Sidwell vs. Georgetown Day School -- pros and cons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Choose BIM.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-private-high-schools/m/washington-dc-metro-area/

According to that, Basis isn’t better than Sidwell. It’s better than GDS, but not Sidwell.

The PP is a joke. Basis is not a real option. PS Last year GDS had the best college admits of all the privates. 6 kids were admitted to Harvard etc, etc. This year was a college admittance blood bath at Sidwell. Parents are irate.

How so? Sidwell is sending at least one student to EVERY Ivy+ school this year (as usual). There are at least 2 students heading to Stanford and 2 going to MIT this fall (there’s usually no more than 1 MIT student per class). The majority of Sidwell’s 125 seniors are attending T50 schools or better.

Btw, GDS is not doing nearly as well as Sidwell this year. And they did about the same as Sidwell last year. Last year, GDS sent 6 to Harvard and Sidwell sent 6 to Penn (3 of whom are at Wharton). They sent about the same percentage of students to Ivies last year.

If you want to see a blood bath, look at GDS’ 2023 college matriculations. 😱

Ok -I'll bite. Sidwell '23 was VERY HIGHLY skewed to hooked students - only a couple of unhooked broke through (if you don't count the Chicago ED shortcut crew). '23 was a bloodbath at both schools for unhooked students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

What exactly do you want from Sidwell’s US teachers? As others have stated above, you can reach out to them to schedule a call or in-person meeting at anytime. They also communicate information (negative and positive) via interims throughout the year. And they interact with your children on a daily basis, including mandatory (for the teacher) office/classroom time once or twice per week, where your child can drop in for help or just to chat. On top of that, several US teachers serve as coaches for the school’s various sports teams.

Is it you or your child that needs more hand holding from Sidwell’s teachers? It sounds like the former. You need to land the helicopter or college is going to push you over the edge. You will have close to zero contact with your children’s college professors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

What you just described is exactly the same at Sidwell. Teachers attend games, concerts and plays, and are generally around and accessible. I really don;t get the point you are trying and failing to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

What you just described is exactly the same at Sidwell. Teachers attend games, concerts and plays, and are generally around and accessible. I really don;t get the point you are trying and failing to make.

The PP just doesn’t like Sidwell, but she lacks the courage to just admit that fact. Instead, she makes false and easily disprovable claims about the school and its teachers. Sidwell is/was a bad fit for her as a parent. However, by her own admission, her child wanted to attend Sidwell and would choose it again. I believe this person’s child has already graduated, so I’m not sure why she’s still feeling so aggrieved.

Too bad her child didn’t prefer GDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

What you just described is exactly the same at Sidwell. Teachers attend games, concerts and plays, and are generally around and accessible. I really don;t get the point you are trying and failing to make.

I understand that without being part of both communities that you won’t understand how this plays out differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear more about the Upper School experience. What are parent teacher conferences like?

At gds, there are parent teacher conferences in the fall. You can sign up for meetings with all teachers/whichever teachers you want. I think they were 10 minutes per teacher.

The above is true for gds in all four years, 9th-12th grade.

Sidwell had parent teacher conferences only for 9th grade. They are for 10 (maybe 15?) minutes and only with 3 teachers. You get to rank your preferences but you are not guaranteed top 3.

We 100% preferred gds on this dimension. (Maybe new leadership can change this) The vast majority of teachers also knew our gds student better (give or take a couple) than the 3 teachers knew our Sidwell student. We couldn’t pick the majority of our DCs Sidwell teachers out of a lineup to be honest. HS is always (appropriately) arms length for parents, but Sidwell is even more so.

Teachers at Sidwell are happy to have a call with parents any time, particularly if a student is struggling with something.

How about the ones that aren't struggling? Please know that there is a disconnect between (more than a few) teachers and the top students in the hardest classes. Clearly not every teacher but this happens far too much.

Literally any time we wanted to talk to a teacher, we could. Never an issue.

But if you don’t need to talk to a teacher - you will literally never see them outside of back to school night and will never hear from them either. That may seem normal to you but it isn’t normal. We have a similarly successful student at GDS - and dint need to reach out to them either - yet we know who they are, they communicate with parents at teacher conferences, through updates, and attend school community events and mingle with parents - it’s a very different culture and it’s far more conducive to student teacher bonds . Sidwell is what it is and likely won’t change but that’s really not the norm.

What you just described is exactly the same at Sidwell. Teachers attend games, concerts and plays, and are generally around and accessible. I really don;t get the point you are trying and failing to make.

I understand that without being part of both communities that you won’t understand how this plays out differently.

PS - I didn’t expect ‘more’ from Sidwell teachers because they are not required to do more by the admin. It’s not their fault.