Inclusivity Behind Gated Doors: The Paradox of DC's Private Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is like saying the sky is blue.

Yes, I don't see OP's point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure that neighborhood zoned public schools are all that different, especially in the elementary years. Que all the public school parents who proudly claim that their incomes and home values are the same as private school parents...

LOL. Right! MYOB OP. Live your own life + stop preaching!. I know it sucks to be poor...I remember it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure that neighborhood zoned public schools are all that different, especially in the elementary years. Que all the public school parents who proudly claim that their incomes and home values are the same as private school parents...

LOL. Right! MYOB OP. Live your own life + stop preaching!. I know it sucks to be poor...I remember it.

Thanks for confining OP main message !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a well known fact that most (not all, most) people that send their kids to private school are racist, whether they admit it to themselves or not. I just wish people would be honest with themselves about the fact that they only want the “right kind” of diversity- the diversity that is palatable to them. It’s the same people who put those yard signs preaching inclusivity who are the worst of the lot. I prefer people to be open about their racism.

I don’t think this is correct actually. Maybe classist but not racist. They want their kids in school w families who raise their kids in similar ways. Race is not the issue

You are leaving out all the people who use both public and private schools based on the needs of the child. Most parents make child oriented decisions that have nothing to do with either of the two prior PPs platitudes and generalizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a well known fact that most (not all, most) people that send their kids to private school are racist, whether they admit it to themselves or not. I just wish people would be honest with themselves about the fact that they only want the “right kind” of diversity- the diversity that is palatable to them. It’s the same people who put those yard signs preaching inclusivity who are the worst of the lot. I prefer people to be open about their racism.

Who cares what you prefer?

Since we’re making blanket statements about people we don’t know, here’s mine: People who come to a private school forum to make intentionally inflammatory statements about private school parents are jealous and broke. Please take your bitter, impoverished opinions to the public school forum where they belong.

I prefer that people are open and honest about their penury.

Amen. But you left out stupidity. Anyone who has kids old enough but could not make enough money to afford private is de facto a moron. Morons need not post here.

Ironic, since most people posting here are women, and it's their husbands' salaries that pay the tuition. The Dickinson English degree isn't going to bring in enough to cover two at Sidwell.

Which century are you visiting from again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"...public institutions—the very environments where their talent, privilege, and resources could have the most transformative impact."


This notion is patently false.

Really ? Public schools do not raise funds for parents ? They wouldn’t benefit from wealthy parents ?

Just go read the DCPS threads on this very topic. Parents who have tried this in all but the wealthier neighborhoods have been ripped apart for trying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a city where private schools proudly champion inclusivity and social justice, there’s an ironic twist: these values are nurtured within exclusive bubbles, far removed from the diverse realities of public schools. Parents preach the virtues of equity but often pay top dollar to avoid sending their children to public institutions—the very environments where their talent, privilege, and resources could have the most transformative impact. Instead, inclusivity becomes a brand, polished behind ivy-covered walls, while public schools, brimming with untapped potential, are left out of the equation. Is it inclusiveness we seek—or insulation?

Liberal here with kids in private, and I disagree with your premise. I don't see my school championing inclusivity, or parents preaching about equity. We all know why our kids aren't in public.
But, many of us would put our kids (back) into public if public offered the education privates do - small class sizes, appropriate classroom behavior, thoughtful instruction, meaningful art and music opportunities. I think public school kids should have all of that too. Most of us tried public school first and would have stayed if it were better.

I also disagree that my kid's presence or absence is meaningful to the quality of the school. Not only has that been debunked as a theory, but this is an affluent area with plenty of "talent, privilege, and resources" in public school families. It hasn't transformed anything.

Finally, to the extent my school is concerned with social justice, it's actually nice for those discussions to play out without any crazy parents trying to ban books or get a teacher fired for talking about current events.

If you think all kids deserve this, what are you doing to help make sure all kids get it? Because that’s the crux of the issue. It isn’t hope but action that is required.

PP you're responding to here. I volunteer, I vote, I oppose school vouchers. I kept helping in our public's after-school program for a year after we left.
But as an individual I am powerless to affect class size, arts programs, constant screen use, etc. The public school is not as good as it should be, so we left. Had we not left, the public school would still be the same as it is now.

I'm not sure what you want from me and other private school PPs. You seem stuck on this supposed focus on inclusivity, when that's nobody's first priority... but also I'm unclear on why you'd want schools to NOT teach inclusivity.

So tell me, what specific action do you think we should take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a well known fact that most (not all, most) people that send their kids to private school are racist, whether they admit it to themselves or not. I just wish people would be honest with themselves about the fact that they only want the “right kind” of diversity- the diversity that is palatable to them. It’s the same people who put those yard signs preaching inclusivity who are the worst of the lot. I prefer people to be open about their racism.

Who cares what you prefer?

Since we’re making blanket statements about people we don’t know, here’s mine: People who come to a private school forum to make intentionally inflammatory statements about private school parents are jealous and broke. Please take your bitter, impoverished opinions to the public school forum where they belong.

I prefer that people are open and honest about their penury.

Amen. But you left out stupidity. Anyone who has kids old enough but could not make enough money to afford private is de facto a moron. Morons need not post here.

Ironic, since most people posting here are women, and it's their husbands' salaries that pay the tuition. The Dickinson English degree isn't going to bring in enough to cover two at Sidwell.

Which century are you visiting from again?

Totally. Must not live in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of us who use privates did our time in DCPS. I sent my own kids for 10, 9 and 10 years respectively---that's a total of 29 years of DCPS education.

I'm not a picky consumer but dealing with DCPS is year-in and year-out is exhausting. We had entire school years without a permanent teacher. We had teachers leave mid year and not be replaced. My kids were never taught to write more than a RACE body paragraph (IYKYK) and in 6th grade and up never read a single full book for any English class (ironically they read more in elementary school.)

We were super active parents in DCPS--- donors to the PTA, room parents, heck I even subbed at one point. But I wanted my kids to learn to write, write and think and so we applied out for high school (and for 8th grade for the middle kid).

This is our experience. Either sell our house and move to an area with better schools or go private. We could not even get our school to create a book club for kids who were beyond graphic novels. So, no chapter books until 6th grade. Am I an elitist jerk for wanting my child to have reading skills?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My public high school is 5.5% black, my kid’s private school is 14%. But we all know this was a $hit stirring post not a reality based one.

Because you choose to live in a really white area so your kids don’t have to deal with the poors either.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t come across such a refined critique of woke schools.

It all boils down to limousine liberal. It's still the best descriptor of the kind of person who believes that a 60k private is about inclusivity or lives in a $2M house while caring deeply about affordable housing

This. I am a working class raised liberal and now find myself adjacent (professionally at least, because they’d never really let me in the club) to extremely wealthy and socially upper class folks.

It’s so ridiculous the white privilege. Yet they donate money, lead social programs, pay each other on the back for their deference to those “in need”. What a freaking joke.

That said, I remain loyal to the cause. But they have ruined the party and are why dems are a complete laughing stock.

[Anonymous]

Well duh, this is the case for all communities.
NYC's liberal UWS was all up in arms a few years ago with the DOE proposed moving the catchment lines around Lincoln Center so the overpopulated white-ish public could occupy the seats of the neighboring underpoplated brownish public. Outcries about preserving community and the importance of walking with their friends to school became the loudest complaint.
Similar stuff in Park Slope.
Champagne socialists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t come across such a refined critique of woke schools.

It all boils down to limousine liberal. It's still the best descriptor of the kind of person who believes that a 60k private is about inclusivity or lives in a $2M house while caring deeply about affordable housing

This. I am a working class raised liberal and now find myself adjacent (professionally at least, because they’d never really let me in the club) to extremely wealthy and socially upper class folks.

It’s so ridiculous the white privilege. Yet they donate money, lead social programs, pay each other on the back for their deference to those “in need”. What a freaking joke.

That said, I remain loyal to the cause. But they have ruined the party and are why dems are a complete laughing stock.

Are they supposed to try to move into the affordable housing themselves? I don't think they meet the income requirement. Are they supposed to give away all their money at one go so they do qualify for affordable housing? Still not clear on what else you want from these people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well duh, this is the case for all communities.
NYC's liberal UWS was all up in arms a few years ago with the DOE proposed moving the catchment lines around Lincoln Center so the overpopulated white-ish public could occupy the seats of the neighboring underpoplated brownish public. Outcries about preserving community and the importance of walking with their friends to school became the loudest complaint.
Similar stuff in Park Slope.
Champagne socialists.

I don't think you know what socialist means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of us who use privates did our time in DCPS. I sent my own kids for 10, 9 and 10 years respectively---that's a total of 29 years of DCPS education.

I'm not a picky consumer but dealing with DCPS is year-in and year-out is exhausting. We had entire school years without a permanent teacher. We had teachers leave mid year and not be replaced. My kids were never taught to write more than a RACE body paragraph (IYKYK) and in 6th grade and up never read a single full book for any English class (ironically they read more in elementary school.)

We were super active parents in DCPS--- donors to the PTA, room parents, heck I even subbed at one point. But I wanted my kids to learn to write, write and think and so we applied out for high school (and for 8th grade for the middle kid).

Our two kids spent ES, MS, and first kid first year of HS in MoCo public schools, until we finally threw in the towel because nobody seemed to care that DC 1 wasn’t sufficiently challenged, affecting their mental health. They transferred to one of the big 3 single sex schools for 10th grade and finally thrived. DC 2 followed for HS. Both attended top schools and are highly successful and happy adults. In retrospect, it was the best decision we ever made.
DC1 ‘s friend, who was similar, smart but underperforming, and stayed in public schools, didn’t fare was well.