Private Secular Schools?

[Mark356]

Hi thank you for reading my post! I have my son in deer creek, but i'm considering moving him to a private school for smaller class sizes. However, i'd prefer something secular as we do other things as a family spiritually. Anyway I'm hoping for anyone that could provide recommendations on a private school with good teachers and smaller class sizes.

Additionally, if there are parents out there who have experience with both deer creek/other Edmond public schools and a private secular school---i'd be very interested in your experience/comparison of the two.

Thank you so much!

[Jeepnokc]

We moved our kids from West Moore to Mount St Mary last year due to wanting smaller class room size. We have been very happy with the Mount and was surprised at the number of kids commuting from Edmond and Norman. We are not catholic and that has not been an issue. I would look at the curriculum and textbooks they use to ensure they line up with your religious views. When we were looking, we found that most of the secular schools around here use either A Beka books or Bob Jones University books of which were too conservative for our liking.

[jbkrems]

How old is your son?

[hfry]

Jeep you may have a more updated statistic for the mount but as a alumni I remember that probably 30-40% of my class wasn't Catholic. The Mount really goes for the small class sizes and college prep aspect.
Edit: I should also add that I grew up in the Deer Creek district and never had a problem commuting, car pooling, etc.

[traxx]

I wouldn't imagine Edmond would have any smaller class sizes than Deer Creek. In fact, it would probably be larger. Both Deer Creek and Edmond are good academic school districts, though. I don't know anything about Heritage Hall but I do know that it's a secular private school.

[Jeepnokc]

How old is your son?

My son will be starting at the Mount in the fall. He is an 8th grader now. My two daughters are sophomores at the mount now.

[Pete]

Definitely Heritage Hall.

[sooner88]

Westminster is a great option through 8th grade.

[Mark356]

How old is your son?

Hi my son is in kindergarten..

I was actually looking at heritage hill...Curiosity wise does anyone have any good/bad experience with them?

I Would be especially interested in anyone that may have had experience with Edmond/deer Creek and heritage ...How they differ and student-teacher engagement between the two... Thank u!

[Geographer]

I lived in the PC North school district when my family moved to OKC, but I did not want to attend a large school since we moved from a small Oklahoma town. After investigating the private school route (Heritage Hall and Casady), I transferred into the Bethany school district which ended up being a fantastic decision for me. It's a very small school district (one square mile) so the majority of the students are actually transfers into the district. It acts as a somewhat "private school" due to the size of the actual district boundaries and the geographical extent of where students were coming from everyday. I had friends that lived in far north OKC, Piedmont, Yukon, Mustang, etc. It's got a small school atmosphere, which I enjoyed. There are many long-term teachers within the school district that help foster that "small school" feel.

I would encourage you to look into Bethany Public Schools. Transfers into the district are competitive though.

[bradh]

I lived in the PC North school district when my family moved to OKC, but I did not want to attend a large school since we moved from a small Oklahoma town. After investigating the private school route (Heritage Hall and Casady), I transferred into the Bethany school district which ended up being a fantastic decision for me. It's a very small school district (one square mile) so the majority of the students are actually transfers into the district. It acts as a somewhat "private school" due to the size of the actual district boundaries and the geographical extent of where students were coming from everyday. I had friends that lived in far north OKC, Piedmont, Yukon, Mustang, etc. It's got a small school atmosphere, which I enjoyed. There are many long-term teachers within the school district that help foster that "small school" feel.

I would encourage you to look into Bethany Public Schools. Transfers into the district are competitive though.

My wife went with a friend to camp out for registration, they lasted an hour and said screw this, no way it could be worth that camping out. Maybe it is/was.

[Zuplar]

I've heard good things about Bethany, and I also had a couple friends attend there while I was in school. (I'm a Mustang grad FWIW)

[Geographer]

My wife went with a friend to camp out for registration, they lasted an hour and said screw this, no way it could be worth that camping out. Maybe it is/was.

There's a reason that it's competitive like that! It's a great school.

[Filthy]

Mark,

Heritage Hall, would definitely be my recommendation. Crossings is close to your area and has a great education system, but with your "secular" caveat, I guess that would be ruled out?

Curious to know, what issues you have seen, or are experiencing with a kindergarten aged child, that lends itself to exploring other options? (Is it 100% attributed to classroom size, or are there any other contributing factors?) It's interesting only, in that Deer Creek Schools at the elementary level, are for that most part on par with most (if not all) metro area "secular" private schools "in regards to quality of education/curriculum."

[KenRagsdale]

Please allow me to offer recommendations for your search. Both my adult children attended OKC private schools K-12.

1.) One size does not fit all. Some schools are highly structured, some less so. You have far more choices than when our decision was made.
2.) Begin by searching for OKC private schools on the web. Academic emphasis and tuition will be clearly displayed.
3.) Open houses for new students for the fall semester are typically held about this time every year. Visit your top choices and speak with the administration and faculty. Be clear if you child has challenges that may need to be addressed. Tours of the facilities are part of the package.
4.) If possible, observe the students from a distance (attend a sporting event, visit during the lunch period, etc.). Your child will mature in a way similar to what you see.
5.) Visit the admission counselor of your top school in person with your child and begin the admission process.
6.) Your child will let you know which school is the best "fit".

[jbkrems]

Mark, I could recommend a school in the city that might be a good fit, but it also might be too far.

[betts]

I had kids at Casady, Heritage Hall and Bishop McGuiness, so feel able to comment. Depending on academic ability, I would recommend Casady or Heritage Hall. While Casady has daily chapel, the subject matters are generally not centered around religion and the school itself is still pretty secular. My husband is Jewish and it didn't bother him. But Casady is definitely more rigorous academically, and can be stressful if the subject matter is too difficult. It takes a fairly traditional approach to education. The students there, when my kids were there, were children of professionals and "old money". For that reason, it always felt less snobby than Heritage. Heritage is definitely easier academically. So, it enables kids who aren't as academically gifted to generally do better in school. That can be important if they want to leave the state for college. I have one I wish I'd sent to Heritage. I think the families at HH tend to be a bit more nouveau riche. Since the kids at Casady are in uniform up to high school, they seemed to be less into clothes and status items than the HH kids. Things might have changed, as my kids are all young adults now. I also
Liked the fact that Casady had mandatory sports, and most sports had an A and B team so everyone can participate. McGuinness is the least academically rigorous of the 3, definitely has more religion, has larger class sizes, but is big enough that there are groups into which kids can fit. Casady and HH, being smaller, can sometimes be difficult for kids who don't blend in, as their potential social groups are smaller. Classen is another school to consider. I know some great kids who went there.

[Richard at Remax]

I think my alma mater Heritage Hall would fit your description pretty well.

[Midtowner]

I've heard good things about St. John's Episcopal School. Not too preachy. And in OKC, when you get to the middle and high school level, there are some excellent charter schools--some every bit as good as Heritage or Casady academically, but do your research. Some are wonderful and some are awful.

[turnpup]

I had kids at Casady, Heritage Hall and Bishop McGuiness, so feel able to comment. Depending on academic ability, I would recommend Casady or Heritage Hall. While Casady has daily chapel, the subject matters are generally not centered around religion and the school itself is still pretty secular. My husband is Jewish and it didn't bother him. But Casady is definitely more rigorous academically, and can be stressful if the subject matter is too difficult. It takes a fairly traditional approach to education. The students there, when my kids were there, were children of professionals and "old money". For that reason, it always felt less snobby than Heritage. Heritage is definitely easier academically. So, it enables kids who aren't as academically gifted to generally do better in school. That can be important if they want to leave the state for college. I have one I wish I'd sent to Heritage. I think the families at HH tend to be a bit more nouveau riche. Since the kids at Casady are in uniform up to high school, they seemed to be less into clothes and status items than the HH kids. Things might have changed, as my kids are all young adults now. I also
Liked the fact that Casady had mandatory sports, and most sports had an A and B team so everyone can participate. McGuinness is the least academically rigorous of the 3, definitely has more religion, has larger class sizes, but is big enough that there are groups into which kids can fit. Casady and HH, being smaller, can sometimes be difficult for kids who don't blend in, as their potential social groups are smaller. Classen is another school to consider. I know some great kids who went there.

Betts nailed it with respect to her opinion of Casady (and I cannot speak of HH, as we have no experience with that school). That's been our experience for the past (almost) six years. Rigorous academia, very little discussion/attention/notice of status or wealth, and culture of civility and inclusion. With respect to the fact that it's an Episcopal school, yes, there is chapel for every student every day, but there is no proselytizing whatsoever. Our experience has been that Casady is in fact is very tolerant of different cultures and religious beliefs.