Thoughts on New Trier... (Chicago, Highland Park: rentals, homes, buy)
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Wondering what the forum thinks of the New Trier school system? I know its an excellent choice for secondary education in the North Shore....I also know that it is an absolutely monster-sized school serving many North Shore Communities - Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, etc... and is touted as a wonderful solution for many, many children and families.
What I'm interested in is real life experience...not the academic part, because for purposes of this discussion, I will concede that academically, the school is probably pretty tough to beat in Illinois.
I am interested in a conversation about the intangibles that you can't find on a website, and only know because you've experienced it....stuff like the formal and informal culture of the school (is it all about the latest clothes and cars, or is that just a really bad stereotype)...the fit of kids into that monster sized school system (how do they adapt...what's the difference between the Northfield campus and the other (maybe Winnetka) campus?) ...class sizes...teacher effectiveness, relationships, communication and availability to students....administration effectiveness....parent involvement and communication.
Asking because our family is seriously considering a move to the North Shore, and are planning longer term within the next 4-5 years for high school. Our children are is in a small private school environment right now along the North Shore, which is suited to their academic achievements, as well as their personalities. Things like character, integrity, maturity, emotional development, conflict management, leadership, interpersonal skills, team player are all skills that matter very much to us, and have been developed in their academic environment to date and we wouldn't want to sacrifice the development of those skills in a high school that's just "too big" .....
Interested in everybody's thoughts and experiences both positive and negative.....
It is not an easy school, it is highly competitive. Yes, the other students can be mean. The fact it is so competitive can work against students for college admissions because some schools only consider class rank regardless of the High School. It is well funded with good science labs and the like.
I have been fortunate to know a fair number of faculty / staff that work(ed) at New Trier and well as several families that have had at least some of their children attend / graduate from the school.
Really very few people understand how different it is from other schools. The faculty and staff are quite different in both make-up and background than most other high schools. Their is a higher level of cooperation between the teachers and administrators than at other schools and far less reliance on the sort of "labor agreement" type rules that basically every other public school in Illinois is subject too.
That said the superficial similarity to other schools is striking -- the various "in groups" and predictable "helicopter parents" are as big a deal as at any other school, perhaps even more so now as the average family size declines (way back in the day there were LOTS of families with five or more children spread out over a decade or more, now it is rare even for families to have as many as four children go through the school and most are just a few years apart...).
The more subtle differences that really are NOT just cosmetic include the PREMIERE "post high school counseling" that TRULY does get more kids matched not just to the "best name college" but the ABSOLUTE best fit of career / life path that may include a whole range of options.
The structure of the whole "Adviser System" is yet another area that New Trier is so far away from the rest of the pack as to be off the charts-- where others schools may TRY and have some sort of formal system of to integrate kids from the world of dependancy to independance by fostering the idea of teachers as adviser the committment to the system at New Trier goes back to before WWII. The selection of faculty to serve as advisers is taken seriously by other faculty and staff. The best advisors truly are masters at getting all types of kids to develop in ways that is often unexpected. Talk to kids that went in as "middle of the pack" freshmen who then develop a unique passion / talent and without exception they talk about the role that the good advisers had in fostering that growth. Some of it comes from selection process , other from training, but a whole lot from just the combination of factors that really is pretty unique -- dozens of sports, hundred clubs, and a selection of courses that really rivals some colleges mean that when "advising" kids to try their hand at something that they have not before encountered... Dozens and dozens of kids take on a special "project" for their senior year that then becomes a "capstone" and graduation requirement -- this often leads kids to pursue studies in college that they otherwise would not have, the kind of thing that really is very impressive and hard to measure.
Downsides? Well a whole lot of kids do know each other from having literally been together since preschool. That is one "stated goal" of utilizing the Northfield campus for freshmen -- to "reorient" kids to getting know others who may not have part of the "in crowd". The degree to which this is successful is hard to judge -- obviously kids that are used to taking rigorous courses from their elementary & middle school days will simply have more opportunity to continue along that path, while kids who may not have the same talents / work habits will be taking less demanding courses. There is, however, a pretty healthy respect for the fact that some kids may be talented in the arts or atheletics and somme , not so tiny a subset among kids whose parents have largely been broadly talented, may have a wider range of talents than others.
It is also worth noting that New Trier remains among the mostly costly of areas for housing. There are towns where your housing dollar will literally get two or three times more space. That said for folks that are committed to taking advantage of the opportunies AND aware that the kids that do best are very much well supported by their whole family, decent homes can be had for under $300K. A handful of rentals are even more affordable. Of course at this price level the trade offs are generally quite obvious -- too close to traffic, too far to walk to anything, older smaller homes sorely needing updating, neighbors that may be first generation immigrants, timid about socializing and protective of their privacy.
New Trier no longer does class rankings, so that is not really an issue. Most other districts no longer give out class rankings, either.
There will be always be mean kids at any school, as well as nice ones! No surprise there.
It is a very large school, that is totally true. Most students say that having a freshman Northfield campus is a good thing, for that reason. New Trier's facitilites are okay, some are very old. Actually many of the other area schools have better facilities, but it certainly has not affected the performance of the students.
As you said, the academics are tops, but it is not for everyone. However, I refuse to believe that the social pressure is any more relaxed at any other north shore school, such as Glenbrook North or Highland Park etc. They are not that small and have similar demographics with competitive students.
I have had two nieces and two nephews go through that school. One did great and loved it, one did well, but would not want her kids to go there. One did fairly well and enjoyed it and one did poorly and left for a different environment. All were well-prepared for college. After New Trier college wasn't all that demanding.
It will really depend on your childrens' personality and learning styles and what and if any issues they may have. My kids will most likely go there, and right now they are in a much smaller school setting. After having gone to school k-8 with the same kids, they will have to get used to the largeness. Hopefully they will have the maturity and the ability by then to handle it.
I think it is a great choice for some kids and like most things, a bad choice for others. I however, moved to my area for the schools, so I appreciate the opportunity to give my kids a great public education and New Trier Township definitely offers that.
Honestly, I was very skeptical and concerned about sending my kids to NT. I never thought I would buy into the whole New Trier is so fabulous mantra. (I went to a small all-female k-12 school in another state) but am glad to say it has been fabulous for my family.
NT is a wonderful school. It offers tremendous opportunities for all types of students. Unfortunately there can be an element of "I have the latest, newest, better, best..." with some students. However that can happen anywhere and it truly seems to be more of a stereotype than reality.
The freshman campus is a nice way for the students from the different sender schools to segue in to a large high school. It is also a good time for the kids to acclimate to high school and provides another year to mature before being around older kids. It does seem that sometimes it can be an extension of grade school for some kids socially but that’s not always a bad thing. By about midway through the 2nd semester it seems most kids (especially girls) are ready to move on to the Winnetka campus.
The advisor system really does work well. It provides continuity and the feel of a smaller setting. The teacher’s effectiveness can be tremendous, it is really up to the student and of course some teachers are better than others. One of my kid’s, now at a well-known university in Boston, attributes much of her success to NT. As she puts it didn’t happen by osmosis but if you work hard take advantage what’s available at NT you’ll be poised to succeed in college. As far as availability to the students my kids have never complained that was an issue. The administration does a good job managing the volume of students and handling situations on a personal level. Parent involvement is really up to the parents. There is a plethora of opportunities to be involved if one chooses to be involved.
Our experience has been that there are countless opportunities for the students to flourish. NT offers hundreds of clubs, dozens of sports teams, intra-murals, tremendous theater opportunities, chorus and choirs and on and on.
Any high school, large or small is going to have issues just due to the fact that teenagers are teenagers. While NT isn’t perfect it really is a unique high school. My 2 grads are doing very well and attribute much of their current academic and social success to NT. My 2 that are still there are thriving. They are all very different types of kids and students (some really bright, some not, different interests, etc.) and have all done well.
From what I've seen and heard, you can not beat New Trier academically in the state. However, I would never send my kids there. They are seemingly crazy about how they do things, and a little high on themselves (not that they are the only place, but their attitude is up their with the test scores). I would rather have my kids go to Deerfield, Highland Park, etc than New Trier because their education still would be amazing and they would still be set for college
what I know, is that some of the worst people (character wise) I've met in my life in the Chicago area went to New Trier. I guess you can't teach decency. I think the competition and wealth is too much for kids who don't have the right values/morals being taught by their parents.
Chet, and others, can I just piggy back in here and ask how you would rate Lake Forest High School and NT against each other? We're looking at options to move out of Lake Bluff by the time middle school rolls around. Thanks!
From what I've seen and heard, you can not beat New Trier academically in the state. However, I would never send my kids there. They are seemingly crazy about how they do things, and a little high on themselves (not that they are the only place, but their attitude is up their with the test scores). I would rather have my kids go to Deerfield, Highland Park, etc than New Trier because their education still would be amazing and they would still be set for college
I don't how true that is, but I have heard since the opening of Northside College Prep and Walter Payton, that New Trier is now viewed as being the third best in the state academically.
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