Will Whittle be around next year?

[Anonymous]

MS student, are any of your classmates returning next year or did everyone apply out to other schools? Wishing you all the best!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MS student, are any of your classmates returning next year or did everyone apply out to other schools? Wishing you all the best!

I cannot speak 100% for my classmates but a great number are leaving(I suspect more than half). While in MS it’s way easier to apply out for the next grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 to documentary. Sounds like CW is an Anna Delvey type

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Anna Sorokhin, the real person, made money from a documentary deal about her life. I suspect that this is the only way that CW can make money. His for-profit school enterprise is pretty much over. His scam or sham will uncover completely soon.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a secondary school student at WSS (won't say MS or US). My child will also not be returning for the next school year. Way too many lies told by CW and his minions. CW has no interest in education or in the well-being of the students and teachers. He is a serial liar and grifter. Back in Spring 2019, I was told that the DC campus was 90% complete, which was a lie. The students had to go to school in an unfinished building, and still to this day, maybe only one pod is occupied. There was a lie about lunches. Just like the MS student said, we were promised chef-made meals for the students. In the school's early Instagram posts, there was even a post about the importance of healthy school lunches. After the start of school did we find out that there was no cafeteria kitchen. Oh another thing, I found it strange that there was no library for an expensive private school. The school's lame statement was that because there is a public library nearby, there was no need for a school library. Excuse me, in DC, public libraries are basically day-time recreational centers for dangerous mentally deranged homeless people.

Just can't deal with CW anymore! Literally the only way to save the school is to kick CW out, rename the school, and being in a new executive team. I feel bad for the students, but I feel worse for the teachers. I hope both the students and teachers have arrangements after June.

[Anonymous]

I want to add that in the beginning of the school year, there was no Upper School head for around a couple months because Valmir Gomes had visa issues, which prevented him from entering the U.S.

[Anonymous]

A direct copy and paste from the April 27 family newsletter:

Important and Very Good News:

Lastly, I would like to mention that on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security approved Whittle School & Studios to issue I-20 visas to students from outside of the United States. This means that we can now recruit students globally and that they do not need to hold a US Passport (a previous restriction).

This has hugely positive implications for our future enrollment growth. (COVID delayed this by almost two years such that we could only accept US passport holders.)

We can now immediately begin recruiting and accepting students from overseas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: A direct copy and paste from the April 27 family newsletter:

Important and Very Good News:

Lastly, I would like to mention that on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security approved Whittle School & Studios to issue I-20 visas to students from outside of the United States. This means that we can now recruit students globally and that they do not need to hold a US Passport (a previous restriction).

This has hugely positive implications for our future enrollment growth. (COVID delayed this by almost two years such that we could only accept US passport holders.)

We can now immediately begin recruiting and accepting students from overseas

This should be public information and easily verifiable. Things are on the uprising!

[Anonymous]

Wow, i hope families from other countries do their due diligence! Can you imagine the nightmare, thinking you're sending your kid off to some great school in another country, thousands of dollars, turning down other opportunities, only to discover this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, i hope families from other countries do their due diligence! Can you imagine the nightmare, thinking you're sending your kid off to some great school in another country, thousands of dollars, turning down other opportunities, only to discover this?

Yes. Add to all the smoke and mirrors another level of difficulty--a potential language barrier--and I wonder if they stand a chance.

I don't wish the current students or teachers ill, but I really think this can't go on much longer. I don't know anything about the process of being approved to accept I-20 students, but I wonder if WSS has come by that approval honestly. I just did a quick search, and this stood out as far as requirements:

"The school has the necessary facilities, adequate finances and qualified personnel required to teach and operate the program." (https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/schools/apply/getting-started-with-sevp-certification)

It'd be a shame if someone were to poke around some more and discover that they really don't qualify. If I recall correctly, it was recently mentioned that they'd run out of money at one point to feed their boarders. (Never mind the millions they owe to contractors, etc.) And even the "qualified personnel required to teach and operate the program" sounds questionable, if DCUM reports are to be believed.

I'm wondering if the COVID delay cited in the email wasn't a blessing in disguise for CW and company. I assume their financial picture, now, is significantly less rosy than it was when they started the process. I'd like to think the government has done its due diligence in having them update their application, but that seems like a definite "if."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to documentary. Sounds like CW is an Anna Delvey type

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Anna Sorokhin, the real person, made money from a documentary deal about her life. I suspect that this is the only way that CW can make money. His for-profit school enterprise is pretty much over. His scam or sham will uncover completely soon.

I think a poster somewhere above was onto something when she said WSS was a way for CW to plaster his name on beautiful buildings.

He had managed to grift money for himself, but kept getting kicked out of his house-of-cards projects, especially Avenues.

So, I suspect, as an injured narcissist, he launched into WSS, exploiting contemporary fads (eg, Chinese) but with the fundamentals out of whack — star-level architect and chef but no money left for books and art supplies…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a secondary school student at WSS (won't say MS or US). My child will also not be returning for the next school year. Way too many lies told by CW and his minions. CW has no interest in education or in the well-being of the students and teachers. He is a serial liar and grifter. Back in Spring 2019, I was told that the DC campus was 90% complete, which was a lie. The students had to go to school in an unfinished building, and still to this day, maybe only one pod is occupied. There was a lie about lunches. Just like the MS student said, we were promised chef-made meals for the students. In the school's early Instagram posts, there was even a post about the importance of healthy school lunches. After the start of school did we find out that there was no cafeteria kitchen. Oh another thing, I found it strange that there was no library for an expensive private school. The school's lame statement was that because there is a public library nearby, there was no need for a school library. Excuse me, in DC, public libraries are basically day-time recreational centers for dangerous mentally deranged homeless people.

Just can't deal with CW anymore! Literally the only way to save the school is to kick CW out, rename the school, and being in a new executive team. I feel bad for the students, but I feel worse for the teachers. I hope both the students and teachers have arrangements after June.

The Cleveland Park library is full of a range of books and helpful librarians. It is safe and the homeless people who may spend time there are overwhelmingly harmless. While they may suffer from mental illness, they are not "deranged."

You can complain about Whittle without insulting other people.

[Anonymous]

Now the international students are going to save the day, huh?! Please.

Also, thank you PP for calling out the person making derogatory, tasteless comments about people who are homeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MS student here. It was an excellent experience academically and friendship wise but let’s just say that I’m glad to go-enough is enough. Most of us are going to near by independent schools that we had to apply to three weeks prior the deadline!! When CW was talking to us, that was my last straw. The constant gorgeous pictures of buildings with a bad foundational plan is crazy. Also, the fact that new families will be recruited through real estate agents(doing the same teacher trick-get people who are coming from afar and have no knowledge about what's going on...) is unsettling. I can't believe that months ago, we couldn’t pay our teachers, and the only main reason our school was able to open after winter break was because of the good parent community. The wifi sucks, and so does the water, we have to bring our own food when we were promised a Michelin chef(which was strange) and don’t have money for essential material resources(art supplies, books, etc.), but it’s AOKAY because we have a new campus in Suzhou and Cyprus!!!! This honesty needs to be a documentary.

US student here — this post is spot on. I’ll add that the Art, Drama and Music classes are truly a sh*tshow, with a severe lack of materials in all classes and a drama teacher who simply does not engage with the kids and teaches the class like a college history course. We’ve been on two X-Days the whole year. The food was abysmal and I’m glad it’s gone. Despite what that one student says a dozen or so pages back, I’m glad the situation is being brought into the light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MS student here. It was an excellent experience academically and friendship wise but let’s just say that I’m glad to go-enough is enough. Most of us are going to near by independent schools that we had to apply to three weeks prior the deadline!! When CW was talking to us, that was my last straw. The constant gorgeous pictures of buildings with a bad foundational plan is crazy. Also, the fact that new families will be recruited through real estate agents(doing the same teacher trick-get people who are coming from afar and have no knowledge about what's going on...) is unsettling. I can't believe that months ago, we couldn’t pay our teachers, and the only main reason our school was able to open after winter break was because of the good parent community. The wifi sucks, and so does the water, we have to bring our own food when we were promised a Michelin chef(which was strange) and don’t have money for essential material resources(art supplies, books, etc.), but it’s AOKAY because we have a new campus in Suzhou and Cyprus!!!! This honesty needs to be a documentary.

US student here — this post is spot on. I’ll add that the Art, Drama and Music classes are truly a sh*tshow, with a severe lack of materials in all classes and a drama teacher who simply does not engage with the kids and teaches the class like a college history course. We’ve been on two X-Days the whole year. The food was abysmal and I’m glad it’s gone. Despite what that one student says a dozen or so pages back, I’m glad the situation is being brought into the light.

+1000 for the “CAD” classes. I’m surprised friendship charter will be sharing the space with us and CW calls it “a mini college” so I hope they can take out the part where the school uses the whole buildings space. Also I don’t think some posh pretentious parents are ready for what’s to come with FCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a secondary school student at WSS (won't say MS or US). My child will also not be returning for the next school year. Way too many lies told by CW and his minions. CW has no interest in education or in the well-being of the students and teachers. He is a serial liar and grifter. Back in Spring 2019, I was told that the DC campus was 90% complete, which was a lie. The students had to go to school in an unfinished building, and still to this day, maybe only one pod is occupied. There was a lie about lunches. Just like the MS student said, we were promised chef-made meals for the students. In the school's early Instagram posts, there was even a post about the importance of healthy school lunches. After the start of school did we find out that there was no cafeteria kitchen. Oh another thing, I found it strange that there was no library for an expensive private school. The school's lame statement was that because there is a public library nearby, there was no need for a school library. Excuse me, in DC, public libraries are basically day-time recreational centers for dangerous mentally deranged homeless people.

Just can't deal with CW anymore! Literally the only way to save the school is to kick CW out, rename the school, and being in a new executive team. I feel bad for the students, but I feel worse for the teachers. I hope both the students and teachers have arrangements after June.

The Cleveland Park library is full of a range of books and helpful librarians. It is safe and the homeless people who may spend time there are overwhelmingly harmless. While they may suffer from mental illness, they are not "deranged."

You can complain about Whittle without insulting other people.

+1 keep the insults to others out this. Thank you PP for your words.