, when I was a kid, I always thought that Chaminade and the other Catholic schools were a way for families to keep their children from having to attend school with minorities (It certainly was that way for families residing in the Malverne Public Schools district that I attended). I never thought much about the academic rigors or that people actually sent their kids to private Catholic school because they wanted them to be academically challenged, lol. So it strikes me as a funny question and I'm sorry that I can't help you. I suppose for the $11k a year Chaminade charges above the public school taxes you already have to pay on your home, Chaminade better be providing a damn fine education!
I would think that sending your child to an institution of YOUR choosing would almost always be better than giving up that choice and handing your child over to the government to be educated - just my opinion (I'm sure I'm in the minority).
i would very much like to see some data/stats such as how many graduates out of total graduating pool got into ivy schools etc...
Is there any objective way of comparing private and public high schools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBucks
I would think that sending your child to an institution of YOUR choosing would almost always be better than giving up that choice and handing your child over to the government to be educated - just my opinion (I'm sure I'm in the minority).
That makes sense to me, but if you have the choice of moving to one of the better school districts (say Jericho or Syosset), is there still a difference?
I suppose for the $11k a year Chaminade charges above the public school taxes you already have to pay on your home, Chaminade better be providing a damn fine education!
THe tuition at Chaminade isn't nearly that much - in fact it went down a couple of years ago ... they've been building a huge endowment for years and people started to get pi$$ed about where was all the money going.
First, tuition according to their website is $7,160 per year. I had a scholarship because of my performance on the CHSEE (Catholic High School Entrance Exam). For reference's sake, the school is run by the Society of Mary(Marianists), as is Kellenberg Memorial High School and St Martin de Porres.
Student-Parent-Teacher relationship: My uncle's lifelong best friend is a teacher. I also know other faculty in the three schools. First, you and your son will accept the decisions and judgments of the administration. Parents do not have the rights/privileges of public school parents. The Marianists have a line of willing suckers at the door ready to take your kid's spot. Teachers are not much better off and are subject to the same dictums and, at times, outright condescension.
Academics: There are three manners of teacher: (1) The Marianists; (2) The competent lay teachers; (3) The incompetent lay teachers. All three are often drawn from alumni. Look in the school handbook. The incompetent lay teachers, I find, are exclusively alumni. The mathematics department is reasonably strong, while English is extremely hit or miss. Science isa mixed bunch. If you want a list of strong and weak teachers, PM me with the subject(s). I can say this without reservation: Chaminade taught me how to write. In college and without, my writing stands strong in comparison with other samples from me peers.
Culture: Chaminade enjoys a culture of what my can best be described by a phrase used by my grandmother: "Great I am's." That is to say, the self important crowd. Chaminade is, in some ways, the worst of upper-middle class culture: Unimpeachable morals juxtaposed against unceasing teenage debauchery and flagrant displays of wealth. IF YOU EXPECT YOUR SON TO BECOME A GOOD CHRISTIAN BOY BECAUSE CHAMINADE IS STAMPED ON HIS TRANSCRIPT, DO NOT CONSIDER THE SCHOOL. THIS IS A DAY/PREP SCHOOL, NOT A REFORM SCHOOL! I cannot overemphasize that. Binge drinking runs rampant, especially on sports teams. I remember kids drinking from flasks in their locker, showing up to events stoned, and bringing pornographic magazines to class. Oh and before I forget, virginity and innocence are not guaranteed either.
At events attended by parents, you will meet what my mother deemed the "wheel-out kids." Usually, they are the straight-laced, genuinely Christian boys from a respectable address in Garden City or Manhasset (the top three addresses are GC, Manhasset, and Rockville Centre). These kids make up 10% of the student population. I saw perverse bullying (subjected to the last one), heavy drinking, and general stupidity.
The Results? Kids who are religiously indoctrinated, unthinking moral republicans. I am a "money conservative", but I cannot stand the unthinking authoritarian-religious ideology that persists. It did not help that I was a closeted atheist.
The 800lb gorilla in the closet: What effect does a single-sex education have? The school's culture was hyper-masculine to the point of pathological illness. I was in 10th grade during the Duke University Lacrosse Rape scandal occured (see Colin Finnerty). The boys were genuinely happy to be "Chaminae...RAPIST!" rather than "Chaminade...Gay!" Sports stood as an obsession for the whole school. This though reflects the culture of this dreary and largely uninteresting little island. If an important game transpired, class may as well have been cancelled. No work was accomplished, the game was discussed. I hated sports, but most loved it.
Chaminade is more or less identical to a better public school with slightly better English teachers, a better name, and the affluent students are bedecked in Brooks Brothers suits and sportcoats.
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