How did K-8s do this year?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


Those families may be applying to NYC top privates and then to top DC privates as back ups. My guess.Mobility is easy for rich folks.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.


Yes, each year there are a couple of kids coming from out of state or even out of country . All sorts of reasons.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.


Yes, each year there are a couple of kids coming from out of state or even out of country . All sorts of reasons.


That is true of all DC area schools, private and public. Nothing special to Sidwell here.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.


Yes, each year there are a couple of kids coming from out of state or even out of country . All sorts of reasons.


That is true of all DC area schools, private and public. Nothing special to Sidwell here.


I never said sidwell was special. I explained who comes in at 9th grade at Sidwell because it’s the one school I know firsthand, over multiple years. Top (not all) k-8s send the far and away most new 9th graders. Then probably a tie — on AVERAGE — between kids moving from OOS, from MoCo and NoVa public schools. One or two DCPS kids. Rounded out with football or basketball recruits (that we don’t call athletic recruits) from really distant suburbs. Or DC.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Lowell has had bad results this year so far. Just objectively bad. One kid got in everywhere so the school will say they got kids into Sidwell, Maret, GDS but it’s all one kid. There were maybe 2 more in at GDS, 1 more in at Sidwell, and the rest of the class on the waitlist or just rejected. Some kids got in literally nowhere. Not good.


This practice is not unique to Lowell. All schools do this.

What is your connection to the school to know this?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Lowell has had bad results this year so far. Just objectively bad. One kid got in everywhere so the school will say they got kids into Sidwell, Maret, GDS but it’s all one kid. There were maybe 2 more in at GDS, 1 more in at Sidwell, and the rest of the class on the waitlist or just rejected. Some kids got in literally nowhere. Not good.


This practice is not unique to Lowell. All schools do this.

What is your connection to the school to know this?


Well, then this practice should be stopped because it is misleading.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Lowell has had bad results this year so far. Just objectively bad. One kid got in everywhere so the school will say they got kids into Sidwell, Maret, GDS but it’s all one kid. There were maybe 2 more in at GDS, 1 more in at Sidwell, and the rest of the class on the waitlist or just rejected. Some kids got in literally nowhere. Not good.


Does Lowell have a dedicated placement director, or is it a team approach? Who was guiding the families?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:We toured several K-8s a few years back. Every K-8 school said that “all” of their 8th graders were accepted to either 1st or 2nd choice HS for 9th grade.

We did not believe them. We might have believed “many” or “most”, but “all” just seemed so mathematically impossible. Also, when we looked at their lists of past matriculations, it appeared that the better HSs were taking 1–3 students from a given K-8 and were spreading their offers across several K-8s.

Maybe there is some unicorn K-8 that we did not visit sending 20 kids to Big-3 schools, not sure. YMMV.


Mater Dei - 1/3 of Georgetown Prep’s incoming class is from that school.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Lowell has had bad results this year so far. Just objectively bad. One kid got in everywhere so the school will say they got kids into Sidwell, Maret, GDS but it’s all one kid. There were maybe 2 more in at GDS, 1 more in at Sidwell, and the rest of the class on the waitlist or just rejected. Some kids got in literally nowhere. Not good.


That is so unfortunate. Do you think that this was a fluke year? Lots of students/families with unreasonable expectations?

We are at another k-8 and from what I am hearing (I'm not an 8th grade parent), most 8th grade families seem pleased. The 2 families that I have heard that are not happy are ones who were aiming for schools that were definitely out of reach for their child's capabilities based on what I know of the students (ex. a child with dyslexia that is not getting appropriate supports bc of parent denial of how bad it is, despite pressure from school to get child support. - no shock that child did not get in to St Alban's)
Anonymous
How did St. Patrick's do? My kids left after 6th around the COVID times and were both accepted to Sidwell, GDS, Maret, and the Cathedrals. I wonder if kids these days can sweep.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.


Yes, each year there are a couple of kids coming from out of state or even out of country . All sorts of reasons.


That is true of all DC area schools, private and public. Nothing special to Sidwell here.


I never said sidwell was special. I explained who comes in at 9th grade at Sidwell because it’s the one school I know firsthand, over multiple years. Top (not all) k-8s send the far and away most new 9th graders. Then probably a tie — on AVERAGE — between kids moving from OOS, from MoCo and NoVa public schools. One or two DCPS kids. Rounded out with football or basketball recruits (that we don’t call athletic recruits) from really distant suburbs. Or DC.


What exactly are the "top" K-8s?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The kids who rise to the top in public are the crème de la crème for 9th grade admissions. Watch out K-8 schools!


Absolutely not the case at Sidwell for 9th. The entering 9th grade class during my kids’ years there have been largely comprised of grads from the best k-8s (but not all k-8s), then OOS kids from the Bay area or NY/NJ. THEN MoCo and far behind is DCPS.

IME the kids coming from MoCo transfer in at earlier points like fourth and sixth.


Why would kids from the Bay Area and NY/NJ consistently be a part of Sidwell’s entering 9th grade? After an election year and an administration change that would be expected, but it is not the norm every year.


How do out-of-state kids enroll at Sidwell? Are the whole families moving from the Bay Area/ NY/NJ just so that their kid can attend Sidwell? Or are these families who were moving to DC anyway for work and were looking for a school for their child? Sidwell doesn’t have a boarding option …


No insight about any particular school, but families move in and out of metro DC all the time due to jobs. And changes of administration are not the main driver for this — ordinary non-government jobs drive this.


Yes, each year there are a couple of kids coming from out of state or even out of country . All sorts of reasons.


That is true of all DC area schools, private and public. Nothing special to Sidwell here.


I never said sidwell was special. I explained who comes in at 9th grade at Sidwell because it’s the one school I know firsthand, over multiple years. Top (not all) k-8s send the far and away most new 9th graders. Then probably a tie — on AVERAGE — between kids moving from OOS, from MoCo and NoVa public schools. One or two DCPS kids. Rounded out with football or basketball recruits (that we don’t call athletic recruits) from really distant suburbs. Or DC.


What exactly are the "top" K-8s?


The ones with good outplacement.
post reply Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools
Message Quick Reply
Go to: