Current reviews of Carl Sandburg MS

[Anonymous]

Most people I know who had children in ES that fed into Sandburg moved to one of the northern suburbs by MS.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of parents of Waynewood, Ft. Hunt and Stratford Landing kids. They did a mix of things - moved, private, or toughed it out for two years. No one is raving about that school, though.

I think that even though the ratings are worse, the high school experience at West Potomac is more acceptable than Sandburg is for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of parents of Waynewood, Ft. Hunt and Stratford Landing kids. They did a mix of things - moved, private, or toughed it out for two years. No one is raving about that school, though.

I think that even though the ratings are worse, the high school experience at West Potomac is more acceptable than Sandburg is for middle school.

We sent my oldest an AAP student for part of 7th grade. It was awful. The school was extremely chaotic, there were safety issues (fights, etc) and I found reaching out to teachers or administration on issues incredibly difficult. We left and sent him to private for the rest of 7th and 8th. He went on to West Potomac and UVA. We didn't even bother with my daughter. Sent her to private for middle (both did AAP at Stratford landing). She's a rising senior and has done very well for herself. She's looking at women's colleges and wants to go to Wellesley.

Now, talking to neighbors, I do think the middle school is the weak link. People in the Fort Hunt/Belle Haven/Waynewood that I know have all panned the experience. Most send their kids and just explain it's a crappy two years. We decided that middle school is such a critical time in terms of learning and falling into a crowd that we wanted our kids in a different environment.

I absolutely love my house, commute, etc. We've had to jiggle around a bit for schools, but all in all I've been happy with our experience at West Potomac and Stratford landing.

[Anonymous]

If it's so crappy, why don't parents cough up some cash for private school? If you can afford to live in the WW school district, you can afford 2 yrs of private school.

[Anonymous]

It's not atypical for the MS to be the weakest school in a pyramid, particularly in an area with a large number of kids from really poor areas like the Route 1 corridor/Hybla Valley. The kids are hitting adolescence and acting up, and it can get out of control fast if there isn't a strong administration in place to maintain order. It's better in HS because the kids have matured and, sad as it is to say, some of the biggest troublemakers have dropped out.

[Anonymous]

Where are people sending to privates? Are there really that many in the area?

[Anonymous]

To this PP
Ask you child's last teacher about how your child learns best and make your judgment as to how they might fit in. Trust your gut. We toured St. Louis and St. Rita's and loved them both. We are not Catholic, but our child is thriving at their school.

Can you go to those schools and not be Catholic? Do you plan on switching he kids to WP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To this PP
Ask you child's last teacher about how your child learns best and make your judgment as to how they might fit in. Trust your gut. We toured St. Louis and St. Rita's and loved them both. We are not Catholic, but our child is thriving at their school.

Can you go to those schools and not be Catholic? Do you plan on switching he kids to WP?

You can attend without being Catholic. It is reasonably priced, class size is small and the instruction is rigorous. The principal was selected as the national Catholic school principal of the year last year. She lives in Waynewood. Carpooling from this area is easy to do because there are a considerable number of parents who opt out of our local schools to go there.

Our child has adjusted well. We will consider WP but will be looking at Bishop Ireton as well. If your child is ready now, they are still accepting enrollments for this year.

[Anonymous]

My son went there a couple of years ago and was in Advanced Academics. He did fine and never encountered the issues described here. I don't have the impression it's the greatest school, but I also don't recognize the school people here are describing. You make it sound terrible and it isn't. It depends on the teacher you get, in a lot of cases. My son had some terrible ones and some good ones. We live really near the school and I haven't encountered many families who chose to go to private school to avoid Sandburg. Everyone I know in the area continued on to Sandburg from local public elementary schools. For us there wasn't really any other option anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Sandburg is how they drew the district line. It mixes low-income and mid-income families together, so you get an odd grouping of families with very different backgrounds. Leads to tensions at this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Sandburg is how they drew the district line. It mixes low-income and mid-income families together, so you get an odd grouping of families with very different backgrounds. Leads to tensions at this school.

I had the same reaction to this comment. God forbid we mix kids with different backgrounds. It's called "real life."

[Anonymous]

We're zoned for Waynewood and send our child to a Catholic school. We're Catholic, so our decision was easier, but the only reason we didn't choose Waynewood was because of Sandburg and WestPo. Also, we would like our child to go to Gonzaga, which made our choice easier.

Our next door neighbor's kids went through the Waynewood pyramid and she said, and I quote "If your kid can get through Sandburg, they can get through any school". Not reassuring!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're zoned for Waynewood and send our child to a Catholic school. We're Catholic, so our decision was easier, but the only reason we didn't choose Waynewood was because of Sandburg and WestPo. Also, we would like our child to go to Gonzaga, which made our choice easier.

Our next door neighbor's kids went through the Waynewood pyramid and she said, and I quote "If your kid can get through Sandburg, they can get through any school". Not reassuring!

That was the reviews I received as well. We also did private for middle school and returned the kids to West Potomac. It's the weak link in the pyramid for sure. Thank goodness it's only two years long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're zoned for Waynewood and send our child to a Catholic school. We're Catholic, so our decision was easier, but the only reason we didn't choose Waynewood was because of Sandburg and WestPo. Also, we would like our child to go to Gonzaga, which made our choice easier.

Our next door neighbor's kids went through the Waynewood pyramid and she said, and I quote "If your kid can get through Sandburg, they can get through any school". Not reassuring!

That was the reviews I received as well. We also did private for middle school and returned the kids to West Potomac. It's the weak link in the pyramid for sure. Thank goodness it's only two years long.

If you go private for middle school, where do you go other than Catholic schools?

[Anonymous]

Some head to St. Stephen/St. Agnes as well as other private schools like St. Anslem's (Catholic), NCS/St. Alban's, Potomac, Madeira etc but most go St. Mary's or SSSA.