Sidwell v. NCS - 4th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also noticed a group of Beauvoir girls at the NCS Open House we attended. Perhaps the Beauvoir kids get their own tour on a separate date but they're also invited to attend the Open House?

Yeah - it's odd that the Beauvoir parents assume that parents wouldn't want to also attend an open house. At the open house, they had trial classes (we were assigned a French class in the basement - and in truth this might have led to my child being extra harsh with her criticism) and our of the 10-12 with us on the tour....at least 8 of them claimed their current school was Beauvoir.

It was mostly all Beauvoir at the open house I attended this fall. ALL the current student panelists were also all from Beauvoir. It did not give the impression that they cared very much about inclusivity despite their words to the contrary.

This is exactly what my daughter picked up on. While you still have to contend with the fact that kids at other k-12 schools had been together for years, it was something about the way she felt with their interaction that left her worried to go there.

This is odd. Op is deciding between Sidwell and NCS. Sidwell kids have also all been together for years and only admit a few for 4th grade as it’s not an entry year? There’s no difference in fact you would be one of a few new kids but okay.

[Anonymous]

What did you decide OP?

[Anonymous]

We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

I'm not trying to be funny or nasty, but are you sure it isn't you? I've heard some pretty typical things about the NCS parent community (like everyone isn't welcoming), but that can be applied almost anywhere right. I've heard it about every school we are looking into, albeit to varying degrees. And I've also been told it really depends on whatever cohort you happen to fall in when you start so one grade may be much worse than another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

OP here - thanks for checking in, we just finalized our applications and are looking at these two schools plus several more.

Beauvoir poster, can you share anything more? Since so much of this stuff is grade dependent, it would be helpful to hear from someone with actual knowledge of the rising 4th.

[Anonymous]

It 100% may be that we didn’t get lucky with our parent cohort. I think the “is it is” question is a fair one. I don’t think it is! Our friends are also planning on leaving- the focus on wealth and class is distasteful. The school hasn’t been rigorous academically. We are pretty low maintenance parents but friends of ours who have tried to change things (nicely, I promise) just get ignored. Beauvoir is a waiting area for parents who want to send their kids to NCS and STA and no parents will complain because they want their outplacement to go well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also noticed a group of Beauvoir girls at the NCS Open House we attended. Perhaps the Beauvoir kids get their own tour on a separate date but they're also invited to attend the Open House?

+1 saw Many Beauvoir kids in open house and parents with fancy clothes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

when I was in the open city cafe I saw so many little kids spent time with their Nannie’s or au pairs, a scene I don’t see in our school community. I feel May Beauvoir kids don’t spend much time after school with their parents. Their au pairs, grandparents or Nannie’s take then to cafe or swim lessons afterschool. Are these same kids ending up at Ncs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in Cleveland park, maybe you should consider Maret too.

Op wants the fame and eliteness which is only supplied by the cathedral and sidwell. The way she writes, she thinks her Child is a deserving genius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

when I was in the open city cafe I saw so many little kids spent time with their Nannie’s or au pairs, a scene I don’t see in our school community. I feel May Beauvoir kids don’t spend much time after school with their parents. Their au pairs, grandparents or Nannie’s take then to cafe or swim lessons afterschool. Are these same kids ending up at Ncs?

OP has a job. She's not a SAHM who wants to be going to coffee with the SAHMS after drop off so if anything the fact that there are kids with nannies might be a good thing for her.

OP, Eaton and Hearst are great schools. See where you get in and don't feel pressured to go private now, especially outside the neighborhood. She can always apply out later, for sixth grade or ninth grade. I certainly would not commute to Bullis or St Patricks rather than staying at Eaton/Hearst. I grew up in CP and went to NCS and it was so nice to be able to walk to and from school and activities. I could go home after afternoon activities, eat, etc, then go back for evening activities, etc. I would definitely prioritize staying in the neighborhood in a location where your kid can get herself to and from school as she gets older. I was going to tell you to apply only to NCS, Sidwell, and Maret, and leave further flung ones for backups if she doesn't get in and wants to apply at an older age, but it looks likes she has already applied to more than NCS/Sidwell/Maret?

Since she is entering at 4th, which is an entry year, and since she has friends at Beauvoir, I'd give a slight edge to NCS. Plus if you are paying for private, she may as well get the extra pro of an all girls environment. Especially since she has brothers and therefore will likely be comfortable relating to boys on a social level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

when I was in the open city cafe I saw so many little kids spent time with their Nannie’s or au pairs, a scene I don’t see in our school community. I feel May Beauvoir kids don’t spend much time after school with their parents. Their au pairs, grandparents or Nannie’s take then to cafe or swim lessons afterschool. Are these same kids ending up at Ncs?

OP has a job. She's not a SAHM who wants to be going to coffee with the SAHMS after drop off so if anything the fact that there are kids with nannies might be a good thing for her.

OP, Eaton and Hearst are great schools. See where you get in and don't feel pressured to go private now, especially outside the neighborhood. She can always apply out later, for sixth grade or ninth grade. I certainly would not commute to Bullis or St Patricks rather than staying at Eaton/Hearst. I grew up in CP and went to NCS and it was so nice to be able to walk to and from school and activities. I could go home after afternoon activities, eat, etc, then go back for evening activities, etc. I would definitely prioritize staying in the neighborhood in a location where your kid can get herself to and from school as she gets older. I was going to tell you to apply only to NCS, Sidwell, and Maret, and leave further flung ones for backups if she doesn't get in and wants to apply at an older age, but it looks likes she has already applied to more than NCS/Sidwell/Maret?

Since she is entering at 4th, which is an entry year, and since she has friends at Beauvoir, I'd give a slight edge to NCS. Plus if you are paying for private, she may as well get the extra pro of an all girls environment. Especially since she has brothers and therefore will likely be comfortable relating to boys on a social level.

If you get in Sidwell, you are so much closer to HYP than other lower tier private schools and your friend with be dc elites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First - you should apply to more schools if you don't want to return to DCPS. Options include St Pats and Nat Pres, (both of these will help with exmissions later) and Maret and GDS if you are leaning k-12.

To your original question - we know a family that moved from NCS to Sidwell because they didn't like the overt culture that focused on material belongings, status, and one-upmanship. I'd argue that Sidwell students have this too but the school itself does try to dampen it in how they operate. They had been at Beauvoir/NCS from PK - moved in 7th. They were happy with the move (but Sidwell is far from perfect).

I know a girl that moved from Sidwell to NCS because of mean girls behavior… it’s all very grade, girl and situation dependent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It 100% may be that we didn’t get lucky with our parent cohort. I think the “is it is” question is a fair one. I don’t think it is! Our friends are also planning on leaving- the focus on wealth and class is distasteful. The school hasn’t been rigorous academically. We are pretty low maintenance parents but friends of ours who have tried to change things (nicely, I promise) just get ignored. Beauvoir is a waiting area for parents who want to send their kids to NCS and STA and no parents will complain because they want their outplacement to go well.

All good to know. Is it the faculty/admin ignoring them or parents? Depending on what the changes are, I can see being ignored by faculty as a problem, but I wouldn't be bothered by the parents. I’ve heard there are more nice parents than mean ones, but laid back, down to earth isn't what comes to mind to describe the typical parent there. There are some, but I do agree that it looked like a lot want the associated prestige. During my tour, a couple applying to PK asked about numbers that go on to NCS and STA. And after visiting, you can tell it's not rigorous at all, but none of these schools are rigorous PK-3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

NCS is tough for shy girls! The Beauvoir girls and moms are very cliquey. In 4th grade it is somewhat easier to “break in” but each grade above it gets harder and harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NCS is tough for shy girls! The Beauvoir girls and moms are very cliquey. In 4th grade it is somewhat easier to “break in” but each grade above it gets harder and harder.

This is very subjective. My DD is at NCS (not 4th grade) and her best friends are 1 girls from BVR and 2 from other schools that entered NCS in 4th or later.
My DD came from BVR.

I think starting at any school where a bunch of kids already know each other is tough. Would it be easier at Maret where many kids have been there since K? I doubt it…