OT - Need the Board's input on FW private schools

[cdsfrog]

Are they hell bent on Fort Worth Private Schools? My dad was on the board for TVS a long time. Very solid but not sure the performance justifies the high cost tuition. If you really are on board paying nearly 100k for 4 years, there are others that simply produce a lot more with the same student to teacher ratio

Not to turn this into private vs public because frankly I think that more depends on what you are comfortable with and more importantly what your kid is comfortable with.Considering my mother was in public education for 25 years and my father in private for 30 years I feel like I have a pretty good balance on this; of course it also means I have zero clue what I will do with my daughter Hannah.

If you are interested in the Tanglewood to Pascal route but find it too expensive let me suggest an alternative. Lily B to Mclean to Pascal.You can easily find a 2000ish square house for about 500k or less. Lily B is nearly as good, look it up.

Example 2211 Pembroke Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76110 425k on zillow

 

[PurplFrawg]

Deep,
What I have learned is every parent thinks their kids are above average - math, reading, sports, drama - they can't all be above average at everything

They can at Lake Woebegone.

 

[cdsfrog]

Deep,

You are correct but for those 300 - there are over 50,000 kids from those same schools that will never graduate college

A lot of that is parent support but no matter how much you want to - you can't do it for your kids

So parents need to be honest with themselves about their kids and understand the environment they will excel in

Lots of kids are smart enough - but are they focused and self driven or quiet and intellectually stimulated or outgoing and socially motivated?

It makes a difference and where they will be most successful will be dependent on it

What I have learned is every parent thinks their kids are above average - math, reading, sports, drama - they can't all be above average at everything

However the right school(s) can change the way they learn and grow

And just because somebody else's kid was successful in one school over another doesn't mean yours will be

Nor does it mean they couldn't have done better someplace else if given the chance

What I would say is give your child every opportunity to succeed you can and then be involved as much as you can so you can be sure they are getting what they need - you can always change course but you have to know what's going on

I agree with all of this. I am not a genius. I went to Arlington Heights. I skipped class, and never a crap about highschool. I had to go to summer school for 10 weeks in a row in order to get to senior year due to absences. Had I gone to UT (wasnt eligible, 11% percentile) pretty sure I would have flunked as freshman. TCU saved me. Whats best for each is so unique and it depends on several factors.

 

[flyfishingfrog]

I agree with all of this. I am not a genius. I went to Arlington Heights. I skipped class, and never a crap about highschool. I had to go to summer school for 10 weeks in a row in order to get to senior year due to absences. Had I gone to UT (wasnt eligible, 11% percentile) pretty sure I would have flunked as freshman. TCU saved me. Whats best for each is so unique and it depends on several factors.

And when did you go to TCU?

 

[cdsfrog]

And when did you go to TCU?

2003 to 2007. Father retired from there last year.

 

[JurisFrog]

We send our kids to Covenant Classical School. It has an undeniably Christian culture with an impressive academic emphasis. The kids coming out of the school are super sharp, polite, accomplished, and confident. It costs us about 10-11k per year.

We live in Aledo and Aledo would be our number 2. We couldn't afford the top tier schools, and the mid tier schools hardly seemed worth the money to us.

 

[Big Frog II]

The bottom line looks like there are a bunch of great schools in the area. This person needs to spend some time and visit all of them to see which school fits their children. I know the private schools do testing, so that also may play a factor on the decision.

 

[jake102]

I hope to move back to the good part of DFW at some point and go the Tanglewood/LilyB to McLean to Pascal route.

 

[cdsfrog]

If I can get the wife to not work in Dallas same goes for me

 

[Pharm Frog]

If I can get the wife to not work in Dallas same goes for me

 

[cdsfrog]

Dallas hospital drives are brutal but Cooks pays crap in comparison.

 

[flyfishingfrog]

2003 to 2007. Father retired from there last year.

Ok - given that your dad just retired from TCU - I am guessing you realize that you would probably have a hard time getting in to TCU now vs in 2003 outside of family connections.

And based on what you said about high school and since you dad was on the board at TVS - you probably also realize that if you had attended a private school - you would have had better performance since you would not have been "allowed" by any private high school to miss that much and you would have been provided a support mechanism through the teachers, admins, and fellow students to help you overcome whatever the issue was.

And chances are it would not have even developed because you would have been more engaged in school to begin with since that is one of the known advantages of the smaller and single campus concept that the private schools in FtW utilize.

Thus, you would have potentially gotten in to UT when you went to school and would be more capable of getting into UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor, SMU, etc today - all of which are a LOT harder to get in then 10 years ago - even though you say you are not a genius (kind of think you are underestimating yourself).

But given all of that - you don't really think spending the money on private school would be worth it if you were a kid in K-12 right now?

Guess I disagree with you - because it seems like you a prime example of a kid that would have greatly benefited from the extra support and attention that a kid gets a private school that a public school is not capable of delivering.

 

[Deep Purple]

OP was asking specifically about FW private schools. Not about public vs. private or which public school you prefer or the TCU community scholar program.

If somebody asked which BMW to buy, I'd give my opinion, and then say, "But there are other options than just BMW, and some of them are better and cheaper."

This narrow channeling reminds me a bit of the uniform color debates -- "but are colors are purple and white, dammit!"

 

[Infantryvetfrog]

I have a kindergartener at TVS and my wife and I are very happy with the school. We toured FWCD, TVS, and AS last year. Best recommendation for your friend is to advise him go to numerous prospective student activities on campus at each school. We went to at least 5 or 6 events each at both FWCD and TVS and it helped immensely…you get a feel for the school a little more each time. We applied and were accepted at both FWCD and TVS. For our family, TVS seemed like a better fit for our son.

If your friend’s kids are elementary school age, I highly recommend they set up a conference with the TVS lower school head, Mrs. Sandy McNutt. She’s simply amazing and hearing her talk sealed the deal for my wife and I. Heck, Arlington ISD named a school after her last year and she’s still alive…

 

[HToady]

The bottom line is that individual student drive and determination can count for as much in successful college attendance as a privileged education at any elite K-12 school. And parental influence is a huge factor in any individual student's drive and determination.

Most of this is parenting, but I am curious whether those that have put their kids in private school (I had one of each), are doing so because of safety and outside influences, more so than academics anyway.

 

[ScottPatrick]

OP was asking specifically about FW private schools. Not about public vs. private or which public school you prefer or the TCU community scholar program.

Certainly but we can alter the discussion. Has any discussion here ever stayed 100% on-topic? It is the nature of forums.

 

[Deep Purple]

For what it's worth Brock is the new Aledo

And ideal if you're really into a 75-90 minute commute every morning and every evening. Dallas, Denton, and Waxahachie are all closer to Fort Worth than Brock is.

 

[cdsfrog]

Ok - given that your dad just retired from TCU - I am guessing you realize that you would probably have a hard time getting in to TCU now vs in 2003 outside of family connections.

And based on what you said about high school and since you dad was on the board at TVS - you probably also realize that if you had attended a private school - you would have had better performance since you would not have been "allowed" by any private high school to miss that much and you would have been provided a support mechanism through the teachers, admins, and fellow students to help you overcome whatever the issue was.

And chances are it would not have even developed because you would have been more engaged in school to begin with since that is one of the known advantages of the smaller and single campus concept that the private schools in FtW utilize.

Thus, you would have potentially gotten in to UT when you went to school and would be more capable of getting into UT, A&M, TCU, Baylor, SMU, etc today - all of which are a LOT harder to get in then 10 years ago - even though you say you are not a genius (kind of think you are underestimating yourself).

But given all of that - you don't really think spending the money on private school would be worth it if you were a kid in K-12 right now?

Guess I disagree with you - because it seems like you a prime example of a kid that would have greatly benefited from the extra support and attention that a kid gets a private school that a public school is not capable of delivering.

Not sure. I would have gotten in now I think with 1300 Sat. Definitely with my dad being there.

My Gpa was still good despite me failing junior year . I still probably go to tcu because I probably graduate with honors instead of 3.45.

 

[flyfishingfrog]

Most of this is parenting, but I am curious whether those that have put their kids in private school (I had one of each), are doing so because of safety and outside influences, more so than academics anyway.

It is definitely part of it - as I said before, your kids are going to be greatly influenced by the kids they go to school with - more so their specific friends but in reality everyone they interact with.

and the "diversity' term is a PC way of saying your kids will get a lot of different experiences in a public environment vs a private one - and those will be both good and bad. I spend a lot of time at a private HS campus and at a public one - and there is a lot of difference in the overall atmosphere and what you see on a daily basis.

However, it is not all environmental either - there is a difference in the level of teaching and how it is taught between public and private. it is not all numbers but just like at the University level where a professor is going to teach differently in a class of 35 (TCU) vs a class of 150 (UT/Tech)

Same goes for other levels - 15:1 student teach ratios provides a lot different opportunity than 30:1 in elementary schools. Having the resources to each 5 different levels of math to a single grade opens up a lot of options vs 2.

Plus frankly going to a place where 100% of the kids are going to college after graduation vs 50% at best is just a totally different overall atmosphere.

But once again - if you child is self driven and strong academically - then the environment and academic capacity of the school will have a lot less influence.

My grandson that goes to Paschal is very self motivated and a little OCD, so he isn't really focused on what he is doing and doing it "right" in his mind - thus the external factors don't effect him much.

His sister is super social, loves drama and singing, is a good athlete but not great - however wants to play for the fun and friends aspect, and is a good student but not driven to go beyond in areas like math and science without some pushing - she is doing so much better at FWCD than she was when she was younger in public.

If it was my choice, they would probably all go to private - but that is because I would prefer to remove as many obstacles to their growth as possible and I know there are less things to be worried about, overcome, ignore or whatever at TVS, FWCD, etc than in public.

But once again - that is a statement across 8 kids - not for any single one.

 

[cdsfrog]

I think public schools can be great. I just think Heights sucks as does Monnig Middle. Ridglea Hills was great.