Opinions: compare Woodward and Westminster for AA kids? (Atlanta: fit in, safe neighborhoods)

[blackrabbit]

Originally Posted by 786AA

From the research I did (speaking with parents at both schools, talking to other Atlanta families about the reputations and reading up on them), it seems Westminster is hands down the top school in Atlanta, and in the Southeast. AIS is great, but we are already a global family and thus did not need the "global" aspect of AIS as much. Westminster has a strong focus on academics, more so than at other top schools, and I like that. If I am paying almost $20K/yr, I want academics to be the main focus. Their campus is excellent, and looks more like a private college than a school. They have also been around much longer than AIS, and I like private schools with history and time on their side.

Had we not gotten into Westminster, we would have been very excited to go to AIS, and we did have a tough choice to make.

Do you think Westminister is easier to get into than AIS? Or is it better to apply to both and see which one says yes?

[lastminutemom]

If you are committed to private school, you should probably apply to both and more.

[blackrabbit]

That what I thought. Thanks.

[CMMom]

They're both pretty tough to get into, especially if you're not applying for an "expansion year" (e.g., kindergarten, 3rd or 5th grade depending on the school). I'd say that those two are at the top of the heap in terms of number of applicants and selectivity.

For similar schools in the same geographic area, consider Lovett, Pace, Trinity (through 6th grade only), Holy Innocents', Galloway, St. Martin's.

[786AA]

Both Westminster and AIS are hard to get into, as are the other top schools. I echo Lastminutemom's advice about applying to several, although the applications do take a toll and the process is ridiculous. At AIS, we tried to tap into as many connections as we could find (even though we had to search hard and long since we are new to ATL). Having some people closely connected to the school to put in a good word prob helps.

[tjonz]

isn't that ridiculous that you have to have "connections" to get your child in a so called good school ?

[CAMademoiselle]

Unfortunately, that seems to be the case everywhere. In San Francisco, it's who you know as well for many of the private schools... even starting at preschool!

I'm concerned about Atlanta because we know no one other than our family members who don't have children and have no history there. But, my son is quite amazing and I'm hoping his interviews go well. My daughter will be 4 next year and also has a very sweet dispositon.

We are also applying to AIS and I spoke with the Director of Admissions, who was very informative, and very open to work around our schedule (since we are out of state) for testing and such. I do have some concern about their bilingual program (we are a French bilingual family) as the way it's set-up is very different than bilingual schools here, but we shall see.

I am also considering applying to The Children's School and The Atlanta School, both of which give me the impression are similar to schools in our area. In general, what is the ethnic make-up of Atlanta private schools, or does it depend on whether it's a Christian or Catholic School?

Thanks!

[CMMom]

Although I wouldn't say that it hurts to have "connections," I have to disagree that it's necessary. The Atlanta private school scene is very competitive simply in terms of number of applicants, particularly the most popular schools (Westminster, Lovett, AIS, Woodward). Siblings and children of alumni generally do get priority, but they don't automatically get in by any means. I have seen several families with older children at Westminster, in particular, whose second child was wait-listed or outright rejected.

Most of the "elite" private schools in the area have minority populations hovering between 15-20%. They are all aiming for more, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics. There are a number of Asian and Asian Indian students at those schools, and I think the numbers are increasing. Several of the schools receive funding from the Goizueta Foundation, which offers scholarship money for Hispanic students.

Hope that helps!

[CAMademoiselle]

Totally helpful. Thanks, CMMom!

[Crazy Virgo Child]

Originally Posted by acamus222

Hi folks, I'm trying to find out what the differences are between the experience for African American kids at these two schools (Woodward Academy and Westminster).

1) Each school reports nearly identical numbers of "students of color", but anecdotally, people say that Woodward has not just more, but many more AA students than Westminster. Is that true?

2) Much more importantly, for our family, it's not all about numbers. At which school do parents and kids really blend and could not care less about race, as opposed to merely co-existing and awkwardly tolerating each other? Either? Both?

3) Are AA students evenly distributed performance-wise at both of these schools? I'm looking for a school with parents and teachers that don't expect or tolerate different outcomes when students are given the same resources.

I would really like to hear informed opinions (such as from those with kids at these schools, or who know people there, or have access to detailed statistics, or who have at least visited the schools).

THANK YOU!

^^^

I’m an AA and I went to Westminster for one year, my sixth grade year, overall I liked it; I would have stayed but my father had a disagreement with Coach Bird the boys High School Basketball coach that happened actually during the summer at Westminster Basketball camp, and the incident itself was totally unrelated to the school. I always wanted to go to Woodward as a lot of my friends went to Woodward back then, but it was too far as Westminster was only like 5 minutes from my house. As far the different races co-existing at Westminster I would say it was more about whose parents had more money than race itself, I never experienced any problems. I ended up going to an APS school for the rest of middle and high school and looking back on it now I’m glad my dad made the decision he did. The schools I went to- Sutton Middle and North Atlanta High were no where near Westminster in terms of academics, but the experiences I had and the friends I met at both I wouldn’t trade for the world. GO WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!