Washington International School's college matriculation rivals STA/NCS... why no attention?
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Anonymous
Interesting that someone who never even thought of that schools knows so well what the facilities look like. And yes, I have seen them and they compared well to other privates in the area, though their playground in the lower school could certainly be nicer. Their upper campus is beautiful. It is outright wrong that everyone gets in. I know several full pay families, including with siblings attending, whose kids were rejected. One of those families had both their twins accepted to Beauvoir. The school looks for fit and the reality is that not every kid/family can handle the language immersion aspect. |
Anonymous
WHY CAN'T ANYONE ANSWER THE QUESTION? WHAT IS THE REAL DEAL WITH WIS? |
Anonymous
What is your question? |
Anonymous
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I don't have kids at WIS, but live in that neighborhood and have met some of the students who are my kids' friends. Without exception, they are lovely young people.
I would also go out on a limb and suggest that the average WIS student is probably more intelligent and better educated overall than the average student at the other schools referenced here, given that WIS students are all bilingual. |
Anonymous
WIS had always been a desirable school for the lower school and admission is competitive. A few years ago there was a lot of “noise” about the poor quality of their lower school math program. Several families who are well connected/known in NWDC circles left WIS and were somewhat noisy about why. There were also rumors about racism toward American blacks at the lower school. Plus it attracts international families (expats) from WB, IMF and Embassies who eventually return home so the student population can be a bit transient. All that said the upper school is a different kettle of fish. It’s a very strong community with an excellent IB program. The reason it doesn’t attract the same families as STA NCS and Sidwell is because WIS offers an IB degree. American parents aren’t as familiar or attracted to that as its not the tradition here. It IS a great school but it attracts the international crowd - which includes American families with a more international lifestyle/outlook. |
Anonymous
And You don’t hear about it on DCUM because it’s a different type of family - it’s not the wasps and cave dwellers who belong to Chevy and Metropolitan. It’s a fantastic school but has a unique community in DC. |
Anonymous
| We toured for K. Really a nice school. Thought facilities were very nice actually. Didn't think my child could do the total immersion at K and then alternating bilingual classes since we are not bilingual at home. Now I wish we did apply. Seems like a missed opportunity! |
Anonymous
Our son had to unfortunately play on their turf field. Needless to say his team pummeled WIS. |
Anonymous
And this is relevant to his life in the long run, how? Is he going to play a sport in college? Is he going to be a professional athlete? Mama may think so, but the odds are overwhelmingly against either of those taking place -- which makes your post even more inane. Why is your kid in school in the first place? But ten years from now when he is working for a globally educated, multi-lingual WIS grad, he can always remind him of how his team "pummeled" WIS and that it was so unfortunate that he once had to play on their turf field. |
Anonymous
And who cares? One of the advantages of WIS is that you only ever run into this type of parent when they come cheer on their kids on the WIS’ turf field. |
Anonymous
So WIS has their own field? They don’t have to bus their kids to a public field that they refuse to share with anyone else in the community? |
Anonymous
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We are an international family from WB, IMF, etc. we speak 3 languages at home and decided to not apply to WIS. Many of our friends send their kids to WIS. We decided for another well known school in DC. We have many reasons for this decision. We wanted more exposure to the American culture since the kids are not getting it at home, Spanish and French are not languages we speak and I think bilingual education can be inferior.
I remember reading that when teachers have to “deal” with kids that don’t speak the language perfectly, they have to dumb down the content a bit. Meaning that teachers will spend sometime making sure everyone understand instructions and therefore less time to dig deeper. Again, my kids speak 3 languages and are very international so for me it was an easy decision. Had I been American, I would have definitely preferred WIS because I appreciate how important it is to experience, understand and breath different cultures |
Anonymous
Ah, yes. The "your kid will work for my kid" retort. Based on academic reputation, more likely the WIS kid is going to be the other kid's Uber driver. |
Anonymous
Says the parent who is paying $50,000 a year for the STA/NCS education, who is positive Johnny or Susie will get into HYP, but is in for a big disappointment. And it's not "academic reputation" that determines where people end up in life, PP, or did you not know that. It's skills obtained, which is why I maintain that a WIS grad, in general, is far better positioned than those from the "rival" schools OP notes. Are you still trading on your success from your glory days at City High? |
Anonymous
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WIS parents are international, and many plan on sending their kids to cheaper universities abroad. There is less focus on US universities. Plenty of kids do go to US universities, but a measurably smaller percentage than kids from the other privates in town
This focus on international universities, which usually admit kids based on test scores, means that the focus on extracurriculars is less than at the other privates. This makes kids less competitive for the top US universities. It doesnt mean that no kids get into Ivy equivalents, but fewer do. (I've interviewed many local kids for an Ivy, and I've spoken to a former WIS college counselor). |