How Strong is Burgundy Farm Country Day Academically?

[Anonymous]

21:22

I completely agree with your comment and that's what we chose for our DS. We've only been there 2 years but are very happy with the school, and most importantly DS is enjoying it and learning. I can't ask for anything more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, the reason people pick public schools coming out of Burgundy is because they are hard core Dems. Private Highschool for the most part is the home of the conservative Right, at least in the DMV... No Quaker schools... So those that are Dems will opt to send their Burgundy kids to public, where they tend to dominate academically and exceed socially...

Not from what I saw, and I'm no Burgundy fan. Some private HS in the area really aren't terribly leftie. Beyond that, a number of the Burgundy kids did extremely well in public high schools. But looked to me like many simply flopped, wound up in alternative programs, weren't college-bound (or at least traditional college-bound), etc. I think it can be difficult to categorize Burgundy purely by politics; the entire program seemed to be such an alternative program, so completely alien to anything educational, that the results always seemed to me to be disuniform and very much hit-or-miss. I remember one year when a good 1/5 of the graduating class was revealed to have not enrolled in college, or enrolled only at two-year programs, or taken gap years with no pre-granted admission reported anywhere.

This is both silly and false. Anyone interested can ask Burgundy to provide the high school and college destinations of kids who have graduated in the last 4-10 years. The picture painted by quote above is simply false. Anyone interested in Burgundy should ask the school for this information, not rely on an anonymous poster.

Separate question whether Burgundy kids do well -- as most of them in fact do-- b/c of the school or b/c they're bright kids to start with. Unclear, but doing well is doing well, so if you have a bright kid there's no reason to stay away from Burgundy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey, the reason people pick public schools coming out of Burgundy is because they are hard core Dems. Private Highschool for the most part is the home of the conservative Right, at least in the DMV... No Quaker schools... So those that are Dems will opt to send their Burgundy kids to public, where they tend to dominate academically and exceed socially...

True spoken words of one who has never been anywhere near a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey, the reason people pick public schools coming out of Burgundy is because they are hard core Dems. Private Highschool for the most part is the home of the conservative Right, at least in the DMV... No Quaker schools... So those that are Dems will opt to send their Burgundy kids to public, where they tend to dominate academically and exceed socially...

True spoken words of one who has never been anywhere near a private school.

LOL ... this person clearly has no idea of the families and cultures of GDS, Sidwell, Maret ... Etc. Perhaps s/he has missed the occasional DCUM thread asking for help in finding a few token conservative families in the DC area privates. But the families at Burgundy are indeed extremely liberal but for a small, quiet minority.

[Anonymous]

I have two kids who have attended Burgundy and academics are strong. Sure, there are mixed experiences with teachers, as there are at all schools. Overall, the placement record in the best high schools is stellar, as other posters have noted. From TJ to St. Albans or NCS to all the other independents, Catholic schools, etc…And public school kids have been valedictorians, sometimes more than one from one small graduating class. But more important, kids know themselves, as people and learners, and are invested and independent learners as they move to high school. Many come back to the school to speak to 8th graders and they demonstrate what a parent would want to see. If you have taken a tour there or heard an 8th grader or graduate speak, you know all you need to know…Some people have an axe to grind. Anonymous posting lends to negativity sometimes...

[Anonymous]

What's the latest on the MS? Did things settle down?

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Yes. Things settled down. They brought in several new teachers and staff, as well as a new MS head and a new learning support specialist. I was very nervous at the beginning of the year, and I do think the first month of school was a little bumpy, but now that everyone has settled in things seem to be fine. I don't know the new MS head well but the new teachers all seem great, and I have been impressed by the new learning specialist, too.

I think MS has gotten more "academic" in the last 5 years or so: more emphasis on grades, more challenging assignments, more tests, more homework and so on. I am not entirely crazy about this, but many families like it.

Overall, Burgundy is still Burgundy: pleasantly idiosyncratic on a good day; annoying disorganized on a bad day, but basically very friendly and nurturing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Things settled down. They brought in several new teachers and staff, as well as a new MS head and a new learning support specialist. I was very nervous at the beginning of the year, and I do think the first month of school was a little bumpy, but now that everyone has settled in things seem to be fine. I don't know the new MS head well but the new teachers all seem great, and I have been impressed by the new learning specialist, too.

I think MS has gotten more "academic" in the last 5 years or so: more emphasis on grades, more challenging assignments, more tests, more homework and so on. I am not entirely crazy about this, but many families like it.

Overall, Burgundy is still Burgundy: pleasantly idiosyncratic on a good day; annoying disorganized on a bad day, but basically very friendly and nurturing.

Isn't middle school the time to start ramping things up academically? Why don't you approve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Things settled down. They brought in several new teachers and staff, as well as a new MS head and a new learning support specialist. I was very nervous at the beginning of the year, and I do think the first month of school was a little bumpy, but now that everyone has settled in things seem to be fine. I don't know the new MS head well but the new teachers all seem great, and I have been impressed by the new learning specialist, too.

I think MS has gotten more "academic" in the last 5 years or so: more emphasis on grades, more challenging assignments, more tests, more homework and so on. I am not entirely crazy about this, but many families like it.

Overall, Burgundy is still Burgundy: pleasantly idiosyncratic on a good day; annoying disorganized on a bad day, but basically very friendly and nurturing.

Thanks for the update. We are in the LS right now and don't know any families with kids in MS.

What exactly does the learning specialist do? Does she meet with all kids?

[Anonymous]

How are the lower grades

[Anonymous]

weak

[Anonymous]

I disagree. I think the lower school is excellent, and the middle school is flailing. If I could magically take my child out of Burgundy MS I would, but he loves his friends. They have had a lot of turnover at the MS - new teachers, new head-- and somehow things just never gelled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree. I think the lower school is excellent, and the middle school is flailing. If I could magically take my child out of Burgundy MS I would, but he loves his friends. They have had a lot of turnover at the MS - new teachers, new head-- and somehow things just never gelled.

+1. The lower school is wonderful. The middle school is disappointing. The kids don't learn how to write papers or essays. The grammar instruction is non-existent. The kids are compassionate and well versed on all kinds of social issues when they graduate, but they lack the essential writing skills kids in other private schools are receiving. The grades issued are ridiculously harsh, almost in an effort to make the school seem more rigorous. My child stayed because of close friendships, not because of the academics. Yes, I regret it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree. I think the lower school is excellent, and the middle school is flailing. If I could magically take my child out of Burgundy MS I would, but he loves his friends. They have had a lot of turnover at the MS - new teachers, new head-- and somehow things just never gelled.

+1. The lower school is wonderful. The middle school is disappointing. The kids don't learn how to write papers or essays. The grammar instruction is non-existent. The kids are compassionate and well versed on all kinds of social issues when they graduate, but they lack the essential writing skills kids in other private schools are receiving. The grades issued are ridiculously harsh, almost in an effort to make the school seem more rigorous. My child stayed because of close friendships, not because of the academics. Yes, I regret it.

Interesting because my child is also in middle school and I finally see that they are focusing on writing much more this year than in the past and I also find quite a bit of grade inflation.