Let us know what you love about your school

[Anonymous]

Most or*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, DC is in CM1. Most of all of the CM1 teachers are male which is pretty nice as well. The entire class is in Quebec for 10 days and I can see from the pics that they are having a blast!

PP here--our kid also has a male teacher for the first time, which I also think is great. Sounds like good things are ahead!--thanks for answering my question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell for its diversity..

Um, what? Sidwell (and the other privates in DC) have to be the least diverse schools within a 50 mile radius of the Capitol.

They are definitely more diverse than the upper NW public schools. I have visited most of them (Lafayette, Key, Mann, Stoddert). Eaton is probably the only one that is diverse, followed by Murch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rochambeau. I have a DC there at the primary school campus who has been pushed beyond his/her comfort zone in public speaking and overall participation. DC performs well in coursework and exams, but barely participated through 2/3rds of the school year. As result, grades have suffered. The primary teacher’s philosophy is that one must be more than knowledgeable in life and has to engage and share knowledge. I’ve watched my child rebel against this only for something to click a month ago. DC now tries harder and preps more for such assignments. I also uncovered that this outgoing child of mine truly has a fear of public speaking to tackle. I’m very proud of DC for finally trying. I’ve noticed a difference in effort, to include voluntarily practicing at home, as well as improvement overall. I ran into DC’s teacher last week and received very positive feedback on DC’s recent improvement. My kid also came home surprised because the teacher stopped by during English class to give kudos as well.

I’d also add that I love the diversity at the lower school campuses. I haven’t noticed any SES or ethnic grouping. Other parents might disagree, but I like that the school tends to let kids figure out their own problems socially, only jumping in when certain lines are crossed.

This is great to hear. We have a kid who is relatively new there. We're pretty happy thus far, although our kid also avoids speaking up (but has mades some strides). Can I ask what grade your child is in? Ours is in CE1--just wondering if kids tend to open up more in the upper elementary grades.

We also love the diversity, as a multiracial/black 1st-gen/immigrant family. The other day I pulled up for dropoff and just happened to notice: a black dad chatting w/two white moms, another black dad, a South Asian dad, etc. Our kid has friends who speak various languages at home, and hail from many different countries. We think the diversity is a strength, for sure.

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Rochambeau is one of the LEAST diverse schools in the DC area. Ethnicity and race aren’t the only measures of diversity. It's a Francophone school where the administration and teachers routinely discriminate against non-Francophone families. Their leadership is all white and Francophone as well. With over 200+ staff, I haven’t seen any black teachers, only support staff – what message does that send? Even the children are taught to recognize and separate themselves as us (French) versus them (all others). The secondary school holds all the important, student ranking meetings in French only - excluding all non-French speakers and families. I’m white and American. I took my DD and DS out because I want them at a school that is diverse instead of one that pretends to be.

[Anonymous]

Wow, you revived an old thread to say the French school is too French in outlook. I'm guessing you were a total PIA and they were glad to see you go. Au revoir!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell for its diversity..

Um, what? Sidwell (and the other privates in DC) have to be the least diverse schools within a 50 mile radius of the Capitol.

Plus, there's little diversity of thought there.

Wrong on both counts.

[Anonymous]

These posters who want to bad mouth what others like about their schools are just pathetic.

[Anonymous]

No poor people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell for its diversity..

Um, what? Sidwell (and the other privates in DC) have to be the least diverse schools within a 50 mile radius of the Capitol.

They are definitely more diverse than the upper NW public schools. I have visited most of them (Lafayette, Key, Mann, Stoddert). Eaton is probably the only one that is diverse, followed by Murch.

Hearst is diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rochambeau. I have a DC there at the primary school campus who has been pushed beyond his/her comfort zone in public speaking and overall participation. DC performs well in coursework and exams, but barely participated through 2/3rds of the school year. As result, grades have suffered. The primary teacher’s philosophy is that one must be more than knowledgeable in life and has to engage and share knowledge. I’ve watched my child rebel against this only for something to click a month ago. DC now tries harder and preps more for such assignments. I also uncovered that this outgoing child of mine truly has a fear of public speaking to tackle. I’m very proud of DC for finally trying. I’ve noticed a difference in effort, to include voluntarily practicing at home, as well as improvement overall. I ran into DC’s teacher last week and received very positive feedback on DC’s recent improvement. My kid also came home surprised because the teacher stopped by during English class to give kudos as well.

I’d also add that I love the diversity at the lower school campuses. I haven’t noticed any SES or ethnic grouping. Other parents might disagree, but I like that the school tends to let kids figure out their own problems socially, only jumping in when certain lines are crossed.

This is great to hear. We have a kid who is relatively new there. We're pretty happy thus far, although our kid also avoids speaking up (but has mades some strides). Can I ask what grade your child is in? Ours is in CE1--just wondering if kids tend to open up more in the upper elementary grades.

We also love the diversity, as a multiracial/black 1st-gen/immigrant family. The other day I pulled up for dropoff and just happened to notice: a black dad chatting w/two white moms, another black dad, a South Asian dad, etc. Our kid has friends who speak various languages at home, and hail from many different countries. We think the diversity is a strength, for sure.

----------------------

Rochambeau is one of the LEAST diverse schools in the DC area. Ethnicity and race aren’t the only measures of diversity. It's a Francophone school where the administration and teachers routinely discriminate against non-Francophone families. Their leadership is all white and Francophone as well. With over 200+ staff, I haven’t seen any black teachers, only support staff – what message does that send? Even the children are taught to recognize and separate themselves as us (French) versus them (all others). The secondary school holds all the important, student ranking meetings in French only - excluding all non-French speakers and families. I’m white and American. I took my DD and DS out because I want them at a school that is diverse instead of one that pretends to be.

I’m the PP you quoted. I agree that the teaching staff isn’t diverse and that’s disappointing. However, the community itself is really diverse. It’s a French school. It’s mission is to allow for the reintegration of French children into the public school system of France. All else is secondary to that. I can tell you that if you go to ANY American international school abroad, any PTO or community meetings are in English. Why should other school systems accommodate Americans when we don’t do the same? Secondly, I’ve found that other parents or teachers will translate at the upper school campus if they’re made aware.

The school is more “bilingual” on the lower school campuses because there are far more American families there. Last year, I spoke with a French parent with a 10th grader who had hoped for more socialization in English for his newly arrived kid. I joked that I’d hope for far less for my American kid in primary school. English is such a dominant language and the schools bread and butter is not monolingual American families, nor should it be.

Did you transfer to another independent school or opt for public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love Sheridan School. It is a small school that gives all students an opportunity to be themselves and to grow into confident people who want to make a difference.

All due respect but it looks like you started this thread as a PR/advertising move.

+1 (and not a very persuasive one at that)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rochambeau. I have a DC there at the primary school campus who has been pushed beyond his/her comfort zone in public speaking and overall participation. DC performs well in coursework and exams, but barely participated through 2/3rds of the school year. As result, grades have suffered. The primary teacher’s philosophy is that one must be more than knowledgeable in life and has to engage and share knowledge. I’ve watched my child rebel against this only for something to click a month ago. DC now tries harder and preps more for such assignments. I also uncovered that this outgoing child of mine truly has a fear of public speaking to tackle. I’m very proud of DC for finally trying. I’ve noticed a difference in effort, to include voluntarily practicing at home, as well as improvement overall. I ran into DC’s teacher last week and received very positive feedback on DC’s recent improvement. My kid also came home surprised because the teacher stopped by during English class to give kudos as well.

I’d also add that I love the diversity at the lower school campuses. I haven’t noticed any SES or ethnic grouping. Other parents might disagree, but I like that the school tends to let kids figure out their own problems socially, only jumping in when certain lines are crossed.

This is great to hear. We have a kid who is relatively new there. We're pretty happy thus far, although our kid also avoids speaking up (but has mades some strides). Can I ask what grade your child is in? Ours is in CE1--just wondering if kids tend to open up more in the upper elementary grades.

We also love the diversity, as a multiracial/black 1st-gen/immigrant family. The other day I pulled up for dropoff and just happened to notice: a black dad chatting w/two white moms, another black dad, a South Asian dad, etc. Our kid has friends who speak various languages at home, and hail from many different countries. We think the diversity is a strength, for sure.

----------------------

Rochambeau is one of the LEAST diverse schools in the DC area. Ethnicity and race aren’t the only measures of diversity. It's a Francophone school where the administration and teachers routinely discriminate against non-Francophone families. Their leadership is all white and Francophone as well. With over 200+ staff, I haven’t seen any black teachers, only support staff – what message does that send? Even the children are taught to recognize and separate themselves as us (French) versus them (all others). The secondary school holds all the important, student ranking meetings in French only - excluding all non-French speakers and families. I’m white and American. I took my DD and DS out because I want them at a school that is diverse instead of one that pretends to be.

I'm the immediate PP quoted. I do agree the staff is not diverse--teachers are pretty much all white and French so far. However, there is tons of diversity among the students. My child has several friends who speak Spanish at home (I was actually surprised by the number of Spanish-speaking families), classmates from many West African countries, South Asian classmates, etc. It was one of the more diverse privates we toured. I haven't noticed that the French kids segregate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you revived an old thread to say the French school is too French in outlook. I'm guessing you were a total PIA and they were glad to see you go. Au revoir!

Exactement. We like our staff and administration to look like us. We came to Lycee Rochambeau for real French teachers, staff and students. Stay at American school if you want something different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell for its diversity..

Um, what? Sidwell (and the other privates in DC) have to be the least diverse schools within a 50 mile radius of the Capitol.

They are definitely more diverse than the upper NW public schools. I have visited most of them (Lafayette, Key, Mann, Stoddert). Eaton is probably the only one that is diverse, followed by Murch.

You have left out Hearst and Shepherd. Sidwell can’t touch those 2 when it comes to diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you revived an old thread to say the French school is too French in outlook. I'm guessing you were a total PIA and they were glad to see you go. Au revoir!

Exactement. We like our staff and administration to look like us. We came to Lycee Rochambeau for real French teachers, staff and students. Stay at American school if you want something different.

Your attitude is the exact reason why my francophone family is in the American school system.