With just 543 students, the Upper School’s (US) student body is around half the size of the average American public high school. Most of us know the names of our classmates by heart and are quite close with many of our peers. Compare that to a school like Newton North, with a student population of 2,099, and you might not be surprised to find out that students there know a small portion of their
grade well. In fact, upon my visit to Newton North on Dec. 19, 2024, a student asked if I was a student there.
Through a “school swap” coordinated by The Vanguard and Newton North’s student newspaper, The Newtonite, Editor-in-Chief and Newton North student Annalise Vito and I shadowed each other for a day to discover the differences between private and public schools.
Newton North’s schedule is slightly different from the US’s but includes the same main components. Instead of 45- and 65-minute blocks, students at North have fewer, but longer, 75-minute classes every day. School typically starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m. The school day includes “Tiger” and “What I Need” (WIN) blocks, which function similarly to CAB blocks. I attended an Honors Precalculus class, an Advanced Placement (AP) Language class,
and an Italian 4 Honors class— which proved quite difficult considering the only Italian word I know is “ciao.” The smallest class I attended had 10 students, but, on average, students said their classes ranged from 20 to 30 kids. The classes were structured heavily toward small group and partner work, which made participation easier.
Because of the difference in class size, Annalise said it’s harder to create strong connections with teachers.
“I know my teachers, they know me, but it’s definitely not as close as it seemed like it was at BB&N,” she said. “I think I have the opportunity to build relationships with my teachers, but it’s up to me to do that. It’s not really like the system is set up for me. Teachers are passionate about what they teach and building relationships with students, but it’s less possible because of classroom circumstances.”
Weaker teacher-student relationships and larger class sizes mean that students have to take initiative, she said.
“Because there are larger class sizes at North, it’s less of a discussion and more of a raising- your-hand-and-calling-on-you sort of thing. I think that your teachers really want you to have the grade and GPA you want at BB&N while at North you have to want it to make it happen.”
Generally, Newton North’s academic opportunities seemed comparable to those at the US. Similar AP classes and subject levels are offered. In 12th grade, many students take specialized electives like marine biology, much like senior elective options at the US. Despite the wide range of classes available, due to Newton North’s requirements, kids are restricted to taking certain classes. Juniors aren’t allowed to take AP science courses and can only take a limited amount of AP or Honors courses. Unlike the US, students don’t often opt into harder math classes. Most students take very similar courses to their peers.
Annalise said that, beyond just academics, students at the US had “direction.”
“The air at BB&N just felt very committed, and it just felt very goal-oriented. I think at Newton North there’s definitely more chillness, and people are more up in the air.”
Newton North offers a diverse range of art and extracurricular programs. The school hosts a childcare center, an automotive workshop, and a student-run kitchen, for example. In these spaces, students work to serve the local community through supporting small businesses or providing services for others. Although it makes sense that the US cannot have such an extensive extracurricular program,, we could benefit from applying their community-focused approach to electives.
When it comes to student stress, Annalise doesn’t believe that Newton North itself is inherently stressful, and if students are anxious, the school provides support, she said.
“There’s a lot of support systems at North if you need it, and there’s also no expectation that you have to take a certain amount of honors or AP classes or that you have to excel at your sport.”
She added that if students are stressed, it is often self-inflicted.
“I think there is stress amongst students at North because if you do take the initiative as a student to take on a lot of courses, you will have a lot of work, but it’s up to you to manage that. There are WIN and Tiger blocks in place so you can have support, but if you don’t take advantage of those times, then you are probably going to be overwhelmed.”
The US is a smaller, more competitive environment with set expectations, which can result in more stress among students. Annalise and I both agreed that our own schools could learn a lot from the other.
“I feel like when I was at the school, students were competitive with one another, which is also evident at North, but it did seem like there was a little bit of judgement among students when I visited,” she said. “I hope that they would strive to cancel that competitive attitude towards each other. At North, I wish that teachers fought for the success of the students as much as the student fights for their own success like how teachers do at BB&N.”
It was difficult to draw sharp contrasts between Newton North and the US. The two schools share a similar student demographic, with many of the students at the US coming from Newton and neighboring communities. Additionally, Newton North is ranked 961 out of nearly 27,000 public high schools in the country, making it comparable to the US. Since stereotypes of students from both public and private schools exist, it can be easy to let them dictate our perception of others. At North, I was able to see firsthand that the two schools were more similar than they were different.
