We've seen that as well in the three years we've been here. Either moving or seems like most are going the private route at this age. And we're supposedly in one of the better districts.
Thanks. Good info. He will be in AP/IB. The clubs and activities that I've experienced at his middle school and parents at the public high school he would attend have said that they really serve as college application stuffers. The clubs/activities/groups don't really do anything significant. It does seem at the private schools they actually do learn skills, serve the community, network, etc. We found that to be a big plus.
A few are: AIS, Westminister, Lovett, Pace. There are a few others, but those are the ones closest to us and probably the most likely candidates.
If you or your son’s goal is to get into and be successful in college, you cannot go wrong with those private high schools you listed.
I recently left a position as an admissions counselor at a college in North Carolina. Not to get into the details of how we created admissions scores for each applicant, but all things equal, students from those four schools would receive a higher admissions score and be more likely to have success at our college than any student from any public high school in Georgia.
You just posted that cost is no concern. Go private.
I'm from Baltimore which - to put it lightly - isn't exactly known for quality public schools, so the question was not "will you go private?" but "which private will you attend?". I received a great education at my Baltimore school. I took advanced classes in Latin, I had a great AP Econ teacher so it was like a college sophomore-level class, and I also took an interesting Spanish and math class my senior year. I attended a top college, and going to this school helped since it has great relations with good schools; as an aside, about 2 years ago, I saw that the dean of Penn admissions came to speak at assembly which would never happen at even a great public high school.
Ironically, I felt like my high school classes were as difficult as my college classes.
You just posted that cost is no concern. Go private.
I'm from Baltimore which - to put it lightly - isn't exactly known for quality public schools, so the question was not "will you go private?" but "which private will you attend?". I received a great education at my Baltimore school. I took advanced classes in Latin, I had a great AP Econ teacher so it was like a college sophomore-level class, and I also took an interesting Spanish and math class my senior year. I attended a top college, and going to this school helped since it has great relations with good schools; as an aside, about 2 years ago, I saw that the dean of Penn admissions came to speak at assembly which would never happen at even a great public high school.
Ironically, I felt like my high school classes were as difficult as my college classes.
Exactly. My school focused on growing us "as men", and being respectable was one of those values. Our uniform was the standard button down + tie (no blazer though) which sets you up well for the work world
I would say if you are ITP, you need to go private. If you like ATL but want better educational opportunities for your kids, move to Cobb County. Specifically anywhere districted for Walton, Lassiter, or Pope High School as these are far better than any private school you will find in Atlanta. Most anywhere in East Cobb will provide the best opportunities in GA. Fulton County Schools are very poor by comparison unless you get up to milton or roswell area. Other nice areas that have good schools would be Johns Creek and Duluth. Again, i would just move to Cobb though.
It depends but if he is self-motivated I would strongly suggest staying in public schools where you can get a great (free) education if you are self motivated and advocate for yourself. Colleges look more favorably on a top public school student who has actually been exposed to a diverse assortment of peers and teachers.
I went to Atlanta Public Schools for K-12 and wouldn't change it for the world. I was a three sport varsity athlete and a member of nationally recognized student newspaper and fashion design/sewing programs. Then, I got a full scholarship to a large state school where I took the same approach, graduating at the top of my class and earning a spot in the #1 law school in the country (where I am now currently writing this). Here, you can really tell who went to a basically all-white upper class school for the entirety of their educational careers. Harder to meaningfully discuss, for example, criminal justice reform proposals with people who have absolutely zero concept of how race, income, nationality, etc shapes community police encounters.
Also, none of the kids who I played competitive club soccer with who all went to private schools (Marist, Westminster, St. Pius X, Holy Innocents, Pace, Lovett, Mt. Vernon, etc) have done anything super notable post high school? In fact, it seems like a lot of them kind of peaked in high school. Social status (and $$$$$) was everything to them (and their parents) then. Seemed like they were living in this kind of alternate artificial bubble. And, still, not much has changed.
He got in, huh? You mean several schools that you will PAY for him to attend would like him as a student so they can receive your money? Fascinating!
There are some good public schools around Atlanta. Tell me which one he would attend, and I'll tell you if he should go to one of those you have to pay for or not.
The vast majority of the time, other than in the Northeast, the better option is to go to one of the good public schools in the area. If you can't afford to live in one of those good areas and you get a serious break on private school tuition, then that's a viable option. As a general rule (again, except for the Northeast...still is the case many times there, but not enough to be a general rule), the public school teachers are more educated and better paid, so do understand that.
As I see it, there are two main reasons to go to ANY private k-12 school:
1) You want your kid to be immersed in the religion that is spewed there.
2) There is a SERIOUS violence problem at the local school and there actually isn't that (not just perception, but an actual difference) at the private school.
3) In the Northeast, there IS a higher quality of education at SOME of the private schools compared to MOST of the public schools. If you lived there, that would take some careful consideration and then determine if the cost was worth it.
In all sincerity, good luck!
Wow. Lots of responses. I'll try to address some of the questions/statements.
"He got in, huh? You mean several schools that you will PAY for him to attend would like him as a student so they can receive your money? Fascinating!"
Yes. Similar to a college or university. He had to apply, interview, write essays (for some), have recommendations, take placement tests, etc.
"As a general rule..." - I'm not looking at a general rule. I'm looking specifically these (an a couple other) schools.
Your (2) opinions are very short-sighted.
I actually gave some very detailed information about the 4 schools you mentioned in another post that for some stupid reason Letsrun decided to delete. Insanity. It actually had some info you sought, and I actually did some research for you to write that post.
I'll be VERY brief about what I wrote about the 4 so as not to upset the baby monitor who deleted my other post.
AIS: Non-religious and is open to and supports people of all religions, race, sexual preference, etc.
Westminister, Lovett, and Pace are all Christian schools that have Christianity at their core. If that's for you, then fine, but if not, then perhaps not fine. Too many discount this when looking at private schools.
The ONE that seems to have more of a singular focus on academics is AIS. If I were in your shoes, and I HAD to pick one of those private schools, I would pick the one that isn't bogged down by religious ideology...and that one is AIS.
I would choose Westminster. Phenomenal school with great facilities and top notch faculty. The other Atlanta privates and public schools pale in comparison.
And Flagpole has no idea what he is talking about, yet speaks like an expert on the role of religion in the Westminster curriculum.
He was accepted to several of the top private schools in the Atlanta area this year. Anyone have any experience with moving from public to private schools? Should he attend a private school or continue in the public school system here?
How big a check do you want to write every month? If the public school is decent, I'd stay there.
At the end of my son's $60k four year HS education (he graduated in 2013, so prices are MUCH higher now), I thought, damn, I could have made 4 years of payments on a nice car for that.
Wow. Lots of responses. I'll try to address some of the questions/statements.
"He got in, huh? You mean several schools that you will PAY for him to attend would like him as a student so they can receive your money? Fascinating!"
Yes. Similar to a college or university. He had to apply, interview, write essays (for some), have recommendations, take placement tests, etc.
"As a general rule..." - I'm not looking at a general rule. I'm looking specifically these (an a couple other) schools.
Your (2) opinions are very short-sighted.
I actually gave some very detailed information about the 4 schools you mentioned in another post that for some stupid reason Letsrun decided to delete. Insanity. It actually had some info you sought, and I actually did some research for you to write that post.
I'll be VERY brief about what I wrote about the 4 so as not to upset the baby monitor who deleted my other post.
AIS: Non-religious and is open to and supports people of all religions, race, sexual preference, etc.
Westminister, Lovett, and Pace are all Christian schools that have Christianity at their core. If that's for you, then fine, but if not, then perhaps not fine. Too many discount this when looking at private schools.
The ONE that seems to have more of a singular focus on academics is AIS. If I were in your shoes, and I HAD to pick one of those private schools, I would pick the one that isn't bogged down by religious ideology...and that one is AIS.
Flagpole prefers to worship at the altar of climate change hysteria, sexual deviancy, and murdering preborn babies.
It depends but if he is self-motivated I would strongly suggest staying in public schools where you can get a great (free) education if you are self motivated and advocate for yourself. Colleges look more favorably on a top public school student who has actually been exposed to a diverse assortment of peers and teachers.
I went to Atlanta Public Schools for K-12 and wouldn't change it for the world. I was a three sport varsity athlete and a member of nationally recognized student newspaper and fashion design/sewing programs. Then, I got a full scholarship to a large state school where I took the same approach, graduating at the top of my class and earning a spot in the #1 law school in the country (where I am now currently writing this). Here, you can really tell who went to a basically all-white upper class school for the entirety of their educational careers. Harder to meaningfully discuss, for example, criminal justice reform proposals with people who have absolutely zero concept of how race, income, nationality, etc shapes community police encounters.
Also, none of the kids who I played competitive club soccer with who all went to private schools (Marist, Westminster, St. Pius X, Holy Innocents, Pace, Lovett, Mt. Vernon, etc) have done anything super notable post high school? In fact, it seems like a lot of them kind of peaked in high school. Social status (and $$) was everything to them (and their parents) then. Seemed like they were living in this kind of alternate artificial bubble. And, still, not much has changed.
I would choose Westminster. Phenomenal school with great facilities and top notch faculty. The other Atlanta privates and public schools pale in comparison.
And Flagpole has no idea what he is talking about, yet speaks like an expert on the role of religion in the Westminster curriculum.
I would say that for several reasons Westminister is his first choice as of now. Our visits were phenomenal and the faculty is top-notch.