Burkes, Convent or Hamlin - Thoughts?

[oskimom]

After taking all the tours, I'm in love with the girls schools Burkes, Convent and Hamlin. But if you ask me which one of the three is my favorite, it'll change with my mood at any given moment. Luv to hear which is your favorite, and if you're an existing parent, how you like the school your daughter is at.

[antsynlee]

Prospective parent here.

We're in the same boat. Tough choices since all have their positives. If I had to pick one, I probably say Burkes for now. We were really impressed at the open house and enjoyed our tour. To have their campus in the city is simply amazing. The curriculum is well thought out and their philosophy of educate, encourage and empower girls really hits home for us. The girls we saw in the classrooms were so engaged. We are a bit sad that Kim Wargo is leaving since we were really impressed by how she thought about education. Sure, she may not be as outspoken as the other heads but she was very cerebral. We're kind of taking the leap of faith here that the next head will not only be as good but provide more stability.

[wildermama]

We really wanted a spiritual component to the school. Convent is the only one of the girls schools that provided that. We just thought religion would help ground the girls. Unlike parochial schools associated with a parish, Convent isn't trying to beat you over the head with religion. I thought I heard or read somewhere how they'll discuss and learn about other religions. Having a brother school in Stuart Hall allows Convent to offer more co-ed experiences for its girls. Also, the network of Convent of the Sacred Heart schools across the world seems pretty unique too.

[paigeinsf]

We have friends at each of the schools and they are all very happy. (Even if the school they are currently attending wasn't their first choice).

I like them all for very different reasons and am trying to stay open minded because I can't control the outcome. It's nice to daydream though before the reality of March sets in.

[julesk53]

Being a parent of color, Wanda Holland-Greene at Hamlin is a breath of fresh air. Just love her energy! We really got the sense that the girls have taken her spirit and made it theirs. The ones we met were confident and well-spoken. Thought it was great the school placed so much trust in their girls to lead the parent tours. Also appreciated how academic rigorous the school is, especially math and science. Seeing one of the teachers talk about how they use manipulatives to help the girls understand difficult concepts was great. Wished I had the same instruction. And their middle school chorus is so lovely.

[cookiecakepie]

I think Convent gets lost in the all girls shuffle because of the spiritual component. We have friends that didn't look at it because it is Catholic even though there are certainly plenty of non-catholic families there. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did when I toured it this year since we are not catholic. I agree with the earlier poster that the network of schools makes it really unique. And for those of us that have to place a son & daughter over the next few years, it rises to the top of my list for logistics alone.

[mesenfantssf]

When we started our search, we had preconceived notions about the girls schools and thought that most of them would not be a fit for us but "had to look". We were so surprised! We actually found Hamlin to be the warmest of the 3 schools which still shocks me because before we set foot in the door, it was the one i expected to like the least. The school is amazing, every parent, student & administrator/teacher we have met has been candid and honest with the pros/cons of the school. The curriculum is well thought out and they take great pains to preserve the beauty of childhood while balancing the work that needs to get done in school. They also have a really robust support system for girls emotionally which is very important to us as we look to raise our kids in a busy city.

[antsynlee]

After attending the MOSAIC event at Burkes the other day, we are even more impressed by how thoughtful the staff is about diversity. One of the parents shared how the school handled a sensitive issue her daughter faced. Instead of trying to pretend eveything is perfect, the school lays out the issues and talks honestly about how it tries to handle them. Too bad Kim is leaving!

[paigeinsf]

What I didn't expect is that in the 1 hour my daughter is spending at a school play date, she is prime for the school's marketing. She tends to like the play dates with the best play date “favors”. Burke’s gave cute erasers and pencils, Hamlin gave a “Hamlin” bracelet, Convent gave a bear magnet. The girls’ schools are the only ones that had party favors (that we applied to anyway). Some she can walk to, 1 she can ride the bus to, these are all major factors for her. Also, she had more fun @ some schools because of the games she played or if a teacher was silly.

I guess I never thought about how much impact that time would have on my child and her perception of a school. She now has a ranked list which is funny b/c I still don’t have one!

[cooliecallie2]

So out of all of those three schools, which are really all equally fantastic, i would choose convent over all because it is a religious school and there are a lot of schools around the world that are sacred heart. It also has a boys school in who you do activities with and i think that k-8 girls should get friendly with boys and prepare for same sex high schools and colleges.