Traditional Private Schools

The answer to that questions hangs on whether you look at statistics or community. Having 10% of your student population from a certain ethnic group does not necessarily mean a diverse school community. Diversity is more than numbers and statistics. Diversity is an attitude.

Teaching children to be tolerant and accepting of people and views which are different from their own is a huge task. It requires teamwork. Parents, administration and teachers set the tone. Nothing will be accomplished without the cooperation of these three groups.

Teaching children to be tolerant means getting involved and setting the right kind of example. Getting involved is not the same as sitting on the sidelines and observing what children are saying and doing. Getting involved means addressing issues of tolerance and diversity in the home and in the classroom.

The Past

Decades ago private schools were infamous for being elitist and exclusive. If you were Jewish or if your skin color was something other than white, you probably were not going to be admitted to a private school if you even dared to apply. Fortunately that has changed. Private schools have come to understand their leadership role in creating an inclusive, accepting community of students, teachers, staff and parents. Now the push is on to heighten that understanding of others and how they live with many fine initiatives such as The Institute for Student Leaders sponsored by NAIS. Private schools are proud of their diversity which truly is fact and not

What's private school really like? Find out from people who have been there. Lorene Cary's Black Ice makes compelling reading. She was one of the first African-Americans to attend an elite private school. It was a different world from the one she grew up in back in Philadelphia. The classic novel is J.D.Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. As fresh today as it was when written back in 1951, Catcher opens on Holden's last day in prep school. Fast forward a few years and Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep sits atop the New York Times Best Seller List. These books are well worth a read. Enjoy!

Academy X by Andrew Trees
ISBN-13: 978-1596911772

From the publisher:

"The Nanny Diaries meets Lucky Jim in this devilish satire of the culture of power and privilege at a New York City private school.

John Spencer, an English teacher at the elite Academy X, is struggling through the final weeks of the spring semester. But keeping his students focused on the genius and wit of Jane Austen is the least of his problems. His crush on the sexy librarian is beginning to warp his judgment. An unexpected promotion leaves him drowning in a sea of academic intrigue. Pushy parents demanding higher grades lurk behind every corner and a favorite pupil suddenly reveals a cunning and sophistication far beyond her years. With each bumbling effort to keep everyone happy (and get his girl!), John digs himself deeper into trouble, until his very career is at stake.

The oldest American private school is Collegiate School in Manhattan founded in 1628. Not surprisingly, the oldest schools are concentrated in the east in what were the original thirteen colonies. Most of the founders of these early schools were principled men and women with lofty ideals and purposes. Take John Phillips, for example.

"The founder of Phillips Exeter Academy defined its mission more than two centuries ago. 'Above all,' John Phillips stated, 'it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind.' ....Academy Mission Statement

The Ursuline Academy was founded in New Orleans in 1727 because the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula were "Convinced that the education of women was essential to the development of a civilized, spiritual and just society." These schools established so long ago are a lasting tribute to the vision of these early founders. Here then in their own words are the oldest schools.

1628 - Collegiate School

"Collegiate School, a day school for boys, is the oldest independent school in the United States. Tracing its origins to 1628, the school was established by the Dutch West India Company and the Classis of Amsterdam, the parent ecclesiastical body of the

What do Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Alec Baldwin, Greer Garson, Rodney Dangerfield, Sean Connery, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton and George C. Scott all have in common? They have made movies set in private schools.

There are several classic movies which are set in private schools. Aside from lovely shots of manicured campuses and grand buildings, most of these films don't represent private schools accurately. But then, that was not their intent.

For example, the Harry Potter series gives a romanticized view of life in an English boarding school. The dining hall and faculty gowns still exist in many English schools. Everything else is delightful fantasy. Goodbye Mr. Chips! is a two tissue tear jerker. Dead Poets Society always leaves a lump in your throat. School Ties shows the kind of nasty prejudice which was the norm way back when.

Hollywood tends to view private schools the way media does in general. It plays private schools as bastions of privilege and wealth. Military schools are an easy backdrop for shoot 'em ups. In any case there is much more to private schools than those themes. Here are a few titles to add to your collection.

The List

• Angel (1984) with Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn
• Anne of Avonlea (1987) with Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Marilyn Lightstone
• Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) with Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette
• Charlie Bartlett (2007) with Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis
• Chasing Holden (2003) with DJ

Do you prefer to peruse a book rather than going online to find private schools? If so, there are some excellent guides to private schools available. While most of the information contained in these guides can be found online, the truth is that most of us do not have the time nor the expertise to do all that research involved. If you are beginning a serious search for private schools for your children, then buy one of these guidebooks. Use it as a reference tool.

Besides the cost factor, the only real disadvantage to this method of researching schools is that the information is frequently out of date.

• Applying to Private Schools in NYC
• The Manhattan Directory of Private Nursery Schools, 6th Ed.
• The Manhattan Family Guide to Private Schools and Selective Public Schools, 5th Ed.
• Private Independent Schools 2007
• The Kindergarten Wars
• The Parent's Guide to Private Schools in Hawaii: Oahu
• The Whitney Guide To Los Angeles Private Schools
• Private K-8 Schools of San Francisco & Marin
• Private High Schools of the San Francisco Bay Area
• Georgia Irvin's Guide to Schools, 2nd Edition: Metropolitan Washington