Don't understand the crazy about sidwell friend

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The interesting thing is that GDS supposedly was the Obamas' top choice school. But the Secret Service basically vetoed it ...

GDS boosters love peddling that fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it was popular WELL BEFORE Chelsea went there. In the 80s, it was very sought after as well, and i'm sure before that too. it's a good school.

yes, it was. But as PP said, the parent community has changed ENORMOUSLY. And not for the better.

NP. How would you know "the parent community has changed enormously ... and not for the better"? Surely you weren't a parent there in both the 1980s and now 30 years later, were you? Sounds to me like you're making shit up.

I'm not the PP you're addressing (I'm an all-new poster to this thread).

I agree that the overall parent community has changed enormously, and here is how I know this: I graduated SFS in the mid-80s and attended for 6 years. My child attends the school now. I'm as qualified as anyone posting on this thread to compare and contrast the "type" of parent whose kids attend SFS these days vs. 30 years ago.

And FWIW, in the 80s the school absolutely attracted the offspring of "DC celebrities" (elected officials, cabinet types, well-known journalists — ahem). The difference today is the exaggerated presence of what one PP called the 'commercial class.' Developers, eponymous consultants, Carlyle Group types. Note that I am intentionally not assigning value ranking to the respective parent bodies of 1980s and 2010s. But to suggest there wasn't a significant change is incorrect.

[Anonymous]

16.43, a question for you: As a teen student in the 1980s, would you really have known whether or not your classmates parents were part of the 1980s version of "commercial class"? I was a teen then too, and TBH, except for the semi-famous ones, I couldn't have told you much about what my classmates parents did. I knew some of their professions (dentist, teacher, salesman for a food company, etc). But even for some of my better friends, I couldn't have told you then, and cannot tell you now, whether their dads (because it was almost all dads then) were big wheels or just regular office workers. For example, if a classmate had said "my dad is a consultant for hospitals," I wouldn't have known enough asked any questions beyond that, and would have no idea if that meant her dad helped supply bandages, or worked as an accountant, or was really a CEO for a healthcare conglomerate. Maybe it's possible there were a lot more "commercial class" types around than you realized, but you just didn't know enough about the particular industry to know? Maybe you were a lot more perceptive than I was?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The interesting thing is that GDS supposedly was the Obamas' top choice school. But the Secret Service basically vetoed it ...

GDS boosters love peddling that fiction.

Yes, still. It’s GDS urban legend.

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar boat as 16:43 and am pretty sure we would know each other IRL.

I think the only thing that changed, and this is true for Independent schools nationally, is amount of "money" in the parent community. But the overall tone of the school is the same as it has been since the 1970's by my impression.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it was popular WELL BEFORE Chelsea went there. In the 80s, it was very sought after as well, and i'm sure before that too. it's a good school.

yes, it was. But as PP said, the parent community has changed ENORMOUSLY. And not for the better.

NP. How would you know "the parent community has changed enormously ... and not for the better"? Surely you weren't a parent there in both the 1980s and now 30 years later, were you? Sounds to me like you're making shit up.

I'm not the PP you're addressing (I'm an all-new poster to this thread).

I agree that the overall parent community has changed enormously, and here is how I know this: I graduated SFS in the mid-80s and attended for 6 years. My child attends the school now. I'm as qualified as anyone posting on this thread to compare and contrast the "type" of parent whose kids attend SFS these days vs. 30 years ago.

And FWIW, in the 80s the school absolutely attracted the offspring of "DC celebrities" (elected officials, cabinet types, well-known journalists — ahem). The difference today is the exaggerated presence of what one PP called the 'commercial class.' Developers, eponymous consultants, Carlyle Group types. Note that I am intentionally not assigning value ranking to the respective parent bodies of 1980s and 2010s. But to suggest there wasn't a significant change is incorrect.

And the biggest historical donors to the school - Cafritz, Bernstein, Kogod, all with students in the school 30 years ago - made their wealth how? Oh that's right, real estate developers. I hate when facts contradict a nice story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it was popular WELL BEFORE Chelsea went there. In the 80s, it was very sought after as well, and i'm sure before that too. it's a good school.

yes, it was. But as PP said, the parent community has changed ENORMOUSLY. And not for the better.

NP. How would you know "the parent community has changed enormously ... and not for the better"? Surely you weren't a parent there in both the 1980s and now 30 years later, were you? Sounds to me like you're making shit up.

I'm not the PP you're addressing (I'm an all-new poster to this thread).

I agree that the overall parent community has changed enormously, and here is how I know this: I graduated SFS in the mid-80s and attended for 6 years. My child attends the school now. I'm as qualified as anyone posting on this thread to compare and contrast the "type" of parent whose kids attend SFS these days vs. 30 years ago.

And FWIW, in the 80s the school absolutely attracted the offspring of "DC celebrities" (elected officials, cabinet types, well-known journalists — ahem). The difference today is the exaggerated presence of what one PP called the 'commercial class.' Developers, eponymous consultants, Carlyle Group types. Note that I am intentionally not assigning value ranking to the respective parent bodies of 1980s and 2010s. But to suggest there wasn't a significant change is incorrect.

And the biggest historical donors to the school - Cafritz, Bernstein, Kogod, all with students in the school 30 years ago - made their wealth how? Oh that's right, real estate developers. I hate when facts contradict a nice story.

These three examples don't actually negate the point, but thank you