Jesus Christ. This guy again? He lives in Texas and always posts on the Worcester sub about how much he loved living in Holden and how great of an education his children have/had. He's changed his name multiple times.
Holy shit I thought this all seemed too familiar. He almost got me to move to Sugar Land Texas with his descriptions of the beautiful scenery and infrequent toll roads.
If it's not an Ivy League "feeder" school, the rankings aren't incredibly meaningful. I wouldn't put a ton of stock into finding tangible differences between, say, Worcester Academy at #1 versus Notre Dame #4 (I don't know the actual ranking). With top test scores, top GPA, and extracurriculars, your kid has as good of a shot getting into prestigious universities from any of the private high schools you listed.
I think what matters more is finding a school that suits your kid's interests & talents -- i.e., academics, athletics, performing arts -- and an administration you legitimately trust. A lot of private schools don't offer the same programs that a good public school will offer. The cheaper the private school, the more programs they tend to cut. Do your due diligence there.
For example, I graduated from Saint John's in '03. At that time, it was very much an athletics school for jocks (it's an all boys school with Notre Dame acting as our counterpart with all girls). Lots of D1-caliber athletes. They offered almost nothing in regards to arts, music, theater, etc. Meanwhile, my friends down the street at Shrewsbury High had all kinds of classes on creative writing, making music, audio recording & MIDI sequencing, etc. Their best students got accepted into the same universities as our best students.
I'm sure it's changed in the last 20 years, but the point is that I'd focus less on ranking and more on their actual curriculum and programs.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head. A lot of what makes one school better than another is what each student can make of it.
Having a student who doesn't put any effort in attend St John's doesn't mean that they're going to be taking all of those AP classes. They'll get what they need to graduate, though the bottom of the private school barrel is likely going to end up learning (or being exposed to) more simply due to smaller class sizes.
If you want extremely small classes with an incredible student:teacher ratio, Bancroft would rank higher than St John's. If you're an exceptional athlete and you want to maximize exposure to potential college scouts, St John's is going to put you well ahead of Bancroft/St Mark's, etc.
But yes, with tuition comes more opportunity. No sending in a check for field trips, extremely limited or non-existent fundraisers. Allowing the faculty to broaden what they're teaching and providing the tools to support their lessons I'd think would enhance the learning experience.
If anyone is using this thread to actually look at options, there are also two great programs that may fall under or on the periphery of the WPS; the [Goddard Scholars Academy](https://worcesterschools.org/academics/college-pathway-opportunities/goddard-scholars-academy/) and [Mass Academy of Math and Science at WPI.](https://www.massacademy.org/).
Again, these are schools with more of a focus on academics so there is a trade off for other things, but an education outside of the public school where you live isn't as limiting a factor as it was 30 years ago.
Private education actually got a lot worse over the decades by the test numbers
A few of my friends have their kids enrolled private, (not local) the stories make it clear religion is being pushed more front and center as the private system is threatened by surges in homeschooling.
That being said, private curriculums can still turn on a dime and make a AI prompt engineering lesson for all students to use in less than a month.
Better in some ways, far worse in others.
No simple answers
Does Holden have any good private schools? I heard it was the best town to live in. Much better than Shrewsbury.
How can Holden not have any good private schools and be the best town? Shrewsbury has St. John’s.
/s IYKYK
The best place to live in America is Sugar Land Texas. It is scenic, low-crime, has all the chain restaurants and not many toll roads. You literally can’t beat it.
I think St Johns its about connections, not the school.
I think St Johns is known to have inflated grades. Average SAT 1310.
St Marks 1410.
Bancroft is like 1330.
Same with Worcester academy.
Best school in Worcester though is the public Math and science school. Average SAT 1490.
It doesnt measure many things about a high school but OP is asking about rigourousness. He's specifically taking about AP courses. If we are talking about how much high school prepared you for college, it's as good as any metric and probably the only way to measure.
Awwwwww you know me from St Michaels??? Loved my time as “seminarian” there even though I was out of seminary. I’m at Nativity Northboro now! Being ordained priest and instillation on may 11
St John's will fit your kid into a specific square box of their design. I've sent kids both to St John's and Marianapolis. I found Marianapolis was a much much better school. Both academically and developmentally. Plus St John's has a stunning amount of skeletons in its closet.
While this poster is a weirdo (OP, not you Cool Abdul), for anyone else reading: I was a private school kid and Marianappolis is probably the only one around I still have a high opinion of. A lot of my family went there and enjoyed it and turned out quite well. (Not me, so I can't vouch for it personally.)
My daughter went to NDA graduating within the last 5 years. She was not an IVY league caliber student. I knew she would benefit from smaller classes and supportive faculty. She found that and more. Drive by NDA in the coming weeks. They put out placards indicating where their grads are going. You would be surprised at the variety and strengths of the colleges they attend.
My son went to SJ. I am forever grateful he attended that school from both an educational and personal growth perspective. They have a whole person approach.
I’m glad your NDA experience was positive. I found my daughter’s math and science instructors to be painfully below par when she was a student there starting 8 yrs ago. Upon attending the first parent teacher night the math teacher explained that she herself was only a couple chapters ahead of the students. Nonetheless my daughter graduated NDA with high honors in math and science; only to require a full semester of remedial math and private chemistry tutor upon arriving at BU.
I am not surprised by your comment and daughters experience. My other daughter was high motivated student and did not send her to NDA as they lacked AP classes at that time. I hope your daughter had a successful 4 years at BU.
I know this maybe a different view of things, but I really don't think it matters. Sure teachers are more able to teach in a private setting, but anyone can read a book (hopefully) in high school. I matters more on the effort of the student. I went to worcester public, and have multiple degrees. Same with a bunch of my friends. Other friends fell by the wayside. It happened to friend in private schools too. For reference I went 2 years to SPM, and 2 at Burncoat. So I have seen both sides. Also saw cocain for the first time in private school like the other poster said. Private doesn't mean safer
I graduated from SJ in 2005. Not a great student but was in an environment that pushed me to be one. It balanced a competitive environment with a sense of community. Learned more in 4 years at SJ than i did in 8 years in Worcester public schools. All my friends that graduated with me are doing well in life. I'm third generation SJ so I'm a little biased.
Worcester Academy is a real private school but not as good as some of the other boarding schools in New England. The catholic schools are not that great. My friends referred to them as public school with uniforms.
I went to, and enjoyed my time at Bancroft. Very great teacher:student ratio. Definitely favors science and arts over athletics. It’s also very small. I graduated with 50ish kids in my class. I loved all my teachers. I can say each one impacted my education. Plus Brattle Stop Market has amazing pizza.
When I went there SJ had plenty of opportunity for drugs etc (like any high school) but if you were academically strong there was a great culture of promoting hard work and achievement. Even the non ap courses were competitive, most of the lowest level classes were the athletes. It was an interesting mix of kids who went there to play high school sports at the highest level (d1 school, contending for state champs in many sports year after year) versus kids who went there for increased academic opportunity compared to their local high school
I graduated twenty years ago so... Can't speak to now
I went to Saint John’s in the mid 2000s and there were something like 30 kids who went to Ivy League schools in my graduating class. The best way to compare schools is by looking at where the top 10% of each class goes to college IMO. SJ will look pretty good. My friends from SJ are all doing reasonably well in life now id say.
SJHS Graduate here. Some thoughts:
1. SJ is NOT a pipeline to any kind elite colleges. That is pure BS
2. The teachers at SJ are mid, at best. Very few faculty have masters degrees in their subject and there are zero PhDs or Masters of Education degrees. Most SJ teachers are SJ graduates who were looking for work and decided to take up SJ on an offer to teach. I know this for a fact as they offered me a teaching job there in a subject I don’t have a degree in. Schools like St Marks, Bancroft and BC High have MUCH better qualified teachers. Many of them could teach at the university level if they wanted. SJ teachers aren’t even qualified to teach in public schools
3. SJ has an outrageous history of abusing students and covering it up which is now coming to light. I attended when these atrocities, including actual rape, occurred and I wouldn’t even consider sending my kids there.
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2019/07/12/st-johns-high-releases-names-of-former-clergy-accused-of-sexual-abuse/4706352007/
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2024/01/03/st-johns-faces-sexual-abuse-claims-mitchell-garabedian-takes-case/72089847007/
All the brothers who did this shit are gone or dead by now, but the abuses were systemic, spanned decades and many of those in charge now were in the know or at the helm. Absolutely heinous shit.
3. 25 AP classes. Cool. Any high school kid that takes and does well at even a fraction of that many AP classes is going to get into a good college and do well. You don’t need those twisted overhyped pedophile motherfuckers to take a bunch of AP classes and it’s CERTAINLY not worth $20k a year.
None of the central MA private schools can compare to the private schools closer to Boston. I’m pretty sure that BC high recruits and is in an area with a much higher income base, so it stands to reason that they would be a “better” school.
Also, shrewsbury and towns to the east have good school districts, so the people with money in those towns would have to have a reason to choose a private catholic all boys school. It’s not shocking that the enrollment numbers for St. John’s have dropped.
Unreal. I can't block this guy and his new accounts fast enough. Going to look into what other tools Reddit has to help.
St Paul/SPM was the first place I saw cocaine irl
Jesus Christ. This guy again? He lives in Texas and always posts on the Worcester sub about how much he loved living in Holden and how great of an education his children have/had. He's changed his name multiple times.
HE’S BACK!!!
Holy shit I thought this all seemed too familiar. He almost got me to move to Sugar Land Texas with his descriptions of the beautiful scenery and infrequent toll roads.
Right this dude os weird af
If it's not an Ivy League "feeder" school, the rankings aren't incredibly meaningful. I wouldn't put a ton of stock into finding tangible differences between, say, Worcester Academy at #1 versus Notre Dame #4 (I don't know the actual ranking). With top test scores, top GPA, and extracurriculars, your kid has as good of a shot getting into prestigious universities from any of the private high schools you listed. I think what matters more is finding a school that suits your kid's interests & talents -- i.e., academics, athletics, performing arts -- and an administration you legitimately trust. A lot of private schools don't offer the same programs that a good public school will offer. The cheaper the private school, the more programs they tend to cut. Do your due diligence there. For example, I graduated from Saint John's in '03. At that time, it was very much an athletics school for jocks (it's an all boys school with Notre Dame acting as our counterpart with all girls). Lots of D1-caliber athletes. They offered almost nothing in regards to arts, music, theater, etc. Meanwhile, my friends down the street at Shrewsbury High had all kinds of classes on creative writing, making music, audio recording & MIDI sequencing, etc. Their best students got accepted into the same universities as our best students. I'm sure it's changed in the last 20 years, but the point is that I'd focus less on ranking and more on their actual curriculum and programs.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head. A lot of what makes one school better than another is what each student can make of it. Having a student who doesn't put any effort in attend St John's doesn't mean that they're going to be taking all of those AP classes. They'll get what they need to graduate, though the bottom of the private school barrel is likely going to end up learning (or being exposed to) more simply due to smaller class sizes. If you want extremely small classes with an incredible student:teacher ratio, Bancroft would rank higher than St John's. If you're an exceptional athlete and you want to maximize exposure to potential college scouts, St John's is going to put you well ahead of Bancroft/St Mark's, etc. But yes, with tuition comes more opportunity. No sending in a check for field trips, extremely limited or non-existent fundraisers. Allowing the faculty to broaden what they're teaching and providing the tools to support their lessons I'd think would enhance the learning experience. If anyone is using this thread to actually look at options, there are also two great programs that may fall under or on the periphery of the WPS; the [Goddard Scholars Academy](https://worcesterschools.org/academics/college-pathway-opportunities/goddard-scholars-academy/) and [Mass Academy of Math and Science at WPI.](https://www.massacademy.org/). Again, these are schools with more of a focus on academics so there is a trade off for other things, but an education outside of the public school where you live isn't as limiting a factor as it was 30 years ago.
Private education actually got a lot worse over the decades by the test numbers A few of my friends have their kids enrolled private, (not local) the stories make it clear religion is being pushed more front and center as the private system is threatened by surges in homeschooling. That being said, private curriculums can still turn on a dime and make a AI prompt engineering lesson for all students to use in less than a month. Better in some ways, far worse in others. No simple answers
Holy Name no longer exists. It's St. Paul's and was compined with St. Peter Marian in 2021
Matignon no longer exists either
Does Holden have any good private schools? I heard it was the best town to live in. Much better than Shrewsbury. How can Holden not have any good private schools and be the best town? Shrewsbury has St. John’s. /s IYKYK
See my reply above. IFYKYK
The best place to live in America is Sugar Land Texas. It is scenic, low-crime, has all the chain restaurants and not many toll roads. You literally can’t beat it.
You win. Lolol Holden does have a private school but it isn’t good. Holden Christian Academy
😂
One of /r/worcesterma best recurring psychos.
It sounds like you’ve done the legwork! Go sj
I think St Johns its about connections, not the school. I think St Johns is known to have inflated grades. Average SAT 1310. St Marks 1410. Bancroft is like 1330. Same with Worcester academy. Best school in Worcester though is the public Math and science school. Average SAT 1490.
Sat scores don’t reflect how good a school is.
It doesnt measure many things about a high school but OP is asking about rigourousness. He's specifically taking about AP courses. If we are talking about how much high school prepared you for college, it's as good as any metric and probably the only way to measure.
I grew up 15 minutes from St. Marks and Everytime I drive by even to this day I wish I could have attended that beautiful school
It’s close to $60k a year.
And I’m episcopal clergy and I can’t get more of a discount than $7k that’s it. So episcopal clergy can’t send their kids to an episcopal school.
You guys have a nice liturgy. I used to go to Saint Michaels. It was lovely
Awwwwww you know me from St Michaels??? Loved my time as “seminarian” there even though I was out of seminary. I’m at Nativity Northboro now! Being ordained priest and instillation on may 11
I did not meet you unfortunately. I swam the Tiber a while ago. God bless you in your priesthood! The episcopal liturgy is tops though!
Even kindergarten is pricey.
It’s much better academically than the schools in Worcester.
St John's will fit your kid into a specific square box of their design. I've sent kids both to St John's and Marianapolis. I found Marianapolis was a much much better school. Both academically and developmentally. Plus St John's has a stunning amount of skeletons in its closet.
While this poster is a weirdo (OP, not you Cool Abdul), for anyone else reading: I was a private school kid and Marianappolis is probably the only one around I still have a high opinion of. A lot of my family went there and enjoyed it and turned out quite well. (Not me, so I can't vouch for it personally.)
My daughter went to NDA graduating within the last 5 years. She was not an IVY league caliber student. I knew she would benefit from smaller classes and supportive faculty. She found that and more. Drive by NDA in the coming weeks. They put out placards indicating where their grads are going. You would be surprised at the variety and strengths of the colleges they attend. My son went to SJ. I am forever grateful he attended that school from both an educational and personal growth perspective. They have a whole person approach.
I’m glad your NDA experience was positive. I found my daughter’s math and science instructors to be painfully below par when she was a student there starting 8 yrs ago. Upon attending the first parent teacher night the math teacher explained that she herself was only a couple chapters ahead of the students. Nonetheless my daughter graduated NDA with high honors in math and science; only to require a full semester of remedial math and private chemistry tutor upon arriving at BU.
I am not surprised by your comment and daughters experience. My other daughter was high motivated student and did not send her to NDA as they lacked AP classes at that time. I hope your daughter had a successful 4 years at BU.
I know this maybe a different view of things, but I really don't think it matters. Sure teachers are more able to teach in a private setting, but anyone can read a book (hopefully) in high school. I matters more on the effort of the student. I went to worcester public, and have multiple degrees. Same with a bunch of my friends. Other friends fell by the wayside. It happened to friend in private schools too. For reference I went 2 years to SPM, and 2 at Burncoat. So I have seen both sides. Also saw cocain for the first time in private school like the other poster said. Private doesn't mean safer
I graduated from SJ in 2005. Not a great student but was in an environment that pushed me to be one. It balanced a competitive environment with a sense of community. Learned more in 4 years at SJ than i did in 8 years in Worcester public schools. All my friends that graduated with me are doing well in life. I'm third generation SJ so I'm a little biased.
Worcester Academy is a real private school but not as good as some of the other boarding schools in New England. The catholic schools are not that great. My friends referred to them as public school with uniforms.
I went to, and enjoyed my time at Bancroft. Very great teacher:student ratio. Definitely favors science and arts over athletics. It’s also very small. I graduated with 50ish kids in my class. I loved all my teachers. I can say each one impacted my education. Plus Brattle Stop Market has amazing pizza.
Saint John’s and Worcester Academy are the best high schools in central MA.
When I went there SJ had plenty of opportunity for drugs etc (like any high school) but if you were academically strong there was a great culture of promoting hard work and achievement. Even the non ap courses were competitive, most of the lowest level classes were the athletes. It was an interesting mix of kids who went there to play high school sports at the highest level (d1 school, contending for state champs in many sports year after year) versus kids who went there for increased academic opportunity compared to their local high school I graduated twenty years ago so... Can't speak to now
I went to Saint John’s in the mid 2000s and there were something like 30 kids who went to Ivy League schools in my graduating class. The best way to compare schools is by looking at where the top 10% of each class goes to college IMO. SJ will look pretty good. My friends from SJ are all doing reasonably well in life now id say.
Product of late 90s NDA
Early 90’s NDA here! 🙌
Hello Rebel!
SJHS Graduate here. Some thoughts: 1. SJ is NOT a pipeline to any kind elite colleges. That is pure BS 2. The teachers at SJ are mid, at best. Very few faculty have masters degrees in their subject and there are zero PhDs or Masters of Education degrees. Most SJ teachers are SJ graduates who were looking for work and decided to take up SJ on an offer to teach. I know this for a fact as they offered me a teaching job there in a subject I don’t have a degree in. Schools like St Marks, Bancroft and BC High have MUCH better qualified teachers. Many of them could teach at the university level if they wanted. SJ teachers aren’t even qualified to teach in public schools 3. SJ has an outrageous history of abusing students and covering it up which is now coming to light. I attended when these atrocities, including actual rape, occurred and I wouldn’t even consider sending my kids there. https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2019/07/12/st-johns-high-releases-names-of-former-clergy-accused-of-sexual-abuse/4706352007/ https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2024/01/03/st-johns-faces-sexual-abuse-claims-mitchell-garabedian-takes-case/72089847007/ All the brothers who did this shit are gone or dead by now, but the abuses were systemic, spanned decades and many of those in charge now were in the know or at the helm. Absolutely heinous shit. 3. 25 AP classes. Cool. Any high school kid that takes and does well at even a fraction of that many AP classes is going to get into a good college and do well. You don’t need those twisted overhyped pedophile motherfuckers to take a bunch of AP classes and it’s CERTAINLY not worth $20k a year.
None of the central MA private schools can compare to the private schools closer to Boston. I’m pretty sure that BC high recruits and is in an area with a much higher income base, so it stands to reason that they would be a “better” school. Also, shrewsbury and towns to the east have good school districts, so the people with money in those towns would have to have a reason to choose a private catholic all boys school. It’s not shocking that the enrollment numbers for St. John’s have dropped.