Deep Racism Problems at NCS and STA: Questions/Answers we can't get through admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am non white, have a kid in NCS and a kid who did not get in STA. My personal experience is that NCS is a great school. Teachers, admission team and the head of school are great people. DD loves the school.

STA is different and I am glad DS did not get in. There are systematic issues, especially the admission office. They made a comment about my son and I will never forgive them. If the admission office is like this, you can imagine the school. Good luck.

I'm very sorry this happened to you.
I also have a daughter who is very happy at NCS. My son elected not to apply to STA. He had a teacher (a black woman) whose son went to STA. She was honest with me about his struggles. The academics were good but he wasn't happy. He was so relieved when he went to college.
I'm sure there are black and minority kids who have okay experiences at STA but many do not. I feel like OP and others are (unconsciously) trying to get people to say "it's great! It will work out for your son". However, the reality is that there are routinely members of the student body who are not open to diversity of any type--economic, racial, etc. Sure, there can be very nice kids but a also a high chance of never feeling accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Our mixed-race DC is looking at schools for next year (through virtual open houses and zoom discussions with administrators).

One of those schools is NCS/STA (I'd rather not do anything to reveal who our family is).

We have read with deep shock the @blackatsta, @blackatncs, @asianatsta and other accounts in the DC schools. They are horrifying--racist comments by students and teachers, race-based bullying, race-based exclusion, extreme bullying (telling kids to kill themselves, relentlessly), etc. Worst of all--kids of color who just seem deeply and unfairly unhappy. The schools have of course acknowledged these accounts and have issued statements and outlined their plans to do to address these issues. So we have the "official" line from the schools.

What we'd really like to ask and have answers to though are not things we feel like we can get from the schools and those "official" statements and plans. We know that this forum is imperfect, too, and we're doing our best to find families that attend there. We only know a couple, as we've only lived here a couple of years. So we hope that some here are willing to engage.

How deep and ingrained are these issues of racism? Is there even a chance that these issues will be meaningfully addressed by new administrators? Or are these deep problems that would take decades to root out? Deep problems that will potentially be perpetuated by sets of moneyed groups with long ties to the school who not only aren't really committed to change, but who are also part of the problem (this last question comes from something one of the few families we know there said about a subset of very wealthy legacies at this school who have no commitment to change, and often are part of the problem)?

Again, we've heard the speeches. We've read the plans. Our DC has expressed a desire for single-sex, and DC is a competitive applicant (please, this is not an invitation to tell us to "get in first." You can't get answers about these sorts of things in the very short time you get to decide post-admission, and as parents of a child of color, we owe DC as much due diligence as we can--which is made even harder by the pandemic).

We would deeply appreciate the perspective of anyone from these schools who is willing to talk about what's REALLY going on there on these issues.

OP, I assume that if you are applying to Private schools in DC area you accept a few basic facts:

1) 1/10 applicants are accepted
2) Tuition is about 49K a year
3) Its hard academically- most graduates would tell you college is much easier, including at the Ivy + Stanford

The extra things: most boys say the friendships that they made there last a lifetime. Grads come back to be married in the school chapel.There are former students and teachers who last wish was to be burried in the school's memorial garden.

Is it possible that a bad apple got admitted and was later expelled for racist behavior: well, perhaps in the last 100 years since the school's founding, yes. But if you are AA or Asian or even a woman, being subjected to stereotypes would not surprise you, right ?

Does the new Headmaster want to improve the culture in this area: yes. Will any school ever be perfect: No. Is the world ?

What are you looking for in a school ? A fantastic education and the ability to succeed anywhere- then apply to Saint Albans.

If you want a school that is primarily geared to social activism ABOVE ALL else, then keep looking for that school

[Anonymous]

Wow, the goys come back and get married in the chapel?! Amazing. Sign me up.

Not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Our mixed-race DC is looking at schools for next year (through virtual open houses and zoom discussions with administrators).

One of those schools is NCS/STA (I'd rather not do anything to reveal who our family is).

We have read with deep shock the @blackatsta, @blackatncs, @asianatsta and other accounts in the DC schools. They are horrifying--racist comments by students and teachers, race-based bullying, race-based exclusion, extreme bullying (telling kids to kill themselves, relentlessly), etc. Worst of all--kids of color who just seem deeply and unfairly unhappy. The schools have of course acknowledged these accounts and have issued statements and outlined their plans to do to address these issues. So we have the "official" line from the schools.

What we'd really like to ask and have answers to though are not things we feel like we can get from the schools and those "official" statements and plans. We know that this forum is imperfect, too, and we're doing our best to find families that attend there. We only know a couple, as we've only lived here a couple of years. So we hope that some here are willing to engage.

How deep and ingrained are these issues of racism? Is there even a chance that these issues will be meaningfully addressed by new administrators? Or are these deep problems that would take decades to root out? Deep problems that will potentially be perpetuated by sets of moneyed groups with long ties to the school who not only aren't really committed to change, but who are also part of the problem (this last question comes from something one of the few families we know there said about a subset of very wealthy legacies at this school who have no commitment to change, and often are part of the problem)?

Again, we've heard the speeches. We've read the plans. Our DC has expressed a desire for single-sex, and DC is a competitive applicant (please, this is not an invitation to tell us to "get in first." You can't get answers about these sorts of things in the very short time you get to decide post-admission, and as parents of a child of color, we owe DC as much due diligence as we can--which is made even harder by the pandemic).

We would deeply appreciate the perspective of anyone from these schools who is willing to talk about what's REALLY going on there on these issues.

OP, I assume that if you are applying to Private schools in DC area you accept a few basic facts:

1) 1/10 applicants are accepted
2) Tuition is about 49K a year
3) Its hard academically- most graduates would tell you college is much easier, including at the Ivy + Stanford

The extra things: most boys say the friendships that they made there last a lifetime. Grads come back to be married in the school chapel.There are former students and teachers who last wish was to be burried in the school's memorial garden.

Is it possible that a bad apple got admitted and was later expelled for racist behavior: well, perhaps in the last 100 years since the school's founding, yes. But if you are AA or Asian or even a woman, being subjected to stereotypes would not surprise you, right ?

Does the new Headmaster want to improve the culture in this area: yes. Will any school ever be perfect: No. Is the world ?

What are you looking for in a school ? A fantastic education and the ability to succeed anywhere- then apply to Saint Albans.

If you want a school that is primarily geared to social activism ABOVE ALL else, then keep looking for that school

+100. The world is not perfect and will never be. I am a minority and had been told twice on the street to go back to my country, once by an old white woman and once by aN old black man. Neither seemed to be educated much. I forgave them, and I understand humans are imperfect. My career was sabotaged by a white man who is a progressive and socialist, but I got up from my defeat and moved on. My DC goes to a top private and likes the school dearly. When I asked my DC about his opinions of the school, DC said “students here are kinder.”

[Anonymous]

No minority in the DMV is naive enough to think racism isn’t a problem at any of these schools that cost 50k plus and cater to the elite of DC. It is sometimes blatant and obvious, but more often comes institutionally unintentionally and micro aggressions. It isn’t going to change. It may improve marginally with lots of intense intervention but it isn’t going to be a radical change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Our mixed-race DC is looking at schools for next year (through virtual open houses and zoom discussions with administrators).

One of those schools is NCS/STA (I'd rather not do anything to reveal who our family is).

We have read with deep shock the @blackatsta, @blackatncs, @asianatsta and other accounts in the DC schools. They are horrifying--racist comments by students and teachers, race-based bullying, race-based exclusion, extreme bullying (telling kids to kill themselves, relentlessly), etc. Worst of all--kids of color who just seem deeply and unfairly unhappy. The schools have of course acknowledged these accounts and have issued statements and outlined their plans to do to address these issues. So we have the "official" line from the schools.

What we'd really like to ask and have answers to though are not things we feel like we can get from the schools and those "official" statements and plans. We know that this forum is imperfect, too, and we're doing our best to find families that attend there. We only know a couple, as we've only lived here a couple of years. So we hope that some here are willing to engage.

How deep and ingrained are these issues of racism? Is there even a chance that these issues will be meaningfully addressed by new administrators? Or are these deep problems that would take decades to root out? Deep problems that will potentially be perpetuated by sets of moneyed groups with long ties to the school who not only aren't really committed to change, but who are also part of the problem (this last question comes from something one of the few families we know there said about a subset of very wealthy legacies at this school who have no commitment to change, and often are part of the problem)?

Again, we've heard the speeches. We've read the plans. Our DC has expressed a desire for single-sex, and DC is a competitive applicant (please, this is not an invitation to tell us to "get in first." You can't get answers about these sorts of things in the very short time you get to decide post-admission, and as parents of a child of color, we owe DC as much due diligence as we can--which is made even harder by the pandemic).

We would deeply appreciate the perspective of anyone from these schools who is willing to talk about what's REALLY going on there on these issues.

OP, I assume that if you are applying to Private schools in DC area you accept a few basic facts:

1) 1/10 applicants are accepted
2) Tuition is about 49K a year
3) Its hard academically- most graduates would tell you college is much easier, including at the Ivy + Stanford

The extra things: most boys say the friendships that they made there last a lifetime. Grads come back to be married in the school chapel.There are former students and teachers who last wish was to be burried in the school's memorial garden.

Is it possible that a bad apple got admitted and was later expelled for racist behavior: well, perhaps in the last 100 years since the school's founding, yes. But if you are AA or Asian or even a woman, being subjected to stereotypes would not surprise you, right ?

Does the new Headmaster want to improve the culture in this area: yes. Will any school ever be perfect: No. Is the world ?

What are you looking for in a school ? A fantastic education and the ability to succeed anywhere- then apply to Saint Albans.

If you want a school that is primarily geared to social activism ABOVE ALL else, then keep looking for that school

DP. There are a lot of great things about STA. I agree. However I think your post is a bit offensive to those that have shared specific incidents of blatant racism and anti-Semitism some within the past two years. It is not productive to dismiss these incidents which have been verified. Some may be misunderstandings I agree but a few were very specific targeted hate incidents and should not be ignored.

[Anonymous]

Wait, an expensive private all boys high school that caters to privileged predominantly white protestant families has a racism problem? Shocker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Our mixed-race DC is looking at schools for next year (through virtual open houses and zoom discussions with administrators).

One of those schools is NCS/STA (I'd rather not do anything to reveal who our family is).

We have read with deep shock the @blackatsta, @blackatncs, @asianatsta and other accounts in the DC schools. They are horrifying--racist comments by students and teachers, race-based bullying, race-based exclusion, extreme bullying (telling kids to kill themselves, relentlessly), etc. Worst of all--kids of color who just seem deeply and unfairly unhappy. The schools have of course acknowledged these accounts and have issued statements and outlined their plans to do to address these issues. So we have the "official" line from the schools.

What we'd really like to ask and have answers to though are not things we feel like we can get from the schools and those "official" statements and plans. We know that this forum is imperfect, too, and we're doing our best to find families that attend there. We only know a couple, as we've only lived here a couple of years. So we hope that some here are willing to engage.

How deep and ingrained are these issues of racism? Is there even a chance that these issues will be meaningfully addressed by new administrators? Or are these deep problems that would take decades to root out? Deep problems that will potentially be perpetuated by sets of moneyed groups with long ties to the school who not only aren't really committed to change, but who are also part of the problem (this last question comes from something one of the few families we know there said about a subset of very wealthy legacies at this school who have no commitment to change, and often are part of the problem)?

Again, we've heard the speeches. We've read the plans. Our DC has expressed a desire for single-sex, and DC is a competitive applicant (please, this is not an invitation to tell us to "get in first." You can't get answers about these sorts of things in the very short time you get to decide post-admission, and as parents of a child of color, we owe DC as much due diligence as we can--which is made even harder by the pandemic).

We would deeply appreciate the perspective of anyone from these schools who is willing to talk about what's REALLY going on there on these issues.

OP, I assume that if you are applying to Private schools in DC area you accept a few basic facts:

1) 1/10 applicants are accepted
2) Tuition is about 49K a year
3) Its hard academically- most graduates would tell you college is much easier, including at the Ivy + Stanford

The extra things: most boys say the friendships that they made there last a lifetime. Grads come back to be married in the school chapel.There are former students and teachers who last wish was to be burried in the school's memorial garden.

Is it possible that a bad apple got admitted and was later expelled for racist behavior: well, perhaps in the last 100 years since the school's founding, yes. But if you are AA or Asian or even a woman, being subjected to stereotypes would not surprise you, right ?

Does the new Headmaster want to improve the culture in this area: yes. Will any school ever be perfect: No. Is the world ?

What are you looking for in a school ? A fantastic education and the ability to succeed anywhere- then apply to Saint Albans.

If you want a school that is primarily geared to social activism ABOVE ALL else, then keep looking for that school

First, your post is (willfully) obtuse and dismissive, given all the posters who have shared very real and very disturbing racist incidents that absolutely happened in the last few years.

Second, exactly what is your point with your three “facts”? You seem to be not-so-subtly suggesting that op’s child, or any other non-white child, is not smart enough to get in or informed about private schools. Surely you aren’t actually trying to make these racist implications... Or perhaps that’s exactly what you mean to say.

P.s. as a parent with kids at big 3, I can tell you there’s plenty of totally mediocre students of all backgrounds. Including wealthy and white. Indeed, that group makes up a good chunk of the student body who definitely don’t go into the colleges you’re talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, the goys come back and get married in the chapel?! Amazing. Sign me up.

Not.

For those who don’t know
“ goy “ is hate speech used to refer to Christians

Kinda surprised someone would throw that out here , but it only reflects on them

Yes, people do choose a site for their wedding that has meaning for them ....shocking , I know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. Our mixed-race DC is looking at schools for next year (through virtual open houses and zoom discussions with administrators).

One of those schools is NCS/STA (I'd rather not do anything to reveal who our family is).

We have read with deep shock the @blackatsta, @blackatncs, @asianatsta and other accounts in the DC schools. They are horrifying--racist comments by students and teachers, race-based bullying, race-based exclusion, extreme bullying (telling kids to kill themselves, relentlessly), etc. Worst of all--kids of color who just seem deeply and unfairly unhappy. The schools have of course acknowledged these accounts and have issued statements and outlined their plans to do to address these issues. So we have the "official" line from the schools.

What we'd really like to ask and have answers to though are not things we feel like we can get from the schools and those "official" statements and plans. We know that this forum is imperfect, too, and we're doing our best to find families that attend there. We only know a couple, as we've only lived here a couple of years. So we hope that some here are willing to engage.

How deep and ingrained are these issues of racism? Is there even a chance that these issues will be meaningfully addressed by new administrators? Or are these deep problems that would take decades to root out? Deep problems that will potentially be perpetuated by sets of moneyed groups with long ties to the school who not only aren't really committed to change, but who are also part of the problem (this last question comes from something one of the few families we know there said about a subset of very wealthy legacies at this school who have no commitment to change, and often are part of the problem)?

Again, we've heard the speeches. We've read the plans. Our DC has expressed a desire for single-sex, and DC is a competitive applicant (please, this is not an invitation to tell us to "get in first." You can't get answers about these sorts of things in the very short time you get to decide post-admission, and as parents of a child of color, we owe DC as much due diligence as we can--which is made even harder by the pandemic).

We would deeply appreciate the perspective of anyone from these schools who is willing to talk about what's REALLY going on there on these issues.

OP, I assume that if you are applying to Private schools in DC area you accept a few basic facts:

1) 1/10 applicants are accepted
2) Tuition is about 49K a year
3) Its hard academically- most graduates would tell you college is much easier, including at the Ivy + Stanford

The extra things: most boys say the friendships that they made there last a lifetime. Grads come back to be married in the school chapel.There are former students and teachers who last wish was to be burried in the school's memorial garden.

Is it possible that a bad apple got admitted and was later expelled for racist behavior: well, perhaps in the last 100 years since the school's founding, yes. But if you are AA or Asian or even a woman, being subjected to stereotypes would not surprise you, right ?

Does the new Headmaster want to improve the culture in this area: yes. Will any school ever be perfect: No. Is the world ?

What are you looking for in a school ? A fantastic education and the ability to succeed anywhere- then apply to Saint Albans.

If you want a school that is primarily geared to social activism ABOVE ALL else, then keep looking for that school

First, your post is (willfully) obtuse and dismissive, given all the posters who have shared very real and very disturbing racist incidents that absolutely happened in the last few years.

Second, exactly what is your point with your three “facts”? You seem to be not-so-subtly suggesting that op’s child, or any other non-white child, is not smart enough to get in or informed about private schools. Surely you aren’t actually trying to make these racist implications... Or perhaps that’s exactly what you mean to say.

P.s. as a parent with kids at big 3, I can tell you there’s plenty of totally mediocre students of all backgrounds. Including wealthy and white. Indeed, that group makes up a good chunk of the student body who definitely don’t go into the colleges you’re talking about.

Best of luck to you with your search for an academically challenging school that is perfect and free of any and all slights perceived or otherwise ...to be followed by a professional life exemplary for the same ....and , of course a marriage where neither partner ever ever makes a mistake or disappoints their partner ...followed by , of course , perfect children and a retirement portfolio that over performs in every fiscal cycle and an old age never needing medical care as your health is perfect ...all capped off by a glowing obit in the NYT and numerous charities named for you .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest reading through all of these: https://www.instagram.com/blackatsidwellfriends/?hl=en

When you're done, ask yourself if you really believe each of these submissions. If you do, I've got a bridge to sell you.

When you create Instagram accounts that let people submit anonymously (meaning, even the Instagram account doesn't know who is submitting it because it's just through a Google doc: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSddU6JM8MCUpWlT-vQ0D82WOgxoA7M-ut7tBMj6NwtuYYkmSw/viewform), you have a recipe for some fact mixed with some fiction. I have no idea what the motives were of the person who started all these accounts, but they've done nothing except marginalize people with real stories, who are lumped in with the fiction writers having some fun.

Having read this board for years, it's clear that there are people who take perverse enjoyment trolling on DCUM. What makes anyone think they don't do the same thing on these Google doc submissions?

The person running these accounts is irresponsible for making them look authentic when they're even less verified than what's posted on DCUM (which at least has Jeff able to see URLs to police trolling at some level).

I know most posters on this board think only DC/surrounding area parents read DCUM but that's not true (I'm in California and frequently read/post on this forum - sadly, I don't have an equivalent, I wish!!) and our private school as well as all of the other local privates have these accounts (as well as privates & colleges in other cities/states). No one has the amount of time to start all of these accounts and then post nonsense to rabble rouse. I think its far more telling that people reading these accounts want to believe the posts are mostly fake just because they are anon.

As someone who grew up in poverty, in a neighborhood where everyone knew my family because they were the scumbags of the hood (and I paid for that in my crap public elementary/middle school) - I know first hand how prejudiced, biased and classist people can be when you're a white kid - I can't imagine, nor would I feign to try to pretend I could, what kids of color go through.

- White mom who believes what these kids are saying

[Anonymous]

NCS is 44% girls of color. It seems they’ve done a much better job of attracting a diverse student population than faculty - which should be a huge priority going forward. I have a daughter in 8th grade and that is a very engaged population in terms of parents and kids talking about these issues. I can’t talk to other grades. I also think that the school statement that came out of BLM seems like they are trying to do the right things. I know the proof is in the pudding, but it does seem like the administration, faculty, (some of) the parents and the students want to make things better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NCS is 44% girls of color. It seems they’ve done a much better job of attracting a diverse student population than faculty - which should be a huge priority going forward. I have a daughter in 8th grade and that is a very engaged population in terms of parents and kids talking about these issues. I can’t talk to other grades. I also think that the school statement that came out of BLM seems like they are trying to do the right things. I know the proof is in the pudding, but it does seem like the administration, faculty, (some of) the parents and the students want to make things better.

OP here: I’ve still been following, but I hadn’t seen anything from a parent at these schools in awhile, so I didn’t want to interject. Just wanted to say thank you and other parents there who have taken time to contribute first-hand perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, an expensive private all boys high school that caters to privileged predominantly white protestant families has a racism problem? Shocker.

Prejudiced much? Just please shut your mouth. You are part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

OP. I am a minority parent at STA. It is unrealistic to expect any school to be free from prejudice. When I myself grew up, I faced far more prejudices, not racism, than what has been posted on Instagram. The prejudices I experienced were not racism because my classmates and I are all of the same race. Yet, I experienced blatant, in-my-face discrimination because of my poor family background. Meanwhile, I also had teachers and classmates who were welcome and supportive. No matter where you go, there are always bad apples even if the institution is welcome and inclusive. My attitude was to study hard and to be an outstanding student, realizing that my best asset is my intellect. Today, my classmates in elementary and middle school cannot even dream of my achievements. I do not blame my classmates, as they are humans with flaws. No one is perfect and without prejudice. Prejudices between people of the same race had always existed. How can any one to expect prejudice between people of different color to not exist?