New Head at Washington Episcopal School

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how things are going with the new head at Washington Episcopal?

[Anonymous]

Not well. The parents and the faculty do not like him. He does not care about the students and has no clue about what is going on academically. On Fridays, you can see him leaving early to join his wife in New York. I hear his contract is up this year. Does the Board have the guts to not renew his contract?

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with the previous poster. I was open-minded when I met him, but I quickly realized that he is in over his head with this job. Hopefully, the Board will do something about it. Play the WES drinking game! Every time the Head mentions his beloved new field, take a sip of your drink! Soon, you will have a hard time standing up. Too bad he is ignoring more important issues.

[Anonymous]

This is a pattern at WES. The board and the Heads of School
(the last 2) don't like to make decisions. Families make their decisions by leaving.

[Anonymous]

Here come the anti-WES troll. What malice and stupidity. Jeff, could you see if one of the 2 "respondents" is the same as the OP?

Very few people are going to take the bait because WES parents by and large aren't big DCUM posters.

We think well of the new Head and what he has already accomplished in the short time he's been at WES. It goes well beyond a new athletic field, but sure, that's been nice also.

I've only had a few private conversations with him, but he seems to know quite a lot about DC whom he greets by name each morning at drop-off. I couldn't care less if he doesn't spend every Friday night at the school. (I see him there plenty for all the big events, performances, games.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not well. The parents and the faculty do not like him. He does not care about the students and has no clue about what is going on academically. On Fridays, you can see him leaving early to join his wife in New York. I hear his contract is up this year. Does the Board have the guts to not renew his contract?

This comment is very interesting to me. It says you know enough to be at school on Fridays and have seen him leaving more than once, so you are either a) an unhappy parent who needs to withdraw your child or b) an unhappy staff/faculty member who needs a new job. Either way, you definitely need to move on.

Yes, his contract is up this year. I have not heard it was extended, but also have not heard any announcement about a search for a new head of school. But since you will be moving on, you can go worry about something else.

[Anonymous]

Hi, new poster here. We are on the fence about WES because of him and the trickle down affects of his 'leadership.' He doesnt have a genuine love for the school and for the job. Hope the board has the sense to see that because the rest of the school community is at their mercy. Feels like the rest of us mere commoner parents dont have a meaningful say in this, but it affects us all. The board and its MANY task forces can send out 1,000 survey monkeys or have meaningless committees for the 'other' parents, but in the end will they really listen and do what is right for the school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here come the anti-WES troll. What malice and stupidity.

Hi I am the OP, those are strong words. Was hoping for some honest feelings from people about the head--not insults to other posters who are speaking their minds.
Thanks for being open minded.

[Anonymous]

The comment about commoner parents is sooo true. Has any one else noticed that the kids of Board members get special treatment? When was the last time one of the Three Kings didn't have a parent on the board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here come the anti-WES troll. What malice and stupidity. Jeff, could you see if one of the 2 "respondents" is the same as the OP?

Very few people are going to take the bait because WES parents by and large aren't big DCUM posters.

We think well of the new Head and what he has already accomplished in the short time he's been at WES. It goes well beyond a new athletic field, but sure, that's been nice also.

I've only had a few private conversations with him, but he seems to know quite a lot about DC whom he greets by name each morning at drop-off. I couldn't care less if he doesn't spend every Friday night at the school. (I see him there plenty for all the big events, performances, games.)

I completely agree with pp. We have the same experience each morning.

"Truth is generally the best vindication against slander"

[Anonymous]

First, Jeff doesn't read every post -- that would be impossible. If you want him to check if somebody is sock puppeting you need to hit the "report" button and make your request.

Second, these threads where you invite people to take pot-shots at a specific administrator are unfair and often take an ugly turn. I think it is easy enough to talk about specific policies you like or don't like under an administration without being this personal.

Third, do you like your kid's teachers at WES? Does your kid like WES? This seems to be a lot about how parents feel about their own status and not about the daily classroom experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not well. The parents and the faculty do not like him. He does not care about the students and has no clue about what is going on academically. On Fridays, you can see him leaving early to join his wife in New York. I hear his contract is up this year. Does the Board have the guts to not renew his contract?

This comment is very interesting to me. It says you know enough to be at school on Fridays and have seen him leaving more than once, so you are either a) an unhappy parent who needs to withdraw your child or b) an unhappy staff/faculty member who needs a new job. Either way, you definitely need to move on.

Yes, his contract is up this year. I have not heard it was extended, but also have not heard any announcement about a search for a new head of school. But since you will be moving on, you can go worry about something else.

Why do you think it's appropriate to tell this person what to do? Your arrogance amazes me. Who are you to run people's lives?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, new poster here. We are on the fence about WES because of him and the trickle down affects of his 'leadership.' He doesnt have a genuine love for the school and for the job. Hope the board has the sense to see that because the rest of the school community is at their mercy. Feels like the rest of us mere commoner parents dont have a meaningful say in this, but it affects us all. The board and its MANY task forces can send out 1,000 survey monkeys or have meaningless committees for the 'other' parents, but in the end will they really listen and do what is right for the school?

Because someone reported this thread, I have taken a look at the posts and see that this poster is the OP. In the post just following this one, he/she identifies him/herself as the OP and claims to have been hoping for "honest feelings". But, apparently the original poster is not being honest. It is interesting to ask how things are going when you already apparently have very strong opinions on the matter.

At any rate, I am going to lock this thread, but leave it up so that others can see that sock puppetting to discredit someone is not only morally wrong, but can end up discrediting you as well.