Dear prospective Westtown parents, has anyone re-visited Westtown last week? If yes, could you please share your impressions re their academic culture and faculty and discussions you had with current students & parents? Many thanks!
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@Saragosa777 this might be late, but I wanted to write something in case you are still deciding. DS and I attended. We were very impressed with the re-visit and he will be attending this fall. He’s a 99%ile SSAT kid who was not interested whatsoever in a pressure cooker environment; after all the adults in his life got the memo so to speak, we started looking at a number of schools with a different culture than the ones he was originally steered towards. He has a unique academic hook, and the challenge was finding a school that would be appropriate academically while allowing him to be…him. In his words, “I don’t want to give up my childhood because I have a talent.” He wanted to find a place that would nurture his growth as an individual and allow him room to breathe, while still delving into his passions.
Our impression from the revisit is that the kids are allowed, even encouraged to do just that. It was in the unscripted moments (of which there were many) where we got a glimpse into the student body and student/faculty interactions. The kids are warm and kind to each other and respectful to adults but it’s not forced. The Quaker ethos is evident. My son is more of a laid back type, who needs balance in his life. He is quiet about his talents and passions and appreciates the ability to laugh and collaborate with his peers; he did not want to feel as if he has to walk over his friends to get ahead. He is motivated to learn for the sake of learning, not for grades or for accolades. On the other hand, he needs structure because he can either get distracted or hyper-focus on a favorite topic or project 
We both feel that WT has the right balance of room to breathe and structure, especially with study hall requirements and the advising system.
Tori (Head of School) actually spoke to this when talking to parents and students: at WT, kids are not products, coming out of a machine; they are not test scores or numbers. They are people, at a particularly critical time in their lives, who need to grow as individuals. One of the missions of WT is to encourage self-exploration so that the students get to know themselves very well. As another poster noted, I believe this is why such a high percentage of WT grads finish at their originally chosen college within four years. Also, many of the teachers and administrators have been there for many, many years; several were actually WT students and they all love the place fiercely.
Academically, we found that even though DS is advanced in a particular area, most of the schools we looked at were able to accommodate him. However, we leaned more towards actual classes being offered, versus independent study with faculty and the like, just because my son tends to prefer the classroom setting where he can learn from, and collaborate with, his peers. WT has a large offering of electives in all subjects and is able to offer a very rigorous program; DS was more concerned that he could “double-up” on electives in his area of interest (he can). Not sure if you know this, but WT has religion class requirements, which was initially a concern for my son; however, they are simply religious studies classes and we both enjoyed the world religions class we attended. It’s not indoctrination What is learned is expanding one’s worldview, tolerance, acceptance, and taking time to slow down, breathe, and reflect.
Also, WT does not have AP classes, although many kids sit successfully for the exams; in fact, WT was one of the first schools to get rid of them. (They did not want the instructors to teach to the test and felt they limited the effectiveness of the Harkness method.) Some classes do have an “advanced” level, although all classes are rigorous. The academic advisors make sure the students have a schedule that is challenging yet not extremely stressful. There are a couple required courses in each subject area, but then the kids get to choose from the many electives in order to build a schedule; there is much flexibility in courses taken, which was important to my son. If your child is interested in STEAM, please check into the program, as it is very strong; design engineering, robotics and scientific research are highlights.
We applied to many schools on your list. From the start he said Westtown felt like home, and herein lies the issue for you. What speaks to my son may not speak to yours. I can only hope that by describing my son you can have some idea about who might be a good fit at WT. It is not that WT is better or worse than any other schools discussed on this forum (heck, I have older kids who were intensely competitive, almost at any cost and thrive in pressure cooker situations) it’s just that WT has a vibe, focus and mission that is unique and a great fit for a certain type of kid. I hope this helps.
@My6kids many thanks for your very detailed reply! Even though it might be late for us as we already made the decision, these answers will help others in similar situations in future. From several replies I got so far I see that Westtown is a great school that unfortunately is not discussed a lot on this forum.
Our experience with Quaker education was beyond positive (although my heart lies with Westtown 's rival!) It’s hard to articulate how this differs from other types of schools, but the fundamental belief that "there is that of God in everyone " creates an environment where every member of the community can be values, authentic and the best they can be. The spiritual part of it is, as you know, not indoctrination, but the space (and tools) to reflect. It’s a huge gift at this age to not have to conform. It sounds like your son made a great choice!