Burke for HS- Pros/Cons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you are looking for current parents so discount this since we are not ..

We looked at Burke and declined a spot in favor of another school in it's same tier-here's an impression from interviewing a bunch of parents  ( many happy) and our kid talking to other kids-and looking hard at the curriculum which is not any more advanced in math or science than any other privates...and definitely not in English.

pro's: super warm environment, high touch environment, accepting of many different learning styles and personalities, diverse, strong sense of community, very progressive politically...if you are a leftie it feels right on. If you are centrist..maybe. Clear sense of values, ethics, and community service

cons: disorganized, cramped urban campus, drug issues in high school, leans on progressive lineage to a fault, and to the detriment of a deeply intellectually rich curriculum-and this seems to trickle down to the teachers, many of whom were just ok, but not intellectually sophisticated or compelling if the kid you are sending can sniff out a true intellect from a teacher who kind of follows someone else's socially responsible curriculum.

Thank you, this is very helpful.
Burke is not offering shadow days and the in person tours in the fall were all full when we tried to register. They have some events this week, but more are virtual than in person so I am looking for candid information and appreciate the PP and others who responded.
-OP

We are doing an in person tour with our child tomorrow and our prospective student is going to an in person event on campus this Thursday. Glad because we also missed the opportunity for a visit in the fall. Hopefully these events will give us a better sense as we decide. The main downside for us is commute (from Alexandria) so are weighing Burke with another option closer to home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you are looking for current parents so discount this since we are not ..

We looked at Burke and declined a spot in favor of another school in it's same tier-here's an impression from interviewing a bunch of parents  ( many happy) and our kid talking to other kids-and looking hard at the curriculum which is not any more advanced in math or science than any other privates...and definitely not in English.

pro's: super warm environment, high touch environment, accepting of many different learning styles and personalities, diverse, strong sense of community, very progressive politically...if you are a leftie it feels right on. If you are centrist..maybe. Clear sense of values, ethics, and community service

cons: disorganized, cramped urban campus, drug issues in high school, leans on progressive lineage to a fault, and to the detriment of a deeply intellectually rich curriculum-and this seems to trickle down to the teachers, many of whom were just ok, but not intellectually sophisticated or compelling if the kid you are sending can sniff out a true intellect from a teacher who kind of follows someone else's socially responsible curriculum.

Thank you, this is very helpful.
Burke is not offering shadow days and the in person tours in the fall were all full when we tried to register. They have some events this week, but more are virtual than in person so I am looking for candid information and appreciate the PP and others who responded.
-OP

They have a ton of in person tours available now for admitted students. There are also after school events for admitted students. In person and virtual events for parents. I’m glad they didn’t bring in a bunch of strangers to your in the fall because it would have made COVID contact tracing that much more of a nightmare. I actually respect Burke more for this compared the schools that plowed through every surge with business as usual. Burke also had a big construction project in the fall. When you your now you can see the finished product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you are looking for current parents so discount this since we are not ..

We looked at Burke and declined a spot in favor of another school in it's same tier-here's an impression from interviewing a bunch of parents  ( many happy) and our kid talking to other kids-and looking hard at the curriculum which is not any more advanced in math or science than any other privates...and definitely not in English.

pro's: super warm environment, high touch environment, accepting of many different learning styles and personalities, diverse, strong sense of community, very progressive politically...if you are a leftie it feels right on. If you are centrist..maybe. Clear sense of values, ethics, and community service

cons: disorganized, cramped urban campus, drug issues in high school, leans on progressive lineage to a fault, and to the detriment of a deeply intellectually rich curriculum-and this seems to trickle down to the teachers, many of whom were just ok, but not intellectually sophisticated or compelling if the kid you are sending can sniff out a true intellect from a teacher who kind of follows someone else's socially responsible curriculum.

Thank you, this is very helpful.
Burke is not offering shadow days and the in person tours in the fall were all full when we tried to register. They have some events this week, but more are virtual than in person so I am looking for candid information and appreciate the PP and others who responded.
-OP

We are doing an in person tour with our child tomorrow and our prospective student is going to an in person event on campus this Thursday. Glad because we also missed the opportunity for a visit in the fall. Hopefully these events will give us a better sense as we decide. The main downside for us is commute (from Alexandria) so are weighing Burke with another option closer to home.

Please share your thoughts after the tour. We have a tour scheduled for Wednesday. Curious about how much of a feel your DC gets about the school from a 30 minute family tour. We were hoping for more time for DC to interact with current students. The events for new students seem very structured compared to other schools. While I respect the need for changes in process due to Covid, it is making it much harder to gather information, especially in comparison to other schools. (I do not want to derail OPs thread with a debate of Covid policies during admissions- please keep comments focused on the question asked about pros/cons of Burke for HS)

[Anonymous]

It is really one of the best independent schools in the DMV. They truly support and nurture the kids. Our DS made great friends, was challenged and is now thriving at a Top 20 SLAC. He was well prepared coming from Burke.

[Anonymous]

The tour ended up lasting an hour and was pretty thorough. We popped our heads into several classes and got a good overall feel for the school’s culture and vibe. My child really liked it, but we are still weighing the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tour ended up lasting an hour and was pretty thorough. We popped our heads into several classes and got a good overall feel for the school’s culture and vibe. My child really liked it, but we are still weighing the commute.

Are you the Alexandria PP? Isn’t there a bus from a meeting point on the GW Parkway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you are looking for current parents so discount this since we are not ..

We looked at Burke and declined a spot in favor of another school in it's same tier-here's an impression from interviewing a bunch of parents  ( many happy) and our kid talking to other kids-and looking hard at the curriculum which is not any more advanced in math or science than any other privates...and definitely not in English.

pro's: super warm environment, high touch environment, accepting of many different learning styles and personalities, diverse, strong sense of community, very progressive politically...if you are a leftie it feels right on. If you are centrist..maybe. Clear sense of values, ethics, and community service

cons: disorganized, cramped urban campus, drug issues in high school, leans on progressive lineage to a fault, and to the detriment of a deeply intellectually rich curriculum-and this seems to trickle down to the teachers, many of whom were just ok, but not intellectually sophisticated or compelling if the kid you are sending can sniff out a true intellect from a teacher who kind of follows someone else's socially responsible curriculum.

Thank you, this is very helpful.
Burke is not offering shadow days and the in person tours in the fall were all full when we tried to register. They have some events this week, but more are virtual than in person so I am looking for candid information and appreciate the PP and others who responded.
-OP

We are doing an in person tour with our child tomorrow and our prospective student is going to an in person event on campus this Thursday. Glad because we also missed the opportunity for a visit in the fall. Hopefully these events will give us a better sense as we decide. The main downside for us is commute (from Alexandria) so are weighing Burke with another option closer to home.

Please share your thoughts after the tour. We have a tour scheduled for Wednesday. Curious about how much of a feel your DC gets about the school from a 30 minute family tour. We were hoping for more time for DC to interact with current students. The events for new students seem very structured compared to other schools. While I respect the need for changes in process due to Covid, it is making it much harder to gather information, especially in comparison to other schools. (I do not want to derail OPs thread with a debate of Covid policies during admissions- please keep comments focused on the question asked about pros/cons of Burke for HS)

NP here- we did the MS school today. Our DC thought “the classrooms all had a nice atmosphere” which was our take away too. I was really impressed with the teachers and how engaging they were with the students and how it all just felt very comfortable. I was also impressed with the amount of course offerings for being such a small school. I think this will be our pick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is really one of the best independent schools in the DMV. They truly support and nurture the kids. Our DS made great friends, was challenged and is now thriving at a Top 20 SLAC. He was well prepared coming from Burke.

Yep. And a much happier high school experience than what you often get at a “big 5”. Not to be overlooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The tour ended up lasting an hour and was pretty thorough. We popped our heads into several classes and got a good overall feel for the school’s culture and vibe. My child really liked it, but we are still weighing the commute.

Are you the Alexandria PP? Isn’t there a bus from a meeting point on the GW Parkway?

Yes, we are in ALX but there was no bus service from there to Burke these past two years due to COVID. Need to find out if that might change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you are looking for current parents so discount this since we are not ..

We looked at Burke and declined a spot in favor of another school in it's same tier-here's an impression from interviewing a bunch of parents  ( many happy) and our kid talking to other kids-and looking hard at the curriculum which is not any more advanced in math or science than any other privates...and definitely not in English.

pro's: super warm environment, high touch environment, accepting of many different learning styles and personalities, diverse, strong sense of community, very progressive politically...if you are a leftie it feels right on. If you are centrist..maybe. Clear sense of values, ethics, and community service

cons: disorganized, cramped urban campus, drug issues in high school, leans on progressive lineage to a fault, and to the detriment of a deeply intellectually rich curriculum-and this seems to trickle down to the teachers, many of whom were just ok, but not intellectually sophisticated or compelling if the kid you are sending can sniff out a true intellect from a teacher who kind of follows someone else's socially responsible curriculum.

Thank you, this is very helpful.
Burke is not offering shadow days and the in person tours in the fall were all full when we tried to register. They have some events this week, but more are virtual than in person so I am looking for candid information and appreciate the PP and others who responded.
-OP

We are doing an in person tour with our child tomorrow and our prospective student is going to an in person event on campus this Thursday. Glad because we also missed the opportunity for a visit in the fall. Hopefully these events will give us a better sense as we decide. The main downside for us is commute (from Alexandria) so are weighing Burke with another option closer to home.

Please share your thoughts after the tour. We have a tour scheduled for Wednesday. Curious about how much of a feel your DC gets about the school from a 30 minute family tour. We were hoping for more time for DC to interact with current students. The events for new students seem very structured compared to other schools. While I respect the need for changes in process due to Covid, it is making it much harder to gather information, especially in comparison to other schools. (I do not want to derail OPs thread with a debate of Covid policies during admissions- please keep comments focused on the question asked about pros/cons of Burke for HS)

I think it matters more for incoming HS students. We have a rising 6th grader so the accepted student event is when she will meet her future classmates. Burke impressed us with how they build community not just within a grade but within a division before and during the school year. They usually have events for MS and HS in June right after school gets out, during the summer and then again during orientation. They purposely plan their overnight bonding trips in early fall so students have multiple ways to interact with classmates and teachers. I personally would pick a school based on my child’s potential classmates. You don’t know how many current kids or actually applying out or how many years they will stay, etc.

[Anonymous]

I've had two kids go through Burke high school recently - it's fantastic. Both are now at big name universities, majoring in areas they discovered they loved because of truly remarkable Burke faculty. I can think of only one less-than-fantastic teacher either kid had - and that teacher is long gone. Students work hard and are challenged, and can go as far in a subject as they could possible want. Not every kid ends up in AP physics or multivariable calculus but it is there if they want it.

For my kids, being able to explore their interests in being sporty or musical or artistic without having to be the best for 100 miles around was a big win. It's a gem of a place. Not sure why someone thought there aren't enough choice of clubs - that strikes me as just untrue.

FWIW, and purely anecdotally, I don't think many kids leave during high school. The students who leave after being at Burke for middle school generally are either looking for a big high school experience or their parents move them for other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Can any current Burke parents shed light on the status of the search for a new Head of School?

[Anonymous]

Great finalists that met the community. Any one of them could be very strong HoS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great finalists that met the community. Any one of them could be very strong HoS.

Any of them local?