Potomac parents are SO ANNOYING

[Anonymous]

I have to give OP credit. Great job on starting a petty thread bashing an entire school and parent group because they wear school colors and seem animated about their kids school. Great way to open a forum so others can join in the fun because they are bored or somehow aggrieved. You managed to pull out the worst in people - our desire to knock others down for random reasons to make our own pathetic lives seem better. Kudos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to give OP credit. Great job on starting a petty thread bashing an entire school and parent group because they wear school colors and seem animated about their kids school. Great way to open a forum so others can join in the fun because they are bored or somehow aggrieved. You managed to pull out the worst in people - our desire to knock others down for random reasons to make our own pathetic lives seem better. Kudos.

Spotted: When “I’m above this” still comes with a full participation paragraph…
Some people say they just watch the show, but somehow end up in the cast.

Funny how that works.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl 💋

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting, when you look at their history, the school was originally much more focused on early childhood and that philosophy. It feels like as they’ve expanded into a full K–12, the identity has gotten a bit broader and possibly a little lost... which might be part of why the parent culture reads differently than some of the more tightly defined DC schools.

I think part of what’s happening is most of these schools have a really clear identity that parents mirror: Sidwell has that quiet academic push, GDS leans into voice and social impact, STA/NCS is tradition and precision, Maret is warm, thoughtful and creative, WIS is very globally oriented…

I’m not sure Potomac has as tight of a core narrative, so what you get instead is an off beat in the parent signaling...

This is so good. But what do you mean by precision in reference to NCS/STA?

It is hard to capture in a quick snip like I was trying to 😂 but by saying ‘precision’ I was trying to get at how everything feels extremely intentional and structured. Like there’s a strong sense of tradition, expectations, and doing things the ‘right’ way. It’s less about one specific thing and more about the overall tone that shows up everywhere from academics to presentation to how students are guided. It's almost more felt than told, but somehow is universally recognized and consistently embraced.

And this shit isn’t annoying. ? 🤣

Signed,

A Potomac Mom

Sure, some people are always going to find certain signals ‘annoying’ based on their own experiences—similar to how some people don’t enjoy classical music. But when the tone isn’t as cohesive, it tends to stand out more, because it doesn’t feel as naturally aligned, so it draws a broader negative reaction, even from people without prior experience with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to give OP credit. Great job on starting a petty thread bashing an entire school and parent group because they wear school colors and seem animated about their kids school. Great way to open a forum so others can join in the fun because they are bored or somehow aggrieved. You managed to pull out the worst in people - our desire to knock others down for random reasons to make our own pathetic lives seem better. Kudos.

I’m so glad I don’t know you in real life gossip girl. You are pathetic. Not much else to say.

Spotted: When “I’m above this” still comes with a full participation paragraph…
Some people say they just watch the show, but somehow end up in the cast.

Funny how that works.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl 💋

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to give OP credit. Great job on starting a petty thread bashing an entire school and parent group because they wear school colors and seem animated about their kids school. Great way to open a forum so others can join in the fun because they are bored or somehow aggrieved. You managed to pull out the worst in people - our desire to knock others down for random reasons to make our own pathetic lives seem better. Kudos.

I’m so glad I don’t know you in real life gossip girl. You are pathetic. Not much else to say.

Spotted: When “I’m above this” still comes with a full participation paragraph…
Some people say they just watch the show, but somehow end up in the cast.

Funny how that works.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl 💋

My post is worth repeating. I’m glad I don’t know you in real life gossip girl. You are pathetic and zero chance you are happy in your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to give OP credit. Great job on starting a petty thread bashing an entire school and parent group because they wear school colors and seem animated about their kids school. Great way to open a forum so others can join in the fun because they are bored or somehow aggrieved. You managed to pull out the worst in people - our desire to knock others down for random reasons to make our own pathetic lives seem better. Kudos.

I’m so glad I don’t know you in real life gossip girl. You are pathetic. Not much else to say.

Spotted: When “I’m above this” still comes with a full participation paragraph…
Some people say they just watch the show, but somehow end up in the cast.

Funny how that works.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl 💋

My post is worth repeating. I’m glad I don’t know you in real life gossip girl. You are pathetic and zero chance you are happy in your life.

🤣

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why the Potomac school is in McLean, and the McLean school is in Potomac.

People have been asking this question for generations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is well known in the private school set. Potomac is big fish, small pond on the Virginia and feels the need to flaunt for their own reasons.

The rest of us realize that our schools give our children advantages for the reasons we picked them, little to none have to do with status.

At the recent multi-school track meet it was just another eye roll as the Potomac parent felt the need to shout out their school name with every runner, while the rest of us clapped for each runner that came across.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mean take, but here goes nothing: I feel like if you are willing to live in NOVA, acceptance to the one decent private there is probably the biggest social signifier you have, and thus more important to flaunt.

So mean, and sadly, I 100% agree with you. I find people in parts of Alexandria to be tolerable, but the rest of NOVA is not for me. Arlington and McLean folks are insufferable and are somehow even more obnoxious with their independent school humble brags than many others. Though Potomac, MD folks are similar....maybe the word Potomac brings out the crazy LOL

I don't know though....Del Ray people are the top tier Most Insufferable. (I lived there for a long time. So say this with some love. Lots of individually nice people.)

Del Ray is a cult. Almost straight out of the twilight zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting, when you look at their history, the school was originally much more focused on early childhood and that philosophy. It feels like as they’ve expanded into a full K–12, the identity has gotten a bit broader and possibly a little lost... which might be part of why the parent culture reads differently than some of the more tightly defined DC schools.

I think part of what’s happening is most of these schools have a really clear identity that parents mirror: Sidwell has that quiet academic push, GDS leans into voice and social impact, STA/NCS is tradition and precision, Maret is warm, thoughtful and creative, WIS is very globally oriented…

I’m not sure Potomac has as tight of a core narrative, so what you get instead is an off beat in the parent signaling...

This is so good. But what do you mean by precision in reference to NCS/STA?

It is hard to capture in a quick snip like I was trying to 😂 but by saying ‘precision’ I was trying to get at how everything feels extremely intentional and structured. Like there’s a strong sense of tradition, expectations, and doing things the ‘right’ way. It’s less about one specific thing and more about the overall tone that shows up everywhere from academics to presentation to how students are guided. It's almost more felt than told, but somehow is universally recognized and consistently embraced.

And this shit isn’t annoying. ? 🤣

Signed,

A Potomac Mom

Oh... snap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting, when you look at their history, the school was originally much more focused on early childhood and that philosophy. It feels like as they’ve expanded into a full K–12, the identity has gotten a bit broader and possibly a little lost... which might be part of why the parent culture reads differently than some of the more tightly defined DC schools.

I think part of what’s happening is most of these schools have a really clear identity that parents mirror: Sidwell has that quiet academic push, GDS leans into voice and social impact, STA/NCS is tradition and precision, Maret is warm, thoughtful and creative, WIS is very globally oriented…

I’m not sure Potomac has as tight of a core narrative, so what you get instead is an off beat in the parent signaling...

This is so good. But what do you mean by precision in reference to NCS/STA?

It is hard to capture in a quick snip like I was trying to 😂 but by saying ‘precision’ I was trying to get at how everything feels extremely intentional and structured. Like there’s a strong sense of tradition, expectations, and doing things the ‘right’ way. It’s less about one specific thing and more about the overall tone that shows up everywhere from academics to presentation to how students are guided. It's almost more felt than told, but somehow is universally recognized and consistently embraced.

And this shit isn’t annoying. ? 🤣

Signed,

A Potomac Mom

Sure, some people are always going to find certain signals ‘annoying’ based on their own experiences—similar to how some people don’t enjoy classical music. But when the tone isn’t as cohesive, it tends to stand out more, because it doesn’t feel as naturally aligned, so it draws a broader negative reaction, even from people without prior experience with it.

What a return volley 🏐

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is well known in the private school set. Potomac is big fish, small pond on the Virginia and feels the need to flaunt for their own reasons.

The rest of us realize that our schools give our children advantages for the reasons we picked them, little to none have to do with status.

At the recent multi-school track meet it was just another eye roll as the Potomac parent felt the need to shout out their school name with every runner, while the rest of us clapped for each runner that came across.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like Potomac is trying to position itself as an elite school. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school but it’s not a top three (NCS/STA, GDS or Sidwell) and it has a chip on his shoulder because of that.

Soon to be new family at Potomac. I think of Potomac as a neighborhood private school. Lots of people in McLean send their kids there. I would not expect anyone not in McLean to know or care about this school.

I certainly wouldn’t expect or think anyone from dc or md would care.

Potomac is dealing with a lot of moving targets at once.
They are definitely a big fish in a small pond but by many metrics competitive with big 3.
And I think this is a fairly recent development. They're still getting used to it

Potomac decided maybe a couple of decades ago to almost abandon some of it's legacy preferences because it had started drawing an applicant pool that was far more competitive than it had seen in the past.
This is just conjecture but I think the legacy parents got very loud and proud about Potomac and the newcomers thought that was what they were supposed to do. The Potomac pride was not understated. Some people liked that.

The 9th grade admits are so much more competitive than the kids that got in 10 years ago that they almost belong in different schools. Potomac is getting more and more competitive by the year. I think it's the location. McLean didn't used to be like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like Potomac is trying to position itself as an elite school. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school but it’s not a top three (NCS/STA, GDS or Sidwell) and it has a chip on his shoulder because of that.

Soon to be new family at Potomac. I think of Potomac as a neighborhood private school. Lots of people in McLean send their kids there. I would not expect anyone not in McLean to know or care about this school.

I certainly wouldn’t expect or think anyone from dc or md would care.

Potomac is dealing with a lot of moving targets at once.
They are definitely a big fish in a small pond but by many metrics competitive with big 3.
And I think this is a fairly recent development. They're still getting used to it

Potomac decided maybe a couple of decades ago to almost abandon some of it's legacy preferences because it had started drawing an applicant pool that was far more competitive than it had seen in the past.
This is just conjecture but I think the legacy parents got very loud and proud about Potomac and the newcomers thought that was what they were supposed to do. The Potomac pride was not understated. Some people liked that.

The 9th grade admits are so much more competitive than the kids that got in 10 years ago that they almost belong in different schools. Potomac is getting more and more competitive by the year. I think it's the location. McLean didn't used to be like this.

A couple of decades ago Potomac didn’t even have a high school. Question- do people really not know about the teacher that r*ped a dozen girls? The school knew something was up but failed to report him. Then he went off to teach at another private before finally a victim who was also a mother at that private spoke up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like Potomac is trying to position itself as an elite school. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great school but it’s not a top three (NCS/STA, GDS or Sidwell) and it has a chip on his shoulder because of that.

Soon to be new family at Potomac. I think of Potomac as a neighborhood private school. Lots of people in McLean send their kids there. I would not expect anyone not in McLean to know or care about this school.

I certainly wouldn’t expect or think anyone from dc or md would care.

Potomac is dealing with a lot of moving targets at once.
They are definitely a big fish in a small pond but by many metrics competitive with big 3.
And I think this is a fairly recent development. They're still getting used to it

Potomac decided maybe a couple of decades ago to almost abandon some of it's legacy preferences because it had started drawing an applicant pool that was far more competitive than it had seen in the past.
This is just conjecture but I think the legacy parents got very loud and proud about Potomac and the newcomers thought that was what they were supposed to do. The Potomac pride was not understated. Some people liked that.

The 9th grade admits are so much more competitive than the kids that got in 10 years ago that they almost belong in different schools. Potomac is getting more and more competitive by the year. I think it's the location. McLean didn't used to be like this.

A couple of decades ago Potomac didn’t even have a high school. Question- do people really not know about the teacher that r*ped a dozen girls? The school knew something was up but failed to report him. Then he went off to teach at another private before finally a victim who was also a mother at that private spoke up.

Nope, genuinely did not know that, BUT added layer here... I actually grew up in the Archdiocese of Baltimore School System... my best friends mom/my mom's best friend went to Archbishop Keough... no one would ever say why, but no one who went to Keough sent their daughters to Seton Keough ever, but no one knew why until The Keepers came out... I actually knew someone named (positively and sad story actually now that I know) in the documentary and I went back and asked my mom and my best friends mom and neither "knew" they just knew something was up... that's how that sort of thing was handled back then... No one openly talked about it, they just quietly shielded if they felt something was off, but like I knew someone who knew and that person is no longer alive, but no one I know who is still alive knew... and like I said really close. Regularly over at our house for dinner.