<p>Hi, I live in Westchester and my son is entering kindergarten this year. He is in Rippowam Cisqua right now and he is also accepted by Hackley. I have a hard time deciding whether to let him stay in Cisqua or transfer him to Hackley. He seems happy in Cisqua but not very attached. I feel Cisqua is too “loose”, and he needs a little more discipline. Also Cisqua doesn’t have high school means he has to switch at 9th grade. As for Hackley, I’m afraid it’s not nurturing enough. I also heard it’s difficult to get good grades in the upper school and that could hurt college application. Am I thinking too far out? Anybody has experience with either school, good or bad, comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>My sons both attended Hackley while we lived in NY, but that was only through the Lower School there. I’d be happy to provide any perspective on that part of it, but cannot offer help with the upper school w.r.t. college admissions. There is some info [on</a> the Hackley School website](<a href=“http://www.hackleyschool.org/about/college/]on”>www.hackleyschool.org/about/college/) about admissions successes, perhaps that will be helpful. We considered Rippowam Cisqua (and had friends whose kids went there) but felt the facilities and opportunities were a lot better at Hackley. We liked the K-12 aspect (at the time we had no idea we’d be moving to CA) and just felt it was more the environment we wanted our kids to be educated in. Feel free to send me a PM (private message: click on my name at left <— and select “Send a private message…”) if I can help.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply. I sent you a private message but when I checked back I didn’t see it in my “sent folder”. I don’t know whether it’s been sent. Please let me know if you haven’t received it. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I actually went to Hackley. Now granted it was quite a while ago, and things obviously do change. I have heard that it is still very academic but not prohibitively so (ie - I haven’t heard that it is so unusually hard to get good grades in the upper school). When I was there, the grading was like the other top schools in the area.</p>
<p>I grew up in Westchester when Hackley was all boys; in the time since then I think it has become better known and possibly even better regarded (and it always was respected). As a parent who has sent children to private schools elsewhere I would go with the better-known school and the one that will not require you to endure admissions again after eighth grade–IF it is also a school where social life is likely to flourish.If you live much farther away and/or in the opposite direction from most other Hackley students then it might not be a good choice. As children get older, being able to get to athletic and musical events becomes increasingly important, as does the role of Friday afternoon play dates and hanging out. (Given that Hackley is on the Hudson and Rippowam Cisqua presumably in Connecticut it sounds as though you are covering a somewhat larger area than might be convenient.)</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that it’s not as prohibitive as I thought. Just wondering, given your knowledge about many schools today, would you choose the Hackley experience all over again? Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I agree with you. K to 12 is really appealing to me. Hate to think about looking for other schools in the 9th grade. Actually Cisqua is in Bedford and I don’t live near either Hackley or Cisqua. I live up north but we are planning to move closer once we settle on a school.</p>
<p>Micc,
For what it’s worth, I know two families who left Rip because of the type of “looseness” you describe. One ended up at Hackley and is much happier. I think that Hackley does well in college admissions. I am sure that the colleges are well aware of the grading structure at Hackley.</p>
<p>That’s a tough question for me, since I was only the second class of girls (7 girls in my class of, I think 62). So as you can imagine, my experience was different than it is for the girls now. Academically, however, it was very good - I never would have learned how to write had it not been for Hackley. In my day, the humanities there were much stronger than math and the sciences, but that could also be different now. I have several friends whose children now attend and are very pleased.</p>
<p>3 sons?! You must be very busy! I have one and my hands are full!
It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who feels the unstructure in Rippowam. I need some reassurance I’m doing the best for my child. Thanks!!</p>
