Wasn't Impressed with Maret - What's So Great About It?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

Former student, but not an alum. Sorry you couldn’t handle Sidwell academically (and socially). Hopefully, Burke or Field was a better fit.

np: You are doing Sidwell no favors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

Former student, but not an alum. Sorry you couldn’t handle Sidwell academically (and socially). Hopefully, Burke or Field was a better fit.

np: You are doing Sidwell no favors.

Sidwell doesn’t care, and neither do I. Everything isn’t for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

Former student, but not an alum. Sorry you couldn’t handle Sidwell academically (and socially). Hopefully, Burke or Field was a better fit.

np: You are doing Sidwell no favors.

Sidwell doesn’t care, and neither do I. Everything isn’t for everybody.

This is exactly why it's a terrible place to be a student. A school should care about its students and Sidwell pretty much doesn't (there were probably exceptions). How is it Quakerly is that? Hoping this will change with new principal (He's one that did care while our DCs were there.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How was Maret open house?

The Open House distinguished it from Sidwell, which is too high pressure; from GDS, which is a free spirited bastion of little geniuses, and from NCS, which is a single sex pressure cooker full of depressed girls. And we saw a pretty field, which made it unlike the schools which don't have fields. Maret didn't quite give us an impression of what it is but we know what it is not.

I agree with this...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

Former student, but not an alum. Sorry you couldn’t handle Sidwell academically (and socially). Hopefully, Burke or Field was a better fit.

np: You are doing Sidwell no favors.

Sidwell doesn’t care, and neither do I. Everything isn’t for everybody.

This is exactly why it's a terrible place to be a student. A school should care about its students and Sidwell pretty much doesn't (there were probably exceptions). How is it Quakerly is that? Hoping this will change with new principal (He's one that did care while our DCs were there.).

If you felt the school didn’t care, why didn’t you LEAVE?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

Former student, but not an alum. Sorry you couldn’t handle Sidwell academically (and socially). Hopefully, Burke or Field was a better fit.

I see you fully live the Sidwell-style Quakerly values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

1) Did I say my student hated it? I said it's a terrible place to be a student.
2) When you start in 9th grade - it takes time to learn the school doesn't care about you (and parents are cut out fully)
3) A student who is getting very good grades at Sidwell is smart enough to know how disruptive it would be to transfer to another school mid-stream. It's just not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

1) Did I say my student hated it? I said it's a terrible place to be a student.
2) When you start in 9th grade - it takes time to learn the school doesn't care about you (and parents are cut out fully)
3) A student who is getting very good grades at Sidwell is smart enough to know how disruptive it would be to transfer to another school mid-stream. It's just not worth it.

1. How could your student not hate a school where “it's a terrible place to be a student”? You’re making zero sense with this ridiculous line.

2. Parents are not cut out fully, and my personal experience is very different. I disagree that Sidwell “doesn't care about you.” I don’t think you’re a Sidwell parent, but if you are, I’m sure there’s another side to this story.

3. If your child thinks/thought Sidwell’s “a terrible place to be a student,” then it’s absolutely worth it to leave. No school is worth being miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

1) Did I say my student hated it? I said it's a terrible place to be a student.
2) When you start in 9th grade - it takes time to learn the school doesn't care about you (and parents are cut out fully)
3) A student who is getting very good grades at Sidwell is smart enough to know how disruptive it would be to transfer to another school mid-stream. It's just not worth it.

1. How could your student not hate a school where “it's a terrible place to be a student”? You’re making zero sense with this ridiculous line.

2. Parents are not cut out fully, and my personal experience is very different. I disagree that Sidwell “doesn't care about you.” I don’t think you’re a Sidwell parent, but if you are, I’m sure there’s another side to this story.

3. If your child thinks/thought Sidwell’s “a terrible place to be a student,” then it’s absolutely worth it to leave. No school is worth being miserable.

Glad you are happy - there are others that are not. You clearly don't understand the nuances here - or maybe you are one the the few that the school cares about so you are blind (or simply unaware) to others' experiences. I'm glad it's worked out for you. But the statement of "Sidwell doesn't care and neither do I" is very telling and points exactly to where Sidwell needs to consider improvement. Our experience is not unique and neither is yours. Not everyone is treated the same and I'm glad to hear of others' successes, so congrats to you.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

1) Did I say my student hated it? I said it's a terrible place to be a student.
2) When you start in 9th grade - it takes time to learn the school doesn't care about you (and parents are cut out fully)
3) A student who is getting very good grades at Sidwell is smart enough to know how disruptive it would be to transfer to another school mid-stream. It's just not worth it.

1. How could your student not hate a school where “it's a terrible place to be a student”? You’re making zero sense with this ridiculous line.

2. Parents are not cut out fully, and my personal experience is very different. I disagree that Sidwell “doesn't care about you.” I don’t think you’re a Sidwell parent, but if you are, I’m sure there’s another side to this story.

3. If your child thinks/thought Sidwell’s “a terrible place to be a student,” then it’s absolutely worth it to leave. No school is worth being miserable.

Glad you are happy - there are others that are not. You clearly don't understand the nuances here - or maybe you are one the the few that the school cares about so you are blind (or simply unaware) to others' experiences. I'm glad it's worked out for you. But the statement of "Sidwell doesn't care and neither do I" is very telling and points exactly to where Sidwell needs to consider improvement. Our experience is not unique and neither is yours. Not everyone is treated the same and I'm glad to hear of others' successes, so congrats to you.

You clearly don’t understand logic here. There will be happy families at Sidwell, and families that are far less satisfied. My point is that no school is immune to this phenomena. There isn’t a single high school in DC (or pretty much anywhere else) where everyone is thrilled. Once again, if your child was so miserable he/she/they should have left. No place is worth years of misery. That’s a terrible message to give your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we visited a decade ago, it had no vibe. It was theme-less compared to the other privates, for better or worse. It seemed like a standard public school with a bit nicer facility.

we visited last year looking at 9th grade and i felt the same - could not pinpoint its personality. the three other schools' we toured had their own vibes/personalities that were easy to identify/quantify.

We looked at it for lower school in 2019 and felt the same. I couldn't figure out what Maret thought differentiated itself.

You hit the nail on the head. There’s nothing special about Maret. There’s at least one private school just like it in every major US city.

Yes! But that's what's appealing about it. The other DC options are such extremes.
-Sidwell-super academic, high stress.
-NCS--single gender, academics are ridiculously hard
-STA--single gender
-GDS-super liberal/woke
-Potomac--the other traditional coed school

But THAT’s just it - go to a good public school in the ‘W’ zone. You have brilliant kids getting perfect scores on the SAT, winning robotics competitions and in the highest levels of math and science. If Maret isn’t special, why pay for it. For all of its faults, Sidwell does have a specialness to it that distinguishes it from other schools.

No one has identified that yet.

Sidwell’s specialness? Yes, what is that?

NP. For those in the cheap seats, I’ll repeat what an earlier poster said about Sidwell, and I’ll add a few more distinguishing characteristics:

1. It’s the oldest INDEPENDENT school in Washington, DC;
2. It’s the only Quaker school in DC (I’m not counting preschools);
3. It has an established track record of educating Presidents’ children/grandchildren and the political and business elite;
4. It’s an academically rigorous school with a national reputation (Don’t try to argue this point because there are numerous articles in The NY Times, the LA Times, and other newspapers in major cities with articles about SFS); and
5. It has nationally ranked sports teams in several sports. Most schools are academic OR athletic powerhouses—not both.

Sidwell is a terrible place to be a student
- former Sidwell student

As a parent of a Sidwell grad - I agree with this. DC did very well, so no sour grapes...

I’m the parent of two Sidwell alums and both of my children love(d) the school and thrived academically and socially.

There isn’t a high school or college on the planet that every single student/graduate loves. The real question is why did you keep your child at a school they hated?

1) Did I say my student hated it? I said it's a terrible place to be a student.
2) When you start in 9th grade - it takes time to learn the school doesn't care about you (and parents are cut out fully)
3) A student who is getting very good grades at Sidwell is smart enough to know how disruptive it would be to transfer to another school mid-stream. It's just not worth it.

1. How could your student not hate a school where “it's a terrible place to be a student”? You’re making zero sense with this ridiculous line.

2. Parents are not cut out fully, and my personal experience is very different. I disagree that Sidwell “doesn't care about you.” I don’t think you’re a Sidwell parent, but if you are, I’m sure there’s another side to this story.

3. If your child thinks/thought Sidwell’s “a terrible place to be a student,” then it’s absolutely worth it to leave. No school is worth being miserable.

Glad you are happy - there are others that are not. You clearly don't understand the nuances here - or maybe you are one the the few that the school cares about so you are blind (or simply unaware) to others' experiences. I'm glad it's worked out for you. But the statement of "Sidwell doesn't care and neither do I" is very telling and points exactly to where Sidwell needs to consider improvement. Our experience is not unique and neither is yours. Not everyone is treated the same and I'm glad to hear of others' successes, so congrats to you.

You clearly don’t understand logic here. There will be happy families at Sidwell, and families that are far less satisfied. My point is that no school is immune to this phenomena. There isn’t a single high school in DC (or pretty much anywhere else) where everyone is thrilled. Once again, if your child was so miserable he/she/they should have left. No place is worth years of misery. That’s a terrible message to give your child.

Exactly. “Love it or gtfo” is one of the oldest Quaker values there is.

[jsteele]

Apparently there has been some confusing and some posters are under the impression that "Sidwell" is spelled "M', "A", "R", "E", "T". That is incorrect.