Lowell vs Washington Episcopal School (WES)

[Anonymous]

The bad posts on here about Lowell come from the same person, a former teacher who left and whose experience isn’t reflected by the hundreds of parents who are regularly delighted by the quality of education, the engaged and caring community, and the smart and thoughtful faculty. The tell that it’s the same person posting is that the posts always focus on the head of school. 95% of parents have no interaction with the HoS until 8th grade, when the head helps make calls to get your kid into high school. With the focus on her, it’s obvious to anyone who knows the school that the posts are coming from a disgruntled ex-employee who has a gripe with their former boss. Maybe the gripe is justified! But it’s disingenuous for them to repeatedly post this stuff acting like they are just a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bad posts on here about Lowell come from the same person, a former teacher who left and whose experience isn’t reflected by the hundreds of parents who are regularly delighted by the quality of education, the engaged and caring community, and the smart and thoughtful faculty. The tell that it’s the same person posting is that the posts always focus on the head of school. 95% of parents have no interaction with the HoS until 8th grade, when the head helps make calls to get your kid into high school. With the focus on her, it’s obvious to anyone who knows the school that the posts are coming from a disgruntled ex-employee who has a gripe with their former boss. Maybe the gripe is justified! But it’s disingenuous for them to repeatedly post this stuff acting like they are just a parent.

Which one of the perhaps forty are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bad posts on here about Lowell come from the same person, a former teacher who left and whose experience isn’t reflected by the hundreds of parents who are regularly delighted by the quality of education, the engaged and caring community, and the smart and thoughtful faculty. The tell that it’s the same person posting is that the posts always focus on the head of school. 95% of parents have no interaction with the HoS until 8th grade, when the head helps make calls to get your kid into high school. With the focus on her, it’s obvious to anyone who knows the school that the posts are coming from a disgruntled ex-employee who has a gripe with their former boss. Maybe the gripe is justified! But it’s disingenuous for them to repeatedly post this stuff acting like they are just a parent.

Which one of the perhaps forty are you referring to?

Before we left, Donna had semi regular all-school calls so the community did in fact interact with her a fair amount- not just in 8th grade. I am not sure why you wouldn't interact with the HoS until 8th grade- that seems odd, cold, and distant. While I don't give her a ton, one thing I do credit her with is she did take time to speak with parents individually if they made an appointment. Maybe this isn't the case anymore as we left...so did a number of other families (and teachers- some really, really good ones).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bad posts on here about Lowell come from the same person, a former teacher who left and whose experience isn’t reflected by the hundreds of parents who are regularly delighted by the quality of education, the engaged and caring community, and the smart and thoughtful faculty. The tell that it’s the same person posting is that the posts always focus on the head of school. 95% of parents have no interaction with the HoS until 8th grade, when the head helps make calls to get your kid into high school. With the focus on her, it’s obvious to anyone who knows the school that the posts are coming from a disgruntled ex-employee who has a gripe with their former boss. Maybe the gripe is justified! But it’s disingenuous for them to repeatedly post this stuff acting like they are just a parent.

Former parent here whose child was treated like trash at Lowell to the point we left in a rage. It's obvious to us that this thread and others are sad reflections of reality. As to the above, you should read it as evidence of how those trying to maintain power over the school go out of their way to trash great people and gaslight everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bad posts on here about Lowell come from the same person, a former teacher who left and whose experience isn’t reflected by the hundreds of parents who are regularly delighted by the quality of education, the engaged and caring community, and the smart and thoughtful faculty. The tell that it’s the same person posting is that the posts always focus on the head of school. 95% of parents have no interaction with the HoS until 8th grade, when the head helps make calls to get your kid into high school. With the focus on her, it’s obvious to anyone who knows the school that the posts are coming from a disgruntled ex-employee who has a gripe with their former boss. Maybe the gripe is justified! But it’s disingenuous for them to repeatedly post this stuff acting like they are just a parent.

Which one of the perhaps forty are you referring to?

40+

[Anonymous]

New poster and former Lowell Parent - I loved the school until 2019. The new HoS is as bad as the reports here - and I refuse to donate or do anything with school until the HoS is replaced. I miss Lowell and hope that the current parents and board will make the needed changes to go back to the Lowell Way.

[Anonymous]

Gotta love the Bitter Betties. How toxic, to go back to a message board to trash the head of a school you have nothing to do with? You probably quit because you knew your contract wouldn’t be renewed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gotta love the Bitter Betties. How toxic, to go back to a message board to trash the head of a school you have nothing to do with? You probably quit because you knew your contract wouldn’t be renewed.

^^ Nasty, Nasty: The Lowell Way (TM)

[Anonymous]

Lowell has provided a fantastic learning environment for my kids. My children’s teachers know them deeply. The ongoing focus on social-emotional learning has paid off for my middle-schooler who is confident and handles stress with aplomb. They are thriving academically and love having so many opportunities for hands-on learning, like the recent cardboard boat regatta, the 7th grade civil rights trip to the south, and the service learning elective. They have close relationships with many of their current and former teachers, who they view as mentors. My primary school student loves regularly getting muddy during science class, rocking out in Taylor’s universally beloved dance classes and is cranking out hilarious stories and introspective poetry. The primary school guidance counselor has been an incredible resource and has helped our child through some tough family and health-related situations. I find the negative posts here impossible to reconcile with my lived experience of Lowell.

[Anonymous]

Our experience at Lowell was initially great but went downhill as time went on. Unlike some other posters we didn't have much interaction with the HoS or other admins. Our issue was just that the academics left a lot to be desired. DC "graduated" the lower school without certain basic proficiencies in reading, writing, and mathematics that both of us had mastered by the end of third grade. Their focus on civil rights is admirable but after five years of being constantly hammered with social justice curriculum we found that DC didn't get the well-rounded education we had hoped for. That became starkly apparent after the first round of tests in ninth grade. The school touts its progressive nature but it's a narrow progressivism. There was barely a mention of the plight of the industrial working class in the lower school curriculum for example. While we did occasionally see assignments that deviated from civil rights issues, they always seemed to be framed through racial lenses at the expense of gender and class. As social scientists we realized over time that the lower school curriculum had many holes that didn't get filled in middle school like we had hoped. That said, teachers are doing their best. We had some great ones for sure.