Inquiries about Washington Episcopal School ?
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Anonymous
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Washington Episcopal seems very nice, but I wonder about the academics and the small size of an 8th grade with only 34?
Does anyone have any inside information about WES? KK |
Anonymous
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now people are complaining that the class sizes are too small
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Anonymous
| like the school. the class size gets small in 8th grade because lots of boys leave in 3rd and 4th grade. |
Anonymous
| Dc went to WES. The Middle School is extremely strong and well regarded by high schools. Dc got into every high school applied to. Is now at Big 3 high school and finds it less work than WES. If anything, it is too challenging in 8th. |
Anonymous
| Lots of kids leave after second and third grades.Many unhappy families at these points. The families who do stay seem to like the middle school. But, it is a small group for sure. |
Anonymous
Ideal class and grade sizes are very different. |
Anonymous
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10:04 here. 10:07 is right. I don't know what second is like now, as the difficult teacher my dc had retired, but at the time, yes, 2nd was not great. I think the same 3rd grade teachers are still there and if so, they are also problematic. Don't know anything about current 4th grade teachers. The 5th and 6th grade teachers are as outstanding. MS, too.
Hopefully the new principal will promote the great teachers and deal with the problematic ones. |
Anonymous
| The small grade size is great. It translates into lots of opportunities to shine, in school plays, competitions, etc. Also, there is less competition when applying to high schools, because the high schools like to spread the love around and not take too many kids from any one K-8. |
Anonymous
| We left after 2nd grade. My DS hated the school. And the kindergarten has way too many transitions each day for children of that age. |
Anonymous
| We left. Agree Classes small and unfortunately, mix of students can end up being off - which can have a negative impact on your experience. Our children were behind (had not had material introduced or introduced much later) when entered other schools and heard same from others who left. The children caught up, but frustating. |
Anonymous
| My impression from several families who have left is that it's a lower tier school academically, but the families have money so they opt out of public and wind up at WES. |
Anonymous
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PP, that's not accurate. I've had kids at four private schools, including two top tier ones, and a top MCPS school. The academics at WES are extremely rigorous, at least from 5th grade up. The MS science program is especially strong, equivalent to high school science at some other schools. My child finds high school at his top three high school easier than 8th grade at WES.
Lack of ability grouping in the early years has been a problem in the past, but I think they've been working to address that. Not sure. |
Anonymous
You sound a bit defensive. |
Anonymous
LOL. Why would I be? I don't even have a child at WES anymore. I'm just trying to correct (your?) misinformation. |
Anonymous
| My child is currently at WES, and has been since K. We've had a wonderful experience so far. Yes, it's academically rigorous, but we've never had a "bad" teacher. Yes, the class sizes are small, but that's one of the reasons I chose a private school. I think the most important thing to consider when choosing a school is whether it's the "right" fit for your child. I think the typical WES student is bright, confident, and sociable, and I believe that's because of the WES curriculum and faculty. |