Whittle

[Anonymous]

TBH, I’m less invested in what a scam Whittle is, nothing knew. I am very invested in learning about the local cast of characters starting with the investment committee and the 3 parents on it, the advisory committee etc. and yes, I’m interested in Maret. It’s not a sideshow, it’s very real to the story and the most fascinating part

Get the Signal messages. Who were the inner circle parents, what did they know, what did they hide from the other parents, where did the bridge money come from, how did those parents make their money, and did the poor and POC lose out again and by extension finance this folly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TBH, I’m less invested in what a scam Whittle is, nothing knew. I am very invested in learning about the local cast of characters starting with the investment committee and the 3 parents on it, the advisory committee etc. and yes, I’m interested in Maret. It’s not a sideshow, it’s very real to the story and the most fascinating part

Get the Signal messages. Who were the inner circle parents, what did they know, what did they hide from the other parents, where did the bridge money come from, how did those parents make their money, and did the poor and POC lose out again and by extension finance this folly?

I'm not sure I understand why its so damning, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just think it’s remarkable that with a two-year window and all the resources in the world, Maret managed to hire a new HOS who’s neck-deep in the Whittle quagmire. Well done everyone!

Shocking. Can they reconsider? If not, really scrutinize every single Whittle admission

I really don't think this is that big a deal. As HOS he quit after 2 years, but she stayed on in an advisory role. Not sure how this is terrible.

Let’s find out. How many transfers will there be to Maret? Who advocated his selection? Was there a link to the Whittle investment committee parents? What were the Signal messages? Were there errors in judgment and conflicts of interest? I’d be pretty concerned with the leadership that lead Whittle for that long and continued on in the last year. Some parents believed they have been badly betrayed and lied to by this very group (not just Whittle)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TBH, I’m less invested in what a scam Whittle is, nothing knew. I am very invested in learning about the local cast of characters starting with the investment committee and the 3 parents on it, the advisory committee etc. and yes, I’m interested in Maret. It’s not a sideshow, it’s very real to the story and the most fascinating part

Get the Signal messages. Who were the inner circle parents, what did they know, what did they hide from the other parents, where did the bridge money come from, how did those parents make their money, and did the poor and POC lose out again and by extension finance this folly?

I'm not sure I understand why its so damning, exactly?

Oh. I don’t know, other than the conflict of interest post that was deleted, maybe the fact that I would not want the CEO of let’s say Raj Raj hedge fund come run Bridgewater Associates, or the head of Emergent shut down vaccine facility come oversee production of Pfizer vaccines. Just saying. Why?

[Anonymous]

Serious question: was anyone on the advisory committee compensated? Was anyone receiving any type of compensation at the time of the Signal messages someone posted earlier from Bisgaard asking for money to feed boarders? Were any of them compensated while teaches and contractors went unpaid? Seems relevant

[Anonymous]

This is seriously juicy. Vanity Fair more than WaPo but could easily win someone an investigative journalism award. The angle shouldn’t be Whittle but the microcosm of the DC implosion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a direct quote from the WBJ article about one step that she took as a member of the parent capital strategy committee:

"On March 18, according to a screenshot obtained by the Business Journal, Bisgaard contacted a group of parents through Signal, an app for sending secure, encrypted messages: 'I no longer have shame,' she wrote, adding that the director of dining and another school official were 'down to their last penny for boarder meals. Please chip in $5-$10 if you can today.'"

Not a great look for the wife of a head of school. And her assertion that she has personal knowledge about the school's financial status ("down to their last penny") in connection with asking parents for money is a bold and risky step.

I can’t get over this paragraph

[Anonymous]

What was an entertaining thread about a slow-moving train wreck with the architect of several previous train wrecks as the lead character has morphed into a weird Maret conspiracy theory thread.

So what? This ain't varsity blues. Were parents misrepresenting their primary schooler's athletic achievements? Donating to coaches scholarship funds? I don't get it.

-Everyone in this thread knew the ship was sinking. Two Bisgaards were privy to the full details of the financial mess that was Whittle. One jumped ship relying on his previous track record of success in more traditional independent school models (and some excellent bonafides on DEI and leadership side that would stand out in this current climate) to secure more stable employment.
-150 or so students need to find a new school, that would represent maybe 10 new Maret classrooms worth of students. Did any go to Maret? I would think some would if there was space for them and the families could afford the tuition increase. (recall most WSS students were not paying full freight (on average 30% of tuition)). How many children get financial aid off the wait list, much less after the normal admissions process has been otherwise completed, in your child's school (I think I know the answer (0))?
-What incentive does anyone at Maret have to grant favors to parents of WSS children other than the Bisdaard's own children (already college-aged).
-even if a few students were accepted to Maret based on a Bisgaard recommendation, how does that overshadow the Scandal that is Whittle?
-Is Maret's new HoS really "neck-deep in the Whittle quagmire"? How so? He left. As did several other HoSs and other admin officials. The Maret search committee no doubt considered whatever taint there may have been, and saw the positives as outweighing it.

I remain interested in Whittle, and would love the the Maret conspiracy to find a new DCUM thread.

If you look at some of the complaints filed against Whittle, you would find much more interesting discussions than this (e.g., check out the cost of the new cafeteria stations that were never paid for).
If you read the history of Whittle's past messes, we could have some interesting conversations.
Even looking at the parents committee and the audacity of some of the venmo/signal requests would provide better grist for more informative and entertaining discussions.
As another poster put it: "How does someone take in over $70 million in cash personally on their property from Pure East ( $50.5M in 2017, from their wife's trust $11.2M 2014, 2017, from Golden Eagle, another $17M--- read the docs filed in Suffolk County)...combine it with an apparent $390 million more in investment according to Washington Business Journal......and not be able to buy the pizza when Ridgewells balks at a $170k lunch bill. ..One would hope the investment committee asked this simple question before getting nickels and dimes from honorable customers. "

[Anonymous]

Oh sure, that sounds very plausible. There was no bad judgment, conflict of interest, and whiff of impropriety.
We will look elsewhere, only at Whittle himself.

Oh, these cafeteria stations are soooo interesting. Far more than the story in front of our noses. Nothing to see hear, folks

Go ahead. Call us unhinged. That’s the next arrow in the old quiver isn’t it?

[Anonymous]

I bet it is varsity blues meet Enron, DC edition

[Anonymous]

Move along plebes, who cares you are on the Maret waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Make way for the Whittles

[Anonymous]

I have a serious question: where were the boarders (that according to WBJ Bisgaard was collecting 5-10 (dollars, thousands) via Signal on behalf of Whittle to feed) living? How? Is there a case for child endangerment? Or just enormous reputational damage for the grown ups who knew — advisory and parent investment committee, admin, management?

I had no idea there were boarders

[Anonymous]

150 or so students need to find a new school, that would represent maybe 10 new Maret classrooms worth of students. Did any go to Maret? I would think some would if there was space for them and the families could afford the tuition increase. (recall most WSS students were not paying full freight (on average 30% of tuition))

A different take. Each of these students minus the boarders has a by right public school. Whether they can pay or not IS NOT a criterion to go to a top private school. In fact, Whittle teaching was so questionable towards the end dud to the understaffing that I don’t think they can get in on merit. So I would absolutely call for an audit of every admission to Maret given tight links to Whittle.

The HOS appointment was not made yesterday so I’d also look at every person who had deciding power and links to Whittle.

The HOS should in fact initiate this audit himself because of Maret reputation (and his own). If I were him, I would do that

The boarders I think should sue separately if for their pains they were fed by $5 donations for all their fees.

[Anonymous]

Is the FBI involved? I don’t know what this Whittle mess sound like to you, but I don’t think it’s just a contract thing. It’s consumer protection, but also conspiracy maybe? Investigate everyone with the privileged access. Whittle is just a figurehead. Judge should declare all the NDAs void and people should start talking about the DC scandal of the decade