SSSAS - what is the culture like currently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can any current SSSAS parents offer insight into the planned construction project for the Upper Campus? From our recent tour, the school definitely looks to be in need of an update and modernization, but it also seems like this is going to be pretty disruptive for students (if I’m understanding correctly, no cafeteria for a year, modular classrooms, etc.). What is the exact timeline and details of impact on US classes and students?

+1 SSSAS definitely needs the update, especially given the tuition they charge for such outdated facilities. However, it appears they will be tearing down an entire wing of classrooms during the expansion. This would mean my kid looking at high school next year would have 2-3 years filled with construction, noise and trailer classrooms.

No, this isn’t true. Did you look at the master plan? It will be done in phases and almost entirely during two summers, not during the school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

No, but if you are trumpy you are pretty racist. I

Anyway, the school has many conservatives who are outspoken “never Trumpers”. There are also people who were IN the Trump admin who badmouth Trump and “Trumpy voters”. SSSAS is not a great place to be if your family is pro-Trump and proud, but that’s likely true of nearly every school in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

No, but if you are trumpy you are pretty racist. I

Anyway, the school has many conservatives who are outspoken “never Trumpers”. There are also people who were IN the Trump admin who badmouth Trump and “Trumpy voters”. SSSAS is not a great place to be if your family is pro-Trump and proud, but that’s likely true of nearly every school in the DC area.

Well that is at least reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can any current SSSAS parents offer insight into the planned construction project for the Upper Campus? From our recent tour, the school definitely looks to be in need of an update and modernization, but it also seems like this is going to be pretty disruptive for students (if I’m understanding correctly, no cafeteria for a year, modular classrooms, etc.). What is the exact timeline and details of impact on US classes and students?

+1 SSSAS definitely needs the update, especially given the tuition they charge for such outdated facilities. However, it appears they will be tearing down an entire wing of classrooms during the expansion. This would mean my kid looking at high school next year would have 2-3 years filled with construction, noise and trailer classrooms.

No, this isn’t true. Did you look at the master plan? It will be done in phases and almost entirely during two summers, not during the school year.

Not sure where the master plan is, but the FAQ on the website indicates the following timeline:

“The project will take 15 months to complete---two summers and one school year, and will be funded through philanthropy. We are in the early stages of fundraising efforts for this project, and we anticipate that the break-ground date will follow the 2022-2023 school year.”

According to this, it will be done during the school year. My understanding from the tour is that the entire old wing will be torn down and unavailable for use for the entire duration of the construction period. No cafeteria and modular classrooms as temporary replacements.

[Anonymous]

And let’s be honest, construction projects of this type almost never run on time…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

No, but if you are trumpy you are pretty racist. I

Anyway, the school has many conservatives who are outspoken “never Trumpers”. There are also people who were IN the Trump admin who badmouth Trump and “Trumpy voters”. SSSAS is not a great place to be if your family is pro-Trump and proud, but that’s likely true of nearly every school in the DC area.

Well that is at least reassuring.

I'm the person who originally posted calling out whether other SSSAS parents think this post about a student was ok... I didn't read it as Trump- or Republican-related, though maybe if you know the families involved, it is?

I'm super put off by someone sharing a bunch of her own judgements about someone else's kid not being up to standards, underachieving and having behavior problems - which is just inappropriate to do anonymously on a website at all. Then he/she also hilariously talks about that student's parents "thriving on gossip and drama" not two seconds before implying that they are still in touch. I wonder if this frenemy mom knows how you are talking about her and her kid online, PP.

If this mean girl behavior is representative of SSSAS parents - I want no part of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

No, but if you are trumpy you are pretty racist. I

Anyway, the school has many conservatives who are outspoken “never Trumpers”. There are also people who were IN the Trump admin who badmouth Trump and “Trumpy voters”. SSSAS is not a great place to be if your family is pro-Trump and proud, but that’s likely true of nearly every school in the DC area.

Well that is at least reassuring.

I'm the person who originally posted calling out whether other SSSAS parents think this post about a student was ok... I didn't read it as Trump- or Republican-related, though maybe if you know the families involved, it is?

I'm super put off by someone sharing a bunch of her own judgements about someone else's kid not being up to standards, underachieving and having behavior problems - which is just inappropriate to do anonymously on a website at all. Then he/she also hilariously talks about that student's parents "thriving on gossip and drama" not two seconds before implying that they are still in touch. I wonder if this frenemy mom knows how you are talking about her and her kid online, PP.

If this mean girl behavior is representative of SSSAS parents - I want no part of that.

A lot of what you hear about "mean girl behavior" among SSSAS students is a result of being children of "mean girl" mothers. But that's true for other private schools, isn't it?

I'd say that despite that, there are a lot of very nice people at SSSAS. I'd say the majority of parents are very nice people. And so are their children!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And let’s be honest, construction projects of this type almost never run on time…

My understanding is that most of the construction traffic will happen behind the campus, where they bought the new property. I could be wrong!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... I do know of one family specifically moved (not just changed schools) because their daughter was getting bullied so bad at school and online. One girl in particular is almost being pushed to leave but I think her parents are still keeping her there. There have been many friend dramas.

SSSAS is a small school. So, let’s not pretend we don’t know who your friend who “had to move” is.

The reason she had to move out of the area is because her kid was already on school #3 or #4. Her daughter was underachieving, had behavior problems, and every bad grade, according to the mother, was the fault of teacher A or teacher B. The “bullying” were civilized class discussions where she didn’t have the skills to defend her views. Not to mention, again according to the mother, the school had already told her the daughter would be happier elsewhere. It was a hint that her kid wasn't up to the standards, and she should move on before they expel her. The mother still registered the student again!

The parents of this girl (particularly the mother) are belligerent and hostile people, who thrive on gossip and drama. Last time I heard from the mother, the girl was already having problems in her new school because (surprise!) the teachers where she is “aren’t good enough” and administrators “are Marxists.” See the pattern here?

School hopping does not solve the problem when the problem is how you raise your kids or when you have the moral turpitude to use them to bully teachers and administrators in order to advance your white supremacist agenda.

So, to answer the OP question, the school culture is doing much better since this family left.

I have nothing to do with the school - wandered in here because we are nearby and debating SSSAS or public for our young kid.

Do other SSSAS parents think this post is ok? It's reading like an ad for Alexandria City High School to me.

Yeah clearly someone wanted to include white supremacist in there without any other information to back it up. Seems like at SSSAS if you are not liberal you are a racist.

No, but if you are trumpy you are pretty racist. I

Anyway, the school has many conservatives who are outspoken “never Trumpers”. There are also people who were IN the Trump admin who badmouth Trump and “Trumpy voters”. SSSAS is not a great place to be if your family is pro-Trump and proud, but that’s likely true of nearly every school in the DC area.

Well that is at least reassuring.

I'm the person who originally posted calling out whether other SSSAS parents think this post about a student was ok... I didn't read it as Trump- or Republican-related, though maybe if you know the families involved, it is?

I'm super put off by someone sharing a bunch of her own judgements about someone else's kid not being up to standards, underachieving and having behavior problems - which is just inappropriate to do anonymously on a website at all. Then he/she also hilariously talks about that student's parents "thriving on gossip and drama" not two seconds before implying that they are still in touch. I wonder if this frenemy mom knows how you are talking about her and her kid online, PP.

If this mean girl behavior is representative of SSSAS parents - I want no part of that.

NP here. I am also really stunned at PP's tirade about a former student and her parents and all the identifying information she gave. I was quickly able to figure out the person/child. It's wrong to come on DCUM and shame a child like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And let’s be honest, construction projects of this type almost never run on time…

My understanding is that most of the construction traffic will happen behind the campus, where they bought the new property. I could be wrong!

That’s not what the online info suggests. The school indicates it hasn’t yet decided how it will use the newly acquired property, which will be set aside for undetermined future plans.

[Anonymous]

Agree, but in this case it was kind of needed to clarify the inaccurate info posted by the earlier poster. This family is a huge problem and has switched schools every couple of years. So to say they left cause their kid was bullied….. it needed to be corrected. It’s just not true.
95 % of the families are welcoming and open minded and my children continue to have a great experience at SSSAS. But yes, there’s that 5%. But you will really find that anywhere, I am sure.

[Anonymous]

There is no PERFECT school, place, person, etc.

SSSAS I think does its best and for us, it shows.

We have 2 kids there, one LS, one MS. The MS has been there for 2 years and our first year in LS. My LS kid does talk about how there are a couple "snobby" girls in the sense that they seem to be drawn to others who have money. However, she isn't mean, rude or anything but fine to DD. In other words, while they may not become friends who get together outside of school, they have no problem with each other. One thing I really like about SSSAS, coming from a much smaller one, is that there's enough kids there where your kid can find their tribe. It's not overwhelming large but not claustrophobic clique small like SO many others around the area.

I love the academics, the support for LD in MS. I love the teachers and the community I love that they've thought through a lot of logistical things like transportation between campuses if you have multiple kids to make it convenient for families.

I am a crazy picky person and while not 100% perfect, I'm pretty sure SSSAS is as good as it's gonna get for our family around these parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no PERFECT school, place, person, etc.

SSSAS I think does its best and for us, it shows.

We have 2 kids there, one LS, one MS. The MS has been there for 2 years and our first year in LS. My LS kid does talk about how there are a couple "snobby" girls in the sense that they seem to be drawn to others who have money. However, she isn't mean, rude or anything but fine to DD. In other words, while they may not become friends who get together outside of school, they have no problem with each other. One thing I really like about SSSAS, coming from a much smaller one, is that there's enough kids there where your kid can find their tribe. It's not overwhelming large but not claustrophobic clique small like SO many others around the area.

I love the academics, the support for LD in MS. I love the teachers and the community I love that they've thought through a lot of logistical things like transportation between campuses if you have multiple kids to make it convenient for families.

I am a crazy picky person and while not 100% perfect, I'm pretty sure SSSAS is as good as it's gonna get for our family around these parts.

I agree that they have a lot of appeal. The snobby girls comment is what concerns me for my DD. I've heard from multiple women who have attended and others who have had daughters attend at different times how mean girl the HS gets.

[Anonymous]

PP here with DD there with "snobby" girls -

But here's the thing - DD is going to run into snobby girls everywhere. I didn't sign her up for private to insulate her from the world. I don't think any private school is going to have only nice kids and I'm not expecting it either. What I am looking for in a private school is a prioritization on a certain degree of academics, love of learning, a wealth of classes/clubs, diversity to various kinds of people and safety. In that sense, they fill this requirement. I am pretty sure that she will meet less mean girls than her local public MS/HS where there is such a large population of kids in general from all walks of life. Maybe they won't all be snobby because they are rich but they may be mean because they they aren't from good families or something. The point is, there is no perfect place. To the extent that SSSAS offers a reasonable administration who do what they can to take care of my kids, I'm pretty happy. I like the teachers and there's low turnover which I think also says a lot about the school. DD has to figure out how to manage her relationships with friends and people around her, so I'm glad there's some challenges and not everyone is her best friend. When she's older, it will do her well for these experiences.