Field/Burke Comparison?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not following the comparison regarding sports. Are sports an elective at Burke? At Field, participation in sports is required, students are only excused if they participate in sports, like ballet lessons or club soccer, outside school. Some sports are more competitive, so students who aren't wild about sports can find something. My DC is at Field, it's a great fit, I'd like to not that as far as students driving fancy cars, I just don't see any in the student parking lot. And it is the kind of thing I'd notice. There may be some, but not when I'm there, so there can't be that many. I don't think the Beamer is representative. (And depending on the time of day, it could have been a student from another school, or a sibling driving their parents' car.)

As I understand PE is required, but that requirement can be met through sport participation or other types of physical activity including daily jogging and yoga.

Burke parent here. Yes, dd wanted me to agree to supervise her working out at our gym so she could get out of PE at school. BTW, didn't agree to it. I am a jock and am a regular at the gym but dd is not and I was not going to spend my time nagging her to go to the gym. And I've noticed that the Lifetime fitness class at school has been good for her. I now have some hope that dd will eventually be engaged in fitness on a regular basis given some of the training she's gotten at Burke. It's a good thing to have someone besides mom or dad teach these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not following the comparison regarding sports. Are sports an elective at Burke? At Field, participation in sports is required, students are only excused if they participate in sports, like ballet lessons or club soccer, outside school. Some sports are more competitive, so students who aren't wild about sports can find something. My DC is at Field, it's a great fit, I'd like to not that as far as students driving fancy cars, I just don't see any in the student parking lot. And it is the kind of thing I'd notice. There may be some, but not when I'm there, so there can't be that many. I don't think the Beamer is representative. (And depending on the time of day, it could have been a student from another school, or a sibling driving their parents' car.)

As I understand PE is required, but that requirement can be met through sport participation or other types of physical activity including daily jogging and yoga.

Burke parent here. Yes, dd wanted me to agree to supervise her working out at our gym so she could get out of PE at school. BTW, didn't agree to it. I am a jock and am a regular at the gym but dd is not and I was not going to spend my time nagging her to go to the gym. And I've noticed that the Lifetime fitness class at school has been good for her. I now have some hope that dd will eventually be engaged in fitness on a regular basis given some of the training she's gotten at Burke. It's a good thing to have someone besides mom or dad teach these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not following the comparison regarding sports. Are sports an elective at Burke? At Field, participation in sports is required, students are only excused if they participate in sports, like ballet lessons or club soccer, outside school. Some sports are more competitive, so students who aren't wild about sports can find something. My DC is at Field, it's a great fit, I'd like to not that as far as students driving fancy cars, I just don't see any in the student parking lot. And it is the kind of thing I'd notice. There may be some, but not when I'm there, so there can't be that many. I don't think the Beamer is representative. (And depending on the time of day, it could have been a student from another school, or a sibling driving their parents' car.)

As I understand PE is required, but that requirement can be met through sport participation or other types of physical activity including daily jogging and yoga.

Burke parent here. Yes, dd wanted me to agree to supervise her working out at our gym so she could get out of PE at school. BTW, didn't agree to it. I am a jock and am a regular at the gym but dd is not and I was not going to spend my time nagging her to go to the gym. And I've noticed that the Lifetime fitness class at school has been good for her. I now have some hope that dd will eventually be engaged in fitness on a regular basis given some of the training she's gotten at Burke. It's a good thing to have someone besides mom or dad teach these things.

I agree. Everyone needs to be fit, but not everyone enjoys competing athletically. It is nice to have options that one can take with them through life, which is the thought behind Lifetime Fitness.

[Anonymous]

Yep, pp, that's the ultimate goal.

[Anonymous]

I'd like to hear more on Field. I am interested in applying for the 2010-2011 school year. However, I am hearing that that it is a 90210 culture of rich, hyper social fast paced kids. Hoa! my DC is the quiert, artsy type. Is this all true or just hear say?

[Anonymous]

They have both types there. I would think an artsy kid who didn't mind sharing a class with some 90210 types would be very happy at Field. They really do have a 1st class art emphasis with lots of facilities and nice, light open spaces. Only drawback is location. There is no direct public transportation to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not following the comparison regarding sports. Are sports an elective at Burke? At Field, participation in sports is required, students are only excused if they participate in sports, like ballet lessons or club soccer, outside school. Some sports are more competitive, so students who aren't wild about sports can find something. My DC is at Field, it's a great fit, I'd like to not that as far as students driving fancy cars, I just don't see any in the student parking lot. And it is the kind of thing I'd notice. There may be some, but not when I'm there, so there can't be that many. I don't think the Beamer is representative. (And depending on the time of day, it could have been a student from another school, or a sibling driving their parents' car.)

May I ask you to comment on the culture are Field? I heard that is is a highly social school where a shy kid may not fit in. Do you find things too laid back? What about structure? Are the kids too hyper?

[Anonymous]

Transportation to Fieldn: Field runs shuttles from GW metro, Cleveland Park and Friendship Heights. A lifesaver.

As for shy students, there is a mix of personality types among the student body. The school does not seem laid back to me. Teachers are demanding. What do you mean by structure? Ditto hyper kids,

[Anonymous]

What about diversity. I haven't visited the school, but I am hearing that there aree few racial minorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have visited both schools and know many parents of both schools. In my opinion, Burke seems to offer a better balance of progressiveness, rigor and structure. Field does have an impressive campus. However, I found the atmosphere too laid back. Also, I do not believe that the schools offer AP courses. But please confirm this. As far as demographics, Burke offers more racial, ethnic and socio economic diversity. On the other hand, Field's population is much more elite and much less racial/ethnically diverse. That said, you should consider the needs of your own DC and what is a better fit.

I visited both, and liked Field's campus, but preferred Burke's atmosphere. I was turned off when a carload of high school kids pulled up in Beamer in the Field parking lot the day I visited. I think Burke's accessibility via Metro is a huge plus. Field seems to have a lot of money (who gave the money for that new campus?) but offers a very small amount of financial aid. I expect the academics at both schools are fairly equal. The tour guide at Field spent a lot of time talking about learning differences on our tour, which made me wonder what kind of kids go there. But both schools seem to offer excellent academics. Class sizes are very small, like a limit of 11, at Field. I think a child who is into sports would prefer Field. They have nice athletic facilities. The kids seemed a little more down to earth at Burke, which I liked. It's a more urban school than Field.

Just curious did you end up at Burke or Field? Did you get the sense that Field kids were a little on the Clique-ish side?