Breck or Blake school? (license plates, design, pool)

[Freezemont]

Originally Posted by iameexc

It is rare because there is a reason. Excellent students at Breck will become just good or even so-so students at Blake. Look at Blake students’ scores in standardized tests and academic competitions. It is better in almost every area.

By the way, clearly you haven't read this thread. I believe that you are the first person to suggest that Breck students might have a hard time at Blake- the opposite has consistently been true. Countless people have accurately suggested otherwise as it's a fact. So many examples just in this thread. You don't know the schools and are being a fanboy since you are paying for Blake. I get it.

[Freezemont]

Originally Posted by iameexc

If a school only talks about diversity or too much diversity, it is not good. A school is a place to study, to learn in the first place, not a place for pure politics. I don’t see anything wrong with Blake or Wayzata, Minnetonka schools focusing more on academics. Several friends at Blake are very happy with the school management. There can be many reasons why students transfer from Blake to other schools. It could be that they just couldn’t survive at Blake academically, just like one of the previous posts mentioned. So I think using academics of that group to argue against a school is illogical. Personal attacks in public forum are not good either.

And I haven't seen one post here that suggests that a student went to Breck because they couldn't survive the academics at Blake. Please quote the post. I believe that you are hoping that people don't look for the post that you are referencing. The only discussion of not "surviving" Blake is in reference to the nasty and viscous social clicks. That's another great thing that people love about Breck. They work so hard to eliminate small time one upmanship that runs rampant at Blake. So many of the kids at Blake graduate having been fully indoctrinated into the life-long painful world of one upmanship. Very unfortunate.

[iameexc]

It is very unfortunate that this thread has been manipulated by some people since long ago in order to praise just one private school. When I first read this thread years ago, I did not have experience with any schools mentioned above. Now it is very clear how biased previous posts are. I want to warn newcomers about this fact.

Now all the parents that I know would not care to post on this online forum. When they chose between Breck and Blake, they simply base their choice on word of mouth messages and academics. Some friends chose Breck, because they were less confident about grades and didn't want their children to have too much peer pressure at school. Some parents chose Blake, because they wanted their children to have more challenges. All the Blake friends are very happy about the decisions they made. Some friends transfer their children from Wayzata public schools to Breck to avoid peer pressure. Blake has a lower acceptance rate because there are more applicants. Some friends chose Breck because they could not secure a spot at Blake for a certain grade. Breck is cheaper than Blake in terms of tuition and cost.

About two thirds of the Breck teachers that we had this year and last year are new hires since COVID. These teachers are still learning how to teach. One of my children mentioned several times that kids at school complain how disorganized a teacher is this year. We are very surprised about the high turnover rate. That being said, Breck does have very good teachers, especially the ones that have been there for a long time, hired by previous principals. Homework assignments, like English and History, can be very boring. They are very time-consuming too. Students need to spend hours on things that they already know. I heard Blake is better at individualized education.

[iameexc]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

Good for you! My family also prioritizes the wellbeing of society, which is why we send our kids to the local public schools serving our neighborhood...

I wish more would do the same, especially those concerned with matters of equity and the strength of our public institutions.

Indeed, local public schools in Minnesota are very good. I got to know quite a few teachers recently. They are very responsible for their students. I toured a few schools. I have very good feelings about them. Now COVID is gone, all the schools have in-person classes, so the difference between private and public is not much. Most of our friends send their kids to public schools.

[Freezemont]

Originally Posted by iameexc

It is very unfortunate that this thread has been manipulated by some people since long ago in order to praise just one private school. When I first read this thread years ago, I did not have experience with any schools mentioned above. Now it is very clear how biased previous posts are. I want to warn newcomers about this fact.

Now all the parents that I know would not care to post on this online forum. When they chose between Breck and Blake, they simply base their choice on word of mouth messages and academics. Some friends chose Breck, because they were less confident about grades and didn't want their children to have too much peer pressure at school. Some parents chose Blake, because they wanted their children to have more challenges. All the Blake friends are very happy about the decisions they made. Some friends transfer their children from Wayzata public schools to Breck to avoid peer pressure. Blake has a lower acceptance rate because there are more applicants. Some friends chose Breck because they could not secure a spot at Blake for a certain grade. Breck is cheaper than Blake in terms of tuition and cost.

About two thirds of the Breck teachers that we had this year and last year are new hires since COVID. These teachers are still learning how to teach. One of my children mentioned several times that kids at school complain how disorganized a teacher is this year. We are very surprised about the high turnover rate. That being said, Breck does have very good teachers, especially the ones that have been there for a long time, hired by previous principals. Homework assignments, like English and History, can be very boring. They are very time-consuming too. Students need to spend hours on things that they already know. I heard Blake is better at individualized education.

Thank you for your conspiracy warning. In fact, your claimed experience doesn't match anything in this thread, and virtually all of your comments demonstrate that you know nothing about Breck, or are just regretful for sending your kids to Blake. I'm not going to waste time addressing the nonsense that you claim to have heard and, frankly, judging by your grammar, I suspect that you are a student at Blake. The bottom line is that anyone who is considering sending their kids to a private school should absolutely visit both schools (as well as others - I've heard great things about SPA). Breck is more rigorous, and it's more difficult to get in. If you are a parent who believes in a lot of homework, Breck is a great choice. If you want your kids to have more time for extracurricular activities, then SPA or public school would be worth checking out. I would, without a doubt, choose a public school over Blake. It just takes a visit or two to realize that the small time one upmanship at Blake can easily be a formative experience that leads to a life of insecurity. Also, regardless of the school you pick, if standardized test scores are important to you, I would strongly recommend paying for an outside course. Blake pushes these courses on parents, while Breck focuses more on helping students to be exceptional and unique people, rather than just focusing on the game of test taking. It's easy to learn how to get a great score on the SAT and ACT but for me, this needs to be in addition to my children being nurtured into the most exceptional people who they can be.

I know that this has been covered multiple times already, but it's worth reiterating that Blake cares a lot about rankings, and Breck doesn't get involved in playing games for rankings. This is relevant because the top ranking groups use feedback *from parents* to deciding the rankings. As Blake pushes this hard with parents, they end up being ranked well. The bottom line is to did your homework. Blake was a pretty good school back in the time when diversity and understanding people of different backgrounds didn't matter as much. To be competitive these days, having some exposure to these things is essential, and the students who come out of Breck are extremely well rounded. The person who I am responding to has made clear that they don't value diversity, so readers should draw their own conclusions.

[iameexc]

Thank you for your reply. I heard you. Again good schools focus on the quality of their teaching and work, instead of arguments on online forums.

[Freezemont]

Agree!

[iameexc]

Some people are just good at deluding themselves.

[Freezemont]

Originally Posted by iameexc

Some people are just good at deluding themselves.

You are unable to quit. Clearly you haven't read any of the years of posts here. You are embarrassing yourself with your lack of knowledge. It's also clear that you are either a Blake student, a Blake parent who regrets their decision, or a parent who couldn't get their student into Breck. It's unfortunate that your unhappiness has led you to try to distort the reality that is very well documented in this thread.

People, just visit the schools - these things are clear, as so many have outlined.

[iameexc]

Don't be fooled by the admission team.

https://patch.com/minnesota/eagan/li...e-universities

https://www.polarislist.com/best-hig...s-in-minnesota

Please take into account the size of the schools when you interpret the data. The gap between Blake and Breck is bigger now than 2018 for obvious reasons. Let's hope no one is going to make fake data after viewing this post.