<p>Likewise, glassharmonica, given that there are no performing arts high schools in our state, I would not have wanted my D to go to boarding school even if we could have afforded it, though it was a moot point as we could not. It was harder to piece together training but she managed to do so (and I was a taxi parent).</p>
<p>My own kids also went to the local public high school, and a PA school would have been a boarding school for them–not just undesirable but completely unaffordable for us. </p>
<p>That said, I do think Fishbowlfreshman has a point. You can view the top PA schools just like elite boarding schools and other elite private/magnet schools. There is just no denying they give you an edge–statistically of course, not on a case by case basis. But though it gives you an edge, it’s not a be-all or end-all, and it may not be appropriate for your own child. </p>
<p>To use an analogy: My non-actor daughter got into a top LAC from her regular public high school, with no tutoring, training, expensive programs, etc. A significant portion of the student body went to elite private schools or boarding schools. They also form a clique - not in an intentionally mean way - and keep their connections during break, over the summer, after graduation. </p>
<p>The same is probably true of theatre. That doesnt’ mean you need to be in a PA school, though, and probably my own kids wouldn’t have cared for one even if we could have afforded sending them away, which we couldn’t. Far more Americans are unable to make use of PA schools than those who can. To bring up another topic, what I worry about is the increasing attack on the arts in our Orwellian “Race To The Top.” Arts programs are being slashed and downsized and diminished all across the country. It’s awful. I feel like we just squeaked by, but I worry about the upcoming generation, a great deal. Public schools have been such an incredible equalizer of opportunity and taste for theatre & music.</p>
<p>connections, your posts tonight have been really insightful and wise.</p>
<p>I can imagine a situation where a PA HS would be a dream come true. But it is correct that only a very few kids have access to them, and also to summer intensives. The vast majority manage to have a career (and a life) without them. </p>
<p>My D2 was so “artsy” that even her elementary teachers told me they wished there was a n arts grade school she could go to (in some big cities they have them even that young). There were times I wished she could have done that. But I think in the long run she learned a lot by having to make harder choices and learning to get what she needed on her own. She also learned invaluable things by experiencing all of the non-arts classes and activities that she had in our very regular public school system. </p>
<p>At one point she had the opportunity to go to an alternative middle school. After a lot of thought she decided to stick it out in public school - she felt she could get the arts and other activities she needed, and also that she gained more from dealing with the “real” world than in being somewhere more protected and precious. At one point in HS she did again yearn for a private PA school, but in the end she was glad she stuck it out where she did.</p>
<p>This post connects with one on the “BA school” thread that’s been active today. I think that having dealt with the frustrations and experiences in public school also prepared her for the stresses and issues she faces at her university. I think she would have loved to have found college to be protected and precious, yet in reality it almost never is - having learned to deal with people who don’t understand her take on the world gave her the skills to adjust to college life in general. She knows artsy kids who seem to think those challenges and demands don’t apply to them. I’m not saying this is the result of going to a PA HS, but my personal opinion is that public school forces you to learn some very valuable life lessons.</p>
<p>I’m glad both my kids went to a public school. Was it a great school? No, but it was a great way to grow up I think. connections, I can relate to your post about your non-theater kid too. My non-theater seeking student who also attended our rural public school ended up going to an Ivy League college for undergrad and also to elite graduate schools. Sure, lots of kids in her colleges came from independent schools and boarding schools. At our high school, she was the only student in her year to attend any Ivy. Like a BFA program, maybe one kid per year from our HS goes to a tippy top college. I believe that someone who is motivated and has done well in their education both in and out of the classroom can go onto any college, even if elite colleges have an abundance of kids from private high schools and BFA programs have a significant percentage of kids from PA schools. In the end, it is the student who is accepted and can be a success in the admissions game if they make the most of the opportunities afforded them and then some. I’m glad my kids had their start in the setting they did before going onto a more elite higher education. I don’t think they will forget these roots which have served them well.</p>