WES v Norwood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, would rather not say what preschool. Why would that help?

Because it makes it easier for me to compare and contrast to a common experience, that's all.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Appreciate what you are saying. It's a small pool of us, however, so best left unsaid at this point. Sorry to be so paranoid! Appreciate your willingness to help.

[Anonymous]

To the 21:47 PP, WES's philosophy on behavior seems to be that they have high expectations. It is a very structured program (which my child prefers). There is one child in DC's class who I believe will not be encouraged to return next year because he just can't seem to settle down. But that is only my speculation.

However -- as much as we love WES -- I think that if I were you, I'd go with Norwood since you say you live so close to it. WES is worth the drive, and there are plenty of Potomac families there. But I think it's nice when a child can stay in their community for school. More likelihood of bumping into classmates at the park, or teachers at the store, etc.

[Anonymous]

At Norwood, one thing I initially found a little disorienting but have come to appreciate is that there is a fair amount of shuffling and reshuffling of the kids within each grade. Your child may be with a different set of kids in homeroom, in music, and in reading. I've come to like this because it means DC gets to know a broader set of classmates, but it might not be ideal for a child who needs a great deal of stability.

I do like the size of the school. I think it's large enough for everyone to find friends but not so large that it feels impersonal. But WES is of similar size. I think the respective enrollments are in the neighborhood of 450 and 320.

[Anonymous]

21:55 here. I'll take a stab at it from the Norwood view.

You said:

Norwood: Traditional, yet progressive too (tablet culture, etc.); strong arts, more homog. student/parent pop; beautiful facility; conern that they don't "tolerate" any behavioral issues?; not really Episcop. any more; what else?? Exmissions seem to be the same as WES.

Academically, it is traditional, although they seem willing to embrace new methodologies and teaching styles. There is differentiated instruction in K particularly for reading, which is a big focus. Reading gets integrated into everything, even music class. Much to some of the parents' chagrine, the parents never know which reading group is "ahead" and "behind." I will admit I found this a little unsettling until I figured out my kid is reading no matter how it was they did that. Math is emphasized, too. I have a kid who has to math-disabled parents (not really, but you know what I mean; I was never headed to MIT!). I was very surprised to learn DC really likes math. So, whatever it is they are doing, they are doing it in a way that excites my kid.

One of the biggest reasons we ended up at Norwood was because of the visual arts program. It's such a huge selling point for the school. Once we were there, though, we came to realize how truly amazing the music program is. Music is treated like a serious subject. We received an individualized progress report from the music teacher in K. My DC is very interested in music and has bonded with the music teacher, which is nice. DC also loves PE, which is four times a week.

People say Norwood is homogenous, but I frankly think it is not. I see more parents of color than we did in our preschool, which was noted for diversity. The one achilles heel at the school, I think, is that there seems to be no meaningful outreach to gay and lesbian parents, and there are some traditions that might put them off (Daddy's visiting day, etc.). There is no hostility, but I think some other schools probably do a better job of outreach to that population.

The head of school has been very welcoming and approachable and has held a number of events throughout the year for new families. I feel like we have a real relationship already, which I appreciate.

Can't speak to any real behavioral issues because our DC so far does not have any. I do get the sense that things get stricter as you go along. We have had a tardiness problem this year and they were very low key about it.

Location is great if you live out that way, and grounds and facilities truly are amazing. We live in DC and work downtown, so you can imagine that commute sucks. We do it, however, because of how happy our kid is there. We grumbled about it for the first month or two, but once we realized what was going on with our DC, we stopped. I mentioned to DC people were wondering about whether they should send their kids to Norwood, and DC immediately responded, "Tell them it's great!" I said, "What should I say is so great about it?" DC responded that they give you smelly stickers in reading class, so take it for what it's worth!

In terms of the Episcopal past, daily chapel is pretty low key but definitely more churchy than a secular school. I was a little surprised at the beginning of the year, but they really use it as more of a community time than anything. They have tackled some pretty tough subjects in there. Community service also starts in K; the class just completed its first project and the kids were really into it. They have also had some really interesting speakers in for the parents, and they schedule them at times that make sense for working parents, which I appreciate. My preschool, which I otherwise dearly love, has a real knack for scheduling these things right after drop off, as if you have time to kill while your kid is in school.

In terms of exmissions, we have a few years before we start thinking about that. We were really focused on finding the right place for right now, and we did. Incidentally, Norwood was DC's first choice after all the playdates, so I kind of felt like it was meant to be.

In terms of my personal convenience, I wish it were closer to DC. Yet, every day and at every time, even in the beginning of the year when I was grumbling the loudest about the commute, it has always met and exceeded my ultimate test: Am I truly happy to sign the check?

HTH.

[Anonymous]

RE: diversity

WES reports it has 26% "children of color."
http://www.w-e-s.org/page.cfm?p=245#diversity

Norwood says 26% of students are "non-Caucasian."
http://www.norwoodschool.org/admissions/equity.asp?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=1019&ModuleID=37

[Anonymous]

PP: What a wondeful response. Thank you. Really made us feel good about Norwood. Thanks for taking the time.

[Anonymous]

I'll mention "differentiated instruction" as one of the several things that we particularly appreciate about Norwood. I had assumed that all private schools offered some type of differentiation, and maybe many/most do, but I've talked to a few parents now from other schools that don't. (And apparently some schools view their student body as uniformly "gifted" in everything so that no "differentiation" is needed?) At Norwood, differentiation includes small reading groups taught by reading specialists beginning in kindergarten and differentiated math groups starting in second grade. In our case, one of our children had a high WPPSI but in kindergarten was only just beginning to learn the letters, sounds, etc. Other children came into kindergarten as advanced readers. Our child was placed in the perfect reading group for kindergarten, but was never "labeled" as being stuck at a certain level and in future years was placed in a more accelerated group. We have always been impressed with the written detail and substantive feedback we receive about our children's progress in every subject area and how quickly and how well the teachers get to know our children. Again, this might be true at any number of schools, but I think of Norwood as providing an individualized, "gifted" education -- a top-notch education "customized " to meet your child's needs year-to-year whether your child is still discovering their particular "gifts," needs extra challenges "across the board," (the art, music and languages programs are incredibly rich and "a whole other story"), is a math wiz but not as strong in language arts or vice versa, etc.

[Anonymous]

Do many people carpool from D.C. to Norwood? We also live and work in D.C., and are worried about the commute.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, it's a challenge. This year I think there are a couple dozen families in 20008, 20015, and 20016 and a sprinkling from other areas, so your chances of finding a carpool partner are better in upper NWDC. The school sends out a carpool & playdate contact info list in the spring to help families connect, and the admin realizes that the commute is obviously a barrier to increasing DC enrollment.

If you have specific questions about the commute, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

[Anonymous]

Norwood parent here. I would check with the school about the transportation issue. There are rumors about an a.m. bus service next year. I hope so, because I would love to see more DC families at the school.
I too noticed that the differentiated instruction in K is low key. I found out in an odd way which level my dd was in. The teachers never say, well she is in the highest group or anything like that. They seem to avoid discussing that. They just want to get the kids reading well, as efficiently as possible.
Another thing that I love about the school is that it runs very well. EVERYTHING is in place. Great communication with families. All events well planned and thought out.

[Anonymous]

BUMP Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Are you looking for specific information on either school or primarily for general perspectives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Norwood parent here. I would check with the school about the transportation issue. There are rumors about an a.m. bus service next year.

The school may be experimenting with bus service from DC for the camp this summer, but nothing has been announced.

[Anonymous]

I can't comment as in depth on Norwood. There are a lot of comments on wes on the boards, but perhaps an additional insight on wes that are likely different from norwood and not mentioned in other boards

diversity - the diversity stat is right in terms of basic definitions of diversity. However, WES has a substantial international population that would not show up in that stat. Really adds an interesting dimension with so many languages spoken. not uncommon to find parents speaking french or another language to each other.

maybe as a consequence, has a global component in curriculum from language, to study trips and creates a lens for the school in other curriculum areas such as the arts and the various units they do starting at nursery level. given our global economy, I see this as a strong plus.