Williamsburg parent community

[Anonymous]

Can anyone shed light on the parent community at WMS? Is the PTA active, supportive, welcoming, etc.? Do people meet up with other families? This board makes it seem like it’s a cut throat vibe but we are coming from DC and have no idea what to expect. Both the kids and we can handle pretty much anything socially but it would sure be nice to find a community as opposed to navigate around an unfriendly cohort.

[Anonymous]

You’ll be able to meet people in about 7 years when you get off the WGCC waiting list.

[Anonymous]

We go to WMS and have no desire to join wgcc. I don’t think most people belong there but lots of Jamestown kids do. I really haven’t tried to be involved with the community, but the pta is always begging for help so I’m sure they’d love it if you got involved. Everyone drives their kids in their cars so parents never actually interact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go to WMS and have no desire to join wgcc. I don’t think most people belong there but lots of Jamestown kids do. I really haven’t tried to be involved with the community, but the pta is always begging for help so I’m sure they’d love it if you got involved. Everyone drives their kids in their cars so parents never actually interact.

Thanks a lot. This is very helpful. Do you know if the PTA is successful with fundraising? Do they work closely with the teachers/staff? Do the parents really never meet otherwise?

[Anonymous]

We are former WMS parents. Middle school isn’t elementary school. Parents are not cutthroat but at the same time have zero interest in other parents. People have their own established lives. Don’t go to any middle school expecting to hang with other parents. School is for your kid’s education not your social life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are former WMS parents. Middle school isn’t elementary school. Parents are not cutthroat but at the same time have zero interest in other parents. People have their own established lives. Don’t go to any middle school expecting to hang with other parents. School is for your kid’s education not your social life.

I’m not expecting to hang with parents socially. I can barely keep up with friendships and family who live all over the place. I *would* like to be among people who care about community and who pitch in to make whatever they participate in better for themselves and those who come later.

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack but does anyone know how much screens are used at WMS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are former WMS parents. Middle school isn’t elementary school. Parents are not cutthroat but at the same time have zero interest in other parents. People have their own established lives. Don’t go to any middle school expecting to hang with other parents. School is for your kid’s education not your social life.

I’m not expecting to hang with parents socially. I can barely keep up with friendships and family who live all over the place. I *would* like to be among people who care about community and who pitch in to make whatever they participate in better for themselves and those who come later.

OP it sounds like you already bought, right?

There’s elementary + middle schools aligned with this ethos but not worth covering if you’re already locked into WMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are former WMS parents. Middle school isn’t elementary school. Parents are not cutthroat but at the same time have zero interest in other parents. People have their own established lives. Don’t go to any middle school expecting to hang with other parents. School is for your kid’s education not your social life.

I’m not expecting to hang with parents socially. I can barely keep up with friendships and family who live all over the place. I *would* like to be among people who care about community and who pitch in to make whatever they participate in better for themselves and those who come later.

OP it sounds like you already bought, right?

There’s elementary + middle schools aligned with this ethos but not worth covering if you’re already locked into WMS.

We're about to put an offer in, please do elaborate if you can (text to speech saves me a lot of time on this board)!

[Anonymous]

It's not cutthroat, but there just aren't ways to meet/connect with other parents in middle school. I don't think this is just WMS, I think it's how MS is. You drop your kid off or they walk or take the bus so you don't get a chance to interact with other parents. I already had mom friends from ES and I just kept up with them. At best, you will meet the parents of your kid's friends if they make new friends in MS. That said, I wasn't active in the PTA, so I bet that's a good way to actually meet people and get more involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not cutthroat, but there just aren't ways to meet/connect with other parents in middle school. I don't think this is just WMS, I think it's how MS is. You drop your kid off or they walk or take the bus so you don't get a chance to interact with other parents. I already had mom friends from ES and I just kept up with them. At best, you will meet the parents of your kid's friends if they make new friends in MS. That said, I wasn't active in the PTA, so I bet that's a good way to actually meet people and get more involved.

Thank you, this makes a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not cutthroat, but there just aren't ways to meet/connect with other parents in middle school. I don't think this is just WMS, I think it's how MS is. You drop your kid off or they walk or take the bus so you don't get a chance to interact with other parents. I already had mom friends from ES and I just kept up with them. At best, you will meet the parents of your kid's friends if they make new friends in MS. That said, I wasn't active in the PTA, so I bet that's a good way to actually meet people and get more involved.

Thank you, this makes a lot of sense.

You're welcome. I didn't really interact with parents i didn't know. I didn't find this unwelcoming, but then again I already had friends and wasn't looking for new ones either. I guess it could be perceived as unwelcoming if someone wanted to find a social group. This was very different from ES. We walked to and from school so I met many parents while waiting at pickup and the kids all played together. People seemed eager for friends then, but not in MS.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the general sentiment that parents don't really meet/interact with other parents in middle school. However, FWIW, when my kids were in middle school they did band and that had a lot of need for parent volunteers so I did get to know some other parents that way. Some of my friends had a similar experience with their kids in theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go to WMS and have no desire to join wgcc. I don’t think most people belong there but lots of Jamestown kids do. I really haven’t tried to be involved with the community, but the pta is always begging for help so I’m sure they’d love it if you got involved. Everyone drives their kids in their cars so parents never actually interact.

Thanks a lot. This is very helpful. Do you know if the PTA is successful with fundraising? Do they work closely with the teachers/staff? Do the parents really never meet otherwise?

We are at DHMS but came from DC in elementary. There is a limited need for fundraising at the middle school level in APS as compared to DCPS. And the teachers/staff work on the students building their autonomy and advocating for themselves, so there's not as much parental involvement day-to-day by design. I volunteer for PTSA things at DHMS as they come up, and unless you're on a planning committee, it's very independent driven with not a lot of teacher or administrator contact. We know a lot of Williamsburg families, and I wouldn't describe any of them as cut throat.

A better way to meet people with other middle schoolers would be through any sports, theater, scouts, clubs. Arlington has a robust rec program. There's niche things like cotillion or the youth programs at Phoenix Bikes. You can drive your kids down to Shirlington to volunteer with AWLA. And to meet other adults, you are better off walking the dog, joining a local yoga studio, volunteering at the library or something else that you are interested in, than expecting mixers or socials at the middle school level.

[Anonymous]

I actually had a thought about how the parents are at WMS as a rising 6th grade parent. We were at an option school were we had a great community. I don't want to necessarily make parent friends, but I want to know that the parents of my kids' friends are decent people.