just can't relate to Potomac anymore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

That’s just the thing: Catholic school are doing DEI without laying on the guilt trips. It ain’t hard folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

Yet all those horrible woke DEI schools had far more applicants than places yet again, and parents will line up to write them $50K checks.

That whole supply and demand curve isn't exactly bending your way because of DEI, LOL. I know, I know, you can predict that it will all implode down the line.

Rah rah rah. This thread is a hoot.

No one writes checks anymore to these schools, PP. If you were actually a parent, let alone a Potomac parent, you’d know that.

Nice try but you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

Yet all those horrible woke DEI schools had far more applicants than places yet again, and parents will line up to write them $50K checks.

That whole supply and demand curve isn't exactly bending your way because of DEI, LOL. I know, I know, you can predict that it will all implode down the line.

Rah rah rah. This thread is a hoot.

No one writes checks anymore to these schools, PP. If you were actually a parent, let alone a Potomac parent, you’d know that.

Nice try but you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about.

… are you always this unable to interpret figures of speech?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing. Noted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for sharing. Noted.

Yeah - I got my reparations direct deposit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[list]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's like everything is DEI all the time --to the exclusion of everything else.

I'm all for DEI investments, but its starting to feel like that's the only focus of the school. For everything. All the time. Every call. Every event. Every newsletter. Every communication. Every survey.

The administration does not seem to talk about anything else with parents. They have 8+ people working on DEI for a 1000 student school.
+1
There are always weird posts clearly not written by people who are actually at schools this time of year. Be skeptical of anything ridiculous like this coming out right when acceptance decisions will come out. Someone is trying to scare you away from Potomac.
For what it’s worth, we’re at the school and incredibly happy. There is one DEI full time person, and the school does a great job.

How about academics, extracurriculars, clubs (which are weak vis a vis other schools), athletics-- all areas that have holes and lack of focus while everything is funneled to DEI. The administration is down a rabbit hole on this one.

Potoamc should keep up the great work on DEI-but it's one of many areas that make up school experience. Every conversation doesn't need to be about this. Parents and students do have other focus areas and interests.

That’s absurd. Having that many dedicated roles creates incentives to invent problems to justify makework jobs.

And how much is Potomac’s tuition going up next year, to fund these 8 (EIGHT???) administrators?

There are not 8 full time administrators for DEI. There is one that is arguably full time (Director of Student Diversity Recruitment and Retention). The rest all have other FT jobs for the school.

The percent of Potomac's tuition increase is one of the lowest in the DC area. (I believe it's 3.4% on average.)

"Everything" is not funneled to DEI and the administration is not "down a rabbit hole." A few years ago, people complained because Potomac wasn't diverse enough. Now people complain that they are focusing too much on ensuring the classes are more diverse.
Given the tenor of American politics and by extension society right now, investing to ensure our children are more understanding of each other seems like a positive thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having been at two other schools with DEI - it's a hard thing to get right.

One school has done a great job and started over a decade ago, going slow, being thoughtful - training for teachers, tweaks in curriculum, broader sets of books in library, speakers, hiring. Not everyone buys in but it is something where much of the progress has been slowly woven into the fabric without taking over. It bugs me that there will always be "those parents" who will always see the hiring of a person of color as a DEI hire, though.

The other (more prominent) school comes up with big initiatives and actions that flame out and disappear. It all feels "for show". That school already had more diversity than the first. I don't know how parents/students feel about DEI at the school or these initiatives.

I feel like the first school has been more genuine and made more progress.

My child’s elementary teacher this year was a new hire who turned out to be abysmal and by far the worst teacher in elementary. It has done real harm to a class full of students including my child. We have no other explanation for this situation besides a DEI hire. True or not, this is the perception.

Not at Potomac right? There are no new LS teachers who fit this description

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having been at two other schools with DEI - it's a hard thing to get right.

One school has done a great job and started over a decade ago, going slow, being thoughtful - training for teachers, tweaks in curriculum, broader sets of books in library, speakers, hiring. Not everyone buys in but it is something where much of the progress has been slowly woven into the fabric without taking over. It bugs me that there will always be "those parents" who will always see the hiring of a person of color as a DEI hire, though.

The other (more prominent) school comes up with big initiatives and actions that flame out and disappear. It all feels "for show". That school already had more diversity than the first. I don't know how parents/students feel about DEI at the school or these initiatives.

I feel like the first school has been more genuine and made more progress.

My child’s elementary teacher this year was a new hire who turned out to be abysmal and by far the worst teacher in elementary. It has done real harm to a class full of students including my child. We have no other explanation for this situation besides a DEI hire. True or not, this is the perception.

Not at Potomac right? There are no new LS teachers who fit this description

Correct

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP means: minorities don’t belong at Potomac. Any group that threatens “whiteness” is unwelcome at the school. Anything in society that threatens “whiteness”
is also unwelcome.

OP is among the many at Potomac who believe in being "colorblind." It's quite parochial and many people like OP will use the DEI and "affirmative action" argument to complain about why students of color are able to get into better colleges than their kids. Meanwhile, nothing really is done to give students of color, or really students of any color, who may come from more underprivileged backgrounds the same opportunities that the above-average wealthy students are getting. They come in at the bottom and are left to feel less valuable throughout their time there. This played out with the gravest consequences a few years ago and nothing has changed since. Thanks to leadership and parents like OP.

I find it hard to believe that there are any underprivileged students at a school that charges over $55,000 per year for tuition. Even if someone receive financial assistance, they are still very privileged.

You are completely ignorant. There are kids from every type on background at Potomac. The school does an amazing job of making sure everyone there has everything they need to succeed and does it in the background. There are kids who truly come from nothing and I only know this bc my kids are lifers and I’ve brought kids home from playdates, games, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP means: minorities don’t belong at Potomac. Any group that threatens “whiteness” is unwelcome at the school. Anything in society that threatens “whiteness”
is also unwelcome.

OP is among the many at Potomac who believe in being "colorblind." It's quite parochial and many people like OP will use the DEI and "affirmative action" argument to complain about why students of color are able to get into better colleges than their kids. Meanwhile, nothing really is done to give students of color, or really students of any color, who may come from more underprivileged backgrounds the same opportunities that the above-average wealthy students are getting. They come in at the bottom and are left to feel less valuable throughout their time there. This played out with the gravest consequences a few years ago and nothing has changed since. Thanks to leadership and parents like OP.

This is incorrect - at least currently. Children from underprivileged backgrounds who receive FA, receive the same % of aid for everything - uniforms, lunch, after school programs, etc. and not even the teachers are made aware. Potomac has done very well at providing opportunities to ensure all children feel valued.

Oh, I see, getting uniforms and the privilege of participating in afterschool programs is all that is required to feel included? Considering you mentioned those two things, I assume you have not yet had a child go through US, where they are denied entry into the Honor Council or the advanced econ classes. Potomac has not, as you so unequivocally claim, done very well at providing opportunities for inclusion.

Oh please, my white and very privileged child was also denied honor council. It has nothing to do with whatever you’re trying to imply. Advanced econ classes are solely on grades in the pre-reqs, nothing more or less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

Didn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having been at two other schools with DEI - it's a hard thing to get right.

One school has done a great job and started over a decade ago, going slow, being thoughtful - training for teachers, tweaks in curriculum, broader sets of books in library, speakers, hiring. Not everyone buys in but it is something where much of the progress has been slowly woven into the fabric without taking over. It bugs me that there will always be "those parents" who will always see the hiring of a person of color as a DEI hire, though.

The other (more prominent) school comes up with big initiatives and actions that flame out and disappear. It all feels "for show". That school already had more diversity than the first. I don't know how parents/students feel about DEI at the school or these initiatives.

I feel like the first school has been more genuine and made more progress.

My child’s elementary teacher this year was a new hire who turned out to be abysmal and by far the worst teacher in elementary. It has done real harm to a class full of students including my child. We have no other explanation for this situation besides a DEI hire. True or not, this is the perception.

You think the teacher is bad because she’s black? That’s a racist perception.

Potomac clearly needs more DEI with parents like this.

To clarify why she is bad, she ignores the needs of the students. Doesn’t follow through on tasks she says she will do. The children do not want to go to school in the morning because she is mean towards them. The advanced students are blamed for being a distraction when they have nothing to work on.

The situation is so far outside what normally happens. Being a POC has nothing to do with the specific problems.

The problem isn't the teacher. The problem is the parent assuming that the teacher is bad because of her skin color.

"We have no other explanation for this situation besides a DEI hire."
No. other. explanation.

Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP means: minorities don’t belong at Potomac. Any group that threatens “whiteness” is unwelcome at the school. Anything in society that threatens “whiteness”
is also unwelcome.

OP is among the many at Potomac who believe in being "colorblind." It's quite parochial and many people like OP will use the DEI and "affirmative action" argument to complain about why students of color are able to get into better colleges than their kids. Meanwhile, nothing really is done to give students of color, or really students of any color, who may come from more underprivileged backgrounds the same opportunities that the above-average wealthy students are getting. They come in at the bottom and are left to feel less valuable throughout their time there. This played out with the gravest consequences a few years ago and nothing has changed since. Thanks to leadership and parents like OP.

This is incorrect - at least currently. Children from underprivileged backgrounds who receive FA, receive the same % of aid for everything - uniforms, lunch, after school programs, etc. and not even the teachers are made aware. Potomac has done very well at providing opportunities to ensure all children feel valued.

Oh, I see, getting uniforms and the privilege of participating in afterschool programs is all that is required to feel included? Considering you mentioned those two things, I assume you have not yet had a child go through US, where they are denied entry into the Honor Council or the advanced econ classes. Potomac has not, as you so unequivocally claim, done very well at providing opportunities for inclusion.

[/b]Oh please, my white and very privileged child was also denied honor council. [b]It has nothing to do with whatever you’re trying to imply. Advanced econ classes are solely on grades in the pre-reqs, nothing more or less.

The powers that be sure did a great job picking Honor counselors and Senior Athletic Committee members this year-lots involved in the recent disciplinary incident. Shaking my head as they passed over many more well deserving candidates!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

Didn't happen.

How can you say that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some other private schools are like this and kids are leaving for Catholic schools to escape it. DEI was so overdone and has become a punchline. In 5-10 years we'll see that the DEI effort has backfired and you have young adults who feel resentful towards different races. How is there enough DEI content to support 8 employees? How is that sustainable?

This is exactly what we did. Left a too-woke K-12 after 8th for Catholic high school. The white guilt was too much, there's no reason DS needs to be shamed for his identity. Catholic schools do diversity right - everyone belongs, no set-asides, no skin-color affinity groups.

Didn't happen.

How can you say that?

Because it's RWNJ fiction.