Cary Academy vs Green Hope High School (Raleigh, Morrisville: house, private school)

[TinkaMcKirk]

Originally Posted by JONOV

I don't have any experience with either, but wouldn't one surmise that CA, being an elite private high school, is similarly academically ambitious? Especially with parents coughing up $25K a year. I mean, some parents will send their kids there for other reasons such as prestige, to keep their kids away from a wrong crowd, or to have a closer watch on their kids by staff, but I have to believe there is a decent cohort that places the highest emphasis on academic performance.

There's a subtle difference between academically ambitious and pressure cooker. To me, a pressure cooker type environment is one where the students are competitive with each other over everything. They compare test scores, grades, class schedules, class rankings, etc. Everything is about being better than someone else. When my daughter went to DDMS, she had some friends who would actually cry if they got a low A on a test because they were so afraid of what their parents would say. And other kids would challenge each other about whether they got into Duke TIP and which level they qualified for based on their ACT scores.

From what I've heard from friends who have kids at CA, the workload is much more than DDMS or GHHS, but there is a sense of camaraderie among the kids.

So, IMO:

Pressure Cooker = being better than someone else
Academically Ambitious = being the best you can be

[JaPaKoMom]

Originally Posted by twingles

A lot of kids like the block scheduling for this reason. Few HS kids have the attention span to get lectured to for 90 minutes so they do end up getting work done in class. My child is in the academic level and gets resource help and having only two core classes has been great for him. Much less "stuff" for him to keep track of.

Our previous HS did not have a block schedule but they did have A and B days with the longer class periods and they still came home with a good amount of homework. By no means was our previous school district perfect, just very different. And just like here, when people search for a home in Texas they search for the best school district that meets their personal criteria. There are many districts in Texas that are poorly run and struggle for money. I will say this move has been good for me to get to see how school works is in other parts of the county. My first school experience was in Colorado - and it was a very laid back affair. But it was only kindergarten and a half day at that. It was an eye opener putting my oldest into first grade once we moved to Texas. My son would come home with homework that would take him more than an hour to complete. It was ridiculous! But the school he was at was in a lower socio-economic area and they worked really hard to make sure the kids were ready to "pass the test." Once we had a contract on a home, we moved him to his new school and put him back into kindergarten.

Now I do understand if your child has an IEP or something similar, my oldest had an IEP until entering HS - and I really worried about him changing schools his last year of high school. For having Asperger's he has done remarkably well. The block schedule here is much better than having the A and B days, especially for keeping track of "stuff" and trying to be somewhat organized.

[JaPaKoMom]

Originally Posted by TinkaMcKirk

There's a subtle difference between academically ambitious and pressure cooker. To me, a pressure cooker type environment is one where the students are competitive with each other over everything. They compare test scores, grades, class schedules, class rankings, etc. Everything is about being better than someone else. When my daughter went to DDMS, she had some friends who would actually cry if they got a low A on a test because they were so afraid of what their parents would say. And other kids would challenge each other about whether they got into Duke TIP and which level they qualified for based on their ACT scores.

From what I've heard from friends who have kids at CA, the workload is much more than DDMS or GHHS, but there is a sense of camaraderie among the kids.

So, IMO:

Pressure Cooker = being better than someone else
Academically Ambitious = being the best you can be

Wow! I can not imagine putting that kind of pressure on kids for grades. Apparently, my kids and their friends are the low hanging fruit of GHHS. They have never spoken of the competitive side of the school.

[rnarasi]

Thank you all so much for the information.

We bought a house based on the school assignment - GHHS but were also interested in a non-religious private school - hence Cary Academy. It looks like both schools have a good learning environment with one being a lot larger than the other. To us academic acheivement is important but we also want a happy well rounded child who loves the school. IT seems like we won' t be making a mistake with either school.

We have 2 more questions and appreciate all the responses:
1. College prep - is there a good % of kids going to the ivies or top universities at GHHS, do many of these colleges/universities come to GHHS
2. The average SAT scores at GHHS is 1900 and CA is 2040 but the averages mean nothing - does anyone have any information on the median range at both these schools.

[pierretong1991]

From Niche.com - obviously this is skewed because there are all ranges of students at GHHS compared to Cary Academy. The fact that students at GHHS are going to Duke and Vanderbilt means I wouldn't worry about college choices if your student is a good student there. Both are excellent schools

(I personally would save the money and go with Green Hope if you get the sense that your son is a good student and academically motivated but that's my 2 cents. I went to a similar school when I was in MA, a little bit of a pressure cooker but it was a very good public school and it turned out well for me)

GHHS: (https://k12.niche.com/green-hope-high-school-cary-nc/)

Popular Colleges Based on users from Niche Colleges
North Carolina State University (241)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (216)
Duke University (94)
Appalachian State University (90)
University of North Carolina - Wilmington (83)
East Carolina University (79)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (78)
University of South Carolina (50)
Elon University (44)
Vanderbilt University (41)

Cary Academy: https://k12.niche.com/cary-academy-cary-nc/

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (73)
North Carolina State University (37)
Duke University (36)
Vanderbilt University (26)
University of Pennsylvania (23)
Georgetown University (22)
Wake Forest University (21)
Clemson University (19)
Elon University (18)
Washington University in St. Louis (18)

[roscomac]

Keep in mind that the families who are able to afford a private high school education are more likely to be able to afford a private college education.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by rnarasi

We have 2 more questions and appreciate all the responses:
1. College prep - is there a good % of kids going to the ivies or top universities at GHHS, do many of these colleges/universities come to GHHS
2. The average SAT scores at GHHS is 1900 and CA is 2040 but the averages mean nothing - does anyone have any information on the median range at both these schools.

I'm not trying to be snarky, but what will that tell you? CA has the option of literally picking their students and can weed out the bottom third or half or whatever and it skews the data, compared to GHHS where almost everyone living in the zone is going to take the test.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by JONOV

I'm not trying to be snarky, but what will that tell you? CA has the option of literally picking their students and can weed out the bottom third or half or whatever and it skews the data, compared to GHHS where almost everyone living in the zone is going to take the test.

I agree and those comparisons irk me to no end. Plus someone who pays $20k a year for middle school is much more likely to choose a private college for their child.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by rnarasi

Thank you all so much for the information.

We bought a house based on the school assignment - GHHS but were also interested in a non-religious private school - hence Cary Academy. It looks like both schools have a good learning environment with one being a lot larger than the other. To us academic acheivement is important but we also want a happy well rounded child who loves the school. IT seems like we won' t be making a mistake with either school.

We have 2 more questions and appreciate all the responses:
1. College prep - is there a good % of kids going to the ivies or top universities at GHHS, do many of these colleges/universities come to GHHS
2. The average SAT scores at GHHS is 1900 and CA is 2040 but the averages mean nothing - does anyone have any information on the median range at both these schools.

Where did you get this information? According to NC Dept. of Education Website, in 2015 Green Hope had an average SAT score of 1719: Accountability Services

[twingles]

Originally Posted by JaPaKoMom

Wow! I can not imagine putting that kind of pressure on kids for grades. Apparently, my kids and their friends are the low hanging fruit of GHHS. They have never spoken of the competitive side of the school.

And probably much happier in the long run!!