Thoughts on Grace Episcopal Day School in Kensington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Knowof any kids who went to Sidwell or another top schools from Grace?

Yes - several kids to Sidwell, STA, and other top DC schools.

[Anonymous]

The 5th grade teacher is especially exceptional.

[Anonymous]

How was their distance learning last year?

[Anonymous]

Grace did a very good job with DL in the Spring. Extremely good learning specialist and very welcoming to kids with learning differences/SNs.

[Anonymous]

A PP here whose child attended and graduated from Grace. Our family was beyond pleased with Grace.

I think 00:06 must be very mistaken. I have never known anyone associated with this school to be other than kind and welcoming. Children with "mild special needs" are hardly rejected. Why not ask about the recent graduate who had a paraprofessional assist all day and did very well.

As to religion, Episcopalians welcome everyone. There is a chaplain and regular chapels, but there are children from many religions other than Christian. The school teaches about other religions as well.

Distance learning went well. The teachers had no spring break as they had to learn new technology, but they offered live and taped lessons from the lead teachers, and the specials (science, art, music, Spanish, PE) all offered live lessons as well.

Grace is a lovely school and anyone would be lucky to have their child attend.

[Anonymous]

Current Grace Parent here. We will be leaving at the end of this academic year. School has significant challenges that I don’t think it will be able to overcome, especially with their current head of school. Cannot in good conscience really recommend it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Grace Parent here. We will be leaving at the end of this academic year. School has significant challenges that I don’t think it will be able to overcome, especially with their current head of school. Cannot in good conscience really recommend it.

. What do you mean?

[Anonymous]

Parent of recent graduate here. No clue what 10:38 could possibly mean. After having had several children at several schools, I have seen some challenges but not at Grace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Grace Parent here. We will be leaving at the end of this academic year. School has significant challenges that I don’t think it will be able to overcome, especially with their current head of school. Cannot in good conscience really recommend it.

Do you mean you intend to leave in the spring of 2021?

[Anonymous]

We mostly loved it. This Gr 5 was always a small class. Some kids do leave, for instance girls going to Holton.

Unbeatable diversity, small classes, great teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Grace Parent here. We will be leaving at the end of this academic year. School has significant challenges that I don’t think it will be able to overcome, especially with their current head of school. Cannot in good conscience really recommend it.

How brave you are, little Miss Anonymous, to throw a bomb and skitter away! You have no credibility if you don’t back up your allegations with facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Grace Parent here. We will be leaving at the end of this academic year. School has significant challenges that I don’t think it will be able to overcome, especially with their current head of school. Cannot in good conscience really recommend it.

How brave you are, little Miss Anonymous, to throw a bomb and skitter away! You have no credibility if you don’t back up your allegations with facts.

Okay, whatever, Mrs. Anonymous yourself

[Anonymous]

Bomb Thrower and Skitterer here:

You are right, Anonymous, I should have prefaced my lob with: Grace is a sweet school. They have good and loving teachers and staff who are happy to be there and clearly enjoy their work. We like their educational philosophy very much. The size, especially at the lower elementary level, is ideal, IMHO. The campus is big and open. The school is "normal" not pretentious, very down-to-earth. They emphasize inclusion and diversity and acceptance and they most definitely practice what they preach, though the staff and administration is overwhelmingly white.

Grace's current leadership inherited some unfortunate debt. There is no endowment. Fundraising is hampered by the fact that many of the families, past and present, don't have the financial resources to make additional contributions. Then, a plan to generate additional income and establish the much-needed endowment fell through. There was no Plan B or C. The Episcopal church has been generous and I know some parents that I talk to insist that the church will make sure the school continues. I hope that is the case. The lack of back up plan really alarmed us. Some paid positions have been eliminated or left open. Most upsetting to my family is that the PE teacher left and won't be replaced; instead Yoga and mindfulness will be taught by an existing staff member. Without an endowment or significant scholarship fund, the school's tuition scheme places a big burden on families paying full tuition to pay for their own children and subsidize others.

The school got PPP funds, but it has had to add staff to help with making classes smaller, spend money on measures to reduce the chance of infection spread, etc. All this, coupled with the fact that the school has so many families paying less than the full tuition rate, does not bode well. Barring financial miracles, which certainly can happen, getting the school back on more solid financial footing is going to require sharp marketing and financial skills and some ruthlessness. I have not seen those qualities in evidence in the current leadership. Empathy and compassion are essential, but no less so than a keen sense of self-preservation.

Then, despite a commitment from the HoS that Grace would do everything it could to reopen in the fall -- thanks to research and planning by staff and by parent volunteers in the medical community-- she threw in the towel. One of her justifications for this was that Sidwell Friends was going all virtual and she wanted to follow what the "big" privates were doing. A quick email to current Sidwell parents proved that was not true. This was all before the fight between MoCo's health guy and the MD governor. Our family and others were devastated when she did this. As the HoS had stated many times, the school's small size and large campus made being able to come back in person much more feasible than at other privates and at publics. Then, out of the blue, she bails. It was the final straw for our family. Virtual learning last spring was okay-- better than what MoCo seemed to offer, but for the money we were paying, we expected a lot more. HoS really got our hopes ups about being in person for the fall. Being forced to go virtual by the county, I can accept, but the HoS caved well before that, without even polling parents first. HoS is always offering empathy and compassion and I am actually fed up with it. Families need the services they have paid for.

[Anonymous]

^^ Good answer. Take notes, Christ Episcopal School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bomb Thrower and Skitterer here:

You are right, Anonymous, I should have prefaced my lob with: Grace is a sweet school. They have good and loving teachers and staff who are happy to be there and clearly enjoy their work. We like their educational philosophy very much. The size, especially at the lower elementary level, is ideal, IMHO. The campus is big and open. The school is "normal" not pretentious, very down-to-earth. They emphasize inclusion and diversity and acceptance and they most definitely practice what they preach, though the staff and administration is overwhelmingly white.

Grace's current leadership inherited some unfortunate debt. There is no endowment. Fundraising is hampered by the fact that many of the families, past and present, don't have the financial resources to make additional contributions. Then, a plan to generate additional income and establish the much-needed endowment fell through. There was no Plan B or C. The Episcopal church has been generous and I know some parents that I talk to insist that the church will make sure the school continues. I hope that is the case. The lack of back up plan really alarmed us. Some paid positions have been eliminated or left open. Most upsetting to my family is that the PE teacher left and won't be replaced; instead Yoga and mindfulness will be taught by an existing staff member. Without an endowment or significant scholarship fund, the school's tuition scheme places a big burden on families paying full tuition to pay for their own children and subsidize others.

The school got PPP funds, but it has had to add staff to help with making classes smaller, spend money on measures to reduce the chance of infection spread, etc. All this, coupled with the fact that the school has so many families paying less than the full tuition rate, does not bode well. Barring financial miracles, which certainly can happen, getting the school back on more solid financial footing is going to require sharp marketing and financial skills and some ruthlessness. I have not seen those qualities in evidence in the current leadership. Empathy and compassion are essential, but no less so than a keen sense of self-preservation.

Then, despite a commitment from the HoS that Grace would do everything it could to reopen in the fall -- thanks to research and planning by staff and by parent volunteers in the medical community-- she threw in the towel. One of her justifications for this was that Sidwell Friends was going all virtual and she wanted to follow what the "big" privates were doing. A quick email to current Sidwell parents proved that was not true. This was all before the fight between MoCo's health guy and the MD governor. Our family and others were devastated when she did this. As the HoS had stated many times, the school's small size and large campus made being able to come back in person much more feasible than at other privates and at publics. Then, out of the blue, she bails. It was the final straw for our family. Virtual learning last spring was okay-- better than what MoCo seemed to offer, but for the money we were paying, we expected a lot more. HoS really got our hopes ups about being in person for the fall. Being forced to go virtual by the county, I can accept, but the HoS caved well before that, without even polling parents first. HoS is always offering empathy and compassion and I am actually fed up with it. Families need the services they have paid for.

Some of this is true and some of it is frankly unfair. We learned about the virtual decision about 2-3 weeks before the county debacle. Frankly she’s done what every other school has done from the look of it. Everyone is virtual for now. One of the only schools that’s open is Beauvoir. Most schools are virtual at least for the first month.

I agree that the announcement re the pe teacher was disappointing. But it frankly makes sense for Grace not to hire a new teacher this late in the game when it’s unlikely we’ll use a PE teacher in a meaningful way this year.

The other points about the lack of money is fair however.