A GUIDE TO
Education
Benefits of a Private Education PRIVATE SCHOOLS BENEFIT STUDENTS BY fostering academic excellence and high achievement, educating the whole child within a values-based setting, and preparing youngsters for success in life. If you want a caring, challenging, nurturing, safe and secure environment for your child—a place where he/she can learn and succeed—consider a private school. Private schools are known for the high standards they set. They engage students and spark the desire to learn. Teachers expect excellence from students, and students tend to live up to those expectations. The high expectations and academic rigor help account for above-average levels of student success, including higher college-going rates. If you’re looking to help your child reach his/her potential in a school committed to excellence, consider a private school. • Private school students generally perform higher than
their public school counterparts on standardized achievement tests. • Private high schools typically have more demanding graduation requirements than do public high schools. • Private school graduates are more likely than their peers from public schools to have completed advanced-level courses in three Academic subject areas • Private school students are more likely than public school students to complete a bachelor’s or advanced degree by their mid-20s Private school students scored well above the national average in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP scores provide an immediate measure of student achievement, but the report also presents a longterm measure: attainment of a college degree. “Students who had attended private school in 8th grade were twice as likely as those who had attended public
HOLY GHOST GHOST PR R REP A Inde penden An nt C attholiic Colleg ge Prep p S School fo or Boys
2429 Bristol Pike | Bensal em, PA 19020 | 215.639.0811
visit|learn|apply pp y w w w. h o l y g h o s t p re p . o r g / a d m i s s i o n s
Nazareth Academy High School Hosts Open House Visit Nazareth Academy High School as we host our Open House on Saturday, October 14, 2017, from 9 AM to 12 PM. Prospective students and their families will have an opportunity to tour, meet with students and faculty, and attend a concert. Representatives will be available to answer admissions questions and accept registration for the 7th & 8th Grade Game Night on Friday, October 20 at 7 PM, as well as the 8th Grade Entrance/Scholarship Exam held on Saturday, October 28 from 7:45 AM to 12 PM. Nazareth is the only private, Catholic high school for girls in Philadelphia. We have a 9:1 student to faculty ratio and a strong academic curriculum with a variety of music, sports, and extra-curricular activities that enables our students to be well-rounded, faith-based women. For more information about Nazareth Academy High School, located at 4001 Grant Avenue in Philadelphia, call 215.268.1026 or visit at www.nazarethacademyhs.org.
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4001 Grant Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19114 215.268.1026 • www.nazarethacademyhs.org.
Princeton Day School
PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL
opportunities of a lifetime. every day.
An independent, coeducational d u ational ati l school for students from f m PreK fr PreK K through Grade 12.
Princeton Day School’s mission is to nurture the mind, the body, and the character of each student. Our coeducational, college-preparatory day school offers students a creative and challenging academic experience within an intimate, supportive learning environment. The classes are small and instruction personalized, and the school itself creates a strong sense of community. We enroll 950 students from Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade, and are located on a 106-acre campus two miles from the center of Princeton. Please contact us for information about our application process and our strong needbased financial aid program. For the 2017, 2018 academic year, Princeton Day School is launching an ambitious new STEAM initiative, which includes a revitalized interdisciplinary curriculum with courses in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, as well as a new state-of-the-art STEAM facility. For more about Princeton Day School, visit our website at www.pds.org. Opportunities of a Lifetime. Every Day.
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www.pds.org 609-924-6700 x1200 650 Great Road, Princeton, NJ 08540
school to have completed a bachelor’s or higher degree by their mid-20s (52 versus 26 percent).” And note this: For students from the lowest quartile of socioeconomic status (SES), the advantage of having attended a private school was even more pronounced. Those students were nearly four times more likely than their public school counterparts to have attained a bachelor’s or higher degree. Private school attendance even seems to overcome a parent’s lowexpectations for a child. “For students whose mother’s expectation (in 8th grade) was for them to attain an associates degree or less, those who had attended private school completed a bachelor’s or higher degree at a rate about our times that of public school students (30 versus 7 percent).”
650 Great Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 609-924-6700 x1200 • www.pds.org
The report explains that students from a low SES family who had “completed a calculus course in high school were much more likely than those who had not studied calculus to earn a degree by their mid-20s.” It also notes that students in private schools “are more likely than those in public schools to take challenging courses like calculus, and private schools are more likely to require them.” Specifically, private high schools require more courses for graduation than public high schools in math, science, social studies, foreign language, and computer science, and the coursework is more likely to include advanced courses in science (chemistry, physic, advanced biology), mathematics (trigonometry, precalculus, calculus), and foreign language (a third year or more). SUMMER
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PR RIINCETON AC CA ADEMYof the Sacred Heart
Creative. Compassionate. Courageous.
CON NG NGRA GRA AT A T TUL LA AT TIIONS to the Class ass of of 2 2017 7 on earning arniin admission adm to the th foll f owing secondary seco schools: schools Avon Old Farms | B Berkshire erk e School S | Blair Blai Academy Academ | Cho Choate hoate Rosemary Hall Culver Academy A |D Delbarton el School S | Episcopal Episcopal High H School ho | Geeorge School hool Th Gunn The ner n eryy School S hool h ol | Th The Hillll Schooll Holy Ghost otP Preparatoryy Sch hool | Th The Hun n School | K Kent ent School Kimball Union Academy | L Loo oomis is C Chaff ha h haffee SSchool ho | Lake Forrest Academy A The Lawrenceville School | Merc ercer ersburg bu burg Academy ad | Millbrook School Milton Academy A | Notre D Dam am me Hi Hiigh igggh h School S ool | The Pennington School Phillips Exeter A Academy c |P Princeton rin in ncet nceton c tton nD Day a School | P Peddie e School Rutgers Preparatory ry School Scho | The SSalisbury ali School hoool | SSolebury School South Kent School | St. And A Andrew’s dr w s School | SSt. t JJoseph’s osep ph Preparatory School Tabor Academy | Th The Ta Taft Scho School ool | We Westminster School PRINCETON A AC CA C ADEMY of the Sacred Heart 1128 Great Ro oad Princeton, NJ 08540 www.princetonacademy w. y..org
We bring out the best in booyys. An independent school for boys in kindergarten through grade 8.
Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart The future could not look brighter at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart. This spring the school launched its fiveyear strategic plan, Epic Vision: Soaring with Heart. Over the course of a year, Princeton Academy's Strategic Planning Committee collaborated with all members of the community to build a shared vision and initiatives to guide the school. The Princeton Academy Hawks are ready to soar! The vision set forth for 2017-2021 is indeed bold, "Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart in 2021: Leading a national reinvention of boys' education for a new generation of enlightened men." Four pillars will guide the initiatives driving the success of the plan: Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Identity and Loyalty, Thought Leadership and Strategic Growth. Back in February, the community mobilized to make its vision a reality by drafting over 150 initiatives, which the School Leadership Team worked enthusiastically to coalesce into 70 meaningful initiatives spanning all four pillars of the
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plan. "Herein lies how community-wide collaboration produces bold vision, strategic thinking and action implementation," said Headmaster Rik Dugan. Princeton Academy was founded 18 years ago and is poised to cement its established reputation for educating boys in the Princeton area. An independent school for boys in Kindergarten through Grade 8, Princeton Academy’s mission is to develop young men with active and creative minds, a sense of understanding and compassion for others, and the courage to act on their beliefs. The school’s mission is augmented by a philosophy rooted in the 200-year tradition of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
1128 Great Road, Princeton, NJ 08540 609.921.6499 • www.princetonacademy.org
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Founded in 1897, Holy Ghost Prep is a premier Catholic college preparatory school in Bensalem, Pa. A vibrant high school community comprised of nearly 500 young men, Holy Ghost stresses the cultivation of students’ unique gifts and talents, academic excellence, and generous service to the poor. At Holy Ghost, we do more than teach. We inspire and ignite the unique spark that exists in each of our students—preparing them to not only for college, but for life. We challenge our students to engage deeply in learning, appreciate one another, and grow into adults who are intellectually adventurous, ethically surefooted, and generous of heart and spirit. Armed with these traits, our graduates are annually sought after by some of the world’s most admired colleges and universities. Fifty-two percent of Holy Ghost’s Class of 2017 will attend colleges and universities that are ranked in the U.S. News and World Report’s National Top 100.
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2429 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA 19020 215.639.2102 • www.holyghostprep.org
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Notre Dame High School
Succeed Come to Notre Dame to succeed.
Develop your academic talents. SATs and ACTs are significantly higher than the national average, with 98% of our seniors going on to colleges and universities that rank among the finest in the US.
To learn more about our school go to www.ndnj.org
Founded in 1957, Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, operates as a ministry of the Diocese of Trenton. A Catholic, co-educational, college-preparatory secondary school of 1300 students, Notre Dame is affiliated with the Religious Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by AdvancEd. More than 16,000 graduates are testimony to more than six decades of Notre Dame’s mission to educate young women and men to realize their full potential through a faith-filled environment, dedicated to excellence in academics, extensive co-curricular activities and a commitment to citizenship and service in the community. Ninety-eight percent of Notre Dame’s graduates go on to college. A sampling of college acceptances for Notre Dame students include: Princeton, Cornell, Georgetown, Columbia, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins Universities, the University of Pennsylvania and the US Military Academies.
601 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 609.882.7900 • www.ndnj.org
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Bucks County Community College
Bucks County Community College is a public, two-year college with nearly 80 programs of study that lead to either a two-year associate degree or shorter-term certificate. Majors include business administration, entrepreneurship, education, liberal arts, neuroscience, engineering, and many more. Most graduates transfer to a four-year university or college to complete a bachelor’s degree, or directly launch a career with the skills they’ve learned. Classes are held at the original campus in Newtown, the Lower Bucks Campus in Bristol, the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie, and online. Stop by any campus for a tour, or take a virtual stroll through the college with our interactive online tour. Be sure to check out the new Science Center which opened in January 2017, featuring state-of-the-art labs and classrooms for the STEM Department. Learn more about all the great opportunities that Bucks County Community College has to offer all ages. Discover Bucks at www.bucks.edu.
275 Swamp Road, Newtown PA 18940 215.968.8000 - www.bucks.edu
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Grey Nun Academy
Grey Nun Academy is an independent, Catholic, coeducational, elementary school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for students in PreK3 to eighth grades. In the tradition of St. Marguerite d’Youville, Mother of Universal Charity, Grey Nun Academy welcomes children of all faiths and cultures. Embracing its commitment to academic excellence for more than 50 years, Grey Nun Academy integrates learning with faith and action, while nurturing and encouraging the unique gifts found in each person. Students receive technologically advanced instruction with increasing specialization throughout their school career. A Grey Nun Academy graduate is a fearless learner who is well prepared for the rigors of top area high schools as demonstrated by: Love of learning • Terra Nova scores among the top 10% nationally • Expertise with technology • Strong organizational; time management, and study skills • Self-confidence and clear communications • Acceptance into advanced courses in top area High Schools.
1750 Quarry Road, Yardley, PA 19067 215-986-4151• www.greynunacademy.org
Demanding coursework and high expectations are good for students. As the report states it, “Applying high academic standards--both requiring students to complete high-level, challenging courses and pushing students to strive and excel in their work—is a central schooling component that many
Demanding coursework and high expectations are good for students. experts recommend.”According to NCES data, 88 percent of private high school students apply to college, compared to 57 percent of public high school students. And reports from the College Board indicate that SAT scores for private school students are well above the national average. When it comes to challenging students to stretch their
capacity, private schools do an exceptional job. Statistics from the College Board and NCES show that for high school seniors, 24.2 percent of private school students took AP exams in 1998, while 9.4 percent of public school students did so. Private schools, which account for only 7.5 percent of all high school students, produced 20 percent of 12th graders who took AP exams in 1998 and 22 percent of those who scored high enough to have the advanced courses count for college credit. The National Center for Education Statistics periodically administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to test the knowledge and skills of the nation’s students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Students in private schools consistently score well above the national average. At all three grades a significantly higher percentage of private school students score at or above the Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels than public school students. Below are the results from the most recent NAEP report cards in reading. NAEP report cards in other subjects. *CAPE (Council For American Private Education) www.capenet.org. Used by permission.
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