Why is SWS so white?
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Anonymous
I agree with you. The difference is that some (not all) Sws parents seem to think that being “joyful” is more important than all that. And they RAM it in the faces of those of us who need solid academics. Well that’s fine if you’re okay with mediocre academics and have the cash to supplement later on or pay for some expensive easy admit private college somewhere I suppose. However there are a lot of people who can’t afford mathnesium (like me for example) and are dependent on the school to do a good job teaching my kids. I’m super happy for the white parents who show off to their neighbors how they’re so super woke and belong to the white affinity group, but make no mistake- the resources and time wasted on making these white parents feel good is taken from resources which should be used to ensure a solid academic background for the kids. These parents could push for stronger academics instead of this nonsense. But then how could they brag about their wokeness at that ridiculous prom? |
Anonymous
I sometimes wonder if kids at SWS even experience school as uniquely “joyful.” Some kids find real “joy” is mastering hard things and are turned off by to much airy-fairiness. Those kids are just as likely to become jaded and cynical about school. And I’d say that “joy” has a bit of gendered aspect to it that might not resonate with a big part of the student population (read: boys in the main). “Hey son, what did you find “joyful” about school today?” Seriously?!?!? It’s fine to ask the question, but clueless to expect a serious response. I definitely get what you’re saying, but I’d wager that many parents would find that the marginally better academics at other schools they might have access to doesn’t outweigh the “joy” and “demographic” benefits of SWS. But to the extent they are hamstringing efforts to provide more rigorous academic opportunities for all, that is definitely problem (and frankly sick), especially if they have the luxury of giving their own kids sufficient supplemention (Mathnasium, AOPs, etc) to make up the difference. |
Anonymous
| SWS is the fifth worst DC school that teaches Black students while only 10% of them are at risk. By that measure they are the literal worst school for Black students. How are they even open??!! |
Anonymous
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I'm convinced there is a CH neighborhood campaign to disparage SWS so parents will send their kids to their IB schools. Any school can be picked apart. SWS is perfect for us, for all the reasons you love it and hate it. I'm a POC mom who doesn't necessarily trust any institution entirely with the instruction of my child. I would have supplemented regardless of where my child would have gone because no school is off-the-charts amazing in every way. Nobody is saying SWS is for everyone and nobody cares that Brent scored a few points higher on this or that. You're not bursting any bubbles with your innovative read on data readily available to all.
A couple of people are upset about prom. You could show up in your favorite target dress and no one would blink an eye. tickets are pay what you please. we donate our own wine and then drink it 'for free' at the bar. I'm glad my child goes to a school where parents have more spendable income. We cover the expenses of the many families who don't donate at all (and aren't pressured to). SWS is diverse. It is just not majority Black. It is approaching 30% Black (and growing), half 'white', 12% multiracial, 7% other. Keep in mind that "white" can be any kind of ethnicity that doesn't fall neatly into Black/White/Asian/Hispanic, including middle eastern, central asian and other people who don't identify as white but are categorized that way by our made-up definitions of race. Similarly, multiracial kids can also be Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. So half the school is non-white and the white portion is comprised of 'white' and other ethnicities, of which I am one. This is diverse. If a singular race is important to people, one could find a school that is more Black, more Hispanic, or more white. Some people complain that the school doesn't serve 'city kids', some that the school focuses too much on the Black experience. Some people can't stop complaining. Ask people what they like about SWS to get the full picture instead of assuming that every parent who sends their kids there is clueless. I won't list the pros here so I don't "RAM it in the faces of those who need solid academics." I guess SWS' kindness approach is rubbing off on me... |
Anonymous
Don’t worry, none of us thought your comment was remotely kind. I have a 5th grader, so no I’m not trying to trick anyone into enrolling in Brent. The point you missed above is that not everyone can afford to supplement (like me). So providing the worst education possible to your black and brown students while advertising yourself as some sort of super woke place is disgusting. |
Anonymous
I love a good SWS poster who rounds Black up to 30, white down to 50 and then lectures on how white means lots of different things... as though that only applies to white people at SWS and is remotely relevant to why a citywide school is drawing disproportionately white families compared even to their immediate neighbors. I do agree that it's silly to rag on SWS for the "prom" except maybe that they choose to call it that. This is the same auction event that every non-T1 DCPS school + some T1 schools have as their major fundraiser for the year. We use ours to pay for truly outlandish things like toilet paper, copy paper, field trips for kids who can't pay, free aftercare for kids who can't pay, etc. |
Anonymous
| SWS had sent 12 kids to MIT since it opened. |
Anonymous
| SWS is like Obama. Both too black and not black enough. They love black folks so much they don’t burden them with all that “book lernin.” |
Anonymous
Our neighbors had been telling us for weeks how they were getting ready for that "prom." It's like middle age people who fantasize about their upcoming HS reunion. |
Anonymous
Either your neighbors were part of the planning committee (in which case, yes, they probably were getting ready for weeks), or you're trolling. |
Anonymous
It seems that you're a SWS parent. If you're so frustrated with the money spent on kindred, please feel free to send out a survey to the whole school. I think you would be surprised at the amount of white parents ranking academics over kindred. During the last survey I ranked kindred at the bottom for receiving extra funds. Also, mathnasium is not only enrolled by SWS kids: Ludlow Taylor, Brent, Maury, Capitol Day School, Saint Peter. While I hear that you can't afford it, it seems that at all the schools there will always be parents supplementing. |
Anonymous
| There was a time when men could be men. SWS has put an end to all that. |
Anonymous
I echo the sentiment that a lot of white parents are fed up with Kindred too. We also ranked it last in that survey they sent out about priorities. I want SWS to be more academic. I want my kids to get homework and do math in the last two months of school. It's hard to speak out about the focus on race beyond surveys though - imagine being the white parent at a school with affinity groups that speaks out against them... |
Anonymous
Another parent who ranked kindred last on the survey. It would be really interesting to see the results of that survey... |
Anonymous
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My primary resentment towards SWS is not that it's not black enough, too black, or doesn't teach kids.
It's that it's impossible to get into and you basically have to luck into it, and then looks down on us for sending our kid to our IB DCPS (which isn't Maury/Brent/L-T, we cannot afford to live IB for one of those schools). I get tired of hearing about the "SWS approach" because it's not something available to me as a family because we could not lottery in. I feel the same way about the Montessori schools and the immersion schools and the "good" DCPS schools. My kid goes to an okay DCPS that serves a large population of at risk kids, and we deal with all the challenges that come along with that. We've struck out in the lottery repeatedly. I wish people at SWS and these other schools would just learn to SHUT UP about how great their school is, and that we could focus on doing something about the many people in this city with kids attending schools that can't raise a ton of money via the PTO, have to deal with DCPS stupidity every day, have no leeway in curriculum, and generally just kind of limp along. Congrats, you won the lottery. Go away now. |