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Sidwell "Fair Share" campaign
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Anonymous
| well said pp |
Anonymous
| how much would sidwell save if it got rid of its football program? |
Anonymous
| Schools have too many administrators: Head of School, Dean of Students, Upper School Head, Lower School Head, and other ancillary positions. Maybe Sidwell should hire Michelle Rhee? I wonder if Obama would endorse that? |
Anonymous
| Michelle Rhee--ICK! |
Anonymous
| How much should a family contribute, if they want to make a contribution but they are not well off? |
Anonymous
| That is a question no one can answer for you. You should donate an amount that is reasonable for your family and that makes you feel good about contributing. There is not one right answer and may be different for you each year. |
Anonymous
Maybe $250 would do it. That probably doesn't look cheap.
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Anonymous
| $50 doesn't look cheap. $5 does. |
Anonymous
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It is about participation at that level. $250 would be an exceedingly considerate contribution.
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Anonymous
They have a football program? Since when? |
Anonymous
I think would think that a family of average income would contribute somewhere between $250-$500. It's not enough to get you listed on a donor list (at least I don't think so), but I believe that it would show that you care.
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Anonymous
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"fair share" to us means do what you can and feel comfortable with. None of your child's classmates or their families will know how much or little you donated. Some fortunate and generous people will make a big splash with their donations, but these are the small minority. Your kid is already there, so who cares whether the admin think you're "cheap". And don't think that a "generous" donation (as you see it) might help get in another child. Unless you are donating a field or whole building, it won't make a significant difference.
We give an equal amount to our alma mater colleges and high schools every year, usually between 100-300. I suspect that with this economy many of us will be giving less than our usual. |
Anonymous
| Wow - the numbers suggested here range from 50 to 1500. Any idea what the median contribution is? |
Anonymous
| I think there's about 1/3 of our school who gives the gap (or more) per child. The rest give somewhere between $50 and $2000. I don't mind that people think $250 is a good gift. But there are people who can afford to send 2-3 kids to our private school and sure don't seem to be on financial aid based on their jobs (like 2-attorney families or CEO's), but can't even swing an extra $100 on what I assume is their $250,000+ salaries - its a bit hard to believe. These same people seem to buy lots of other nice things like big, luxury SUVs and new homes in Great Falls, but apparently don't feel contributing to school is worth as much as a purse or their weekly lunch expense. Unfortunately, I will agree a bit with the PP because I do think some of them are just being cheap. I was raised by parents who always gave to their college's annual fund, and I feel its important to donate something to our school each year. It surprises me that many nice, normal families don't seem to feel the same way. On the other hand, there are families who donate well above and beyond the normal level, and I think that's simply amazing. Yes I suppose some families have more money than they know what to do with, but its quite nice of them to be so very generous after paying the already-large tuition. |
Anonymous
Perhaps those families feel a disconnect with the school or the DC ['s] have been treated unfairly. |