Breck or Blake school? (St. Paul, Plymouth: chapels, to buy, school tuition)

[Ursicinus]

(Full disclosure: I am a teacher, so I may have a slightly different take on this.)

Southwest is actually considered the best public school in Minneapolis though, last time I looked into it. I'm partial to Blake, but I also know a few teachers at Breck, and by all accounts it's a great school with a lot going for it, as well. For me, it would really come down to which one could give a better financial aid package, if I'm honest. But that said, if I lived in Linden Hills, I'd also have no qualms with sending my kids to Southwest. I wish I could say that for all the other public high schools, but that is a topic for another thread.

[Aegnis]

I have read through this whole thread several times because I am moving to the twin cities from the west coast and was honestly curious about blake vs breck. But after realizing that breck is a religious school I can't consider it anymore. I was wondering if anyone can tell me about matriculation to ivies from Blake vs SPA-Summit? Size of their endowments. Which school offers the most financial aid? Does either school use harkness method? Which school has the most progressive pedagogy? Which school has the most connected college counselor? I'm looking for opinions as well as facts if anyone here has any info regarding these two private schools. I will definitely set up tours as soon as my family is settled. Age of campus isn't at the top of my list of concerns, although I personally prefer more modern, bright and open classrooms. Thanks!

[cheddar]

I don't know the answer to the Ivy question or whether Blake uses Harkness tables, but you might be interested in the plans for the new $15 million science addition scheduled to open in fall 2018 at SPA.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/09/13...-science-wing/

[Ursicinus]

Originally Posted by Aegnis

I have read through this whole thread several times because I am moving to the twin cities from the west coast and was honestly curious about blake vs breck. But after realizing that breck is a religious school I can't consider it anymore. I was wondering if anyone can tell me about matriculation to ivies from Blake vs SPA-Summit? Size of their endowments. Which school offers the most financial aid? Does either school use harkness method? Which school has the most progressive pedagogy? Which school has the most connected college counselor? I'm looking for opinions as well as facts if anyone here has any info regarding these two private schools. I will definitely set up tours as soon as my family is settled. Age of campus isn't at the top of my list of concerns, although I personally prefer more modern, bright and open classrooms. Thanks!

I wouldn't count Breck out just because they are *technically* a "religious school". Don't get the wrong idea here: they are not some creepy, cultish institution where they teach that the sun goes round the Earth or anything. From what I hear, their curriculum is quite "progressive"; for instance, students are required to learn about and investigate all the world's major religions, and not just to then be told that Christianity is the best one or whatever. The folks I know who teach there would absolutely not put up with that kind of bull**** and would never teach there if that were the case.

That said, I do understand (and share) your concern. For that reason, Blake and SPA are two great, 100% secular options. I only have firsthand experience with Blake, but their Upper School is in a beautiful old building with lots of tasteful additions and updates inside (i.e. it's not some old relic that's crumbling down). They're also a very inclusive campus, if that's something that's close to your heart as well.

[Aegnis]

Thanks so much for the responses! I am having difficulty finding actual matriculation statistics as well. I can find statistics where the students were polled on schools they were interested in, but that tells me nothing about if they actually got into those uni's.

We definitely will need 100% secular. I would assume world religions would still be covered in a secular learning environment, but the perspective would be different, you know? I'm glad to know that either option is great.

[Aegnis]

I just looked at this school's ranking in greatschools and the score is rather low. I love the Linden Hills area, but would you mind explaining the discrepancy with Southwest. Why is it considered the best public school?

Originally Posted by Ursicinus

(Full disclosure: I am a teacher, so I may have a slightly different take on this.)

Southwest is actually considered the best public school in Minneapolis though, last time I looked into it. I'm partial to Blake, but I also know a few teachers at Breck, and by all accounts it's a great school with a lot going for it, as well. For me, it would really come down to which one could give a better financial aid package, if I'm honest. But that said, if I lived in Linden Hills, I'd also have no qualms with sending my kids to Southwest. I wish I could say that for all the other public high schools, but that is a topic for another thread.

[cheddar]

Here is some information on colleges attended by recent students at Blake and SPA.

The Blake School: College Matriculation

St. Paul Academy and Summit School: College Counseling

[Aegnis]

Thanks cheddar! Good information. That helps a lot. It looks like the average amount of kids who go on to Ivy league or Stanford are about the same as public school. Not what I wanted to read. But still good to know.

[cheddar]

You are welcome! I hope you find a good school. I will point out that it is not a Minnesota thing to be Ivy obsessed. In the midwest, we love our flagships.

[Yowza12]

Originally Posted by Aegnis

Thanks cheddar! Good information. That helps a lot. It looks like the average amount of kids who go on to Ivy league or Stanford are about the same as public school. Not what I wanted to read. But still good to know.

I'm not sure that's the case but, in any event, Breck is an outstanding school. I, too, was completely against a "religious" school. As soon as I went on a tour I realized that the bit of religion taught is distributed evenly among religions. If I felt that one religion was being favored over another I would have run for the hills, and I'm not Christian. All in all, having visited all of these schools, Breck was the clear winner for us. The students who come out of there are amazingly well-rounded and intelligent. Be warned, though, that Breck has far more homework than Blake and it can be daunting. From what I understand, Blake recently eliminated the homework requirement from the lower school based on some very questionable studies. If you won't consider Breck I would strongly suggest looking at SPA or public schools. We easily preferred our public option over Blake.

Good luck!