How good is Maret?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main downside of maret is that it has a long history of hiding incidents, starting with the sexual assault cases of the 2000s, and other type of incidents continue in 2025 and are hidden from parents.

You mean the sexual assault cases the school itself hired outside investigators to dig into, proactively reached out to potential victims, and then published a full report about? Really great job at "hiding them." And if you know about sexual assault incidents in the year 2025, why are you reporting them here and not to the authorities?

We get it, you just hate the school. So don't send your kids there or work there and move on with your life. Making things up about the place on this forum says more about you than the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main downside of maret is that it has a long history of hiding incidents, starting with the sexual assault cases of the 2000s, and other type of incidents continue in 2025 and are hidden from parents.

You mean the sexual assault cases the school itself hired outside investigators to dig into, proactively reached out to potential victims, and then published a full report about? Really great job at "hiding them." And if you know about sexual assault incidents in the year 2025, why are you reporting them here and not to the authorities?

We get it, you just hate the school. So don't send your kids there or work there and move on with your life. Making things up about the place on this forum says more about you than the school.

Don’t feed the troll. They’re just salty that all their threads have been getting locked by site admins and are lashing out like a whiny toddler. It’ll pass.

[Anonymous]

No, these cases of sexual assault :

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dcs-maret-school-releases-investigation-detailing-past-cases-of-sexual-abuse-at-the-private-school/2019/09/19/faf5ec21-826d-4873-8037-3008ec19b14e_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main downside of maret is that it has a long history of hiding incidents, starting with the sexual assault cases of the 2000s, and other type of incidents continue in 2025 and are hidden from parents.

You mean the sexual assault cases the school itself hired outside investigators to dig into, proactively reached out to potential victims, and then published a full report about? Really great job at "hiding them." And if you know about sexual assault incidents in the year 2025, why are you reporting them here and not to the authorities?

We get it, you just hate the school. So don't send your kids there or work there and move on with your life. Making things up about the place on this forum says more about you than the school.

*Taps the sign*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main downside of maret is that it has a long history of hiding incidents, starting with the sexual assault cases of the 2000s, and other type of incidents continue in 2025 and are hidden from parents.

You mean the sexual assault cases the school itself hired outside investigators to dig into, proactively reached out to potential victims, and then published a full report about? Really great job at "hiding them." And if you know about sexual assault incidents in the year 2025, why are you reporting them here and not to the authorities?

We get it, you just hate the school. So don't send your kids there or work there and move on with your life. Making things up about the place on this forum says more about you than the school.

Exactly, the sexual assault cases that were hidden for 20 years. The report came a bit late don’t you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a very controversial topic. You can see that when some school are criticized the threads are never closed. When maret is criticized the threads are deleted or locked. So you will receive partial information from this forum. Also there is a maret troll that sometimes is funny.

+1. I think someone at Maret is blackmailing the DCUM moderators.

Ha - I joked about this over the years, b/c I always felt like there were no bad Maret posts. I'm going to focus on the pure academic piece and not mention the HOS or the political leanings (well, sort of). Like any school, on an academic level, Maret works for some kids and not others. IMO, it works for a smaller "type" of kid than other schools. Meaning, I think that other schools are more willing and more able to accommodate a broader range of learning styles and interests than Maret. Maret packs a lot into the school day/week such that the kids don't have a lot of free time built into the schedule for study halls (there are built in "meet with teacher" blocks, which is nice). But, I felt that if my kid missed a day of school due to being sick, that he was perpetually far behind.

I think Maret's college placement last year was likely one of best in the area - I think 7 to Northwestern? To me, a measure of the school is not where the top kids end up but those in the middle/bottom.

Maret tends to lose 5-6 people each year after 9th and even 10th grade. These kids leave for a variety of reasons, many of which are not academic capability. That's telling that a kid would leave after 10th grade.

Now here is my one sort of political comment. In our experience (and others may have had different experiences so don't jump all over me), if your child has an independent thought that is DIFFERENT from the school's approach or beliefs, then your child's independent thought is not welcome for discussion. If your child wants to ask as "why" question and truly try to understand a point of view, it's not always welcome.

If you are seriously considering the school, I would encourage you to talk with people at all levels (lower, middle, upper) and families who stayed as well as those who left. Plus families with kids at different schools who can tell you the comparisons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a very controversial topic. You can see that when some school are criticized the threads are never closed. When maret is criticized the threads are deleted or locked. So you will receive partial information from this forum. Also there is a maret troll that sometimes is funny.

+1. I think someone at Maret is blackmailing the DCUM moderators.

Ha - I joked about this over the years, b/c I always felt like there were no bad Maret posts. I'm going to focus on the pure academic piece and not mention the HOS or the political leanings (well, sort of). Like any school, on an academic level, Maret works for some kids and not others. IMO, it works for a smaller "type" of kid than other schools. Meaning, I think that other schools are more willing and more able to accommodate a broader range of learning styles and interests than Maret. Maret packs a lot into the school day/week such that the kids don't have a lot of free time built into the schedule for study halls (there are built in "meet with teacher" blocks, which is nice). But, I felt that if my kid missed a day of school due to being sick, that he was perpetually far behind.

I think Maret's college placement last year was likely one of best in the area - I think 7 to Northwestern? To me, a measure of the school is not where the top kids end up but those in the middle/bottom.

Maret tends to lose 5-6 people each year after 9th and even 10th grade. These kids leave for a variety of reasons, many of which are not academic capability. That's telling that a kid would leave after 10th grade.

Now here is my one sort of political comment. In our experience (and others may have had different experiences so don't jump all over me), if your child has an independent thought that is DIFFERENT from the school's approach or beliefs, then your child's independent thought is not welcome for discussion. If your child wants to ask as "why" question and truly try to understand a point of view, it's not always welcome.

If you are seriously considering the school, I would encourage you to talk with people at all levels (lower, middle, upper) and families who stayed as well as those who left. Plus families with kids at different schools who can tell you the comparisons.

I agree with you on the last part. Free exchange of ideas is not welcome at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t apply and my child didn’t want such a small school. That was THE factor for us. But, as a relatively disinterested person my take is this. It is a good school with good outcomes and hard admissions due to size and being good. Desirable for some due to its smaller size. But… and this is probably why it is a touchy topic… it does not have the cache of Sidwell, NCS/St Albans, or GDS. Full stop. As a local, it was a school for artsy kids back in the day and that did not necessarily mean academically excellent artsy kids. Back then Sidwell, GDS and St Albans/NCS were already super hard to get into and regularly churning out great college admits. And FWIW, Potomac didn’t even have a high school. So the landscape has changed and Maret has changed and it seems academically much more respectable. But… it is not in the same league as NCS/St Albans and Sidwell. And the Maret people sound a little ridiculous constantly insisting it is. But I don’t have any hate. Just a dose of reality. Some kids and families may prefer it over those “better” schools. We didn’t apply to a single DC school after factoring in transportation and some of the after school requirements. We considered some and would not have put in application at Maret because it is smaller than our child wanted. Everyone has different goals and expectations for high school. But here is the thing. Maret is very good. It’s like Williams or Amherst. But it isn’t Harvard or MIT and those others are.

Sounds about right. Why presidents choose to send their kids to Sidwell over maret?

I thought Barron Trump went to St. Andrew's Episcopal, not Sidwell?

Trump went to St. Andrew's, but Clinton's & Obama's chose Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t apply and my child didn’t want such a small school. That was THE factor for us. But, as a relatively disinterested person my take is this. It is a good school with good outcomes and hard admissions due to size and being good. Desirable for some due to its smaller size. But… and this is probably why it is a touchy topic… it does not have the cache of Sidwell, NCS/St Albans, or GDS. Full stop. As a local, it was a school for artsy kids back in the day and that did not necessarily mean academically excellent artsy kids. Back then Sidwell, GDS and St Albans/NCS were already super hard to get into and regularly churning out great college admits. And FWIW, Potomac didn’t even have a high school. So the landscape has changed and Maret has changed and it seems academically much more respectable. But… it is not in the same league as NCS/St Albans and Sidwell. And the Maret people sound a little ridiculous constantly insisting it is. But I don’t have any hate. Just a dose of reality. Some kids and families may prefer it over those “better” schools. We didn’t apply to a single DC school after factoring in transportation and some of the after school requirements. We considered some and would not have put in application at Maret because it is smaller than our child wanted. Everyone has different goals and expectations for high school. But here is the thing. Maret is very good. It’s like Williams or Amherst. But it isn’t Harvard or MIT and those others are.

Sounds about right. Why presidents choose to send their kids to Sidwell over maret?

I thought Barron Trump went to St. Andrew's Episcopal, not Sidwell?

Trump went to St. Andrew's, but Clinton's & Obama's chose Sidwell.

Which is where they must have learned how to use apostrophes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t apply and my child didn’t want such a small school. That was THE factor for us. But, as a relatively disinterested person my take is this. It is a good school with good outcomes and hard admissions due to size and being good. Desirable for some due to its smaller size. But… and this is probably why it is a touchy topic… it does not have the cache of Sidwell, NCS/St Albans, or GDS. Full stop. As a local, it was a school for artsy kids back in the day and that did not necessarily mean academically excellent artsy kids. Back then Sidwell, GDS and St Albans/NCS were already super hard to get into and regularly churning out great college admits. And FWIW, Potomac didn’t even have a high school. So the landscape has changed and Maret has changed and it seems academically much more respectable. But… it is not in the same league as NCS/St Albans and Sidwell. And the Maret people sound a little ridiculous constantly insisting it is. But I don’t have any hate. Just a dose of reality. Some kids and families may prefer it over those “better” schools. We didn’t apply to a single DC school after factoring in transportation and some of the after school requirements. We considered some and would not have put in application at Maret because it is smaller than our child wanted. Everyone has different goals and expectations for high school. But here is the thing. Maret is very good. It’s like Williams or Amherst. But it isn’t Harvard or MIT and those others are.

Sounds about right. Why presidents choose to send their kids to Sidwell over maret?

I thought Barron Trump went to St. Andrew's Episcopal, not Sidwell?

Trump went to St. Andrew's, but Clinton's & Obama's chose Sidwell.

Which is where they must have learned how to use apostrophes.

The apostrophe usage is correct. St. Andrew’s is singular possessive in the name of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t apply and my child didn’t want such a small school. That was THE factor for us. But, as a relatively disinterested person my take is this. It is a good school with good outcomes and hard admissions due to size and being good. Desirable for some due to its smaller size. But… and this is probably why it is a touchy topic… it does not have the cache of Sidwell, NCS/St Albans, or GDS. Full stop. As a local, it was a school for artsy kids back in the day and that did not necessarily mean academically excellent artsy kids. Back then Sidwell, GDS and St Albans/NCS were already super hard to get into and regularly churning out great college admits. And FWIW, Potomac didn’t even have a high school. So the landscape has changed and Maret has changed and it seems academically much more respectable. But… it is not in the same league as NCS/St Albans and Sidwell. And the Maret people sound a little ridiculous constantly insisting it is. But I don’t have any hate. Just a dose of reality. Some kids and families may prefer it over those “better” schools. We didn’t apply to a single DC school after factoring in transportation and some of the after school requirements. We considered some and would not have put in application at Maret because it is smaller than our child wanted. Everyone has different goals and expectations for high school. But here is the thing. Maret is very good. It’s like Williams or Amherst. But it isn’t Harvard or MIT and those others are.

Sounds about right. Why presidents choose to send their kids to Sidwell over maret?

I thought Barron Trump went to St. Andrew's Episcopal, not Sidwell?

Trump went to St. Andrew's, but Clinton's & Obama's chose Sidwell.

Which is where they must have learned how to use apostrophes.

The apostrophe usage is correct. St. Andrew’s is singular possessive in the name of the school.

Oh honey. Check out the errors in how Clinton's and Obama's are punctuated. But you made me laugh, so I'll allow it, as long as you're not an English teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t apply and my child didn’t want such a small school. That was THE factor for us. But, as a relatively disinterested person my take is this. It is a good school with good outcomes and hard admissions due to size and being good. Desirable for some due to its smaller size. But… and this is probably why it is a touchy topic… it does not have the cache of Sidwell, NCS/St Albans, or GDS. Full stop. As a local, it was a school for artsy kids back in the day and that did not necessarily mean academically excellent artsy kids. Back then Sidwell, GDS and St Albans/NCS were already super hard to get into and regularly churning out great college admits. And FWIW, Potomac didn’t even have a high school. So the landscape has changed and Maret has changed and it seems academically much more respectable. But… it is not in the same league as NCS/St Albans and Sidwell. And the Maret people sound a little ridiculous constantly insisting it is. But I don’t have any hate. Just a dose of reality. Some kids and families may prefer it over those “better” schools. We didn’t apply to a single DC school after factoring in transportation and some of the after school requirements. We considered some and would not have put in application at Maret because it is smaller than our child wanted. Everyone has different goals and expectations for high school. But here is the thing. Maret is very good. It’s like Williams or Amherst. But it isn’t Harvard or MIT and those others are.

Sounds about right. Why presidents choose to send their kids to Sidwell over maret?

I thought Barron Trump went to St. Andrew's Episcopal, not Sidwell?

Trump went to St. Andrew's, but Clinton's & Obama's chose Sidwell.

Which is where they must have learned how to use apostrophes.

The apostrophe usage is correct. St. Andrew’s is singular possessive in the name of the school.

Oh honey. Check out the errors in how Clinton's and Obama's are punctuated. But you made me laugh, so I'll allow it, as long as you're not an English teacher.

Sounds like a Maret parent.

[Anonymous]

This is simply untrue. The 9th grade class is very small this year and people left for a reason.

And the reason is ….

The 97% retention rate is an old statistic from the Marjo years

Last year 20% of the eighth graders left at the end of the year and I think all but two were Jewish families. There were other issues beyond perceived antisemitism, but there were definitely more departures than are typical.

[Anonymous]

It’s funny that people mention that Maret isn’t open to opposing views

When Marjo was in charge it was her way or the highway and every single dcurbanmom post got deleted faster than you. Judd say boo

The school is a better place without her in it- it’s going through some changes, but that’s ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny that people mention that Maret isn’t open to opposing views

When Marjo was in charge it was her way or the highway and every single dcurbanmom post got deleted faster than you. Judd say boo

The school is a better place without her in it- it’s going through some changes, but that’s ok

I would say that posts are deleted at the same pace as in the Marjo era.