Parents of Color, How diverse is your school? Is it going well for your child socially and academic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice’s kids went to Maret. Gore did Cathedral Schools (BVR/STA). Obamas chose Sidwell.

Gore’s two daughters graduated from NCS. His son graduated from Sidwell after being expelled from STA.

I thought it was Sidwell that expelled him? I posted that on another thread about favoritism for VIPs at private schools.

Nope. He was expelled by STA and graduated from Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:To add, DC children under 18 is 55% black.

Most of these schools are not located in the center of DC. McLean, VA is a lot closer to them than Anacostia.

Trying to shame them for not reflecting a community that is out of commuting distance by most people standards is absurd.

And who cares? In the scheme of things, these schools are small and unimportant. You want to educate kids of all colors? Focus on the public schools! They’ve already got the diversity, but they need more teaching staff.

Oh so now you think all the black kids live in Anacostia. Wow. Jackson Reed is around the corner and only 37% white. Hardy middle is 30% black and 40% white. These are schools that can’t hand select students. The point remains, GDS, the most liberal school in DC, is the whitest private school in DC and 2) many black families commute from EOTR to Georgetown to Upper NW so miss me with the “all black kids live in Anacostia. Even if that were true (which it’s not), there is nothing stopping the DEI of GDS from operating a bus from SE and NE. They have one to pick up in Crestwood.

There is no excuse for GDS to have the whitest population. Anyone trying to rationalize it doesn’t prioritize diversity and has no need on this thread. They should be called out.

Jackson Reed most of its students come from outside of the boundary.

GDS was founded for students that were not allowed in other schools including Jewish students. I am not even a GDS parent yet find your posts annoying. No one owes you or anyone else anything. The sooner you realize that and teach your kids that the better off you will all be in life. Life is not fair. I can give countless examples of people just strolling through life with wealth and connections most will never have. Repeat life is not fair.

New poster here. This is incorrect. Most of Jackson Reed’s students live in boundary.
GDS is over the top hypocritical but everyone knows that already. Even GDS families just roll their eyes at all the social justice talk at the school.
Everyone knows it is mostly for show.

+1. It’s the hypocrisy in it all from GDS.

Being Jewish is diversity. You sound bigoted to me. There are more minorities and diverse families than being black. Once you accept and realize this things will be better for all. There are Asians, Latinos, Indians, etc… it sounds like you don’t want diversity - you just want the kind of diversity you seek. I neither Jewish or a GDS parent btw but the hypocrisy I am seeing is from you. What about the Latino families in DC? They are certainly not represented and I do not hear you complaining about that.

Not bigoted at all. How is pointing our GDS’s hypocrisy bigoted? You sound silly and racist. Again, DC area is 5% Jewish, GDS meets that quota and then some. That’s great and fantastic for Jewish students. Now don’t you think GDS should start working on meeting the Black and Hispanic quota they tout so much in their DEI talking points? They only have 15% black and 2% Hispanic.

From what I hear and see online, Maret has 20% black and 5% Hispanic while also have a relatively proportionate International, Asian, Jewish, and Muslim population. You’d be surprised how much of a difference a 3-5% increase in Black or Hispanic students could be. It could be the difference in having another student that looks like you or not.

Now check how far Maret’s diversity extends beyond their athletes and international students.

Maret family here. I can say that would be hard to say being that everyone plays a sport. If you mean non “elite” athletes, I would say there is a lot of diversity outside of “recruited athletes”. What makes you think there isn’t? My kid is an AA student there that is not a super athlete but will try two sports and feels very much a part of a very diverse community. I’m wondering if you see my child, you assume he is an athlete and only got in because of being an athlete when that couldn’t be further from the truth. He is a straight A student with advanced math courses and was accepted to 4 top schools. When we went through the application process, I can say Maret went to the top of the list for us because of the diversity. I found it welcoming especially considering they have such a small US (80-90 kids per grade).

https://instagram.com/maretfrogs2022?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I know this isn’t the entire class from last year but none of these minority students are playing sports in college. There is one that was going to try to walk on but opted not to when they got to college.

[Anonymous]

*I think there is one football player now that I look again.

[Anonymous]

Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

Repeating a PP, for those of us looking at schools now, it is very frustrating that parents do not name their schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

Repeating a PP, for those of us looking at schools now, it is very frustrating that parents do not name their schools.

THIS. I definitely understand protecting one's anonymity, but the complete omission renders the feedback nearly useless. At least provide a few school names (including yours) that the issue applies to so that the much-needed feedback can be valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

Repeating a PP, for those of us looking at schools now, it is very frustrating that parents do not name their schools.

THIS. I definitely understand protecting one's anonymity, but the complete omission renders the feedback nearly useless. At least provide a few school names (including yours) that the issue applies to so that the much-needed feedback can be valuable.

The thing is, people don’t know about more than 1 or 2 schools, so mentioning other is just hearsay. And even within a school, even within a grade, people can have vastly different experiences. If you can get enough first-hand perspectives, that’s insightful. But telephone-game gossip is just that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

Repeating a PP, for those of us looking at schools now, it is very frustrating that parents do not name their schools.

THIS. I definitely understand protecting one's anonymity, but the complete omission renders the feedback nearly useless. At least provide a few school names (including yours) that the issue applies to so that the much-needed feedback can be valuable.

The thing is, people don’t know about more than 1 or 2 schools, so mentioning other is just hearsay. And even within a school, even within a grade, people can have vastly different experiences. If you can get enough first-hand perspectives, that’s insightful. But telephone-game gossip is just that.

But if those first-hand perspectives do not name the school, how can you know you have enough of them for the schools you are considering? It’s useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This absolutely. We are at a school that several minorities left over the course of 2 years after some very problematic families/students were admitted and sort of ruined the vibe of the grade.

Repeating a PP, for those of us looking at schools now, it is very frustrating that parents do not name their schools.

THIS. I definitely understand protecting one's anonymity, but the complete omission renders the feedback nearly useless. At least provide a few school names (including yours) that the issue applies to so that the much-needed feedback can be valuable.

The thing is, people don’t know about more than 1 or 2 schools, so mentioning other is just hearsay. And even within a school, even within a grade, people can have vastly different experiences. If you can get enough first-hand perspectives, that’s insightful. But telephone-game gossip is just that.

But if those first-hand perspectives do not name the school, how can you know you have enough of them for the schools you are considering? It’s useless.

DCUM posts do not equal first hand experience. There is no proof around what is trolling, what is subjective, or what is objective.

See some current threads where people are working really hard on their smear campaigns of the schools while the school is expanding, kids are doing well, and most parents are happy.

Most people I know in private school don't come here ever because it is so filled with obvious agendas and nowhere near reality.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Where did the Biden’s, Clinton’s, Gores, Obama’s, Susan Rice, send their children to school?

Mostly Sidwell. Rice had nephew at Maret.

Gore attended STA and daughters attended NCS. Bush’s daughter attended NCS and son attended STA. Bush was also on NCS governing board.

Rice’s niece was the basketball star that just left Sidwell for UCLA isn’t she?

Yes. And her nephew (Kiki’s brother) graduated from Maret and plays for Yale. Her kids graduated from Maret and I believe she was on the board at one time.

Her husband was longtime board chair, and is still on the board.

Who could ever forget his sad testimony to DC Council that the school’s detractors “accused our children of being the, quote, ‘Children of the powerful’.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, Latina here where diversity was one of our top priorities when looking at schools.

Two things I suggest:

Look at the teachers profiles on the websites and see what diversity there is. When I looked there are clearly some schools which care about recruiting black/brown/Asian teachers and some that don’t. We ruled out two schools that we otherwise Would have applied to based on this approach.

Ask to speak to a black parent of a current student. Our admissions team asks for parents of students of color to be available to speak to applicants. I am honest about my experience as a POC at our school. The admissions team tries to pair with parents of the same race/ethnicity, so you could speak to a black family about their experience and about the numbers.

The other thing to ask is how many kids from your race/ethnicity stay until graduation - maybe this is less important in high school, but very important to me with younger kids - if POC are leaving after a year or two, that also says something.

This is a good point as well. It would be nice if the schools started to reflect this on there at a glance or quick facts pages.

I just glanced through GDS, Sidwell, Potomac, Bullis, and Maret sites and only found this data on Maret’s website. 38% of their staff identify as POC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where did the Biden’s, Clinton’s, Gores, Obama’s, Susan Rice, send their children to school?

Mostly Sidwell. Rice had nephew at Maret.

Gore attended STA and daughters attended NCS. Bush’s daughter attended NCS and son attended STA. Bush was also on NCS governing board.

Rice’s niece was the basketball star that just left Sidwell for UCLA isn’t she?

Yes. And her nephew (Kiki’s brother) graduated from Maret and plays for Yale. Her kids graduated from Maret and I believe she was on the board at one time.

Her husband was longtime board chair, and is still on the board.

Who could ever forget his sad testimony to DC Council that the school’s detractors “accused our children of being the, quote, ‘Children of the powerful’.”

How dare he

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:White parrot if a black daughter. She is only has 1 other black girl in her grade. She is doing well academically but is disappointed socially. Seems like most of the grade lives near each other in Chevy Chase. School is in DC and we live further north in MoCo.

Some black parents have not welcomed our family into the school community and specifically uninvited me from an event that was initially advertise for black students and their parents. DEI coordinator is inexperienced and overworked. It’s sad because the community could be really great. It’s a school that was founded to bring different kinds of students together.

So was your daughter invited and not you? This seems like it could be distressing to children in multi-racial families.

yeah. It would seem so, but you need to read up on "safe spaces". people really do not feel free to be open and speak of shared lived experiences while in presences of people without said experiences.

they know that 'gaslighting", discounting and ridicule of genuine experiences and concerns happen in "mixed company". it can make people feel less free and open to share.

think of how different it is for girls sometimes to shine in mixed gender classes while being more open in all girls. It's like that kinda.

wanted to add. the purpose is not to exclude or make those not invited feel bad. it's about the majority and their mental health and feelings.

I would hope those excluded would empathize and understand that history of being burned by people outside their community has been the result of thngs like "safe spaces" --- if everyone were nice and fair, these things wouldn't need to exist.

The problem, of course, with the situation as PP describes it, is that the school is (was?) creating a situation where a child is told they can attend an event only if they exclude their own parent just because their parent is not of a particular race. What kind of tension do you think that creates in that child’s mind? In that family?

My child cried when I told them I was uninvited. They said they wanted me to be there since it was advertised initially as an event for black students and their parents.

Was this elementary school? And way to go to guilttrip your child and re-center yourself in an experience for your child? I mean would you whine and throw a pity party about not being able to go to a father/daughter dance with your daughter or a father/son fishing/hunting excursion with your son?

[Anonymous]

yeah... I think in that scenario, your kid probably feel like the off one out so...you have to get over this bc you mention this incident every chance you get on this forum