Potomac School pressure cooker or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

My neighbor and close friend sent her DC to Potomac for US. Not a good experience. The nepotism is not limited to athletics, but also present in the specialized programs/concentrations they offer in the arts and STEM areas, as well as for certain class designations and honors. Of course, if you are lucky enough to not have nepo babies in your class, you are not affected. Her DC’s class was not that lucky.

My friend is an even-keeled person and not the type to make unwarranted complaints without verification and confirmation that it is a widespread trend (ie not just sour grapes from her own DC). I believe her and as a result decided to not apply to Potomac for my own DCs. My public HS experience was not perfect but it felt meritocratic. And even if DC experience nepotism in their public HS, at least we won’t be shelling out $40-50k for the privilege.

[Anonymous]

Agree with above, nepotism permeates all aspects of campus life there.

[Anonymous]

Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

[Anonymous]

Everything on this anonymous board should probably be taken with a grain of salt this week.

I have non-US kids at Potomac and, while I haven’t heard about any of this, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. That said, I would just advise people to talk to real parents in real life after decisions come out to get a lay of the land anywhere. DCUM gets real weird in early March!

[Anonymous]

Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything on this anonymous board should probably be taken with a grain of salt this week.

I have non-US kids at Potomac and, while I haven’t heard about any of this, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. That said, I would just advise people to talk to real parents in real life after decisions come out to get a lay of the land anywhere. DCUM gets real weird in early March!

This is actually a good point. I have tried to be honest on things to change but for people considering Potomac, it has been a wonderful school for my kids. I cannot say enough about the wonderful feelings we have about the school. I also think they do a great job for college placement and I love the new College Placement Director. Every school has things to work on but Potomac always over delivers. Good luck to everyone who is applying!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

So they aren’t treating the athletes right over there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

NP. How can you possibly assess responsiveness compared to "most privates"? How could you realistically know that the "unhappy people would find a way to be unhappy anywhere?"

I'm happy for you that you love the school. Truly. But your dismissive responses to the experiences of others is honestly alarming.

The athletic problems (and others PPs have cited) have been happening for years. The unfortunate truth IMO is that, as long as there is a line to get into the school and the money continues to flow, very little will actually change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a lifer who agrees graduation cannot come soon enough. We have other children who left for area privates and are much happier. The US math department has extremely weak teachers that continue to remain despite extensive complaints. The rigor is what your child makes of it regarding their class choices. Sadly, I can think of two teachers who really seem passionate about their classes and understands how my child and other students learn. The remainder have been lackluster--tuition dollars spent for my child to watch videos rather than active teaching is disappointing. The administration needs to take action on a number of issues that seem to be perpetually excused.

I agree that rigor and stress can definitely be managed with course selection. There is certainly a way to move through Potomac with a manageable amount of work load and stress.

The highly stressed students (just from my observations) seem to be the ones loaded up with the max honors courses and aren’t the handful in those classes with As. Let’s say 25 kids are taking the most rigorous course schedule, and half of them are strong students working incredibly hard for Bs or Cs. And you’re right, the honors math faculty does not help matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

I think pp is referring to sports, and my guess would be soccer. Some have the view that the coaches favor their club players outside of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

So they aren’t treating the athletes right over there?

You have to speak to someone with a kid in your child’s sport. There are some amazing programs with coaches who are involved in recruiting for those pursuing college sports. Some programs don’t appear to have that same level of support. My athlete has had a fantastic experience both playing on the teams and in the recruiting process. Ask someone in admissions to connect you to a family that can share their experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

So they aren’t treating the athletes right over there?

You have to speak to someone with a kid in your child’s sport. There are some amazing programs with coaches who are involved in recruiting for those pursuing college sports. Some programs don’t appear to have that same level of support. My athlete has had a fantastic experience both playing on the teams and in the recruiting process. Ask someone in admissions to connect you to a family that can share their experience.

My kid was a top player in their sport both locally and nationally. Easily the top player on Potomac's team and was treated incredibly poorly by the coach, mostly because the coach is a very quirky person, and had a preference for people like them. Went on to play D1 but with absolutely zero support from the school. None from the coach or the AD. The former college counselor was supportive, but nobody in that office knew anything about recruiting either. They really do not care about athletic recruiting. And that is fine. Academics are 100% their priority there, so just know that. If you're looking to play at the D1 level, Potomac is a massive detriment because there isn't a single team or coach there who supports that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

I think pp is referring to sports, and my guess would be soccer.

Some have the view that the coaches favor their club players outside of school. [/quote]

When you see ECNL level players being passed over for 3rd/4th string club players and their coach “happens” to be the asst coach of the school team, well, what else can one reasonably conclude?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

So they aren’t treating the athletes right over there?

You have to speak to someone with a kid in your child’s sport. There are some amazing programs with coaches who are involved in recruiting for those pursuing college sports. Some programs don’t appear to have that same level of support. My athlete has had a fantastic experience both playing on the teams and in the recruiting process. Ask someone in admissions to connect you to a family that can share their experience.

My kid was a top player in their sport both locally and nationally. Easily the top player on Potomac's team and was treated incredibly poorly by the coach, mostly because the coach is a very quirky person, and had a preference for people like them. Went on to play D1 but with absolutely zero support from the school. None from the coach or the AD. The former college counselor was supportive, but nobody in that office knew anything about recruiting either. They really do not care about athletic recruiting. And that is fine. Academics are 100% their priority there, so just know that. If you're looking to play at the D1 level, Potomac is a massive detriment because there isn't a single team or coach there who supports that.

Looks like the boys basketball team sends some kids to D1 schools every so often. Not football though.