A Website for stamford parents
We are fortunate that there are some great private schools around Stamford. Our own children started out in the SPS (Stamford Public School) system but we found out during our childrens elementary years that their academic education was greatly lacking. That was due mostly to their particular district elementary school and its principal, some of the (uninspired) teachers they had, big class sizes, heterogeneous grouping (and the gap between top and bottom performing kids can be very big in a district school). So we supplemented at home and decided to apply for private schools. We were lucky that our oldest got a spot in our preferred school the first time we applied. But it took a couple more years for our other kids to get spots as well because of the limited or non-existent number of openings.
Be aware that most schools have entry points where there are a larger number of spots open. Those often happen in PK, K, and 1st grade for the elementary school level. For middle school 5th and 6th grade are entry points, and 9th and 10th grade for high school. All other school years admittance is only by attrition. Some school years and grades have no or only limited attrition and getting a spot is very competitive. So if you have more than one sibling it can take time and you may have to apply for a number of years.
Open houses are usually in the fall extending into January. Most schools have a January deadline for their applications. Sometime in January and February entrance exams are administered. If you are lucky and you are applying to more than one school the exams will be the same and your child will only have to take it once. We applied to three schools and all three schools used a different exam! Usually beginning of March you will get an admittance letter or a "thank you for applying but unfortunately we don't have a spot for your child but he can be waitlisted letter". We found that there is a big difference how schools handle communication with parents. Most outstanding is Pear Tree Point school. Regardless, if your child gets accepted or not, the headmaster will meet with you and go over the test results of your child. They will tell you were there are deficiencies and what your child's strengths are. New Canaan Country School and the Long Ridge School were in contact with us the whole time vs. KLHT were we never got more than a "We are sorry letter".
Prices vary dramatically. The catholic schools usually run around $5,000 - $7,000. The Jewish schools are more around $15,000. The independent schools are in the $25,000-$30,000 range. This are ballpark prices and may change in the current economic climate and from school to school. Some schools list their tuition on their web site. Other schools you will need to contact directly to find out what tuition they charge.
Some of the schools, listed in the table, we have personal experience with and for some we got feed back through friends and acquaintances. But, please keep in mind these are biased reviews (we have a strong emphasis on academics) and not every family will have the same expectations, preferences and experiences.
| The Children School in Stamford |
Alternative school with small classes but as a pre-school on
the expensive side. Pre-K through grade 2. A lot of the kids
go to the independent schools in the area after leaving the
Children's School. |
The Long Ridge School in North Stamford |
Independent school. Pre-K through 5. Small elementary school with small class sizes. But they have an unusual set up were two grades get taught together in non-core subjects. They were on the less expensive side but their tuition has risen dramatically in the last years. We have friends there that are happy but bemoan the fact of steeply rising tuitions. |
| Pear Tree Point School in Darien |
Independent elementary school. Pre-K through grade 5.
|
Greenwich Academy and Brunswick in Greenwich |
Independent, college prep day schools. Pre-K through 12. Greenwich Academy is an all girls school and their "affiliate" Brunswick the all boys counterpart. Both are in the independent school price range (around $30,000/year) and very competitive to get in. |
| New Canaan Country School |
Independent school. Pre-K through grade 9. In the Lower School (1-4 grade) there is more an emphasis on children enjoying their childhood and community building and less on rigorous academics. In middle and upper school the focus shifts more to academics. Classes are small but grouping out in core subjects starts in grade 6. Out of personal experience we can highly recommend this school. But we also have friends that had a bad experience while applying. |
Greens Farms Academy by Westport |
Independent school. K-12. Strong academics and a lot of kids from independent elementary and middle schools move on to Greens Farms or Hopkins. We do not have any personal experience with Hopkins or Greens Farms but we have a number of friends in the area whose kids go to those schools and they are very happy with there. |
| St. Cecilia Elementary School in Stamford |
Catholic elementary school. They run on a tight budget. Tuition is substantially lower than at independent schools. Even though they do not have the same "amenities" (e.g. gym and lunch room) like some of the other private and public schools they provide a good academic education. We have a number of friends whose kids attend St. Cecilia and they are all happy (as far as you can be happy with your school!) |
Hopkins School in New Haven | Grades 7-12 college prep day school. Very competitive. |
| Trinity Catholic Middle and High School in Stamford | The middle and high school part to St. Cecilia. | ||
| King & Low Heywood Thomas in Stamford |
Independent school. Pre-K through grade 12. Academics at KLHT seem to improve. From what we were told that wasn't always so. Our personal experiences with KLHT are limited to applying and the unsatisfying communication process in regards to it. We only have one set of friends who went there and left after some unpleasant experiences. |
St. Lukes in Wilton | Grades
5-12 college prep day school. We don't know anybody that goes there currently but we may consider this school as well as Hopkins, Greens Farms and Brunswick once our kids go into high school. |