La Pietra and other private schools

[MyopicJoe]

Hello HT'ers,

My oldest is applying to various private schools. What have you heard about La Pietra (and other private schools)? Iolani seems to pride itself in competing against Punahou with less financial resources. The alumnus of a another private school told me it was a great place to learn white collar crime. I've heard a lot of unsubstantiated rumors about this or that school also.

Feel free to PM me if you rather be discrete.

Thanks in advance,
MJ

[anapuni808]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

well, I hope your oldest is a girl! La Pietra is a very good school, but like all schools (public/private/charter) there will be good & bad. You have to just go with what you are comfortable with, what your daughter feels when she is on the campus. La Pietra & Sacred Hearts are both schools that promote a very positive image of females and promote community service and scholastic skills. No matter what school she attends = her development will also depend on her home environment. With a strong home - the school can only teach, it can't influence beyond what the student is taught at home.

Good Luck to her (and your family).

[MyopicJoe]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

Thanks for the good advice, anapuni808. And yes, my oldest is a girl. If it was a boy, he'd be in seventh heaven (at least after he gets past the "girls are icky" phase).

:_D


IIRC, some Scared Hearts girls did well in an air rifle competition? Girls w/ guns = win!

[tutusue]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

I agree with anapuni. Both of my girls are La Pietra grads...when it was known as HSG! While I felt a bit guilty about enrolling them in an all girls school (I loved my coed days!), both told me separately, and after they graduated, that they LOVED the all girls atmosphere as it helped them to keep their minds on their studies! They also loved wearing uniforms. No early morning fashionista decisions...except for Aloha Fridays! Small classes were a big advantage.

Both got great educations at La Pietra, went on to the colleges of their choices and ended up in great careers...so great neither ever came home! Shoot, if I'd known that was going to happen I woulda home schooled them and failed 'em!

My girls graduated in '85 and '86 and still feel bonded to the school. Obviously, it was a really positive experience for both.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

My girls graduated in '85 and '86 and still feel bonded to the school. Obviously, it was a really positive experience for both.

I'm glad to hear it was such a good experience for both of them. My daughter is smitten with La Pietra. My wife and I can see a lot of value with the intimate setting, no boys, uniform, etc. The only downside, as with any private school, is the cost of tuition; especially with our current financial situation. They're not offering any full scholarships this year. Hopefully the financial aid will make things manageable.

Shoot, if I'd known that was going to happen I woulda home schooled them and failed 'em!

LOL
My condolences on their successful careers
xD

The alumnus of a another private school told me it was a great place to learn white collar crime.

By "it" I meant a school that's NOT Iolani.

[TuNnL]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

La Pietra & Sacred Hearts are both schools that promote a very positive image of females and promote community service and scholastic skills.

I’m sure this is true. However, back when I was a senior in “da pahblik schoo,” I dated a girl who was attending Sacred Hearts. We had quite a philosophical discussion (at least for kids our age) about whether or not an all-girls school prepares a student for what she will encounter in the “real world.” I think it’s fair to say my public-education bias as well as my hormones were key in taking one particular side of the debate. Suffice to say, I was apparently convincing enough, that she transferred to Kaiser High School the next year.

We never did have a ‘post-discussion’ comparing and contrasting the two systems, as both of us moved on with our lives and the tall blonde of yesteryear now lives in Canada.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

By "it" I meant a school that's NOT Iolani.

Let me take a guess. They're talking about Mid-Pac, right?

[Nords]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

I'm glad to hear it was such a good experience for both of them. My daughter is smitten with La Pietra. My wife and I can see a lot of value with the intimate setting, no boys, uniform, etc. The only downside, as with any private school, is the cost of tuition; especially with our current financial situation. They're not offering any full scholarships this year. Hopefully the financial aid will make things manageable.

Considering the cost of having her miserable at a school she can't stand, the LaPietra tuition is worth every penny. It's always easier to go back to the public system than it is to "upgrade" to private.

We watched a gifted & talented girl at our public elementary school get parentally coerced into Kamehameha. I don't know if it's the commute, the parental influence, or the kids she's hanging out with... but her GPA has plummeted to less than half of what it used to be. Meanwhile he younger sister somehow "failed" to make the cut on the Kam tests and is much happier at the public high school.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

We had quite a philosophical discussion (at least for kids our age) about whether or not an all-girls school prepares a student for what she will encounter in the “real world.”

Yeah, we've been debating that issue too. I think it depends on the girl; how much self-esteem and confidence she has, and whether being sheltered from boys would help or hinder that.

It's such a coup, when a public school boy dates an all-girl private school girl. /high-five.

I hope I don't regret that statement when my girls get older...

Let me take a guess. They're talking about Mid-Pac, right?

Haha. This guy wasn't from Mid-Pac, and I won't mention the school. Suffice to say, whenever you have rich kids with little parental guidance or oversight, they can be just as rotten as any street thug, maybe worse.

Considering the cost of having her miserable at a school she can't stand, the LaPietra tuition is worth every penny.

Yeah, you're right, it's all about fit (with the school, faculty, and other students). I've known successful coworkers who did fine going through the public school system. As anapuni808 said, home life is a big factor.


La Pietra was the first school we visited, so I thought my girl's enthusiasm was mostly excitement at something new. She interviewed at Punahou and she said it was ok (parents didn't get to sit in). Parents are part of the La Pietra interview, and my daughter did a lot better than I expected (she's normally shy, but I guess a kid's job is to surprise their parents). After the interview she said, "I feel very relaxed. It's like I fit perfectly here."

I've debated how sincere that statement was, but I think 1) considering the topic I should take it at face value, 2) if it is manipulation (and it is), the fact that she's making the effort counts for something.

So now it's a matter of figuring out how to pay for it all. We can probably mange it, since her younger sister will still be in public school for a few years. I have to tell you, filling out the financial aid application along with the tight deadlines is very stressful. They need a Turbo Tax for financial aid

[StinkyTheGrump]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

...and the tall blonde of yesteryear now lives in Canada.

She had to move to another country! Her experience with you was that bad??!

[Amati]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

We've been in and out of private and public schools, depending on the grade level and the choices. In the younger years, it was pretty much up to us as parents (although one of our children simply refused to cooperate with the interview process at one of the private schools, they did not want to go there and that was that).

But by high school, the student definitely should have a say. I think that a student who is placed in a school where they don't want to be will definitely do worse than if they are allowed to attend where they want. Motivation of the student is 99% of the battle. If they have a preference, listen to why and try to work with it if possible.

Some private schools are great. But it is not a guarantee of success just because it is a private school. Listen to the [older] student, and work from there. Public school might be a better decision for some.

[Nords]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

After the interview she said, "I feel very relaxed. It's like I fit perfectly here."
I've debated how sincere that statement was, but I think 1) considering the topic I should take it at face value, 2) if it is manipulation (and it is), the fact that she's making the effort counts for something.

We saw that same reaction to several college campuses, but one of them was particularly strong. (Can't blame her-- we felt it too.) Student motivation shot up another order of magnitude after that visit.

We know two families whose kids were essentially crowbarred into colleges because Mom & Dad felt they were the best fit. In both cases it lasted less than a semester. Masterful examples of passive-aggressive non-violent protest that would've made Ghandi proud. Everything worked out OK for one of them, seven years later, but the other is still working on college via the Taco Bell Shift Manager Life Experience Program.

So now it's a matter of figuring out how to pay for it all. We can probably mange it, since her younger sister will still be in public school for a few years. I have to tell you, filling out the financial aid application along with the tight deadlines is very stressful. They need a Turbo Tax for financial aid

I'd like to tell you that it gets better for college applications. Yep, I'd sure like to tell you that. It's not rocket science but it's not easy, and even though everyone claims to be sharing website databases there's still a lot of faxing and envelope-stuffing.

I'm supposed to be filling out our federal tax returns right now for the college's financial aid program, with a 1 March deadline, and we won't even have all of the supporting info for another two months. But I'm not going to let data stand in the way of writing up the lab report.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: La Pietra and other private schools

She had to move to another country! Her experience with you was that bad??!

Heh heh. Must have been!

Motivation of the student is 99% of the battle.

...

Public school might be a better decision for some.

Good points, Amati. Motivation is very important, and what's motivating to a parent might not be the same for the child.

I think public school would have been better for me. My parents were immigrants. They struggled and sacrificed to send me to private school. I ended up being the poor kid in a middle class school and got teased a lot. Charismatic kids can handle it better than shy types like me.

Masterful examples of passive-aggressive non-violent protest that would've made Ghandi proud.

Haha, yeah. Our daughter dutifully went through the Punahou interview. I wonder if she told them she tortures stray animals

I'm supposed to be filling out our federal tax returns right now for the college's financial aid program, with a 1 March deadline, and we won't even have all of the supporting info for another two months. But I'm not going to let data stand in the way of writing up the lab report.

Yeah. Gathering all the paperwork is a chore. My former employer was a little slow on the W-2 form. Had to do some phone calling.