<p>I'd like to hear of your experience with Solebury School. Even if you toured, I'd love to hear your opinions of what you saw and how things came across. I had never heard of this school until very recently.</p>
<p>Any info is appreciated</p>
<p>I researched it but didn’t tour with D. I think it attracts people who like schools like Putney but I think Putney is more rigorous. We didn’t pursue it as it has a relatively low boarding population.</p>
<p>One of my neighbors is a Solebury grad (day student) and he’s one of the most interesting, creative, passionate people I know. And super smart.</p>
<p>Thanks Momof7thgrader</p>
<p>An international boarding student went missing there for a few days last spring, but turned up unharmed. I got the impression from news articles at the time that the students were not especially well supervised and didn’t have much to do but wander around nearby New Hope, a town that is not without certain dangers. However, please consider this comment as the gossip it is; I have no direct experience with the school, and it has a good reputation in the area as a day school.</p>
<p>I chatted with an administrator from Solebury several years ago during a job fair. I found him to be thoughtful and genuine, if a little odd. (They didn’t have a job opening, but wanted to use the opportunity of the job fair to begin relationships with candidates in case a job opened later in the season.) It was clear that I was more firepower than they were looking for, so we had a nice chat about the school’s website and mission statement. I was impressed with how thoughtful, earnest, and genuine the Solebury administrator was, and his affection for the school was clear. He wasn’t trying to do a big push or a hard sell to establish his school as important the way some of the bigger schools did on me; he was just genuinely proud of Solebury. It seemed like a quirky little place with a wide variety of students with a range of abilities, but one where the administration is thoughtful and intentional about how to build and define their community. twinsmama’s report does make me pause, however…</p>
<p>Albion…thank you and I agree…twinsmama’s post raised my eyebrows. I will meet the DOA tomorrow at a Boarding school fair and see how that goes.</p>
<p>My friend’s son applied to Solebury and said that it was a good school. The only reason he didn’t go there was a relatively lower percentage of the boarding student. If boarding is one of the main interests that you have, there should be other schools of similar caliber that have higher percentage of boarding student. They may have better programs/system established for boarding students, especially for communications, after-school activities, meals and weekend life.</p>
<p>@ Twinsmama - New Hope dangerous? You’re kidding, right? It’s bucolic and wealthy.</p>
<p>@ThacherParent: The surrounding area is bucolic and wealthy. The town of New Hope itself is full of schlocky tourist shops, bars, and businesses that cater to gay residents and tourists. In good weather, it is so packed with tourists that it becomes difficult to walk around. So, no, it’s not the most dangerous place in the world, and I wouldn’t see anything wrong with a group of teens walking around there in the daytime, but it does have more potential hazards than you might expect if you weren’t familiar with it.</p>
<p>I pass the town twice a day every weekday but I’ve never felt it dangerous or threatening in any way–morning, day, night or any time. Yes, there are quite a number of tourists (not “packed” though) but they are mostly the type of folks seeking idyllic old town charm and scenic view of Delaware River. To make an analogy, think of the types of people visiting remote old villages in New England… not exactly the type you would connect with crime. </p>
<p>New Hope/Solebury is in fact one of the most thought-after residential areas north of Philly for wealthy and middle class people, and has a superb public high school, ranked near top of Philly metropolitan area schools. It won’t be an easy task for Solebury to compete against NHS high school but I guess there must be certain values it offers to stay in business.</p>
<p>No, I don’t live in New Hope:)</p>
<p>I live in new hope and while my kids are too young to go to solebury yet its got a great reputation in the community. Parents I know whose kids go there rave about the academics and other programs. I feel like when I’m running my kids around on weekends I always see solebury cans filled with kids going places. As for the missing student incident someone referenced, my friend whose kids go to solebury said it was a chinese boy was really homesick and was on the campus but hiding for a few hours. Sounds like the rumor mill did a job on that one. Good luck meeting with the d of a tonight and with your search!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone…Coming from NYC, a town getting a little packed with tourist wouldn’t make us bat an eye. I think the shock for my child would come when the towns are quiet and kind of empty :)</p>
<p>I apologize; I should have checked the facts. The boy went missing on a weekday morning and was found that night.</p>