Please Choose Private For the Right Reasons

[Anonymous]

I’ve seen a recent influx of posts from parents looking for a "nice private alternative" to MCPS or DCPS because they want "rigorous academics" and "small classes." As someone who has been through the cycle with multiple kids at Sidwell and GDS, I feel compelled to say: You are fundamentally doing this wrong.

If your primary goal is just a heavy workload and high AP/IB participation, stay in the public system. The top-tier tracks in MoCo and DC are just as rigorous as anything you’ll find in an independent school. In fact, if you go the private route just to "avoid" public, you often end up paying $45k+ for facilities that are—let’s be honest—frequently dated or even inferior to what a well-funded public school offers. I’ve seen some of these smaller parochial campuses in the Olney/Sandy Spring area, and I’m baffled why anyone would pay tuition for a "campus" that looks like a 1970s office park when the local public has better labs and fields.

You don't send your LOs to the crown jewels of DC private to escape public school. You send them for a values-based, progressive experiential education. You go because you want your DS to be an out-of-the-box thinker who understands social justice and pluralism at a cellular level.

What makes Sidwell special isn't the math curriculum—it’s the intentionality. It’s the school-wide Iftar dinners, the student-led seders focused on sustainability, the niche global theater productions (the recent African folk tale was breathtaking), and the Quaker values.

There’s also a deeper "values" component we rarely talk about. If a parent is fleeing public school to find a "stifling" or narrow environment—like some of the "diploma mills" up-county (GC comes to mind)—it makes me wonder if they’re actually just trying to avoid the diversity and pluralism that makes the DC area great. If you aren't seeking the beauty of a truly progressive education, you’re just paying for a smaller, more homogeneous pond.

Choose a school for its mission, not because you’re afraid of the public school "boogeyman." Otherwise, you’re just paying a premium for a mediocre outlook.

[Anonymous]

Oh my!

[Anonymous]

Well, to be clear, what you described sounds like Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, a public charter in DC.

It also sounds nothing like the boarding school I taught at. Some independent schools are as you described, and others are not. Obviously.

[Anonymous]

It depends on which private school, but I think the poster’s point is a valid one…especially when it comes to elementary school. Public school at the elementary level is generally better, but too many folks balk at the very thought of doing public school and want to jump on the private school pipeline in the early stages…and many find out too late that it’s at their detriment.

[Anonymous]

If you really want them to learn any of that - send them to public. There may be a lot of lip service to diversity but the breadth of it contained in my kids large public school is amazing. They haven't been taught the differences and the value in it - they have experienced. it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on which private school, but I think the poster’s point is a valid one…especially when it comes to elementary school. Public school at the elementary level is generally better, but too many folks balk at the very thought of doing public school and want to jump on the private school pipeline in the early stages…and many find out too late that it’s at their detriment.

The point?

The only point is the narrow hold through which she sees the world.

It’s like the are still drunk from st Patrick’s day.

They contradict their “point” more than once.

[Anonymous]

How delightfully sanctimonious!

[Anonymous]

Having just been through the whole looking at schools process for my 3 year old... Sidwell does a terrible job at highlighting their Quaker values or anything beyond the prestige of being in the Sidwell network and their outstanding academics. Obviously it is a great school and had we not gotten into our top choice for PK-3 we would have had Sidwell in the application pile for PK, but the approach they took in attracting parents was honestly a turn off. It definitely made us feel like we would find ourselves feeling the frustration you are expressing in this post.

If I were in your shoes (a part of a community that I felt had an influx of parents who didn't get it), I would have a chat with admissions about how they are approaching recruitment. Generally, the easiest KPI for admissions teams is how many kids they can get to apply/accept admissions as their top choice and being the school where the president's kids go typically can be a easy button to hit that KPI, but we all know that beyond the surface their goal is to develop a deep community where kids thrive with as little friction between school, child, and parent as possible. It seemed to me that Sidwell's admission team was getting caught on winning the easy to see KPI and missing how hitting that easy button affected the rest of the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen a recent influx of posts from parents looking for a "nice private alternative" to MCPS or DCPS because they want "rigorous academics" and "small classes." As someone who has been through the cycle with multiple kids at Sidwell and GDS, I feel compelled to say: You are fundamentally doing this wrong.

If your primary goal is just a heavy workload and high AP/IB participation, stay in the public system. The top-tier tracks in MoCo and DC are just as rigorous as anything you’ll find in an independent school. In fact, if you go the private route just to "avoid" public, you often end up paying $45k+ for facilities that are—let’s be honest—frequently dated or even inferior to what a well-funded public school offers. I’ve seen some of these smaller parochial campuses in the Olney/Sandy Spring area, and I’m baffled why anyone would pay tuition for a "campus" that looks like a 1970s office park when the local public has better labs and fields.

You don't send your LOs to the crown jewels of DC private to escape public school. You send them for a values-based, progressive experiential education. You go because you want your DS to be an out-of-the-box thinker who understands social justice and pluralism at a cellular level.

What makes Sidwell special isn't the math curriculum—it’s the intentionality. It’s the school-wide Iftar dinners, the student-led seders focused on sustainability, the niche global theater productions (the recent African folk tale was breathtaking), and the Quaker values.

There’s also a deeper "values" component we rarely talk about. If a parent is fleeing public school to find a "stifling" or narrow environment—like some of the "diploma mills" up-county (GC comes to mind)—it makes me wonder if they’re actually just trying to avoid the diversity and pluralism that makes the DC area great. If you aren't seeking the beauty of a truly progressive education, you’re just paying for a smaller, more homogeneous pond.

Choose a school for its mission, not because you’re afraid of the public school "boogeyman." Otherwise, you’re just paying a premium for a mediocre outlook.

Have you ever set foot in GC? If you are a Sidwell family why on earth are you commenting on GC? The two communities never cross paths and you're so absolutely WRONG. GC is extremely diverse and values driven.

This post screams TROLL with a personal vendetta. Go find a better hobby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen a recent influx of posts from parents looking for a "nice private alternative" to MCPS or DCPS because they want "rigorous academics" and "small classes." As someone who has been through the cycle with multiple kids at Sidwell and GDS, I feel compelled to say: You are fundamentally doing this wrong.

If your primary goal is just a heavy workload and high AP/IB participation, stay in the public system. The top-tier tracks in MoCo and DC are just as rigorous as anything you’ll find in an independent school. In fact, if you go the private route just to "avoid" public, you often end up paying $45k+ for facilities that are—let’s be honest—frequently dated or even inferior to what a well-funded public school offers. I’ve seen some of these smaller parochial campuses in the Olney/Sandy Spring area, and I’m baffled why anyone would pay tuition for a "campus" that looks like a 1970s office park when the local public has better labs and fields.

You don't send your LOs to the crown jewels of DC private to escape public school. You send them for a values-based, progressive experiential education. You go because you want your DS to be an out-of-the-box thinker who understands social justice and pluralism at a cellular level.

What makes Sidwell special isn't the math curriculum—it’s the intentionality. It’s the school-wide Iftar dinners, the student-led seders focused on sustainability, the niche global theater productions (the recent African folk tale was breathtaking), and the Quaker values.

There’s also a deeper "values" component we rarely talk about. If a parent is fleeing public school to find a "stifling" or narrow environment—like some of the "diploma mills" up-county (GC comes to mind)—it makes me wonder if they’re actually just trying to avoid the diversity and pluralism that makes the DC area great. If you aren't seeking the beauty of a truly progressive education, you’re just paying for a smaller, more homogeneous pond.

Choose a school for its mission, not because you’re afraid of the public school "boogeyman." Otherwise, you’re just paying a premium for a mediocre outlook.

I can assure you that the reasons you list for choosing Sidwell have nothing to do with why my kids are there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen a recent influx of posts from parents looking for a "nice private alternative" to MCPS or DCPS because they want "rigorous academics" and "small classes." As someone who has been through the cycle with multiple kids at Sidwell and GDS, I feel compelled to say: You are fundamentally doing this wrong.

If your primary goal is just a heavy workload and high AP/IB participation, stay in the public system. The top-tier tracks in MoCo and DC are just as rigorous as anything you’ll find in an independent school. In fact, if you go the private route just to "avoid" public, you often end up paying $45k+ for facilities that are—let’s be honest—frequently dated or even inferior to what a well-funded public school offers. I’ve seen some of these smaller parochial campuses in the Olney/Sandy Spring area, and I’m baffled why anyone would pay tuition for a "campus" that looks like a 1970s office park when the local public has better labs and fields.

You don't send your LOs to the crown jewels of DC private to escape public school. You send them for a values-based, progressive experiential education. You go because you want your DS to be an out-of-the-box thinker who understands social justice and pluralism at a cellular level.

What makes Sidwell special isn't the math curriculum—it’s the intentionality. It’s the school-wide Iftar dinners, the student-led seders focused on sustainability, the niche global theater productions (the recent African folk tale was breathtaking), and the Quaker values.

There’s also a deeper "values" component we rarely talk about. If a parent is fleeing public school to find a "stifling" or narrow environment—like some of the "diploma mills" up-county (GC comes to mind)—it makes me wonder if they’re actually just trying to avoid the diversity and pluralism that makes the DC area great. If you aren't seeking the beauty of a truly progressive education, you’re just paying for a smaller, more homogeneous pond.

Choose a school for its mission, not because you’re afraid of the public school "boogeyman." Otherwise, you’re just paying a premium for a mediocre outlook.

Have you ever set foot in GC? If you are a Sidwell family why on earth are you commenting on GC? The two communities never cross paths and you're so absolutely WRONG. GC is extremely diverse and values driven.

This post screams TROLL with a personal vendetta. Go find a better hobby.

+1 - troll post with a whiff of AI

[Anonymous]

I think people should focus on fit and not just prestige. We just went through this process for high school with an 8th grader at a PK-8th. It was very obvious that some families were purely focused on the big name schools even though the kids reported that they didn't like the schools that much. My kid is going to the school that was the best fit for them and our family and we are all very excited.

[Anonymous]

You really aren't selling it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on which private school, but I think the poster’s point is a valid one…especially when it comes to elementary school. Public school at the elementary level is generally better, but too many folks balk at the very thought of doing public school and want to jump on the private school pipeline in the early stages…and many find out too late that it’s at their detriment.

I actually think doing elementary school through 3rd or 4th grade or 6th grade is very valuable. These days, most ports are done extracurricular. Kids get to know many neighborhood friends and get to enjoy walking to school. And the parents will also save some money. Yes, admission to Big 3 is competitive. But if you prepare well and be ready to apply 1-2 times, you will eventually get in. It is also a good practice for the kid to take the SSAT and a student interview. If you don't trust public schools, smaller, cheaper K-8s or small private schools are also good. I am really not sure the Sidwell/GDS/Beahvoor routes are so meaningful for these years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen a recent influx of posts from parents looking for a "nice private alternative" to MCPS or DCPS because they want "rigorous academics" and "small classes." As someone who has been through the cycle with multiple kids at Sidwell and GDS, I feel compelled to say: You are fundamentally doing this wrong.

If your primary goal is just a heavy workload and high AP/IB participation, stay in the public system. The top-tier tracks in MoCo and DC are just as rigorous as anything you’ll find in an independent school. In fact, if you go the private route just to "avoid" public, you often end up paying $45k+ for facilities that are—let’s be honest—frequently dated or even inferior to what a well-funded public school offers. I’ve seen some of these smaller parochial campuses in the Olney/Sandy Spring area, and I’m baffled why anyone would pay tuition for a "campus" that looks like a 1970s office park when the local public has better labs and fields.

You don't send your LOs to the crown jewels of DC private to escape public school. You send them for a values-based, progressive experiential education. You go because you want your DS to be an out-of-the-box thinker who understands social justice and pluralism at a cellular level.

What makes Sidwell special isn't the math curriculum—it’s the intentionality. It’s the school-wide Iftar dinners, the student-led seders focused on sustainability, the niche global theater productions (the recent African folk tale was breathtaking), and the Quaker values.

There’s also a deeper "values" component we rarely talk about. If a parent is fleeing public school to find a "stifling" or narrow environment—like some of the "diploma mills" up-county (GC comes to mind)—it makes me wonder if they’re actually just trying to avoid the diversity and pluralism that makes the DC area great. If you aren't seeking the beauty of a truly progressive education, you’re just paying for a smaller, more homogeneous pond.

Choose a school for its mission, not because you’re afraid of the public school "boogeyman." Otherwise, you’re just paying a premium for a mediocre outlook.

Have you ever set foot in GC? If you are a Sidwell family why on earth are you commenting on GC? The two communities never cross paths and you're so absolutely WRONG. GC is extremely diverse and values driven.

This post screams TROLL with a personal vendetta. Go find a better hobby.

+1 - troll post with a whiff of AI

ChatGPT isn’t this bad at writing