Brooklyn h.s- Bnos Yaakov, Bya, Masores, D’rav Meir

pgk

Sun, Nov 03 2019, 8:32 pm

Wow! I’m gonna have to disagree with lots of this info!! I have one daughter in high school and one graduating elementary and lots of friends in the parsha as well so here’s my take
Drav meir- very much a Flatbush school with some non-chassidish girls from bp mostly coming from by 18th Avenue. Focus is almost exclusively on academics to the exclusion of all else. If you’re not coming from their elementary you need to be at the top of your class to get in. They have a solid reputation.

Bnos yaakov- focus is much less on academics and more on extracurricular. Girls tend to be a little more to the left. They do not have an elementary so all girls are new. Many of the girls applying there from schools that do have elementaries are girls who did not fit into their schools for whatever reason. Warm school.

Masores- very Flatbush crowd. Pretty upscale or wannabe upscale crowd. definitely has the most well rounded curriculum, great balance of extra curricular and academics. If you’re not coming from their elementary you’ll need to be top of your class or have loads of pull.

Bya- old school Flatbush. Old school overall. Girls are mostly from bya elementary with a few joiners from bnos yisroel and by 18th avenue. Girls are regular frum by girls. Don’t see too many hanging out types although I have heard that the 11/12 (can’t remember) grade was a very problematic class. Not an intense program in any way and not one to push any major agendas. They did get a new principal as of late but don’t know anything about her

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Nov 03 2019, 8:47 pm

I graduated between 5-8 years ago. I have sisters and sister-in-laws in Bnos Yaakov and Drav Meir.

My best piece of advice is to sit outside the school by dismissal. Watch the girls when they come out. See how their dressed, how they act and if they look happy/sad/stressed.

Drav Meir is a higher pressured school and very test, report driven. There is more room for variety in Bnos Yaakov, they have more projects (though they are still pretty academic and have a fair share of tests).

Drav Meir is more preachy, seminary cool-aid type where majority of the girl want to marry 5 year to forever learners and Bnos Yaakov has a broader range. In my sister's class, a third married (or are looking for) working boys, a third short/medium term and a third long term.

Obviously there are exceptions but that's the overall type.

amother

Peach

Sun, Nov 03 2019, 10:35 pm

pgk wrote:

As a teacher in one of these schools, and a sub in the others, this is extremely accurate.

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 5:25 am

amother [ Burlywood ] wrote:

I just want to point out that although bya may have a less academic reputation, there were lots of very academic girls there in my days. Like anything else, you find your niche. I went to BJJ afterwards and felt very well prepared with my bya education. I also felt very well prepared for SATs, college and graduate school, where I excelled. I'm sure some of that can be attributed to factors other than my HS education, but I certainly had a more than adequate academic background.

Same experience here.

amother

Ivory

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 6:23 am

pgk wrote:

I’m a masores graduate and had friends from drav Meir and bya. I agree with all this!

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 6:34 am

pgk wrote:

Bya- old school Flatbush. Old school overall. Girls are mostly from bya elementary with a few joiners from bnos yisroel and by 18th avenue. Girls are regular frum by girls. Don’t see too many hanging out types although I have heard that the 11/12 (can’t remember) grade was a very problematic class. Not an intense program in any way and not one to push any major agendas. They did get a new principal as of late but don’t know anything about her

The principal is the same. They got a new assistant principal a year or two ago.

She works primarily with the 9th grade, from what my sisters told me.

When I was in BYA, I never knew exactly what the assistant principal's role was. It seems that this hasn't changed much.

amother

Ecru

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 7:28 am

pgk wrote:

Bnos yaakov- Many of the girls applying there from schools that do have elementaries are girls who did not fit into their schools for whatever reason.

Would you say that about any girl applying to other than her own school (for those whose schools have elementary and high schools)? How many girls usually continue on to their own high schools? 2/3, 3/4?

pgk

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 9:05 am

Replying to above post just don’t know how to quote. Obviously all girls applying out of their schools feel like they would do better elsewhere. However a girl who went to drav Meir elementary and opts our of their high school often does so simply because she feels she will not be able to keep up with the academics not because she does not fit into the elementary school. The girls applying to bnos yaakov are not necessarily concerned they wouldn’t fit into the high school rather they felt like they didn’t fit into the elementary to begin with and therefore they believe they won’t fit into the high school either
Don’t know if that makes so much sense when I write it but it makes perfect sense in my head Can't Believe It

amother

Aqua

Mon, Nov 04 2019, 9:24 am

pgk wrote:

Not every elementary school has a high school.