Washington International School Decisions

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this thoughtful response from an actual WIS parent. It speaks volumes as to the overall culture and spirit of WIS. Wish there were more responses like this on DCUM instead of the usual catty and/or insulting remarks.

Anonymous wrote:I am a current WIS parent, our child having been there for five years. We are an American family.We particularly liked the themes, rigor, and WIS’ track record of high IB scores on the international front.. They also are a Project Zero site, teaching teachers in the area, so the pedagogy of the teaching is strong and well-respected in education circles.

We looked and passed on several schools — including the Big 3 — because we felt WIS was a better fit for our child and our family’s values. We felt the school was professional, direct, and would eventually help our child how to learn to be an independent, critical thinker. We also felt that it was not a cookie-cutter school; kids were allowed to be individuals so long as they were respectful and socially appropriate; and that the biggest donors or the most affluent families were not given specialized treatment, all of which have been confirmed in the time that we have been there. While there are certainly a few social climbers at the school — as you will find to varying degrees at most any independent school in the region — most of the WIS parents we have met are grounded and not particularly concerned with status.

We don’t speak a second language at home so we have had to utilize the summer resources online and/or available at libraries as well as have had our child practice language skills with other families at WIS and utilized high school student babysitters from the upper campus in our child’s language track on occasion.

Previous posters are correct in that WIS sees diversity as an international school through a slightly different lens than Americans do, with race being but one of many factors that they consider necessary to be an internationally diverse school (different family structures, countries of origin, religions, and nationalities are some additional factors.) Several children in our section speak Arabic, Amharic, Berber, Russian, Polish, and other languages as well.

Our experience is that most families have been welcoming and are focused on supporting the children. Parents pitch in when and where they can and are civil with one another and parties are inclusive of the entire class or section (french or spanish) throughout much of the Primary school.

For those who receive an acceptance email on Friday, congratulations! Should you have any questions, current WIS parents are available to answer any last-minute questions you may have before making a decision.

For those who are not interested or did not feel WIS was a good fit, I hope you find a school that is a good fit for you and yours. We have friends at many independent schools in the area, all of whom are generally happy with their choices. While the process of choosing an independent school can be stressful, it is a privilege and a choice.

Best of luck and enjoy your day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would ask the school about their diversity stats in K or look at the photos of in the classroom—some of the comments here seem outdated or just wrong. Like many local schools WIS gets more diverse each year and the commitment is there. My child is in early elementary and their small class has several children who identify as Black (including but not only Francophone) as well as Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern.

Two other areas of diversity to point out. There are multiple same-sex parent families in our grade, which is anecdotally the highest I’ve seen and possibly influenced by the school’s secularism. Even more noticeable is the genuine abundance of dual-earning families who don’t come from wealth and have their tuition subsidized by their employers. This makes for *much* less barbell effect than other privates. And this to the very low country club numbers, a low-key board, lack of flashy fundraising and few legacies and you have one of the least elitist independent schools around.

WIS is not perfect and definitely in its own lane, but its multifaceted diversity is a breath of fresh air for many familiar with the local scene.

On a related note, I was very impressed with the Black History Month programming this year. The Primary school kids participated in a Black-led storytelling experience, attended a Caribbean steel drum concert and demo, sampled related foods plus lots of learning about Civil Rights leaders. It was very well thought-out. Ask Admissions for a copy of the latest IDI newsletter to know more.

Black History Month is now celebrated because a few of us American families (of color and not) pushed the school to make it a priority for several years. They finally listened. Yes, it's an international school but the reality is that these kids are living in the United States, in a city that was until very recently majority Black. The administration has tended to be very tone-deaf on the issue of race but an effort is being made to do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We applied for K and are also waiting. WIS doesn't get a lot of love on this site - curious why? We were really impressed with tour and engagement with the school so far, and have friends with multiple kids there who speak very positively.

Despite being an "International School", this school does not seem to be very diverse. They don't report their diversity stats to Niche, and according to US News & World Report, Black or African American enrollment is only 5%

WIS is an international school with kids from around the world. It’s not a traditional DC American school that is so preoccupied with whether there is enough representation. There already is!! Kids from Kenya, Europe, South America, etc…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We applied for K and are also waiting. WIS doesn't get a lot of love on this site - curious why? We were really impressed with tour and engagement with the school so far, and have friends with multiple kids there who speak very positively.

Despite being an "International School", this school does not seem to be very diverse. They don't report their diversity stats to Niche, and according to US News & World Report, Black or African American enrollment is only 5%

It's true there aren't a lot of African Americans but there are a lot of African and Caribbean families plus many families of color from around the world. As an international school they look at diversity from a global vs. US-centric lens.

Exactly. It’s not US centric. Which is refreshing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked at WIS. And while they have international diversity, they definitely lacked in having students who present as black or brown. That is just a fact. As an earlier poster said, the 5% black or af-am includes international folks who would identify as black. We were pretty shocked by the “whiteness” of WIS - it is not like there are not wealthy black/brown people from other countries - or even (gasp) from right here in DC. It seems WIS is not attracting them, or maybe is not attractive to them…

This is not true at all. It’s hasn’t been our experience. Plus WIS kids get into top colleges. So how is in not competitive then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for this thoughtful response from an actual WIS parent. It speaks volumes as to the overall culture and spirit of WIS. Wish there were more responses like this on DCUM instead of the usual catty and/or insulting remarks.

Anonymous wrote:I am a current WIS parent, our child having been there for five years. We are an American family.We particularly liked the themes, rigor, and WIS’ track record of high IB scores on the international front.. They also are a Project Zero site, teaching teachers in the area, so the pedagogy of the teaching is strong and well-respected in education circles.

We looked and passed on several schools — including the Big 3 — because we felt WIS was a better fit for our child and our family’s values. We felt the school was professional, direct, and would eventually help our child how to learn to be an independent, critical thinker. We also felt that it was not a cookie-cutter school; kids were allowed to be individuals so long as they were respectful and socially appropriate; and that the biggest donors or the most affluent families were not given specialized treatment, all of which have been confirmed in the time that we have been there. While there are certainly a few social climbers at the school — as you will find to varying degrees at most any independent school in the region — most of the WIS parents we have met are grounded and not particularly concerned with status.

We don’t speak a second language at home so we have had to utilize the summer resources online and/or available at libraries as well as have had our child practice language skills with other families at WIS and utilized high school student babysitters from the upper campus in our child’s language track on occasion.

Previous posters are correct in that WIS sees diversity as an international school through a slightly different lens than Americans do, with race being but one of many factors that they consider necessary to be an internationally diverse school (different family structures, countries of origin, religions, and nationalities are some additional factors.) Several children in our section speak Arabic, Amharic, Berber, Russian, Polish, and other languages as well.

Our experience is that most families have been welcoming and are focused on supporting the children. Parents pitch in when and where they can and are civil with one another and parties are inclusive of the entire class or section (french or spanish) throughout much of the Primary school.

For those who receive an acceptance email on Friday, congratulations! Should you have any questions, current WIS parents are available to answer any last-minute questions you may have before making a decision.

For those who are not interested or did not feel WIS was a good fit, I hope you find a school that is a good fit for you and yours. We have friends at many independent schools in the area, all of whom are generally happy with their choices. While the process of choosing an independent school can be stressful, it is a privilege and a choice.

Best of luck and enjoy your day!

I am also a current WIS parent and I encourage people to look at the info on website and talk to real parents of DCUM to get a full picture, which I would say for any school. Our family also chose WIS over a Big 3 and we are pleased. It is a challenging school which kicks in greatly in later years, as is the case for many private schools in the area.

This link shows the breakdown in diversity, with respondents able to choose multiple categories.

https://www.wis.edu/about/who-we-are

This is a link to their commitment to diversity and they have hired a new DEI head.

https://www.wis.edu/about/mission/enriched-by-differences

WIS also has excellent college placement, both in US and also internationally.

This is the school profile, from their website, which lists details about NMSF and college matriculation.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1664909128/wis/h7rv54bxystokp05jirx/Profile_2022Website.pdf

[Anonymous]

WIS is also accredited differently than most local independents (no NAIS reps observing board mtgs, etc.) It doesn’t have to follow every pedagogical trend and can take its time figuring out how it wants to approach SEL, DEI, etc. This may be a negative to some and a positive to others depending on the issue. But it helps prevent the dissonance you find at many top schools where conservative parents recoil at social justice programming. It just feels less political and less cliquey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would ask the school about their diversity stats in K or look at the photos of in the classroom—some of the comments here seem outdated or just wrong. Like many local schools WIS gets more diverse each year and the commitment is there. My child is in early elementary and their small class has several children who identify as Black (including but not only Francophone) as well as Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern.

Two other areas of diversity to point out. There are multiple same-sex parent families in our grade, which is anecdotally the highest I’ve seen and possibly influenced by the school’s secularism. Even more noticeable is the genuine abundance of dual-earning families who don’t come from wealth and have their tuition subsidized by their employers. This makes for *much* less barbell effect than other privates. And this to the very low country club numbers, a low-key board, lack of flashy fundraising and few legacies and you have one of the least elitist independent schools around.

WIS is not perfect and definitely in its own lane, but its multifaceted diversity is a breath of fresh air for many familiar with the local scene.

On a related note, I was very impressed with the Black History Month programming this year. The Primary school kids participated in a Black-led storytelling experience, attended a Caribbean steel drum concert and demo, sampled related foods plus lots of learning about Civil Rights leaders. It was very well thought-out. Ask Admissions for a copy of the latest IDI newsletter to know more.

Black History Month is now celebrated because a few of us American families (of color and not) pushed the school to make it a priority for several years. They finally listened. Yes, it's an international school but the reality is that these kids are living in the United States, in a city that was until very recently majority Black. The administration has tended to be very tone-deaf on the issue of race but an effort is being made to do better.

+1. Very happy with the changes. The years of fighting beforehand should not have happened

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a current WIS parent, our child having been there for five years. We are an American family.We particularly liked the themes, rigor, and WIS’ track record of high IB scores on the international front.. They also are a Project Zero site, teaching teachers in the area, so the pedagogy of the teaching is strong and well-respected in education circles.

We looked and passed on several schools — including the Big 3 — because we felt WIS was a better fit for our child and our family’s values. We felt the school was professional, direct, and would eventually help our child how to learn to be an independent, critical thinker. We also felt that it was not a cookie-cutter school; kids were allowed to be individuals so long as they were respectful and socially appropriate; and that the biggest donors or the most affluent families were not given specialized treatment, all of which have been confirmed in the time that we have been there. While there are certainly a few social climbers at the school — as you will find to varying degrees at most any independent school in the region — most of the WIS parents we have met are grounded and not particularly concerned with status.

We don’t speak a second language at home so we have had to utilize the summer resources online and/or available at libraries as well as have had our child practice language skills with other families at WIS and utilized high school student babysitters from the upper campus in our child’s language track on occasion.

Previous posters are correct in that WIS sees diversity as an international school through a slightly different lens than Americans do, with race being but one of many factors that they consider necessary to be an internationally diverse school (different family structures, countries of origin, religions, and nationalities are some additional factors.) Several children in our section speak Arabic, Amharic, Berber, Russian, Polish, and other languages as well.

Our experience is that most families have been welcoming and are focused on supporting the children. Parents pitch in when and where they can and are civil with one another and parties are inclusive of the entire class or section (french or spanish) throughout much of the Primary school.

For those who receive an acceptance email on Friday, congratulations! Should you have any questions, current WIS parents are available to answer any last-minute questions you may have before making a decision.

For those who are not interested or did not feel WIS was a good fit, I hope you find a school that is a good fit for you and yours. We have friends at many independent schools in the area, all of whom are generally happy with their choices. While the process of choosing an independent school can be stressful, it is a privilege and a choice.

Best of luck and enjoy your day!

Polite, respectful critical thinkers professionally explained why black history month did not belong in an international school.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone comment more about their experience in K-5 at WIS? Are the teachers warm? Is there academic pressure or does that come later? Any positive surprises or disappointments for your student?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone comment more about their experience in K-5 at WIS? Are the teachers warm? Is there academic pressure or does that come later? Any positive surprises or disappointments for your student?

All of the teachers are polite and professional to the parents. It's a mixed bag when it comes to warmth towards the students with some cultural variation in expression. Academic pressures are also a mixed bag depending on the teacher. My student has loved his experience. He was well-prepared for the middle school experience and has had the benefit of fluency in a second language.

[Anonymous]

We are waiting on a decision today for our pre-schooler. For those of you who have been thorough this before, do you know what time of day they send the decision email? The other schools we applied to use Ravenna so I'm just refreshing my email like a crazy person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are waiting on a decision today for our pre-schooler. For those of you who have been thorough this before, do you know what time of day they send the decision email? The other schools we applied to use Ravenna so I'm just refreshing my email like a crazy person.

I believe they are bound by the 4 pm notification like other schools, but could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 9:51 poster - we got in!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the 9:51 poster - we got in!

Did you get an email or was it through their portal? We haven't heard a peep, which is hopefully not a negative....