SSSAS Upper School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured with our oldest a few years ago but they chose to enroll elsewhere. Just toured again recently with our youngest and still have trouble getting a read on this school and community. Can’t quite put my finger on it though. We will likely be deciding between SSSAS and BI.

No comparison. SSSAS is much more rigorous FWIW. I've had kids at both. Would not do BI again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a parent of the current 9th grader here. we deliberately chose SSSAS over one of the DC top three schools for the environment, community, and administration. It is a good school but not a pressure cooker. Kids get to good colleges and those who work hard get into great ones (some via athletics, others through academic achievement). Not everyone is trying to get into Ivies elbowing each other out.
Mallet is great. Naturally, administration does not jump at every complaint from the parents but they do look into the issues and address them as needed. This is a college prep school. I remind my kid of that every day. In college, you would get all kinds of professors with all kinds of approaches and grading schemes, so you need to learn how to understand the issues, deal with your teachers, advocate for yourself, seek help. I also found advisory to be really good! Kids do feel like they can get to know each other and a place to go.

I am a fan of the block schedule. There is time for kids to get involve in other things, get the homework done and still get some sleep.
Schools are complicated organism, not mechanisms, and HS are especially so...there isn't a perfect one, but hopefully there is one that is perfect for your kid.

nope

very informative and helpful to the OP. thank you for your contribution.

[Anonymous]

NP here.
I have also heard about that bad English teacher but my children aren’t in that class.

I have two children at the school. Here is what they do well :
1. Differentiation. They can accommodate top students in very accelerated classes that go on to top universities. But they also welcome children who are still taking geometry in 10th. I think that’s a strength.
2. Well roundedness. Sports, theater, robotics - lots to do and they do it well.

Here is what they are bad at:
1. Discipline. It’s inconsistent and arbitrary and they have some real problem kids that they haven’t managed to get rid of. Yet they waste time and energy on useless dress code violations and other petty infractions.
2. Encouraging a challenge - more kids should be encouraged to take harder classes and not just accept As in easy classes. Their college list would likely improve if they did this.
3. They need to get rid of bad teachers. If lots of parents complain, let the person go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a parent of the current 9th grader here. we deliberately chose SSSAS over one of the DC top three schools for the environment, community, and administration. It is a good school but not a pressure cooker. Kids get to good colleges and those who work hard get into great ones (some via athletics, others through academic achievement). Not everyone is trying to get into Ivies elbowing each other out.
Mallet is great. Naturally, administration does not jump at every complaint from the parents but they do look into the issues and address them as needed. This is a college prep school. I remind my kid of that every day. In college, you would get all kinds of professors with all kinds of approaches and grading schemes, so you need to learn how to understand the issues, deal with your teachers, advocate for yourself, seek help. I also found advisory to be really good! Kids do feel like they can get to know each other and a place to go.

I am a fan of the block schedule. There is time for kids to get involve in other things, get the homework done and still get some sleep.
Schools are complicated organism, not mechanisms, and HS are especially so...there isn't a perfect one, but hopefully there is one that is perfect for your kid.

nope

very informative and helpful to the OP. thank you for your contribution.

You are very welcome! There is a lot of info on here about the poor college placement. it is easy to find and to confirm looking at the school's list.

[Anonymous]

SSSAS CC office really encourages students to explore a wide variety of colleges and helps them find the right fit, whether that’s Harvard, U Michigan, St Andrews Scotland, Skidmore, NC State, Savannah Art and Design, or dozens of others every year, and the matriculation lists reflect that. It’s not about showing off how many kids matriculate to HYPs (although some do every year). If it’s HYP or die for you, your kid is probably better off packing in the APs in public school anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS CC office really encourages students to explore a wide variety of colleges and helps them find the right fit, whether that’s Harvard, U Michigan, St Andrews Scotland, Skidmore, NC State, Savannah Art and Design, or dozens of others every year, and the matriculation lists reflect that. It’s not about showing off how many kids matriculate to HYPs (although some do every year). If it’s HYP or die for you, your kid is probably better off packing in the APs in public school anyway.

Good job school spokesperson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS CC office really encourages students to explore a wide variety of colleges and helps them find the right fit, whether that’s Harvard, U Michigan, St Andrews Scotland, Skidmore, NC State, Savannah Art and Design, or dozens of others every year, and the matriculation lists reflect that. It’s not about showing off how many kids matriculate to HYPs (although some do every year). If it’s HYP or die for you, your kid is probably better off packing in the APs in public school anyway.

Good job school spokesperson

exactly LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSSAS CC office really encourages students to explore a wide variety of colleges and helps them find the right fit, whether that’s Harvard, U Michigan, St Andrews Scotland, Skidmore, NC State, Savannah Art and Design, or dozens of others every year, and the matriculation lists reflect that. It’s not about showing off how many kids matriculate to HYPs (although some do every year). If it’s HYP or die for you, your kid is probably better off packing in the APs in public school anyway.

Good job school spokesperson

Nope, just the parent of a happy junior who makes A’s and scores great on standardized tests but has a learning difference and is happiest in a less pressure-cooker environment, and is very happy that the CC is more interested in finding the right school for the kid than pushing some agenda. I know it’s hard for haters to grasp the idea that there are people who are happy and successful at SSSAS, much less people who wouldn’t want to go to HYP if it begged them (not that one would) and go to private school for the education and foundation rather than as a stepping stone to an elite college. You’re all so used to complaining about your child’s experience with NCS’s science class or Sidwell’s math track or whatever else your elite NWDC has done to you lately that it’s hard to imagine someone actually being happy with the high school their kid chose and, heaven forbid, actually share that positive view on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

SSSAS appears to be a very lower middle tier private. It’s academically worse than the good MoCo, FCPS, N Arlington schools, meaning it’s not tempting to many many families. Of course, there are kids with LDs, etc, who may need a different environment or families who crave religiosity. But they are the minority. And also let’s all acknowledge that the facilities are terrible. The nice publics around here are better than the old cinderblock hallways. Bullis/Landon/HA would at first blush appear to be sortof in the same tier and academically competitive but for whatever reason they have pulled ahead of SSSAS. It’s unclear to me why exactly that has happened but I suspect it’s likely management/endowment. Finally, it’s not priced at catholic school level and so you’ve got a big price tag for what?

[Anonymous]

It’s not a Catholic school. If you don’t even know that much, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a Catholic school. If you don’t even know that much, you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

Um, PP here. I clearly do know that. I’ve seen your cinder block walls. My point is that it’s expensive relative to other comparable schools, which happen to be Catholic. But, unfortunately, SSSAS is even losing the OConnell race which I find slightly hilarious. I mean, non-Catholics are sending their kids to (Catholic) OConnell over SSSAS. I think the school is filled with ACHS and DCPS fleers who can’t get in anywhere else/want to be close, some LD kids who need a different environment (and probably are super smart), and some drawn to the Episcopaleany things

[Anonymous]

Can anyone speak in detail to their robotics program? I am hearing good reports through my network but would like to hear more detail from families.

[Anonymous]

Current SSSAS robotics parent. It is a strong program that begins in the middle school. At the Upper School students compete in FIRST. The program runs Winter and Spring seasons and is five days a week with Friday dinners. Competitions are 2-3 weekends. Children can be full time for participation credit or part-time if they are playing a sport. Coaches are Tom and Sharon Johnson. It has been a wonderful experience for my DC. Several robotics courses are also offered during the school year.

[Anonymous]

They're addressing the facilities issue with a huge building project right now: https://www.sssas.org/our-campaign/upper-school-project

They also just purchased more land behind the school that I suspect will become more athletic fields soon.

[Anonymous]

We have no issues with the facilities. The library and the chapel/performing arts space are lovely. They are renovating the dining hall, science and art classrooms, and community spaces now. The hallways and classrooms are fine. My kid doesn’t participate in sports so I’m not particularly familiar with the fields and athletic facilities, personally.