Topic: Columbus: Private Schools News & Discussion

[yokosuka1985]

Does anyone have their children in private schools in Columbus? or in the past? If so, do you have an recommendations? Thank you

[jaa]

Does anyone have their children in private schools in Columbus? or in the past? If so, do you have an recommendations? Thank you


You should check out either Academy or Columbus School for Girls.

[BUCKEYE54]

I know st. charles is always talked about in high regards if you have boys as is the wellington school for either.

[WalkerEvans]

Not yet, but with our son turning two in a few weeks, it's something we'll be looking into soon.

We live on the Near East Side, and the CPS schools he's currently lined up for aren't the best.

We are going to look into alternative and lottery CPS schools first though. Many of those are great.

Private Schooling is the backup plan, but we're hoping for lottery.

[Gramarye]

I second the suggestion of Columbus Academy, but I also note that it's the most expensive of any Columbus private schools I know.  If Catholic schools are on your radar, Bishop Watterson would probably get my vote, though the Columbus Catholic school options are fairly thin compared with Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Or you could just move into Grandview Heights, send your child to a top-tier public school system, and still live a fairly urban lifestyle.

[kingfish out of water]

St. James Montessori School off First Ave between Summit and Hamlet is highly regarded.

Still, don't write off all of Columbus' Public Schools; we successfully lotteried into Indianola Informal Alternative K-8, and absolutely love it. Columbus also has a French Immersion school called Ecole Kenwood. There's another dynamite school our friends go to, though the name escapes me. I'll dig it up.

In addition to the Grandview route, you may also consider Upper Arlington. Their schools typically top the ratings, for what those are worth.

[UrbanSurfin]

Not yet, but with our son turning two in a few weeks, it's something we'll be looking into soon.

We live on the Near East Side, and the CPS schools he's currently lined up for aren't the best.

We are going to look into alternative and lottery CPS schools first though. Many of those are great.

Private Schooling is the backup plan, but we're hoping for lottery.

Lots of good Columbus public schools. As KOOW notes, Indianola Alternative is highly regarded. I'm a fan of nearby Clinton Elementary, where my three sons went and my wife teaches. There's also the French Immersion school. Lot of lottery choices.

[GCrites80s]

You might dig Mansion Day School on E. Broad across from Franklin Park. It's a part of the Learning Unlimited system that I attended in the '80s near campus and later at the corner Bethel and Godown Roads. I feel that those schools opened my mind and helped me become a free thinker. I had to bolt to public school during 4th grade because we lived in Groveport and the commute was a killer (the Mansion Day School wasn't open then). I don't think it's super cheap, though.

[jking222222]

I second the suggestion of Columbus Academy, but I also note that it's the most expensive of any Columbus private schools I know.  If Catholic schools are on your radar, Bishop Watterson would probably get my vote, though the Columbus Catholic school options are fairly thin compared with Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Or you could just move into Grandview Heights, send your child to a top-tier public school system, and still live a fairly urban lifestyle.

I guess I don't know how many or how high quality Cleveland and Cincy catholic high schools are but I always thought Columbus had it pretty good HS-wise: St. Charles, Watterson, Ready, Hartley and De Sales are all in Columbus. Lots more outside of Columbus (Newark Catholic, Rosecrans et al)

I went to St. Charles and I would probably recommend it.  It's certainly different than most schools for many reasons - It's near downtown, all boys, dress code, demanding curriculum, awesome old building - used to be a seminary, very wide range of students (lots of scholarships handed out and draws from all over columbus).  It will certainly prepare the student for college.  I never ended up getting a 4 year degree, but I can assure you most classes I took in college were tame compared to St. Charles.  The freshmen/sophmore college workload was about the same as my junior year at St. Charles.

St. Charles was also my downfall though. Hard to explain I suppose, but it's a different life, different people, different ways. My first week there felt very odd and if you aren't used to catholic schools, you'll definitely feel outside everyone else.

Columbus Academy I've only heard about. I don't know that I would want or I will want my kids to go to school in a secluded rich suburb where there's not much diversity.  I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got.

[Gramarye]

Those are all the Columbus Catholic schools, and more (Newark Catholic is a ways off and Rosecrans is all the way out in Zanesville).  Many of those are comparatively small.  Compare Cincinnati:

- Xavier
- Elder
- Moeller
- Ursuline
- St. Ursula
- Roger Bacon
- Mt. Notre Dame
- Seton
- Mother of Mercy
- Purcell Marian
- McNicholas
- McAuley
- Summit Country Day

And if you go out into outlying communities--paralleling Newark Catholic and Rosecrans--you've got Hamilton Badin and probably some others I don't know.

Back on the more immediate topic:  I second the recommendation of Upper Arlington if you've just looking for a top-notch school, but if you're also looking for a more urban experience and lifestyle, I stand by my recommendation of Grandview Heights.  UA and GH are both inner-ring suburbs, but GH feels much more urban--much more a part of Columbus, honestly--than does UA, which feels somewhat more of a sheltered enclave (as does Bexley, another inner-ring suburb that has a top-notch high school).