Kenmore, Swanson, or private?
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Anonymous
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I have an 8th grader at Kenmore. We’ve had a good experience and are very happy with it. But my kid is one the “different” ones walking south on Carlin Springs after school.
I suppose the “look at the differences” PP has seen my son walking home with his friends, having fun like any other kid, and come to their own racist conclusions. My son is gifted-ID’d in all subjects, gets straight A’s, and is a leader in his extracurricular activities. But he’s Black, so PP doesn’t want her kids to go to school with him and his buddies. That’s her loss. My son’s teachers have been providing him with an appropriate level of challenge (except the pandemic year, which was an anomaly everywhere). His IEP case manager is excellent. The school has been very supportive of his needs relating to his disability. He’s also really enjoyed the arts focus, like Dance PE and the after-school drama program. Are there fights, vaping, etc? Yes of course, but it’s easy for kids to avoid it. Only a handful of the students engage in that kind of behavior. I’d only be worried if your child is a follower. If they are, then you need to be worried at ANY school you choose (public or private), because rich kids engage in destructive/dangerous behavior too. The difference is that their drugs are more expensive. *source: I’ve attended and taught at a variety of schools, rich and poor. |
Anonymous
There are black and brown kids there. According to DCUM, that’s the kiss of death. |
Anonymous
The post at the top of this page is excellent. There are so many dogwhistles in this thread and on this site when you talk about certain APS schools. Yes, there are many folks who post here who are terrified of sending their kids to school with black and brown (and poor) children because they are convinced they will suck up resources for their DC. |
Anonymous
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The classes at the schools are basically the same with some small differences- like dance PE and Showtime electives at Kenmore, and more language options at Swanson (I think). Minor differences.
The difference in ratings is due to the higher FARMS percentage at Kenmore. This also equates to many more English learners, and these groups score lower on standardized tests. If your kid is a high achiever they will be with the same cohort of kids at either school. If they are one who struggles or is in cotaught classes for an IEP, there will possibly be more behavior issues at Kenmore. But truly, but the house you prefer for your family! Or focus more on high school options, which are also good at all 3 APS neighborhood high schools. |
Anonymous
Your point is....???? |
Anonymous
Kenmore students are poorer than Gunston students. |
Anonymous
| Hi poster - we LOVE Kenmore!! We have a 6th and 8th grader there and my kids also walk North. It's a great school and they're well-supported! |
Anonymous
| Gunston also has a rich school reputation due to the Arlington Ridge families, and before the latest ES and MS boundary changes, the Lyon Village Spanish immersion families that were also zoned there. Kenmore has a significant upper middle class but does not draw from high end neighborhoods like Arlington Ridge or Lyon Village. Both schools also have significant numbers of students on subsidized lunches. Calling one school “poorer” than another is not that helpful. There is always more nuance. |
Anonymous
......And your point is....???? |
Anonymous
Agree with these assessments/opinions. |
Anonymous
No, more language options are at TJ, and from 6th (IB program). |
Anonymous
Interesting focus on principal popularity. |
Anonymous
Particularly because some of the reasons they aren’t “popular“ are low key offensive. Eg Complaints about grammatical errors in emails, etc. If you ever took the time to talk to the principals or step foot in the school, you would realized what an amazing job they’re doing. This is such a difficult age to manage in middle school. Most of the people that are complaining about our principal have kids that have nightmare behavior issues, or never bothered to attend a PTA meeting/volunteer. They really don’t have a clue. |
Anonymous
Principals are a rather important factor affecting the school experience via staff morale, instruction, atmosphere, sense of community, disciplinary actions and responsiveness to student/parent questions/needs. |
Anonymous
In the case of Gunston, the principal is a champion of a grading policy that is ridiculous and setting kids up for problems later on. Plus she seems to be allowing gym classes to be a complete failure - entire class regularly sitting for entire gym class because a few kids misbehave. |