Please tell me about Potomac School
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Anonymous
| We are considering it for our rising K boy. Could any Potomac parents tell me about the community, the families, the acadmics, the kids? Any non-Potomac parents who can tell me what they don't like about it? Thank you. |
Anonymous
| We are also considering it for our rising K boy. I recommend searching for it- there are many threads about the school. |
Anonymous
Thanks. I did search and found a lot of non-specific "great school" comments or "WL for K -- boy" responses. i was looking for something newer and more substantive. |
Anonymous
There's one called "Potomac-- spill the beans" or something along those lines that is very informative. |
Anonymous
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We have been a Potomac family for over 15 years - all three of our children are "lifers" (one has graduated, two in US). Obviously, we value everything the school has offered - the arts are strong, academics are rigorous, athletics are very strong in some sports, college preparation is top-notch. Most importantly. however, is that the students are, for the most part, HAPPY. The social scene is age appropriate (no middle school parties!), diversity among students and faculty is highly valued (some same-sex families, fairly strong number of gay teachers and administrators, gay-straight student club, students of color are represented but only to the degree that a day school in Mclean, which has a low percentage of black and hispanic families, can attract and retain students of color). That said, they hold an annual open house for Black prospective families and certainly celebrate diversity in all of its forms. Not many Jewish families, I don't think.
The campus is stunning and two new renovations are under way. We have found the parent body to be very supportive and kind. I am trying to think of negatives but have nothing significant to offer. There was some administrative turn-over but my children were past those divisions. I know that the new Lower and Middle School Heads are very well-reguarded. One unique feature of Potomac is that the 7th and 8th graders are given their own division - a wonderful way to deal with that challenging age  and to prepare them for Upper School. Lots and lots of meaningful traditions.
We have been very happy at Potomac! |
Anonymous
| We are another happy Potomac family with two kids who are in middle school. They both started in kindergarten. I echo everything the previous poster said. Please post if you have specific questions. |
Anonymous
| Upper school family: how are students who enter in the 9th grade received? Are there many new 9th grade students? How cliquish is the US? Would a somewhat shy girl not interested (particularly) in sports do well there? How much academic pressure is placed on US students? |
Anonymous
| We went to several lacrosse games there and found adults to to be smoking on campus - very strange if you ask me.... |
Anonymous
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17:42 here: I think students new to the Upper School are quite warmly welcomed. My three children are all different in personalities and interests and they have rarely, if ever, felt excluded - very little talk of cliques. And there are lots of nice traditions to incorporate new students (all freshman get a senior buddy starting the summer before 9th grade; 9th grade takes a 2 night/3 day bonding trip in September, 9th grade Homecoming dinner on campus for the entire class) - pre-season sports helps to meet new people so even if your daughter is not an athlete it may make sense to play a less competitive sport in the fall just to do pre-season. But really, I have heard very little talk of exclusion from my three girls. There is very little attrition so the class is usually VERY excited to have new faces join them!
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Anonymous
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PP just realizing that I did not address two concerns of previous poster. There are usually between 15-20 new students for 9th grade (I think).
It is academically rigorous. But there is also a ton of support for students. I have to believe that if your daughter applies and is accepted it is because the admissions department (director of admissions has been there almost 30 years!) believes that she is capable of the work. |
Anonymous
| And it is a non-smoking campus. I am thinking that whoever was smoking was most likely from the visiting team - but even still...they should have known better. |
Anonymous
| Director of Admissions being there 30 years is not always a good thing. She can be prickly and unpleasant. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous]And it is a non-smoking campus. I am thinking that whoever was smoking was most likely from the visiting team - but even still...they should have known better.[/quote]
Unless being a non-smoking family is a requirement for admission then your assertion is absurd. And one should certainly hope the school is not prying into the legal habits of prospective families. That would be even more absurd. And I have never smoke nor do I expect to take up the filthy habit. |
Anonymous
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And it is a non-smoking campus. I am thinking that whoever was smoking was most likely from the visiting team - but even still...they should have known better.[/quote]
Unless being a non-smoking family is a requirement for admission then your assertion is absurd. And one should certainly hope the school is not prying into the legal habits of prospective families. That would be even more absurd. And I have never smoke nor do I expect to take up the filthy habit. [/quote] the person wasn't saying that no one at Potomac smokes, just that no one is allowed to smoke on Potomac's campus. |
Anonymous
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We thought long and hard about Potomac. Similar to some of the postings, we heard fairly good to very good things about the school and invesitaged for ourselves.
However, we too had an unpleasant experience with the Director of Admissions who was not at all friendly. In fact, at the prospective family receiption, she sood right next to us and we had to initiate the conversation! I thought at least we'd get a "welcome to our school"...we didnt' even get a hello. There have been numerous complaints about her. Big turn off for us. We moved on. |