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Small and Traditional?
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Anonymous
| Can anyone name schools which go through highschool that tend to have small class sizes and traditional settings? Our DS will be entering 2nd grade next year and we are looking for schools that have those qualities. We would consider both same sex and co-ed environments, but not Catholic schools. We live in Chevy Chase. DS is currently in a private school but it ends and so highschool is not an option at current school. |
Anonymous
| Beauvoir, then St. Albans School. |
Anonymous
| My DC went to Beauvoir and we loved it, but I don't consider it small. How about Washington Episcopal? |
Anonymous
As I understood her post, OP wants small *classes* in a traditional setting, not necessarily a small school. |
Anonymous
| Sidwell seems pretty traditional to me. I know its seen as liberal but my experience there - which is extensive - is that it is a very, very traditional school. |
Anonymous
This is not true at all. |
Anonymous
Sidwell is not traditional to me, but the concept of what is "traditional" is relative. Not traditional to me is a school where adults are not addressed by title and surname, overt competition is discouraged and prizes are not awarded for top achievement, and academic curriculum is more student-directed than normal. I'm not saying the aforementioned is good or bad, just that many would not consider Sidwell traditional for those and other reasons. |
Anonymous
| I also recommend WES. Small class size, wonderful teachers, very down to earth and caring administration, and friendly parents. |
Anonymous
| St. Andrews |
Anonymous
|
Sidwell students refer to teachers by Mr. X or Ms. Y, not first names. That is GDS.
Agreed on some of the other points about student self-direction etc. |
Anonymous
| Edmund Burke? |
Anonymous
| That's a good description of a traditional. Not entirely accurate description of Sidwell. My kids called maybe two or three teachers by first names. There are also athletic awards - varsity letters, SFS award for athletic success and several others. Students are not ranked by GPA out of deference to Quaker values. They won't even provide colleges with GPA even though its easy to calculate. The curriculum is far from student directed. |
Anonymous
Wrong. The Sidwell school admin says that teachers are given the freedom to be addressed by title and surname or by given name and surname as is Quaker practice. When we applied, letters by the admissions office to us were addressed, "Dear [DH's given name and surname] and [my given name and surname]," with no titles, as Quakers do not traditionally use titles before their names. I know about GDS's practice of letting students address teachers by first name. |
Anonymous
| 12:40 You are ``Wrong'' Sorry. The SOP at Sidwell is Mr. and Mrs. teacher's last name. There are a few exceptions but vast majority of teachers are addressed by last name. No exceptions at lower school, a couple of exceptions in middle school and high school. At GDS teachers pk through 12 are addressed by first name. |
Anonymous
12:40 is not wrong. She is saying that it is up to the teachers to decide whether they want go be called by their first name or by Mr/Mrs. She is absolutely correct. The fact that most teaches choose to be called by Mr/Mrs does not take away the fact that it is their choice. You can ask any teacher or administrator t Sidwell and they well tell you that this is true. |