Cistercian Preparatory School

Sending our son to Cistercian was the best decision we ever made. He loves being at this school. All of the boys are smart and they are also great boys. The school is encouraging, engaging, tough, supportive. The teachers are absolutely top notch and bring a passion for their subject matter to the classroom. Conduct is as important as performance in the classroom. The boys learn to form very strong bonds with each other as they travel the same path with each other for 8 years, the parents are supportive of the school and each other. I have no idea where anyone gets the idea there is bullying, it would absolutely never be tolerated at any level. It is a small and close environment. We are not Catholic, did not come from a Catholic "feeder" school and the school is as welcoming to us as anyone else. The school requires the boys to learn how to learn and how to think. There are deep dives into subject matter. There are debates on all kinds of topics and the boys get to pick the side they want and have to back up their arguments with facts. I have no doubt my son is receiving the best education available at this school and will be amply prepared for any future endeavors.

Amazing school! We were looking for a school that provided an academically challenging environment that provided a healthy culture to serve others. A perfect fit for our son who is academically gifted and loves to play sports. It is great to be in an environment where his interest in math, science, reading, and serving is celebrated. He feels more encouraged at Cistercian than anywhere else (and he has gone to some awesome schools leading up to Form I).

A very good Catholic formation environment, but there is bullying going on there. Collective punishment is used, which helps no one, and the boys learn to coopt into what is being sold without question. Code of silence type environment. Not for young boys.

Wonderful preparatory environment for young and teenage boys. The concept of a form-master (all the way through graduation) is a rare demonstration of a formation mentality. The school's unique nature with monks having active teaching duties, while being spiritually present to offer real-life example of inclusiveness, humility, and integrity, is a lasting legacy. Parents are naturally very involved but the school administration does not differentiate attention given to the students based on the size of the parents' annual donation. It's also very refreshing among private schools that beyond the annual tuition, your son can participate in any school-hosted/-managed sport and field activity at no incremental cost requirement. Great teachers, amazingly smart/capable kids, lots of homework, but also opportunity for a young boy to learn time-management skills and build personal confidence from the early years (5th grade).

Thre are reported cases of bullying at Cistercian. Also, in the past some students have been humiliated by their form masters. In their application package you can see that their SAT scores are ok (in the 600s) but they have gradually been declining in the last few years. In their application package they ask what your religion is, church you attend and baptism information. If your child is not a member of a catholic church, baptized, or your child doesn't go to some of the catholic feeder schools in Dallas then it's very difficult for the applicant to get accepted here. On the good side, this school teaches Latin for the full 8 years program which no other school I know offers, and it's particularly strong in religion (subject taught by the monks from the abbey).