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I just realized, the less a school is talked about on this board, the better it probably is...
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Anonymous
This is absurd. What a disservice you are doing to your children by raising them to define themselves by where they go to school. A good school is a wonderful experience, but it's purpose is to educate and enrich a child's life, not define who and what they are. Entrance to a fine school should also not be utilized as a feather to don a warped parent's hat. |
Anonymous
Hello, I am the one who called St. Pat's a Top Tier and I stand behind it. For what it's worth, my child will be entering Pre-K Beauvoir in September and I am very excited for her. It will be especially meaningful to send my daughter to the school I love so much as I am a graduate. That being said, I honestly feeled compelled to defend and advocate St. Patrick's because I personally know many many families who send their children St. Patrick's and it was their first choice. I seriously don't understand the back lash on this board against the school. Please understand I am in NO WAY putting down any other schools, we are very fortunate to have many incredible schools in the area. Just because this board hasn't labeled a school one of "Big 3," doesn't mean it isn't equally strong and a Top Tier school. It is in my book. Although, I am obviously very happy with our decision, I would be proud and thrilled to send my child to St. Patrick's. It's more low-key than some of the schools that receive a lot of airage on this board. This is a perfect example where information on this board is truly skewed. Unless you are very familiar with a school, I would refrain from labeling a school "not a top tier," or better yet, why don't you personally take a tour and apply and see if your kid gets in - admission is extremely competitive. A part of me cannot help but wonder if those naysayers toured the school in the first place. It is very impressive. I am Washingtonian native and alum of Beauvoir and NCS. My next door neighbors on either side of me went to Sidwell, so I had a lot of friends who went there too. Obviously readers on this board are quite familiar with Sidwell and the Cathedral schools, but there are many strong schools on this board today, I had not heard of growing up or were not as hard to get into as they are now. However, I am open minded and would NEVER pre-judge the school unless I had intimate knowledge about it. I certainly would not put a school down or minimize how strong it is academically unless I had a good reason to do so and had first or strong second hand knowledge... and even then I would probably refrain because anonymous insults are unkind and generally unhelpful unless you are willing to stand behind your words. Finally, I have one last note. It falls under the "for what it's worth" category. I don't know where these schools are today academically, but at NCS we had many girls join our class from St. Patrick's, Potomac (it only went through 9th grade back then). Norwood and Sheridan. In all honesty, I had never heard of Norwood (please bear in mind as a kid you are mostly aware of the schools attended by your neighbors and no kids on my block in NW DC went there), but I can honestly say the four girls who joined our class from Norwood were all extremely strong students who went on to Ivy Leagues. The same goes for the 3 who joined our class from Sheridan. I understand that schools change over time, but my point is just because a school is not labeled one of the "Big 3," doesn't mean it's not an excellent Top Tier school. St. Patrick's is another school that has always been very strong with devoted families. I also hear wonderful things about NPS. So, please new parents to this board, I urge you to let go of the label "Big 3," it will only limit your choices. Please take the time to get to learn as much as you can about each school, and then apply to the ones that you feel are best for your child. |
Anonymous
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NP here. Thank you to the PP for that well articulated comment. Here's another opinion.
We're not a St. Pat's family, but when we looked at schools' academics, curricula, reputations, facilities, etc. we definitely agree that St. Pat's is in the same league as Beauvoir, Sidwell, et al. I get the impression that certain posters to this board want to pretend their schools are more "exclusive" than they are at the expense of everyone else but I'm not buying it. If Beauvoir, Sidwell, and GDS want to do more to distinguish themselves it's going to take more than a few pit vipers posting on DCUM to get it done. |
Anonymous
| Thank you, 10:12. A voice of sanity! |
Anonymous
| Poster 10:12 - Thank you. Well said!!! |
Anonymous
| bump! |
Anonymous
| I don't assume that the people posting about the "Big 3" actually send their kids to the schools they are characterizing in this way. A lot of this talk strikes me as the sort of chatter that occurs among people who are new to a situation, very insecure, and want to appear to be in the know. |
Anonymous
| I would have said, "The less a school is talked about on this board, the better OFF it probably is...". No correlation to quality of school, but since the ratio of good to bad information is ever-changing, better to not be mentioned at all. |
Anonymous
| Yup. ITA. |
Anonymous
| what does "ITA" mean? |
Anonymous
| I Totally Agree. |
Anonymous
| BUMP! |
Anonymous
| !!!! |
Anonymous
| Bump! |
Anonymous
| why bump bull$h!t like this? |