How good is Maret?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps consider the size of these schools if you're looking at the number of kids getting recognition? Some have class sizes of 50-ish, others 200. Simple math.

And what about the ones who duck the test because scoring high enough for NMSF is hard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many families chose Maret because they wanted a good academic program without the overwhelming workload of GDS or Sidwell. In our K–8 community, another big factor that parents and kids said yes aside from the less homework was the smaller class sizes. Not every child thrives in large cohorts or intense social environments.

Maret feels similar to Field and Burke in that sense — and we hope it never grows to 150 students per grade. The homework load is manageable, and the current 9th-grade class is truly fantastic.

It’s true that some kids have left for various reasons, and the school has made some errors and even dealt with staffers but many simply wanted a bigger, more varied social scene. Maret isn’t trying to be one of the “Big 3,” and honestly, if it were farther from the city, it might not have the same draw. In our Northwest neighborhood, almost everyone has it on their list — largely because the commute is so convenient.

Thanks for laying out the pros and cons transparently. Not sure why some parents want to claim that Maret is better than other private schools in all dimensions.

I see most Maret families saying they are happy that it doesn’t have the workload of Sidwell/NCS/STA vs saying they are better than them.

Giving busy work does not mean the school is better. It just means there is more homework with no correlation to mastering the subject. Like a gerbil on a wheel in a cage.

How can you be sure other schools assign “busywork”? Could it be deep work that enhances critical thinking and you just don’t know?

It’s call experience with kids who have gone through both types of school. Busy work does not increase critical thinking. Cling to your beliefs about homework load and rigor. College/university courses will cover more material and in great depth vs any advanced course in high school and with less homework. Funny how that works!

Shrug. Neither my kid nor his parents thought the ass-kicking expectations at Sidwell US were makework. Like, almost none. Hopefully that’s the case at Maret too

Shrug. The same results can be had with a much more pleasant experience. If you are doing busy work 3-4 hours a day, weekends and over holiday there is not much time for anything else.

I just told you that it wasn’t busywork. And “the results” are actually not the same when you compare the tiers of DC schools. Including college matriculation, yes, but especially when you zoom out a handful of years after HS graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret HS parent here- this is our experience
Pros)
College outcomes are very strong but with less homework and pressure than NCS/Sidwell etc.

They seem to select "nice" families - everyone we have met has been very down to earth and relatable. Lots of people who are not supremely wealthy but who are making sacrifices to send their kids to private, (as well as many who are not.)

Your kid can push as hard or as little as they want and the school is supportive. The bar for achievement is high, but it's also ok for kids who don't want to go that route because there are alternatives.

Cons)
Facilities aren't great. If this is something that matters to you, it will be a big turn off.

Some things are a black box. I believe this is a holdover from the last HOS who make it all work in the background, but there's a lack of transparency and communication. There should be a clear set of policies and guidelines that everyone can follow.

Agree with this. Recent teacher firings are part of the black box. It’s not clear which policy was violated and if the school is taking additional step to prevent further incidents in the future. They prefer to hide the incidents so parents think that the school is perfect. I thinks that’s an old fashion approach that no longer works.

It's a personnel issue. Look up some HR laws and you'll understand why they can't share. It's to protect all parties. They aren't hiding anything to look perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret HS parent here- this is our experience
Pros)
College outcomes are very strong but with less homework and pressure than NCS/Sidwell etc.

They seem to select "nice" families - everyone we have met has been very down to earth and relatable. Lots of people who are not supremely wealthy but who are making sacrifices to send their kids to private, (as well as many who are not.)

Your kid can push as hard or as little as they want and the school is supportive. The bar for achievement is high, but it's also ok for kids who don't want to go that route because there are alternatives.

Cons)
Facilities aren't great. If this is something that matters to you, it will be a big turn off.

Some things are a black box. I believe this is a holdover from the last HOS who make it all work in the background, but there's a lack of transparency and communication. There should be a clear set of policies and guidelines that everyone can follow.

Agree with this. Recent teacher firings are part of the black box. It’s not clear which policy was violated and if the school is taking additional step to prevent further incidents in the future. They prefer to hide the incidents so parents think that the school is perfect. I thinks that’s an old fashion approach that no longer works.

It's a personnel issue. Look up some HR laws and you'll understand why they can't share. It's to protect all parties. They aren't hiding anything to look perfect.

Doesn’t matter. People know anyway, like the math teacher that physically attacked a student in a bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those with hooked kids are not really interested in the National Merit Scholarship.

So every kid in Maret is "hooked" and doesn't need a scholarship? That's an interesting way to describe your student body (to me, it sounds more like sour grapes.)

That’s one option, another possibility is poor quality of education, which seems more plausible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps consider the size of these schools if you're looking at the number of kids getting recognition? Some have class sizes of 50-ish, others 200. Simple math.

Exactly why Basis McLean is so impressive. Nearly half of all seniors made the cut here. Best in the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps consider the size of these schools if you're looking at the number of kids getting recognition? Some have class sizes of 50-ish, others 200. Simple math.

And what about the ones who duck the test because scoring high enough for NMSF is hard?

+1. College admissions data for several universities (ex Brown) show that once testing optional is dropped, the average SAT test score drops. Students don’t duck testing because they’re very good at it.

[Anonymous]

We toured Maret (considering it for upper school along with other co-ed private HSs.) My child and I could not wait to get out of there. So many red flags. (Overzealous admissions and student guide felt insincere and unhappy.) We were quite surprised given the reputation. I would not pay to send my child there. (What we saw of the lower school was also odd. We didn’t tour, but kids seemed somber and way too quiet.)

Also, I’m not picky about shiny/new/upscale facilities, but it is like Maret’s building was designed to keep OUT light. That combined with teachers in crocs and cut off sweatpants, narrow hallways, low ceilings, lots of grey, it was not a space that said “bring your best”. Not for us, despite the reputation and possible academic rigor.

Tour (Maret and others) before you apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured Maret (considering it for upper school along with other co-ed private HSs.) My child and I could not wait to get out of there. So many red flags. (Overzealous admissions and student guide felt insincere and unhappy.) We were quite surprised given the reputation. I would not pay to send my child there. (What we saw of the lower school was also odd. We didn’t tour, but kids seemed somber and way too quiet.)

Also, I’m not picky about shiny/new/upscale facilities, but it is like Maret’s building was designed to keep OUT light. That combined with teachers in crocs and cut off sweatpants, narrow hallways, low ceilings, lots of grey, it was not a space that said “bring your best”. Not for us, despite the reputation and possible academic rigor.

Tour (Maret and others) before you apply.

That’s the tip of the iceberg. Read the thread “mad at the board”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured Maret (considering it for upper school along with other co-ed private HSs.) My child and I could not wait to get out of there. So many red flags. (Overzealous admissions and student guide felt insincere and unhappy.) We were quite surprised given the reputation. I would not pay to send my child there. (What we saw of the lower school was also odd. We didn’t tour, but kids seemed somber and way too quiet.)

Also, I’m not picky about shiny/new/upscale facilities, but it is like Maret’s building was designed to keep OUT light. That combined with teachers in crocs and cut off sweatpants, narrow hallways, low ceilings, lots of grey, it was not a space that said “bring your best”. Not for us, despite the reputation and possible academic rigor.

Tour (Maret and others) before you apply.

We toured as well and were impressed with the campus. Our student guide answered our questions and struck us sincere and engaged. Interestingly though, I, too, noticed casual dress (too casual) among some faculty, leaving me a bit disappointed. Professional dress indicates seriousness of purpose and commitment to the welfare of other people's children. Is the principal on top of this? While this one observation didn't permanently remove Maret from our list of possibilities, it is not one we're considering right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured Maret (considering it for upper school along with other co-ed private HSs.) My child and I could not wait to get out of there. So many red flags. (Overzealous admissions and student guide felt insincere and unhappy.) We were quite surprised given the reputation. I would not pay to send my child there. (What we saw of the lower school was also odd. We didn’t tour, but kids seemed somber and way too quiet.)

Also, I’m not picky about shiny/new/upscale facilities, but it is like Maret’s building was designed to keep OUT light. That combined with teachers in crocs and cut off sweatpants, narrow hallways, low ceilings, lots of grey, it was not a space that said “bring your best”. Not for us, despite the reputation and possible academic rigor.

Tour (Maret and others) before you apply.

We toured as well and were impressed with the campus. Our student guide answered our questions and struck us sincere and engaged. Interestingly though, I, too, noticed casual dress (too casual) among some faculty, leaving me a bit disappointed. Professional dress indicates seriousness of purpose and commitment to the welfare of other people's children. Is the principal on top of this? While this one observation didn't permanently remove Maret from our list of possibilities, it is not one we're considering right now.

I wonder if some of the informal dress are athletics people. The small campus lends itself to such cross-pollination.

That being said, Maret is notoriously informal, so if that's a major sticking point for you, it isn't the right school for your family.

Similarly, the physical facilities are not up to par with many other DMV peer schools. One would expect now that they bought a field, that doing some renovations to their campus will be in the strategic plan.

[Anonymous]

Well, this is not made up but my child once told me that the librarian came with a t shirt saying “I love women”. While I am ok with that outside school, I am not ok during school hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, this is not made up but my child once told me that the librarian came with a t shirt saying “I love women”. While I am ok with that outside school, I am not ok during school hours.

Overt feminism at Maret is also not a surprise. Likely not a problem for most of the people in the community either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many families chose Maret because they wanted a good academic program without the overwhelming workload of GDS or Sidwell. In our K–8 community, another big factor that parents and kids said yes aside from the less homework was the smaller class sizes. Not every child thrives in large cohorts or intense social environments.

Maret feels similar to Field and Burke in that sense — and we hope it never grows to 150 students per grade. The homework load is manageable, and the current 9th-grade class is truly fantastic.

It’s true that some kids have left for various reasons, and the school has made some errors and even dealt with staffers but many simply wanted a bigger, more varied social scene. Maret isn’t trying to be one of the “Big 3,” and honestly, if it were farther from the city, it might not have the same draw. In our Northwest neighborhood, almost everyone has it on their list — largely because the commute is so convenient.

Thanks for laying out the pros and cons transparently. Not sure why some parents want to claim that Maret is better than other private schools in all dimensions.

I see most Maret families saying they are happy that it doesn’t have the workload of Sidwell/NCS/STA vs saying they are better than them.

Giving busy work does not mean the school is better. It just means there is more homework with no correlation to mastering the subject. Like a gerbil on a wheel in a cage.

How can you be sure other schools assign “busywork”? Could it be deep work that enhances critical thinking and you just don’t know?

It’s call experience with kids who have gone through both types of school. Busy work does not increase critical thinking. Cling to your beliefs about homework load and rigor. College/university courses will cover more material and in great depth vs any advanced course in high school and with less homework. Funny how that works!

Shrug. Neither my kid nor his parents thought the ass-kicking expectations at Sidwell US were makework. Like, almost none. Hopefully that’s the case at Maret too

Shrug. The same results can be had with a much more pleasant experience. If you are doing busy work 3-4 hours a day, weekends and over holiday there is not much time for anything else.

I just told you that it wasn’t busywork. And “the results” are actually not the same when you compare the tiers of DC schools. Including college matriculation, yes, but especially when you zoom out a handful of years after HS graduation.

Well we told you it is busy work NS the results are actually better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured Maret (considering it for upper school along with other co-ed private HSs.) My child and I could not wait to get out of there. So many red flags. (Overzealous admissions and student guide felt insincere and unhappy.) We were quite surprised given the reputation. I would not pay to send my child there. (What we saw of the lower school was also odd. We didn’t tour, but kids seemed somber and way too quiet.)

Also, I’m not picky about shiny/new/upscale facilities, but it is like Maret’s building was designed to keep OUT light. That combined with teachers in crocs and cut off sweatpants, narrow hallways, low ceilings, lots of grey, it was not a space that said “bring your best”. Not for us, despite the reputation and possible academic rigor.

Tour (Maret and others) before you apply.

We toured as well and were impressed with the campus. Our student guide answered our questions and struck us sincere and engaged. Interestingly though, I, too, noticed casual dress (too casual) among some faculty, leaving me a bit disappointed. Professional dress indicates seriousness of purpose and commitment to the welfare of other people's children. Is the principal on top of this? While this one observation didn't permanently remove Maret from our list of possibilities, it is not one we're considering right now.

I wonder if some of the informal dress are athletics people. The small campus lends itself to such cross-pollination.

That being said, Maret is notoriously informal, so if that's a major sticking point for you, it isn't the right school for your family.

Similarly, the physical facilities are not up to par with many other DMV peer schools. One would expect now that they bought a field, that doing some renovations to their campus will be in the strategic plan.

Our DD attends Maret and loves her teachers. While on campus a few weeks ago, I noticed things seemed a little lax (sartorially speaking) among classroom (non-athletic) faculty. The casual vibe attracted us to the school, and it still does to a large degree. However, I was not comfortable with t-shirts and sweats. I'm all for paying teachers higher salaries, as they are the ones who have my DD's best interests, but is it too much to ask them to maintain a higher standard of presentation?