DC parents, why don't you use MD private schools more?

[Anonymous]

Just curious. This is almost like a poll. Schools like Norwood, Green Acres, Woods, and WES in MC are great. Why do we see so few DC kids there. It sounds so competitive for you all in DC.

[Anonymous]

How far as they from Georgetown at rush hour? Just curious...

[Anonymous]

Three reasons: Metro, metro, metro. My kid made the switch from DCPS to a private in DC this year -- a school right by the metro.

[Anonymous]

pp here -- I should note that my kid only applied to the one school she wanted to attend. But if she had wanted to attend a private school in MD, we would only have considered it if it were on the metro line.

[Anonymous]

Because we love Beauvoir and it's 5 mins away.

[Anonymous]

Isn't it obvious? Because it's a schlep.

[Anonymous]

I live in DC and my son goes to McLean, in Potomac. It is a fantastic school, unique and perfect for my child, but I have to say the schlep is difficult. He takes a bus but going to things like back to school night is always an ordeal. I would much prefer to send him to school in DC.

This seems so obvious. Are we missing something with your question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious. This is almost like a poll. Schools like Norwood, Green Acres, Woods, and WES in MC are great. Why do we see so few DC kids there. It sounds so competitive for you all in DC.

Well, frankly, because those schools aren't as good as the DC privates. Some MC schools are as good though, like Sidwell (lower school), Holton, and Landon, and you do see lots of DC kids there.

[Anonymous]

Setting aside the question of whether the "top" MD private schools are as good as the "top" DC private schools (whatever those may be), surely the top MD private schools are at least as good or better than some of the other DC schools?

[Anonymous]

"Well, frankly, because those schools aren't as good as the DC privates. Some MC schools are as good though, like Sidwell (lower school), Holton, and Landon, and you do see lots of DC kids there."

Not as good...I guess name recognition has surpassed the fit for the individual child in your mind. Finding the right school for a particular child with their individual strengths and weakness should remain the top priority in a school search not which one will give the parents the best social network.

[Anonymous]

It's the schlep relative to the reputation of the school and yes, the reputation is related to the schlep too. DC schools benefit because MC parents often work in DC.

If you moved Sidwell, Maret, GDS, and Beauvoir to Seven Locks people would still flock to those schools so it's not all about the schlep.

The schools you listed do themselves a disservice by having a less selective appearance, e.g., openings in K - it doesn't help the school's reputation, which is highly related to the selectivity. If Sidwell, Maret, GDS, and Beauvoir suddenly had openings they couldn't fill, parents would start to wonder why and it fuels rumors and misconceptions (much like the current stock market) and their reputation would be hurt. By advertising open enrollment after the admission season is over you give off the impression like anyone with a check can get in. This does not appeal to the hardcore DC folks who would rather send their kids to schools they can brag about how hard it was to get into.

[Anonymous]

Not as good...I guess name recognition has surpassed the fit for the individual child in your mind. Finding the right school for a particular child with their individual strengths and weakness should remain the top priority in a school search not which one will give the parents the best social network

.

You are making a huge jump in logic here. I, and I believe most parents, want their child in the best school that fits the child best. If a school A in MC, and school B in DC, both fit your child and they are offered admission, you go with the *best* school. Largely, those schools are in DC. School names do matter when you are applying to the next go-around whether that is middle school, high-school or college. Yes, certain DC schools are obsessed about on these boards, but I think that many DC schools that don't get as much respect on these boards (Sheridan, St Patricks, NPS) are better than any of the schools named by OP and I believe their admissions out prove that.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you but I also think you're kidding yourself and others if you think that you're going to find the "best" fit for your child based on a tour and promotion materials and that's how 95% of the parents have a DC school as their first choice. If you toured schools reputation blind then it would be much harder to like Maret with all 13 grades on one tiny campus compared to Norwood, for example. Most parents don't want to go through the process again and given the reputation of the k-12 schools, parents opt for that, but if anyone read the literature they would know that k-8 schools are far healthier and probably the "best" fit for their child.

[Anonymous]

Um pp, I would say that just because a school did not fill K says more about the quality of the surrounding publics than the private itself. Norwood could easily educate the Sidwell kids with the same outcome.

BTW, in 15 years when enrollment at Sidwell drops after DCPS (hopefully) improve to the level of MD or FC, will that mean that Sidwell is no longer a good school even if they teach the same thing that they teach now?

[Anonymous]

If that scenario became reality, parents would say, "I hear Sidwell is pretty good, but not sure it's any better than the DC public schools."

It has nothing to do with how good the school is as you imply it. Reputation and selectivity and application numbers are intricately related.

There is a whole science behind consumerism isn't there. You price something high enough, people will think it's more expensive therefore it must be better. Same with schools and same with reputation. DC is full of parents with this mentality. We all feed the reputation of the Big 3 or 4 whether or not our children go there.