I have to confess that I fell in love with SAS after reading the Headmaster’s comments after the election. (Thank you, @SevenDad, for posting. )… Not sure how easy or hard the logistics would be for a California girl… and I realize the Headmaster won’t be there forever… But it sounds like a really special place.
I sent you a pm, and am happy to speak via pm with anyone else who might be interested.
Long story short: SAS is as good as any of the finest high schools at working with outstanding math and science kids (or humanities kids for that matter), but has the added benefit of a unique ethos.
Really, anyone should feel free to send pm… I hate to list too many personal details to back up my assertions publicly, but will chat at length with anyone truly interested.
@CaliMex I would think a flight to Philadelphia and the school’s shuttle down the forty minutes to SAS would be easier than many other east coast schools, to tell the truth! Yes, the overall expense, compared to staying on the west coast, is a lot, but the transportation links are pretty close and efficient.
I think that Tad Roach will be around for another four or five years, and maybe more. He really digs it, and his daughter, fwiw, is still just in the V Form, so that a head’s income might be useful for a while yet. The school ethos will survive Tad’s departure, too, I’ll bet.
My girl found the perfect fit at SAS, in retrospect, and would not have done so well in any other setting, including the NE boarding schools. It was the right community for these particular years, 14-18, by a long shot. Like the others, I’ll be happy to discuss in a pm, as well.
@CaliMex: obviously some very strong advocates for SAS here. The “ethos” thing you will hear mentioned is real…and TBH, isn’t for everyone. But for people who buy into it (which I do, hook, line, and sinker), SAS is a perfect fit.
Can you articulate the ethos more explicitly for me?
I would say that part of it is an anti-elitism and emphasis on inclusion (vs. exclusion). To oversimplify grossly, I would say that SAS would prioritize/champion someone being a good person over “so and so got into HYP”. Which is not to say that SAS kids don’t get into/go to HYP (in fact, there are generally a number who do go that route every year).
They also champion trying something vs. excelling in something…again, not as a self-imposed ceiling on the kids who might excel at something. Take crew for example (or any sport)…SAS I think very much encourages people trying new things…it’s okay to only be okay at something. Vs. the “if you do this sport, you had already bring some experience and talent”. This is not to be confused with “everyone gets a trophy”.
One thing that is abundantly clear when you attend any performing arts event is that the other students very much support their peers. The level of enthusiasm for performances…whether the performer is a beginner or an expert at his/her craft is, frankly, refreshing. Teen culture is stereotypically jaded…and I think SAS does its best to fight that.
IIRC, I once heard Tad Roach (or Will Speer) say something like “Detached irony is perhaps the worst outcome we could hope for in our students.” That “too cool for school” vibe is so “teen”…but again, I think every adult at SAS tries to fight it. The word “counter-cultural” is used by some to describe the ethos. I’d say that’s accurate in that they try to run counter to materialism, hook-up culture, and anti-intellectualism (look no further than the “cash me ousside how bow dat” girl that recently enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame to see what the opposite looks like!).
Instead of detached irony, think engaged sincerity.
I think the fact that it’s a 100% boarding and also that it still has ties to a religious organization (Episcopalian)…complete with mandatory chapel has something to do with the SAS “ethos”.
IN OTHER NEWS: SAS grad Maggie Rogers (you heard it hear first, right?) is blowing up…recent profile in The New Yorker and appearance on Fallon.
And like that, I’m sucked into my old role as SAS cheerleader. Well, I guess that shows you the effect the school can have on those associated with it…
“Heard it here”…(sloppiness kills me)
I think you just described our own family ethos to a “T”…
@CaliMex: Like I said, for some people it’s the perfect fit. Others chafe at it or think it’s too progressive (though detractors might use other words). The only reason we didn’t have 7D2 apply when she was looking at BS initially was that it would have effectively ended her sports career (sport is not very common as a scholastic team sport and was the primary reason we selected her first BS).
Thanks, @SevenDad , for this tidy and accurate summary of the “ethos”.
I’ll just had, with time short, that “counter-cultural” is definitely not, as sometime misunderstood, a redo on the Sixties counter-culture, as we discuss that in historical terms.
SAS is trying to do things differently (“counter”) from the actual culture found in so many of today’s high schools. Lots of private (and boarding) prep schools are “different” from the public school scene. SAS is quite different from many of those private schools. I speak from close experience with seven different prep schools in the last fifty years.
Another quick addition: while many schools talk the talk on “ethos”, SAS truly walks it.
Do either of you have knowledge or experience with the choral music program at St. Andrews?
Yes. Daughter was a Choral Scholar…though I think she had a better experience with it than some.
Keep in mind that as much as many of us heap praise upon the school, that no school is perfect, nor does everyone necessarily have a hiccup-free experience despite our praise.
Would love to learn more about her experience with Choral Scholars @SevenDad. PM is fine, too.
I assume HS is a time to learn how to handle hiccups on one’s own, no?
@CaliMex: Do you mind sending me a PM with a few targeted questions and I’ll try to muster the energy (seriously depleted after the USPS notifications thread) to reply soon?
@CaliMex My daughter was in Choral Scholars with her Latin teacher the first year, III Form, and it gave her a solid foundation (at a different level from her middle school foundation) from which to build, as well as provided lasting relationships and some good traveling opportunities. She decided to drop out at the end of the year, and it’s worth noting that the Latin teacher continued to work with her in IV Form year and nurtured her love for Classics that she holds to this day. She continued to take private lessons weekly throughout her time at SAS (graduating this May). Choral Scholars singers do not overlap all that much with the popular a cappella group, the Noxontones, as the music selections are so different, the former singing in the Episcopal Chapel program. Another venue that Choral Scholars routinely appear in is the theater department’s winter musical. The Latin teacher has moved on, and the leader of all things singing (the three outlets referenced above) is the same person, Ms. Quinn Kerrane. Read her biography on the Faculty web page for further information, and of course listen to the performances on the social media sites as you have time and interest.
SAS in our time there (c. 2011-present) has had a number of singers, especially female, who have “excelled” and been well supported by the school and its resources. Other, larger, schools have more expansive choral programs and a “deeper bench”, but SAS lets kids develop their talents about as much as they can handle at the same time that the small size promotes certain positive, collective attributes outside of strict interest groups, disciplines or departments. A diva from a few years back is honing her singing and performance skills at Montclair State in north Jersey, though she could have gone Ivy. A kid in this year’s 2017 class came to SAS very, very interested in Broadway singing. The school helped to develop her talent through Choral Scholars and musicals in the context of all the other goodies (ethos, academics, etc.) and my understanding is that she has a Princeton acceptance in hand. The two examples lend credence to the claim that SAS can ably support specialists while its real triumph is encouraging generalists to push the boundaries of their varied experiences to their individual limits, and thus producing exceptional accomplishment from such a small, cohesive community. This is good in its own right, but college acceptances are strong enough to suggest that it’s seen positively by admission committees too.
And don’t forget about emerging diva, Maggie Rogers…she was definitely in Noxontones, and possibly in Cho Scho?
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/maggie-rogers-an-artist-of-her-time
A part of the SAS ethos is that the student body LOVES the arts and fills the house in support of their friends who sing, dance, act and play instruments! There are pretty good turn outs for art shows as well 
As a swim mom, I can attest that sports (all sports - not just football and basketball) also enjoy a lot of support at SAS. School spirit is not just a slogan, they truly walk the talk for all extra curricular activities.
I know I’ve been on a Maggie Rogers kick lately, but I think she’s a great example of the SAS ethos and the types of kids who graduate from St. Andrew’s.
She gave a surprise concert at the school this weekend, and the FB video on the SAS page says volumes about her, the school, and the relationship between the two.