Holton brain drain?

[Anonymous]

Holton is getting (maybe she's already there?) a top administrator from GDS. Definitely a good move by Holton.

[Anonymous]

Great news, any idea when this will be announced? Are the LS HOS swapping places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holton is getting (maybe she's already there?) a top administrator from GDS. Definitely a good move by Holton.

That's the associate head. Starts in July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great news, any idea when this will be announced? Are the LS HOS swapping places?

No. The "interim" LS head is very unimpressive. Not at all comparable to Holton -- www.greenmountschool.org

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to add that most parents who seem wholly oblivious and tell you to "talk to other parents and the school" are mostly not involved in the issues causing discontent. It is mainly the Black parents that are affected. So unless a parent associates closely with Black parents, they are probably unaware.

Yes, Holton parent here. This is mostly true. We’re not expecting any change in academics or school standing. If anything, there will be old faces that will be missed and new faces to learn and build relationships with. C’est la vie.

This "c'est la vie" attitude is why people will leave. Neither the HOS nor the Board care about the concerns of families (mostly families of color) and we feel it very deeply. We do not feel wanted. So whoever wrote this is spot-on and very reflective of the culture at Holton right now.

It's a "take it or leave it" kind of situation and for $50k a year, many of us will leave it.

+ 1 PP

As a white Holton parent, this laissez-faire attitude toward a possible exodus of families of color b/c they are feeling a lack of belonging is really alarming. I personally don't want to be associated with a school (or any organization) that triggers a mass exodus of any people of color AND then the response from boosters that think everything is fine at Holton is “c’est la friggin’ vie”!?

That doesn't align with my family's values or the ones Holton proudly touts on their website. Something isn’t adding up.

cosign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holton is getting (maybe she's already there?) a top administrator from GDS. Definitely a good move by Holton.

Not impressive at all. They were hired to check some boxes in underrepresentation.

[Anonymous]

Just so we're all clear, moving from being the division head of a division with 3 grades (3-6 at Holton) to one with 7 (Prek-5, at GDS) is not a lateral move. It is a bigger job, responsible for more kids, more employees, a bigger budget, and a longer curricular arch. The job title might be the same, and many of the responsibilities are the same, but this is not a lateral move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For current parents, please check how many students will be in a class. A new move is to have more students per teacher. There will be 18 or more students per subject.

It sounds like they are going to be overenrolled. Good for Holton, but not so good for the Bradley Boulevard Citizens Association who get very touchy when the enrollment cap is not followed. Just ask GDS how chill Tenlytown was when they did the same thing and didn’t report it.

[Anonymous]

It usually works out in the end

Maybe? But optimism isn’t a strategy. Where is Board leadership? Or is it the large slate of new people that came in this year? Did they get the proper training on management and fiduciary responsibilities?

Will there be any new openings on the board this year? From the looks of the picture on the website they could benefit from some more diverse voices at the table. And probably more women. A lot of old white guys isn’t super encouraging for a top ten school for girls in the year 2024.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just so we're all clear, moving from being the division head of a division with 3 grades (3-6 at Holton) to one with 7 (Prek-5, at GDS) is not a lateral move. It is a bigger job, responsible for more kids, more employees, a bigger budget, and a longer curricular arch. The job title might be the same, and many of the responsibilities are the same, but this is not a lateral move.

When I went to Holton, we learned how to count.

Sorry that you, as a big fancy parent, didn’t learn the basics in math!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The head of MS was at NCS as a teacher (or at least not in leadership). She got a job at Holton in leadership. She is taking the same job at NCS. Her heart is at NCS. There wasn't an opening at NCS so she went to Holton. Now she is going back. Has nothing to do with the head.

We are a long-time Holton family. There are ups and downs. I will take Holton any day over my son's school. Trust me. As I always say, if you have questions or concerns, instead of posting to an anonymous forum, reach out to the people in lower school. Reach out to development. If you don't get responses (or if you don't like the responses - or maybe they are fine for you but don't work for someone else), then make your decision based on what works for you.

No school is perfect. After three very different kids and three different private schools, there is no perfect school for everyone. It is about the fit for your child at that point in time. We love Holton, b/c it works for our kid who is currently there. Truth be told, I wanted to pull her in 8th grade. She refused to leave. She was right. Upper school has been great for her. BUT, it fits for her, and some of her unique circumstances.

Interested in why your daughter fought to stay and why it ended up being a good fit?

[Anonymous]

Maybe the same people who keep starting new threads and keep dumping on new Holton HOS would be better off finding a new hobby. Not very courageous to write childish, negative anonymous content continuously. Maybe raise your issues through conversations with school leadership and not attempt to bully through anonymous comments here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For current parents, please check how many students will be in a class. A new move is to have more students per teacher. There will be 18 or more students per subject.

It sounds like they are going to be overenrolled. Good for Holton, but not so good for the Bradley Boulevard Citizens Association who get very touchy when the enrollment cap is not followed. Just ask GDS how chill Tenlytown was when they did the same thing and didn’t report it.

No, not talking about over enrollment, having the same total number of students but each classroom size will be bigger with 1 teacher. Ratio of student to teacher will deteriorate, especially in Language dept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the same people who keep starting new threads and keep dumping on new Holton HOS would be better off finding a new hobby. Not very courageous to write childish, negative anonymous content continuously. Maybe raise your issues through conversations with school leadership and not attempt to bully through anonymous comments here.

Yes, raise your issues with her or the Board, surely they will listen...NOT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just so we're all clear, moving from being the division head of a division with 3 grades (3-6 at Holton) to one with 7 (Prek-5, at GDS) is not a lateral move. It is a bigger job, responsible for more kids, more employees, a bigger budget, and a longer curricular arch. The job title might be the same, and many of the responsibilities are the same, but this is not a lateral move.

When I went to Holton, we learned how to count.

Sorry that you, as a big fancy parent, didn’t learn the basics in math!

You’re a nasty one , aren’t you.