My positive experience in high school was due to the great community of brothers and priests that ran the school. It seems that they understood some aspects that are important to making a religious community work. They were a real community, one that lived together, worked together, played together, and prayed together. They were truly devoted to Christ and His Church. They put their spiritual study into actual use. The community all focused on education, at the time running 1 high school, by my senior year they started another. When a group of people focus their energy on one thing, the whole is often more than the sum of the parts. They also had a very strong work ethic, combining lots of manual labor with praying, teaching, and socializing. They were just as likely to be seen building a desk or installing carpet as they were tutoring a student in math. Not every community runs schools and teaches but I think the aspects of this community that form its strength are applicable to any other religious community. I see some of the same qualities in the Daughters of St. Paul in their communications apostolate. To the contrary, some of the religious communities in the Church have fallen apart because they lack these same aspects.

Aspects of good religious communities:
Real Community
Real Faith and Devotion
Combine all talents and energy into common work
Mix of manual labor/spiritual life/intellectual and social activities
Joy