WES

[Anonymous]

What school is WES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school is WES?

Washington Episcopal School

[Anonymous]

There’s a lot of things to say about WES, but pretentious parents really isn’t one of them. As far as DC private schools go, I’m pretty sure it has one of the more down to earth parent populations.

We also found that joining in middle school was pretty easy from a social perspective. The grade sizes are small, so students are often open to having new kids around.

There are additional charges for after care and lunch, although before care is free (which is nice if you have kids in different divisions, because the start times are different). The big class trips in middle school (Utah, Italy, and Spain/france) are also included in the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were waitlisted for Pre-K 4 at WES and are devastated. Our son loved the school and so did we, and it seemed like a great fit. Anyone heard of Pre-K WL moving? Not sure whether to just consider this as a rejection. He got in to some others but this was our top choice.

Definitely follow-up and say it's your first choice and that you would take a spot if accepted. Waitlists do move at WES! (We absolutely love WES btw.)

[Anonymous]

Our child attended for middle school and it was exactly what they needed. I think the school does a good job catering to a child's specific needs - whether they are more advanced, average, or need extra support. Teachers are very supportive and reach out to parents if a kid is struggling to get them back on track and they motivate them/keep them engaged when they are excelling. Loved that it's not a pressure cooker- more of a learn for the sake of knowledge. That approach allowed my kid to really excel and enjoy their classes. They loved science, social studies, math, language and even enjoy English (which was their least favorite subject prior to WES. My kid enjoyed reading and performing Shakespeare in eighth grade!) The school taught my kid to be a self advocate. The study trips in 6th, 7th, and 8th are amazing! My kid was a "never sleep anywhere but home kid" so we were worried how the first overnight trip would go. They came back from Utah with such confidence. Then Italy in 7th and Spain/France in 8th (depending on language choice.) These trips really allow the kids to bond and develop a sense of independence. WES offered so much help during the HS admission process. It was a pain to have to apply somewhere new again, but they had grown so much from 6th to 8th grade, it allowed us to find the right HS fit. We would have made a very different decision if we had applied to a k-12 for 6th vs applying for 9th.

[Anonymous]

I would say it depends on what and where you are looking for high school. Some students find it hard to fit in at more traditional Catholics single sex high schools, but if you’re looking to go to a more progressive high school WES is a good choice.

[Anonymous]

My neighbor's daughter went to WES for one year in middle school, had a bad experience and "hated it". She transferred to Bullis and loved it!

[Anonymous]

NP also weighing whether to accept WES. For those with experience in the LS, is there a benefit to starting in LS and going all the way through to MS? We are weighing WES LS against our strong public elementary school. Regardless of where we start out, we’d want to go private for MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP also weighing whether to accept WES. For those with experience in the LS, is there a benefit to starting in LS and going all the way through to MS? We are weighing WES LS against our strong public elementary school. Regardless of where we start out, we’d want to go private for MS.

Not a WES parent but I think there isn’t much benefit if you’re happy with your public elementary school. You will likely still get a spot to start WES in 6th as a lot of K-8 schools lose kids along the way. Whether you want to start 6th in a K-8 is a different issue but I personally don’t think there is a benefit (besides the small class size of education) of starting in lower school. If your were talking about a competitive K-12 school, I do think there is a benefit to getting them in earlier.

[Anonymous]

We loved WES and were denied. Congratulations on your DC's admission! It seems like a wonderful, warm school with strong academics without being a pressure cooker environment. And the international trips seem awesome.

[Anonymous]

I think you are unlikely to get into WES (or most schools) for sixth if you deny acceptance now.

I’m sorry to hear you loved WES and were denied, PP. Some grades had very few spaces!

WES has been a great community. More than other schools, there are a lot of families who make conscious choices to be at WES instead of public, either for certain grades, or for one child in their family, etc. Some families find public schools to be too big and chaotic for one kid but fine for another, some families want their kids to have smaller classes and more contact with teachers. Some families think MCPS middle school is a weak link, but will go public before and after that. Some people feel strongly that lower grades build foundational learning, and they want that to happen in a nurturing place. Every family has slightly different reasons, but there are certainly many, many families who find value at the school. There are so many kids who started at Somerset, Wood Acres, Westbrook, Burning Tree, Chevy Chase Elementary, Bradley Hills, Janney, Hearst, Horace Mann, Lafayette, and more that make the switch. Good luck with your process!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP also weighing whether to accept WES. For those with experience in the LS, is there a benefit to starting in LS and going all the way through to MS? We are weighing WES LS against our strong public elementary school. Regardless of where we start out, we’d want to go private for MS.

I sent two children through WES - one all the way and one for MS only. My child who attended only for MS had the more enjoyable experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MS can be very cliquey and unfriendly to new families. So beware of that as many of the kids have been there since preK. I'm not sure it's worth the 50K price tag.

It probably depends upon the particular composition of a class, but, yes, it can be cliquey, which is problem. Because of class size, your child can’t escape and find their own people and can get left out . We left because of mean girl problem in our grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are unlikely to get into WES (or most schools) for sixth if you deny acceptance now.

I’m sorry to hear you loved WES and were denied, PP. Some grades had very few spaces!

WES has been a great community. More than other schools, there are a lot of families who make conscious choices to be at WES instead of public, either for certain grades, or for one child in their family, etc. Some families find public schools to be too big and chaotic for one kid but fine for another, some families want their kids to have smaller classes and more contact with teachers. Some families think MCPS middle school is a weak link, but will go public before and after that. Some people feel strongly that lower grades build foundational learning, and they want that to happen in a nurturing place. Every family has slightly different reasons, but there are certainly many, many families who find value at the school. There are so many kids who started at Somerset, Wood Acres, Westbrook, Burning Tree, Chevy Chase Elementary, Bradley Hills, Janney, Hearst, Horace Mann, Lafayette, and more that make the switch. Good luck with your process!

Thank you, appreciate your perspective.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gotten off the waitlist for WES for Pre-K or K?