SSSAS - what is the culture like currently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are not yet in the upper school but we are friends with families who have kids that are.

What I understand from them is that, as you would expect, the academics are solid, and many of the teachers are stellar. But where the school really shines compared to its peers is in its supportive, inclusive community that produces well rounded kids and young adults. It is not competitive in a toxic way, and I think that because the school places so much emphasis on “meeting each child where they are” there’s a sense that kids excel at different things and there’s not a need to constantly compare oneself to ones peers.

Also the supposed reputation the school has for emphasizing sports is overblown. I think there’s a lot of school spirit that stems from a strong sense of community and belonging, and that translates into enthusiasm for sporting events, but it also translates into enthusiasm for the school theater program, or arts competitions, or the robotics team, etc.

MOST of the kids are not primarily athletes, and non-athletes have no problem finding their crowd. Our DD is also musical and I have no concern about the high school when she gets there. On the contrary, I love love love that SSSAS has helped her have such a well rounded childhood and adolescence. It sounds so quaint and perhaps a bit silly but the school really does value helping the kids develop life long friendships and providing a “high school experience” with school spirit and community events and a deep sense of belonging that I think is rarely found in the 21st century, particularly in metropolitan areas like DC. It values these things - the “goodness” referred to in the school motto, “goodness as well as knowledge” - while still providing a solid, challenging academic program.

This is a long way of saying that yes I think your DD would fit in. SSSAS excels at balance and community, and I think it actually doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves, perhaps because balance is so undervalued in this day and age.

I hope another parent who knows more specifics about the current classes at the upper school is able to chime in with more!

You really believe that this is unique to SSSAS and/or they do it so much better than every other schoool?

A lot of schools pitch this, some do it, few do it well.

[Anonymous]

Bullying issues at this school. I would NOT recommend it. The staff does NOT care and will do NOTHING about it.

[Anonymous]

You’ve written this twice this morning in two separate threads. I’m sorry your experience has not been good. Our experience has been the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullying issues at this school. I would NOT recommend it. The staff does NOT care and will do NOTHING about it.

I’m sorry that’s been your experience. I’m curious about what grade? It’s definitely not what DD has experienced in upper school. She’s been very happy and we’ve found the teachers and administration very thoughtful and responsive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

So entire HS in mods for a year? or is it MS? or both? Clearly this isn't going on now - so it the plan to start next summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

So entire HS in mods for a year? or is it MS? or both? Clearly this isn't going on now - so it the plan to start next summer?

It is going on now, and it’s fine. It’s the US and only affects some classes. It’s just part of one wing of the main building that’s not accessible during the construction. The temporary classrooms are actually quite nice, and the bathrooms have the reputation of being the best on campus. 😂

There’s no dining hall right now, so kids bring lunch or use one of a few delivery-type services. Lunch will be onsite again next year when the construction is done.

[Anonymous]

To give my kid’s classes as an example, physics and English are in the temp rooms (which is less common; there are more history classes in the temps and more English in the main, but DC’s aches happens to be opposite) and History, French, study hall, and art are in the main building.

[Anonymous]

Temp classrooms are nicer than the original building. Enough said.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread because we are considering SSSAS 9th grade for our somewhat introverted, academics-focused daughter. Is bullying still an issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this thread because we are considering SSSAS 9th grade for our somewhat introverted, academics-focused daughter. Is bullying still an issue?

My girl graduated a couple years
ago. She's very bookish, artsy, and fairly introverted. She loved it and had great friends. She was a lifer though, not sure of dynamics coming in at 9th.

[Anonymous]

My daughter and a couple classmates from her k-8 will be starting at SSSAS this fall. Can’t speak to those who are already there, but it’s a nice group of kids from our school. Hoping there will be good group dynamics among the class of 2028!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this thread because we are considering SSSAS 9th grade for our somewhat introverted, academics-focused daughter. Is bullying still an issue?

I can’t speak to the exact cohort your daughter will be in, but my introverted, artsy, academics-focused daughter started in 9th, joining a class that supposedly had mean-girl issues in MS, and we’ve seen none of that in HS. She’s excelling and has been very happy, and has a great group of friends who are all academically focused but also participate in a wide variety of performing arts, sports, and visual arts. I haven’t seen or heard of bullying in the U.S. during our time there so far.

[Anonymous]

A year or two ago, there were a lot of these types of threads about SSSAS that appeared to be posted by the same parent or small group of parents that did not like their children’s experience. I do not want to discount their complaints, but I will say that is not my bookish son’s experience at the school, nor the experience of his friends. I do not think the school has a bigger bullying problem than any of the other local schools, and I’ve not had any reason to believe that the admin would take bullying less seriously.

[Anonymous]

Bullying is going to be different from class to class. It's not about the school but about the kids in that class. NP here and SSSAS family with DS going into 9th next Fall. The nicest boys ever in the class. My other kids class is also really nice no bullying but our current 8th grade boys - seriously the best class ever. We did public and another private prior.

I'm fairly happy with the school. I don't think any place is 100% perfect but on the whole it works. If commute was no issue maybe another school but the reality is, it's a good school with nice community and everything is solid.

[Anonymous]

We have a lifer who is now a junior. There are a few bad seeds here just as at every private or public school. The one difference on the bullying front between sssas and other privates is that sssas’s light-touch religion stresses kindness and community, and I think that has a somewhat positive impact on the kids, especially in middle school. It definitely will not cause every child to be the best version of themself, but if you have that solution, please make it public.

I certainly would not decide whether to attend a school based on anonymous comments on a website. Because the start of this thread does not at all represent my experience over the past decade.