St. Louis Area Elementary Schools: Forsyth vs. Wilson vs. Glenridge vs. Meramec vs. Captain (Clayton: magnet schools)

[medicalresident123]

Does anyone have a view on the following private / public elementary schools? My wife and I live in the CWE and are looking for an excellent education for our son. I included some of the Clayton elementary schools as we are contemplating moving to the Clayton area over the next couple of years due to the school district. Any thoughts on the following are greatly appreciated:

Captain
Forsyth
Glenridge
Meramec
Wilson

Thank you!

[STL74]

Those are all great schools. If you move to Clayton, I’d probably at least give the public elementary schools a good look. They are excellent and not as overcrowded as some can be. I have friends who have kids at Forsyth and Wilson and they love it. I sense that the culture at Forsyth can be a bit snobbish, but there are still some amazing people there (I think my friends are amazing people obviously). With private school (mine have all gone to private), it’s really more about class sizes, teaching style, and culture…especially when your public school is also excellent. You have to visit and really get a feel for what fits your child and family if you are going to pay for private (my kids are in private and we are in the equally great Ladue school district…and it’s for those other reasons…I feel the academics are similar in public and private, but the other things are very different and suited my kids better, especially my quirky but highly intelligent middle child). If you stay in the CWE, you have almost no choice but to go private or pay tuition in Clayton. (There are some very good magnet schools in the city though…one of my son’s friends went all the way through the gifted schools in the city…graduated from Metro, amazing family).

[Old Trafford]

My friends daughter attended Wilson grades 3-6, she loved it. Small class size, the kids got to do trips and things that were really neat, way beyond what grade school was like for us.