Bullis school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a few of the kids going to Bullis, I truly question what their math and English scores are. What Bullis is doing is soo wrong on soo many levels. Their new headmaster seems with obsessed with building a football and basketball program with recruiting any star athlete they can find off the street. If you don't think their academic standards have dropped because of this, you are clearly delusional.

You don't know their scores you just assume they are low because they are good at sports.

We heard from our educational consultant that if Bullis wanted the kid for sports, they did not have to take the SSAT at all as long as they had a "B" average from the school they were coming from.

And I know a kid that was being underserved at his school. His parents went mid year to Bullis, did the tour/interview with the staff. Explained that their "A" student was unhappy, lost and losing interest in their local well regarded public school that all his siblings attended and were well served.

It all came down to his test score - which he aced. He is now a happy and engaged A student.

Somebody on another post said that multiple antecdotes don't equal data or something like that.

I am not saying that is every situation and I believe that Bullis can probaby educated a student with learning challenges better than most school so maybe they do accept kids with all learning differences. But maybe it's because they are better at educating not worse.

Maybe they found a niche in the market - high IQ minor learning disabilities - because MoCo certainly can't educate those kids. Not without a lawyer.

You are missing the point of what many are saying. We are not discussing whether Bullis is good for educating kids with learning issues. If people with kids are finding it a place for that great. What is also going on there is that Bullis is on a tear through MoCo to recruit any kid they feel will benefit their football, lacrosse or basketball teams. Doesn't matter what their scores are, what they did behaviorally or even if they are seniors. When you are pursuing that strategy, it is hard to argue that Bullis is also taking their academics seriously.

[Anonymous]

You have no clue if they care about scores all you have is some educational specialist telling you that they don't look at test scores. You have no clue why a senior switch schools or what behvioral issues a child has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have no clue if they care about scores all you have is some educational specialist telling you that they don't look at test scores. You have no clue why a senior switch schools or what behvioral issues a child has.

Knowing the kids that switched there I do have a clue. The private school community is really small and it becomes pretty apparent why kids are going to a certain school or being asked to leave their current school and where they end up. Educational Consultants work with lots of clients and when your clients start having issues with a school or see things happening in a particular school community, it doesn't take much for the reputation to get out.

You can stick your head in the sand and chose not to believe it but that is your choice. I am guessing you are a Bullis parent which is why you are so defensive. If I was paying $30,000 + to go to a private school, I would be too.

[Anonymous]

Having moved kids from one private to another I can tell you nobody knows the real reason. There is the reason I tell them and the real reason. The reason I tell them usually makes them feel better about their school that I just left. It's often self deprecating. It is just a common courtesy.

I know educational specialists and they only know as much as their few clients tell them on any given year. The good educational specialists will tell you it is always a best guess and that it is a moving target.

They can tell you what your kids strengths and weeknesses are - they can tell you the types of schools that are good for your specific child, they can point you in a general directions - then it is up to the parent to do a lot of research, open houses, talking to faculty and talking to current parents in their particular situtation.

Admission directors will even tell you about the particular year you are applying for - what the dynamic is - because it is even different for each graduation class. That is why the shadow day is so important - though often you shadow the year older than you unless you are moving mid-stream.

I am just don't like misinformation being posted for people that are trying to make decisions about schools. This forum in particular has become impossible to get any real information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having moved kids from one private to another I can tell you nobody knows the real reason. There is the reason I tell them and the real reason. The reason I tell them usually makes them feel better about their school that I just left. It's often self deprecating. It is just a common courtesy.

I know educational specialists and they only know as much as their few clients tell them on any given year. The good educational specialists will tell you it is always a best guess and that it is a moving target.

They can tell you what your kids strengths and weeknesses are - they can tell you the types of schools that are good for your specific child, they can point you in a general directions - then it is up to the parent to do a lot of research, open houses, talking to faculty and talking to current parents in their particular situtation.

Admission directors will even tell you about the particular year you are applying for - what the dynamic is - because it is even different for each graduation class. That is why the shadow day is so important - though often you shadow the year older than you unless you are moving mid-stream.

I am just don't like misinformation being posted for people that are trying to make decisions about schools. This forum in particular has become impossible to get any real information.

Sorry but that may be your experience. For many other kids that "transfer" the reason is obvious and known to the people at the school, there is only so much you can hide certain situations.

[Anonymous]

For the poster that bashed "flipped classrooms": you are simply wrong.

[Anonymous]

Don't believe everything you hear on the street.

I have know so many kids "transfered" - it's been going on since I was in private school oh so many moons ago.

I actually had a friend who thought he was expelled from his school but his dad just transfered him to kick him in the ass and get him "motivated" to work harder. Next step was military academy. He even thought he was expelled until he was 25. His dad was like, "we never told you that you were NOT expelled" so many kids that catholic mafia, sometime they lose track.

[Anonymous]

You are missing the point of what many are saying. We are not discussing whether Bullis is good for educating kids with learning issues. If people with kids are finding it a place for that great. What is also going on there is that Bullis is on a tear through MoCo to recruit any kid they feel will benefit their football, lacrosse or basketball teams. Doesn't matter what their scores are, what they did behaviorally or even if they are seniors. When you are pursuing that strategy, it is hard to argue that Bullis is also taking their academics seriously.


Bullis has never been highly regarded as a top academic high schools on this DCUM board (for what it's worth). Assuming what has been stated anonymously is true, what's the big deal? DC-area private schools recruit athletes all of the time: this is nothing new. Bullis has been around forever and isn't going anywhere when you have a demographic that will pay $30k+ for smaller class sizes in Potomac. If it eventually develops a reputation as a place where students can get recruited to D1 schools for athletics, then even better. After Sidwell, STA, and NCS, there's a big drop in terms of elite academic high schools. Every other school has to find its niche to justify the large tuition bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a few of the kids going to Bullis, I truly question what their math and English scores are. What Bullis is doing is soo wrong on soo many levels. Their new headmaster seems with obsessed with building a football and basketball program with recruiting any star athlete they can find off the street. If you don't think their academic standards have dropped because of this, you are clearly delusional.

You don't know their scores you just assume they are low because they are good at sports.

We heard from our educational consultant that if Bullis wanted the kid for sports, they did not have to take the SSAT at all as long as they had a "B" average from the school they were coming from.

This is basically accurate -- per some in the Bullis community -- but can't confirm it is only used for athletes (although that appears to be how it has been playing out).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a few of the kids going to Bullis, I truly question what their math and English scores are. What Bullis is doing is soo wrong on soo many levels. Their new headmaster seems with obsessed with building a football and basketball program with recruiting any star athlete they can find off the street. If you don't think their academic standards have dropped because of this, you are clearly delusional.

You don't know their scores you just assume they are low because they are good at sports.

We heard from our educational consultant that if Bullis wanted the kid for sports, they did not have to take the SSAT at all as long as they had a "B" average from the school they were coming from.

This is basically accurate -- per some in the Bullis community -- but can't confirm it is only used for athletes (although that appears to be how it has been playing out).

Bullis:
•Applicants to grades 6 through 12 are required to take either the SSAT, or the ISEE or the ERB.

St. Albans:
For all other applicants, students must submit either the SSAT or ISEE by January 22. Either test is acceptable. Students should register for either test in the fall--the test must be taken by early January for the Admissions Office to receive it by January 22.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a few of the kids going to Bullis, I truly question what their math and English scores are. What Bullis is doing is soo wrong on soo many levels. Their new headmaster seems with obsessed with building a football and basketball program with recruiting any star athlete they can find off the street. If you don't think their academic standards have dropped because of this, you are clearly delusional.

You don't know their scores you just assume they are low because they are good at sports.

We heard from our educational consultant that if Bullis wanted the kid for sports, they did not have to take the SSAT at all as long as they had a "B" average from the school they were coming from.

This is basically accurate -- per some in the Bullis community -- but can't confirm it is only used for athletes (although that appears to be how it has been playing out).

Bullis:
•Applicants to grades 6 through 12 are required to take either the SSAT, or the ISEE or the ERB.



You are so clever. Going on the website and seeing what they "officially" say. This is private school. Schools can do whatever they want behind the scenes. Applicants that don't quite measure up get in to schools all the time. Big Donors, siblings, recruited athletes, alumni kids, famous parents. In any private school you can look around and see kids that if they had to get in like the "regular" applicants would not even make it past the first round.

St. Albans:
For all other applicants, students must submit either the SSAT or ISEE by January 22. Either test is acceptable. Students should register for either test in the fall--the test must be taken by early January for the Admissions Office to receive it by January 22.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:a few of the kids going to Bullis, I truly question what their math and English scores are. What Bullis is doing is soo wrong on soo many levels. Their new headmaster seems with obsessed with building a football and basketball program with recruiting any star athlete they can find off the street. If you don't think their academic standards have dropped because of this, you are clearly delusional.

You don't know their scores you just assume they are low because they are good at sports.

We heard from our educational consultant that if Bullis wanted the kid for sports, they did not have to take the SSAT at all as long as they had a "B" average from the school they were coming from.

This is basically accurate -- per some in the Bullis community -- but can't confirm it is only used for athletes (although that appears to be how it has been playing out).

Bullis:
•Applicants to grades 6 through 12 are required to take either the SSAT, or the ISEE or the ERB.

St. Albans:
For all other applicants, students must submit either the SSAT or ISEE by January 22. Either test is acceptable. Students should register for either test in the fall--the test must be taken by early January for the Admissions Office to receive it by January 22.

That may be what is written on the website but the new Head of School has given the go-ahead for students with a 3.0 from the prior school to apply to Bullis WITHOUT taking the SSAT. The Bullis coaches will tell you this fairly openly.

[Anonymous]

Bullis is similar to Division I schools in that admission information only applies to students that are not athletic recruits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As they say in the business world, Perception is Reality. Bullis has and will always be viewed as the school parents send their kid if they dont get into any other school.

Yea like when the perception was that all the black kids at private school are playing sports or the current perception that all the black kids are on financial aid. Your perception might actually NOT be reality.

+1 It would appear that Bullis is just too much "the other" in many respects for many posters on this site.

[Anonymous]

The enrollment at Bullis is at a record high...they are adding sections and teachers at all levels grades 3-12. What seems odd on this thread is that so many posters focus on the few high school transfers that join the school. It is true that the school picked up students from Landon, St. Johns, Prep, St. Andrews, Field School, McLean, Sidwell, and Holton this year, and I venture to guess that each of these students had a different reason for making the switch. But there's no way you can argue that the the 20 new 7th graders (many from MoCo public schools, JDS and Norwood) are football recruits or that they added a section of 5th grade to boost the basketball program. Yes, the football team is 3-0, but so is Field Hockey. Come visit...Bullis is incredibly multidimensional and the right pick for so many kids.