Inquiries about Washington Episcopal School ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi 19:47. There is a new math teacher in the middle school who is excellent. I can't speak to what has taken place in the past in the middle school, but the current math teacher pushes each kid to their own fullest potential. Even if their grades are decent, if she sees they are not performing to their individual fullest potential, or are making careless errors she immediately addresses the situation. This is what I seek in a private school, immediate responsiveness to potential problems.
Also, I have heard that they are restructuring math in 6-8 grade to add more advanced levels for kids who need the challenge. I think they are adding Precalculus/Geometry (not sure) (?) to 8th grade. Maybe this will begin next year (?)

If what you are saying above is true, then the school must have totally turned around since we left. There was zero differentiation of teaching; teachers taught the way they wanted and were not responsive to pushes to get them to courses on differentiation; if your child was gift or SN, the school just didn't help or assist; teachers ignored all the warning signs when a student was in trouble - then after grades went home and the mom trucks in to find out what is wrong, but, by then it was far too late to correct the problem.

There were some real gem teachers at WES but most I found were severely wanting. One teacher was even the Principal's daughter! Almost every student from our Transition class left the school, there were only a few still there to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If what you are saying above is true, then the school must have totally turned around since we left. There was zero differentiation of teaching; teachers taught the way they wanted and were not responsive to pushes to get them to courses on differentiation; if your child was gift or SN, the school just didn't help or assist; teachers ignored all the warning signs when a student was in trouble - then after grades went home and the mom trucks in to find out what is wrong, but, by then it was far too late to correct the problem.

There were some real gem teachers at WES but most I found were severely wanting. One teacher was even the Principal's daughter! Almost every student from our Transition class left the school, there were only a few still there to graduate.

We had a negative experience in 5th grade at WES, where the teacher identified a problem and took it on herself to take the steps she thought were appropriate to address it without ever consulting us or even alerting us that a problem existed. But in middle school we have been impressed with the amount of communication between the school and parents both positive and negative, and feel like we have a very good handle on what is going on without helicoptering.

[Anonymous]

2:12, which teacher is\was the daughter of the (former?) Head of School and when was this? Unless she has remained, it was at least a few years ago, so not necessarily relevant to the current crop of teachers or how the school is run today with the HOS who has been there for almost 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, our family hasn't found the school parents to be cliquish at all.

We've never invited another family over and been declined. We've never asked for a playdate and been declined. We've never found it difficult to strike up a conversation with people we don't know at school parties. In our children's grades, there is exactly one family that I find annoyingly shallow and entitled. They aren't popular at the school; they are the exception; and, their child is sweet and incredibly smart.

I don't know what kind of chip that one poster is carrying around. It's really weird to read those kind of comments about such a low-key place. It just doesn't ring true.

I don't know how many posters have been posting but it is definitely not "one poster" with a chip, because we had a negative experience and I'm certainly not posting and posting here. Many other posters are echoing my thoughts. I read and think "I could have written this!" I think at the beginning of the thread (which is old, BTW, someone must have resurrected it) someone (not me) said "ask around, D.C. and Maryland are full of unhappy parents who left" or something to that effect. It's true. Go read some of the other WES threads in the archives. Same problems keep getting mentioned which are never cleaned up by the management (in fact, someone posted that the current head is going to get the boot if applications aren't up this year - it's in the archives). I also have noticed a pattern when WES is critcized. You see it here where someone decides to type out the school's mission? Uh, why? It was just pablum. That's when I think it is the WES PR/marketing people sock puppeting.

[Anonymous]

David Schuessler and Petie Schuessler are still there. Yes, Mrs. Schuessler, the founder, has left, but it wasn't appropriate to have her immediate family in paying slots, especially in a small school. And it still isn't appropriate. Many many parents were upset about this because they felt one individual did not even have the most basic credential for teaching (I can't tell you what degree that, I was ignoring the gossip as best as one could, but it's tough to not get sucked into that), but no one wanted to be in that class because they felt the teacher wasn't qualified and how do you raise issues, if needed, to the headmaster when the teacher you are having difficulty with is son or daughter-in-law?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is happening in math? Last I knew, the school was behind the other privates and publics. Still true?

Yes, problematic. There is a big discussion of the WES math problems in archives. We've left so I didn't post, but I do remember this matter being raised. Some booster was saying that era was over and that kids now were even offered _____ (can't remember - Geometry?) in 8th grade. A very angry dad retorted something to the effect that things were not all rosy at WES about math and that the only reason [geometry?] was being taught in 8th grade was because a particular group of parents had bitched loudly and got a commitment for a geometry class, but this man said the deal was for only one year because that group of parents were very active and insisted on it. He said the school would revert to whatever they were doing in math for 8th grade the year after. I'm saying this totally off my head, so go check the archives and you will find it.

[Anonymous]

I have to wonder if the last three posts were all written by one person, up alone in the wee hours. Given how small this school is, even if 50% of current and former WES parents read DCUM, is it likely that three are up at that hour, reading DCUM, and posting negativity about WES? I think not.

[Anonymous]

Another poster here. Both dc's transferred out of WES ASAP. As did many of their friends. Those who can leave do. Too many excellent private schools in DC to settle for lousy academics. Moco public is also superior to WES.

[Anonymous]

Another poster. We left WES, too. 9:41 go read the archives, you will find many similar threads like this - all written long before I found DCUM (just a few months ago). Parents unhappy; school does nothing; parents leave; class size keeps getting smaller every year. Ask admissions for a "true" record of how many people leave each year (go back several years and you will see a pattern)

[Anonymous]

A very happy WES parent here. All parents I talk with at various grades at WES are very happy with the school. Class size getting smaller is a myth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A very happy WES parent here. All parents I talk with at various grades at WES are very happy with the school. Class size getting smaller is a myth.

+1. Go tour it. Meet people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A very happy WES parent here. All parents I talk with at various grades at WES are very happy with the school. Class size getting smaller is a myth.

You must live in a bubble and not be talking to parents in 6th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, or K. Many, many parents in those grades are very unhappy. Class size is getting smaller. 1st grade will have only 20 students, K does not have enough for 2 sections....

[Anonymous]

3rd grade was a very large waste of time and money. .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A very happy WES parent here. All parents I talk with at various grades at WES are very happy with the school. Class size getting smaller is a myth.

You must live in a bubble and not be talking to parents in 6th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, or K. Many, many parents in those grades are very unhappy. Class size is getting smaller. 1st grade will have only 20 students, K does not have enough for 2 sections....

And Nursery has only 5 families enrolled for next year!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding? Is enrollment off that much ?