Single parent at private school...

[Anonymous]

As a single mother applying to a private school, I would appreciate hearing about the experiences of families with similar or non-traditional family structures. How has the school supported students from diverse family backgrounds in feeling included? Has your child ever felt disconnected due to their unique circumstances? Did other families treat you differently because of your family structure?

[Anonymous]

Half the kids have at least one absent parent so nobody even noticed.

[Anonymous]

What grade? I feel like parents are way less involved in late middle and high school and I couldn’t tell you if most of the parents in my kid’s class were single, married, divorced, gay, adoptive, or any other type of family structure. In elementary there’s a lot more parent involvement and I knew a lot more families, at least in passing. For those years my child was at a small Montessori school that was very supportive of kids and families with different structures, and the community as a whole was very supportive.

[Anonymous]

As a single mom, my experience was to express interest smaller schools with a vast difference in socioeconomic structure. There you would find support.

We attended Grace Episcopal for elementary, then a catholic middle within the area and was always supported by other families whether it was assisting in pick up and drop offs, school events where you nor your child felt isolated being the only one there to support you child.
Administration at both so far were Great!!!

Good Luck navigating your way.

[Anonymous]

OP: I applied to Kindergarten for lower school.

[Anonymous]

What kind of support are you looking for? This is 2024 so families are often non traditional as a starter.

[Anonymous]

Our family is a Single Mother Family and at our previous catholic school we felt really out of place. There wasn't a lot of diversity of family structure and it was obvious in their rigid traditions as well as the comments my kids heard from other kids. Our current school is much better. So my advice is to really investigate the school. If you choose a conservative christian school, expect that the community might not be the most supportive or affirming of your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a single mother applying to a private school, I would appreciate hearing about the experiences of families with similar or non-traditional family structures. How has the school supported students from diverse family backgrounds in feeling included? Has your child ever felt disconnected due to their unique circumstances? Did other families treat you differently because of your family structure?

No and no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family is a Single Mother Family and at our previous catholic school we felt really out of place. There wasn't a lot of diversity of family structure and it was obvious in their rigid traditions as well as the comments my kids heard from other kids. Our current school is much better. So my advice is to really investigate the school. If you choose a conservative christian school, expect that the community might not be the most supportive or affirming of your family.

I applied to a Catholic school. At the school play visit the families were of traditional family structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a single mother applying to a private school, I would appreciate hearing about the experiences of families with similar or non-traditional family structures. How has the school supported students from diverse family backgrounds in feeling included? Has your child ever felt disconnected due to their unique circumstances? Did other families treat you differently because of your family structure?

No and no.

Thank you. What school?

[Anonymous]

I’m a single parent and felt very welcome and included at Sidwell by staff and families. My DS started in K.

[Anonymous]

No one is going to care if you are a a single parent at the vast majority of non-catholic schools. In lower school, what can be limiting is if you live very far from the school it can be hard to attend activities and set up play dates since no one will want to drive to you. In middle school and high school this is less of an issue if your kid in social. If your kid isn’t traditionally social, distance is limiting at any age. But the single parent thing won’t likely be an issue, especially if you live near other families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is going to care if you are a a single parent at the vast majority of non-catholic schools. In lower school, what can be limiting is if you live very far from the school it can be hard to attend activities and set up play dates since no one will want to drive to you. In middle school and high school this is less of an issue if your kid in social. If your kid isn’t traditionally social, distance is limiting at any age. But the single parent thing won’t likely be an issue, especially if you live near other families

I agree. When my son was in K we lived 45 mins away. I moved to Montgomery County to be closer to the school and social activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is a Single Mother Family and at our previous catholic school we felt really out of place. There wasn't a lot of diversity of family structure and it was obvious in their rigid traditions as well as the comments my kids heard from other kids. Our current school is much better. So my advice is to really investigate the school. If you choose a conservative christian school, expect that the community might not be the most supportive or affirming of your family.

I applied to a Catholic school. At the school play visit the families were of traditional family structure.

That isn't going to be a universal experience at all Catholic schools, obviously, so naming the specific school would be more helpful to OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is a Single Mother Family and at our previous catholic school we felt really out of place. There wasn't a lot of diversity of family structure and it was obvious in their rigid traditions as well as the comments my kids heard from other kids. Our current school is much better. So my advice is to really investigate the school. If you choose a conservative christian school, expect that the community might not be the most supportive or affirming of your family.

I applied to a Catholic school. At the school play visit the families were of traditional family structure.

That isn't going to be a universal experience at all Catholic schools, obviously, so naming the specific school would be more helpful to OP.

I grew up in Catholic school with a single mom and while there were not a lot of us, it wasn't a big deal.