Beauvoir v. NPS—please compare the communities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

I have to agree. The best part about NPS is the personalized experience--the staff will know you and your child by name pretty quickly. My husband and I aren't the typical independent school family, and we aren't religious, but all of us feel so welcomed. The staff is always responsive and communicative, down to the aftercare staff and heck, even the safety officer. It's a warm and sincere environment from the heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

I have to agree. The best part about NPS is the personalized experience--the staff will know you and your child by name pretty quickly. My husband and I aren't the typical independent school family, and we aren't religious, but all of us feel so welcomed. The staff is always responsive and communicative, down to the aftercare staff and heck, even the safety officer. It's a warm and sincere environment from the heart.

+1!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never said they didn't have iPads at all or use them in school. In fact I said the opposite. what I said was that I am grateful they have them AND teach them how to use them so they can be ready for virtual learning if needed. PK did not have one-to-one iPads until the pandemic first started. Now they have one assigned to each student so they can be prepared if they need to learn from home.

Not to beat a dead horse on this issue, but other posters are saying that Beauvoir PK age kids - 4 and 5 years old -use iPads at school, now. As in, every day. We are not currently in virtual learning. You seem to be trying to skate past that point.

the horse is still dead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

This is teacher specific. There is a new teacher who is not proactive or responsive about communication with parents. This sentiment has been shared across families in that classroom both long standing and new. We have been with the school for years and this is unusual. We would like our younger child to steer clear of this teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

This is teacher specific. There is a new teacher who is not proactive or responsive about communication with parents. This sentiment has been shared across families in that classroom both long standing and new. We have been with the school for years and this is unusual. We would like our younger child to steer clear of this teacher.

Who? Every teacher at NPS is responsive. What grade if you won't say who.

[Anonymous]

Former NPS parent here.

Bad thing about the school and why we only lasted a few years. Bullying was bad. The school's approach was clearly to get the victim to shut up about it instead of dealing with the bully. I spoke to MANY parents at the time and what I learned is that bullying is not usually tolerated, however, if you have a bully whose parents are the trifecta big donors/board members/church members then your child better learn to love the bullying. My child was actually told by a teacher, "You don't have to tell a teacher every time he does something to you."

Good thing about it. When my younger one was in the lower school, I felt that there were teachers who truly cared about my child and wanted what was best for him. I think the lower school is great that way. Not so much with the upper school. I felt 100% confident in the lower school that my son was getting a great education and was loved and taken care of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

This is teacher specific. There is a new teacher who is not proactive or responsive about communication with parents. This sentiment has been shared across families in that classroom both long standing and new. We have been with the school for years and this is unusual. We would like our younger child to steer clear of this teacher.

Who? Every teacher at NPS is responsive. What grade if you won't say who.

Right, and there actually aren't many new homeroom teachers this year... I can only think of 3? My kiddo has one of the new teachers--she is simply lovely and was the perfect match for my child's needs. I can't imagine that this person is talking about the same teacher.

[Anonymous]

I can think of 5 new homeroom teachers.

[Anonymous]

Please don't go down this road. Talk with the teacher and if they are not responsive, talk with their supervisor. At any school or institution, that's what adults do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does BVR have the same robust counseling program as NPS? I was impressed by the NPS presentation featuring their two full time counselors

I didn’t see much discussion of this and would appreciate hearing more about the counseling program at BVR. Does the counselor speak to the classes and how does she support the kids social emotional growth. If any parents have had a kid who had developmentally normal SEL issues (too aggressive, too shy, going through a divorce or a new sibling, etc) how does the counselor support? And has anyone seen the counseling program at NPS be successful in helping students with SEL issues?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former NPS parent here.

Bad thing about the school and why we only lasted a few years. Bullying was bad. The school's approach was clearly to get the victim to shut up about it instead of dealing with the bully. I spoke to MANY parents at the time and what I learned is that bullying is not usually tolerated, however, if you have a bully whose parents are the trifecta big donors/board members/church members then your child better learn to love the bullying. My child was actually told by a teacher, "You don't have to tell a teacher every time he does something to you."

Good thing about it. When my younger one was in the lower school, I felt that there were teachers who truly cared about my child and wanted what was best for him. I think the lower school is great that way. Not so much with the upper school. I felt 100% confident in the lower school that my son was getting a great education and was loved and taken care of.

Is this true? This sounds terrible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former NPS parent here.

Bad thing about the school and why we only lasted a few years. Bullying was bad. The school's approach was clearly to get the victim to shut up about it instead of dealing with the bully. I spoke to MANY parents at the time and what I learned is that bullying is not usually tolerated, however, if you have a bully whose parents are the trifecta big donors/board members/church members then your child better learn to love the bullying. My child was actually told by a teacher, "You don't have to tell a teacher every time he does something to you."

Good thing about it. When my younger one was in the lower school, I felt that there were teachers who truly cared about my child and wanted what was best for him. I think the lower school is great that way. Not so much with the upper school. I felt 100% confident in the lower school that my son was getting a great education and was loved and taken care of.

Interesting. We never had an issue in the 13 years we have been in the community with 3 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NPS parent here - to the responsiveness question - I find the teachers to not only be available and responsive to parents, but also proactive and very thoughtful about reaching out when issues or concerns arise in the classroom that we may not be seeing at home. This is not only relevant to the teachers, but also to Malcolm Lester head of school who knows the kids well and seemingly remembers all the parents as well! Likely also the case at BVR, you can’t make a bad choice!

This is teacher specific. There is a new teacher who is not proactive or responsive about communication with parents. This sentiment has been shared across families in that classroom both long standing and new. We have been with the school for years and this is unusual. We would like our younger child to steer clear of this teacher.

Who? Every teacher at NPS is responsive. What grade if you won't say who.

Right, and there actually aren't many new homeroom teachers this year... I can only think of 3? My kiddo has one of the new teachers--she is simply lovely and was the perfect match for my child's needs. I can't imagine that this person is talking about the same teacher.

Exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Please don't go down this road. Talk with the teacher and if they are not responsive, talk with their supervisor. At any school or institution, that's what adults do.

I am an adult and I have gone to the school with my concerns. My post was simply a response to the poster who claimed that EVERY teacher is responsive. That is not true. We have never experienced anything like this teacher. There is no need to name the person or the grade. That is not my intent. It is just not the experience I expect for $36K a year. The school has some work to do to ensure it has a top notch faculty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are struggling to compare the vibe/warmth of these two schools. Which is closer knit? More meal trains and the like? Which has more kids having play dates at country clubs? More legacies? Trying to assess how welcome we will feel and any insights are appreciated!

Go with Beauvoir for sure if you get in. More prestigious, more diverse (despite a large club group) but still overall more diverse, larger, and the playground and grounds are gorgeous. Both nice schools and the HOS at both are great.