African American Son in a local Private/Independent School

[Anonymous]

Not the PP, but there have been many (heated) discussions of Sidwell and African American boys over the past year. You may be able to find some of these threads in the archives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, is it more challenging to get admitted to the French program or the Spanish program?

The Spanish program--it's much more popular.

[Anonymous]

Though black, I am not AA. We have a son at Beauvoir and we have been very happy there so far - which is not very long. It is a warm, loving environment and we have not noticed our son being treated differently by teachers, kids or parents. Nor have we heard any horror stories in that regard. I see several other black and mixed race children (I cannot tell if they are AA or not) and I don't believe your son would feel out of place there.

Our son was also accepted at Sidwell, Maret and WIS. We whittled down to Sidwell and Beauvoir and we were very torn between the two. I was careful not to speak to parents whose kids had not been accepted at either school, but to parents who had or at some time had had kids at both schools for a proper comparison (i.e. one child in each school). Based on those discussions but still with much trepidation, not least because Sidwell is K-12 and Beauvoir has that hitch at 3rd grade before St Albans, we went for Beauvoir. I am not going to slag off Sidwell but will just say that only a very strong feeling would have persuaded us not to go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Though black, I am not AA. We have a son at Beauvoir and we have been very happy there so far - which is not very long. It is a warm, loving environment and we have not noticed our son being treated differently by teachers, kids or parents. Nor have we heard any horror stories in that regard. I see several other black and mixed race children (I cannot tell if they are AA or not) and I don't believe your son would feel out of place there.

Our son was also accepted at Sidwell, Maret and WIS. We whittled down to Sidwell and Beauvoir and we were very torn between the two. I was careful not to speak to parents whose kids had not been accepted at either school, but to parents who had or at some time had had kids at both schools for a proper comparison (i.e. one child in each school). Based on those discussions but still with much trepidation, not least because Sidwell is K-12 and Beauvoir has that hitch at 3rd grade before St Albans, we went for Beauvoir. I am not going to slag off Sidwell but will just say that only a very strong feeling would have persuaded us not to go there.

Why not WIS? And did the admission teams at Sidwell and Beauvoir influence your decision to send your son to Beauvoir?

[Anonymous]

9:08 Poster -- Would you mind providing some information on why you ruled out WIS? This is one of the schools that I'm strongly considering and it's hard to find many reviews of the school on this site - good or bad.

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/3798.page#19210
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/14013.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:08 Poster -- Would you mind providing some information on why you ruled out WIS? This is one of the schools that I'm strongly considering and it's hard to find many reviews of the school on this site - good or bad.

It was such a hard decision that we never expected to have to make. WIS was initially the only school we considered and we had applied the year before but had been rejected. When we were applying for K (last chance) we realized we could not put all our eggs in one basket again (WIS) so we applied to more schools hoping we would at least get one. We were very surprised to have so much choice and to be honest we did not find anything wrong with WIS and still somewhat regret not having the immersion. The only thing that helped us decide was that we learnt that in later years i.e., high school, WIS did not compare as well academically as the other schools our son was accepted into. I have to say that it was hard to find a reason to NOT attend any of the schools because we would happily have attended any one of them if our son had only been accepted at that one so the process of elimination was not so clear cut as to be useful to other parents making decisions about the schools to apply to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:08 Poster -- Would you mind providing some information on why you ruled out WIS? This is one of the schools that I'm strongly considering and it's hard to find many reviews of the school on this site - good or bad.

It was such a hard decision that we never expected to have to make. WIS was initially the only school we considered and we had applied the year before but had been rejected. When we were applying for K (last chance) we realized we could not put all our eggs in one basket again (WIS) so we applied to more schools hoping we would at least get one. We were very surprised to have so much choice and to be honest we did not find anything wrong with WIS and still somewhat regret not having the immersion. The only thing that helped us decide was that we learnt that in later years i.e., high school, WIS did not compare as well academically as the other schools our son was accepted into. I have to say that it was hard to find a reason to NOT attend any of the schools because we would happily have attended any one of them if our son had only been accepted at that one so the process of elimination was not so clear cut as to be useful to other parents making decisions about the schools to apply to.

I am curious to know on what basis high school students at WIS are considered less performing than their peers in those other schools. The IB program is extremely challenging according to both American and international standards, and WIS students have excellent scores in their IB exams. Moreover, the college placement is first-rate, and probably even without relying so heavily on legacies as in other American-style private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello, in response to your question, my child began at WIS as a 4-year old. If your child has not had exposure to the foreign language before applying, it is probably better not to wait until kindergarten. The school, however, offers full support to kindergartners with no previous knowledge of the language and every year there are a few children who start from scratch. At the same time, though, considering the selectivity of D.C. private schools and the fact that Kindergarten is the last entry-level point, it makes sense to give it a try at least one year earlier. As for our personal experience, we are truly delighted with the school, both academically and socially.

PP, is it more challenging to get admitted to the French program or the Spanish program? Are there AA's in both programs? If you and your spouse are English speaking only, how do you support 2nd language aquisition outside of school.

Hello, I am the PP you are referring to. There are AA children in both programs. Spanish seems to be slightly more popular than French but I wouldn't underestimate the admission process in the French program at all. The rejection rate is high in French as well, and increasingly so. Neither myself nor my spouse are English native speakers but the language in our child's program is foreign for us as well. WIS gives very good suggestions about pedagogical materials and cultural resources to support 2nd language acquisition outside of school. And Washington is full of opportunities. But already at school there are excellent chances to learn, and it is astonishing to see how fast and how well children become near-native speakers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we have our son at Norwood and we are happy. As far as diversity is concerned, there are not many African American families, but they are supposedly trying to improve things.
If you are in DC, look at Lowell, stay away from Sidwell, GDS can be odd, Maret seems to be OK.

Why not Sidwell? And why do you say that GDS can be odd? In what way?

I won't expand on Sidwell, but at GDS, I have heard other ethnic groups (other than African American) complain. I will not specify which groups.

[Anonymous]

GDS is odd in many ways....

[Anonymous]

"I am curious to know on what basis high school students at WIS are considered less performing than their peers in those other schools. The IB program is extremely challenging according to both American and international standards, and WIS students have excellent scores in their IB exams. Moreover, the college placement is first-rate, and probably even without relying so heavily on legacies as in other American-style private schools."

I completely agree with this post. WIS is top notch at every level and as a former high school IB teacher, I can attest to the excellence of the IB curriculum. It focuses on very in-depth study and fosters critical thinking skills like no other program I've taught, including AP. Don't for a minute think that the "big three" that everyone talks about here have a more challenging curriculum than WIS. Furthermore, the kids at WIS are learning in two languages, which, I believe, puts them ahead of everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I am curious to know on what basis high school students at WIS are considered less performing than their peers in those other schools. The IB program is extremely challenging according to both American and international standards, and WIS students have excellent scores in their IB exams. Moreover, the college placement is first-rate, and probably even without relying so heavily on legacies as in other American-style private schools."

I completely agree with this post. WIS is top notch at every level and as a former high school IB teacher, I can attest to the excellence of the IB curriculum. It focuses on very in-depth study and fosters critical thinking skills like no other program I've taught, including AP. Don't for a minute think that the "big three" that everyone talks about here have a more challenging curriculum than WIS. Furthermore, the kids at WIS are learning in two languages, which, I believe, puts them ahead of everyone else.

The reason it is not looked at a highly is because it is not in "the club" and outside the mainstream. These big 3 parents think that the world revolves around them. There are hundreds of schools all over the world that are better than Sidwell, GDS, Maret. Imagine, a school that uses EDM is considered the best? WIS caters to a crowd that has little to do with the Sidwell folks.

[Anonymous]

The OP asked for parents of AA amle children to weigh in and give specifics on schools....we certainly have not adequately answered the question. I see shout outs for Lowell, Green Acres, WIS and Maret. Any others? For those who posted...can you please give specifics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:08 Poster -- Would you mind providing some information on why you ruled out WIS? This is one of the schools that I'm strongly considering and it's hard to find many reviews of the school on this site - good or bad.

It was such a hard decision that we never expected to have to make. WIS was initially the only school we considered and we had applied the year before but had been rejected. When we were applying for K (last chance) we realized we could not put all our eggs in one basket again (WIS) so we applied to more schools hoping we would at least get one. We were very surprised to have so much choice and to be honest we did not find anything wrong with WIS and still somewhat regret not having the immersion. The only thing that helped us decide was that we learnt that in later years i.e., high school, WIS did not compare as well academically as the other schools our son was accepted into. I have to say that it was hard to find a reason to NOT attend any of the schools because we would happily have attended any one of them if our son had only been accepted at that one so the process of elimination was not so clear cut as to be useful to other parents making decisions about the schools to apply to.

I am curious to know on what basis high school students at WIS are considered less performing than their peers in those other schools. The IB program is extremely challenging according to both American and international standards, and WIS students have excellent scores in their IB exams. Moreover, the college placement is first-rate, and probably even without relying so heavily on legacies as in other American-style private schools.

The fact of the matter is that WIS simply does not place as well in the ivies or other elite colleges/universities. At least the recent stats I've seen suggest they do no better college placement wise, if you're looking at the brand names, than most of the public schools with IB programs.