Sidwell Friends School & African Americans

[Anonymous]

Can any African American families out there with children at Sidwell please comment on your child's experience there? I asked this question on an older thread but, it was suggested that it might be better to start a new thread. Anyway, my question stems from the following comments someone made about African Americans at Sidwell:

That being said it is a HORRIBLE place to send your black male child if you are remotely considering it. Unless he is relatively docile, extremely high achieving (truly an private school "A" student) willing to play the cadillac liberal game, I'm greener, more politically sensitive, more demonstrably contributing at the yearly auction, competitive eco-vacationing, Prius driving and parents bicycling to lucrative consulting jobs, etc., etc,. etc.

Just my 2+ cents, folks. Like it or not, this was my experience of it.

Many parents of black Sidwell boys have told me that they have felt concerned about their son's self esteem as a result of treatment by faculty and fellow student's parents, shockingly. There is a strong aversion to the proud, strong, unapologetically black type.

[Anonymous]

Um, I am African American, and have heard the same from other families. That is (partly) why my 99%ile WPPSI son will never see that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, I am African American, and have heard the same from other families. That is (partly) why my 99%ile WPPSI son will never see that school.

Do you think this is prevalent among African American children at Sidwell in general (meaning not gender specific and not temperament specific)?

Where did you decide to send your son?

[Anonymous]

I would say that the complaints are more about boys.
I will probably send him to Norwood.
I have heard good things about Maret WRT that issue. I have not heard complaints from people at Beauvoir or Sheridan.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this thread is an eye-opener, though I don't have a child at Sidwell so i don't have a direct interest. I do remember that when my daughter was at Beauvoir the mother of a friend of her's, who is African American, told me she was pretty shocked and offended by how she was treated by the Sidwell folks at a private school fair for African American applicants (can't remember the name of the org that holds these) and that she had heard similar stories from other parents. I was somewhat skeptical (I mean why even go to such an event if you're going to totally disrespect the purpose for being there) but this thread does make me remember the conversation. it may not be just boys.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I find this a reality with MANY of the so-called 'top, competitive' area private schools. (Sidwell, St. Alban's, Georgetown Prep, etc.) IMO, it's not so much the administrators/teachers as the parents of the other kids.

[Anonymous]

My concern is not so much the parents of the other kids, but rather the administration and teachers. So where are the 'top, competitive' area private schools that welcome African Americans (aside from GDS)? By welcome, I don't mean that they admit African Americans. I mean that they treat students equally regardless of race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My concern is not so much the parents of the other kids, but rather the administration and teachers. So where are the 'top, competitive' area private schools that welcome African Americans (aside from GDS)? By welcome, I don't mean that they admit African Americans. I mean that they treat students equally regardless of race.

I think part of the problem springs from the perception that African American families are admitted using lower test scores and are only able to attend based on financial aid grants. Add to that an unhealthy dose of lurking prejudice, this is a recipe for an unwelcome presence for most AA families at the DC privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My concern is not so much the parents of the other kids, but rather the administration and teachers. So where are the 'top, competitive' area private schools that welcome African Americans (aside from GDS)? By welcome, I don't mean that they admit African Americans. I mean that they treat students equally regardless of race.

I think part of the problem springs from the perception that African American families are admitted using lower test scores and are only able to attend based on financial aid grants. Add to that an unhealthy dose of lurking prejudice, this is a recipe for an unwelcome presence for most AA families at the DC privates.

That's pretty ridiculous. I don't know about test scores, but I do know at least two dozen African American families in DC privates who pay full freight. Are you saying that these are the perceptions of the administrators and teachers, or parents? I couldn't care less about the parents. You'll find a-holes full of prejudice anywhere. But teachers should know better.

[Anonymous]

This thread is very painful to read.

I would really encourage white parents to cease from posting any theories of their own and respect the fact that the OP asked to hear from other black (or, I'm assuming, biracial) families about their experiences and perspectives.

[Anonymous]

Poster who stated 'that is riduculous' regarding test scores/financial aid. It is a true stereotype (thought by caucasian parents and administrators) that black families MUST be on financial aid at the costly schools or MUST be admitted because they were part of the 'diversity' package, rather than having been admitted because they were tops in their class and on the standardized testing, and/or have highly influential and wealthy parents.

[Anonymous]

Speaking as a white parent (I know you didn't ask, sorry, OP): I don't know anything about Sidwell. But one of the things I love about my daughter's school-- Burgundy Farm Country Day in Alexandria, which was the first integrated school in VA and currently has an African-American enrollment of about 20%-- is that she is surrounded by African American kids who are frequently the top achievers in each class. I want her to grow up understanding that talent and idiocy are distributed among human beings without regard for race, so for me, it's great to know that she's at a school where she's going to figure this out just by watching her peers. (Another 15% or so of kids at Burgundy are Asian or hispanic or other minorities).

If you're interested in Burgundy-- it is unfortunately just k-8-- you could ask the Admissions Dir, Kathy Robinson (who is herself African American) to put you in touch with other parents. I don't know if their perspective would be different, but my sense is that it's one of those rare schools-- Capitol Hill Day might be another-- where African-American families helped create the school in the first place, and this shows in an ongoing schoolwide sense that everyone "belongs" equally.

[Anonymous]

OP, the things that I have heard about Sidwell is about staff and families. One parent I know who went there as a child,then sent her kids there, eventually removed them because she did not want to see her sons' self esteem ruined. She did not remember that kind of experience as a child, but she was a girl.
She mentioned that the staff assumed the worst of her boys. The other families did not help either. She by the way is a wealthy professional partner in DC.

[Anonymous]

Why is this particularly happening at Sidwell and not, say, at St. Albans and NCS?

[Anonymous]

Are the demographics at both schools the same?