Washington Episcopal School - feedback needed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any 5th grade parents that can chime in on the grade dynamics here?

5th grade parent here. On the whole, it’s an absolutely lovely group: cohesive, thoughtful, and friendly. I’ve been impressed with the fifth grade curriculum. And I’m still blown away by their band concert last week - after just a few months the kids played in unison on multiple instruments.

If you’re applying, you can ask the admissions office to connect you with parents who can give you more insights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any 5th grade parents that can chime in on the grade dynamics here?

5th grade parent here. On the whole, it’s an absolutely lovely group: cohesive, thoughtful, and friendly. I’ve been impressed with the fifth grade curriculum. And I’m still blown away by their band concert last week - after just a few months the kids played in unison on multiple instruments.

If you’re applying, you can ask the admissions office to connect you with parents who can give you more insights.

Thank you for this feedback!

[Anonymous]

Responding to PP who asked how small us too small—this depends on your DC and cohort. Hard to give you advice there, but for our family 32 kids/grade was awesome for one DC (WES) and 65 at another was terrible for other DC (at another school). DCs both went to HS with roughly 125/class and that was great for both.

[Anonymous]

How small is too small? Impossible to answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How small is too small? Impossible to answer.

Bottom line: with a class of 60 - 70 (at Norwood), your child stands a much better chance of finding a friend group than with a class of 30 - 36 (at WES) -- simply because there are twice as many classmates to choose from. So you're rolling the dice much more with WES than with Norwood. And be sure to check the gender balance.

[Anonymous]

For us, WES won out for the location and class trips. We also asked to shadow with the current class bs grade above and DC got a good vibe from the group they spent the day with. Norwood would have been too far a drive for us. Both are excellent schools.

[Anonymous]

The class trips are nice, but I really don't think you should make this decision based on what your kids get to do for a single week out of each MS year. It's a nice culture, but you can get the same culture with many more strengths from Norwood, St. Andrew's, St. Patrick's. The school's program is greatly limited by its facilities and resources. -- Former WES parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The class trips are nice, but I really don't think you should make this decision based on what your kids get to do for a single week out of each MS year. It's a nice culture, but you can get the same culture with many more strengths from Norwood, St. Andrew's, St. Patrick's. The school's program is greatly limited by its facilities and resources. -- Former WES parent

Can you please elaborate on how the school is greatly limited? They seem to have great academics, arts and sports - maybe not everything a bigger school would have, but most things?

[Anonymous]

Current WES parent—I have two children there and do not feel like the resources or programs are limited in anyway whatsoever. The closest “limitation” I could come up with is a lack of a cafeteria (they use the smaller Aux gym for lunch).

And to PP who said they wouldn’t choose WES for the trips, the trips are about more than just going somewhere. The growth that happens on an experience like that is huge and it’s a central part of their curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current WES parent—I have two children there and do not feel like the resources or programs are limited in anyway whatsoever. The closest “limitation” I could come up with is a lack of a cafeteria (they use the smaller Aux gym for lunch).

And to PP who said they wouldn’t choose WES for the trips, the trips are about more than just going somewhere. The growth that happens on an experience like that is huge and it’s a central part of their curriculum.

I have one grad and one student at WES and strongly agree with this. First, no idea what someone could mean that resources are constrained, we’ve never felt that at all in terms of programs or facilities or anything.

I also really agree about the trips. My oldest cites the Utah trip as a defining moment in middle school for him. He’d never done sleep away camp or anything, so it was his first time away from home and he really bonded with his classmates. Obviously there are chaperones, but going away like that, and twice overseas, gave him the knowledge and confidence that he can do things on his own. He also got to know his teachers, and they got to know him, in a much different way. The trips are pretty amazing.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone on here who transitioned from public school to WES please comment on any support given for a new student's transition? How accessible are teachers/staff if needed (of course, as DC gets older, they need to manage their own things more). Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone on here who transitioned from public school to WES please comment on any support given for a new student's transition? How accessible are teachers/staff if needed (of course, as DC gets older, they need to manage their own things more). Thank you!

Teachers are very accessible and willing to help any kid who asks for help. MS especially prefers kids to take the lead in seeking help but teachers and administration are open to hearing from parents as well. Plenty of kids have transferred in from public without issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone on here who transitioned from public school to WES please comment on any support given for a new student's transition? How accessible are teachers/staff if needed (of course, as DC gets older, they need to manage their own things more). Thank you!

Teachers are very accessible and willing to help any kid who asks for help. MS especially prefers kids to take the lead in seeking help but teachers and administration are open to hearing from parents as well. Plenty of kids have transferred in from public without issue.

Thanks PP for this feedback!

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share about their child’s recent transition from 8th grade at WES to HS on the social side? It seems as though students matriculate into a variety of HS’s, which speaks to consideration of the individual when it comes to the HS selection process. But what about social hurdles? If 30 students go to 25 different HS’s, they will be entering HS with few or no fellow classmates. Does this present social challenges in making new friends and connections at the HS level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share about their child’s recent transition from 8th grade at WES to HS on the social side? It seems as though students matriculate into a variety of HS’s, which speaks to consideration of the individual when it comes to the HS selection process. But what about social hurdles? If 30 students go to 25 different HS’s, they will be entering HS with few or no fellow classmates. Does this present social challenges in making new friends and connections at the HS level?

Former WES parent. People will tell you it is an easy transition to 9th, but it’s really not an easy social transition for the majority. It works out in the end usually, but if there is any K-12 option for your child, I would try to avoid the need to transition them in 9th. Academically there are some classes where you will feel really well prepared and others where your child may need to work. Every school has different standards and teacher to teacher the standards will be different at the new school.