NCS going downhill?

[Anonymous]

I've seen recent college matriculation results from schools such as Roxbury Latin, Andover, Sidwell, Landon, and St. Albans. At every school, there's a very wide range of selectivity in the college matriculation list; what the OP saw in terms of the range of institutions on the NCS list is just how the college application world looks these days. The most sought after colleges are looking for greater socio-economic and geographic diversity (including international) and that now works somewhat against these East Coast schools and the corresponding population.

Bottom line, attendance at any of these very excellent independent schools in our area is not an automatic ticket into a top college. The education is very strong, they will be well prepared when they get to college, but it's a mistake to go the private school route expecting an advantage in admissions.

Bottom line 2.0 -- if you're otherwise interested in NCS for a quality all-girls education, don't cross it off the list because of the college matriculation list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It could be they wanted co-ed.

Last time I checked, Holton and Stone Ridge were single-sex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a business, when you have turnover like this, you usually look toward the CEO or leadership. Does anyone have insight into how well liked the head of school is by faculty and parents?

She's been Head for 7-8 years, which is a good length of time in a business where the average tenure of a Head of School is 5 years.

[Anonymous]

The head of the lower school at NCS, who is leaving, has been there for many years. The former head of the upper school still works at the school as assistant head of the school and the head of the upper school has been there for two or three years and is very well liked. To me this doesn't seem like frequent turnover. My DD always has a mix of teachers who have been there for decades and teachers who are relatively new.

[Anonymous]

15:42, how have you been given access to all those college results? Post them here so we all can see for ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Lots of new money Virginians whose kids are not as concerned with going to Swathmore and consider Pitt a good school. I miss the old NCS.

[Anonymous]

Lots of new money Virginians ...

When you can clear $900,000 annually (with your 4 yr degree from DecentStateSchool) just by working at LargeDefenseContractor, why aim higher, really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP's motivations for posting are suspect. All the info that she is soliciting can be gleaned from talking privately with other parents she no doubt knows. Her OP as well as the follow up that target individual staff members ( the Head, the AD) in a public forum suggest something else is in play here during a period of time that acceptance letters/ rejection letters are going out and letters of intent will / deposits will soon come due. It seems OP is desirous of, not gaining info, but grinding an ax and doing so publicly. The question: is she also from Peoria?

Uh, no. She's probably not trying to dissuade others from applying because the deadlines are past. And it's probably not a case of sour grapes because the decisions haven't gone out yet. Why do you assume she "no doubt knows" other parents? And she probably suspects, with reason, that it's not in the interests of the school to give the straight dirt, that if acceptances were disappointing (and I don't even know they were) the school staff will likely spin these.

I disagree with you. The OP is worded as if written by an outsider, but then when pressed , or when no one takes the bait, OP gets more personal and targets the AD and the Head. Sorry , but that reeks of agenda. Even if the agenda is just to damage the school's rep at a time when it is vulnerable. ( accept letters are about to go out to B families). If an applicant parent REALLY had all of those concerns, why apply in first place. Her mind seems quite made up. She just wants to stir the pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I find interesting is that I know of at least 6 Beauvoir families who sent their boys to STA and their girls to a school other than NCS.

We all have the right to vote with our feet. What I find uncivil is the choice to air that decision, presuming it has been made by one and not FOR one, in this forum. The schools on the Cathedral Close are a community and I don't think a family that truly values Beauvoir or STA would devalue a sister school publicly. To what end?

[Anonymous]

Do you have a problem with clean transparency or do you prefer dirty knickers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could be they wanted co-ed.

Last time I checked, Holton and Stone Ridge were single-sex.

Sounds to me as if those girls didn't get accepted to NCS.

[Anonymous]

Many people construe Pitt to be a stronger school than College Park. . . . Rollins isn't anything to hang your head in embarrassment about. . . .Not every graduate is going to go Ivy: if the class had everyone enrolling in and accepted to Tier 1 schools (however that's defined) there would be no academic diversity, which believe it or not is actually *not* desirable in a secondary school setting (in part because it is also not reflective of the "real world"). I don't have access to NCS's college acceptance letters, nor do I have access to the schools at which graduates matriculated, but I do know that basing a claim on two schools suggests that the OP (or at least whoever posted the reference to Pitt and Rollins) a) needs to have a deeper understanding of drawing logical conclusions and b) isn't really familiar with current college reputations and c) would be well-served to look for other data points/sets than college acceptances for reaching conclusions about a school's trajectory upward or downward. . . .I'm not a parent of an NCS child, btw, nor am I an alumna

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a problem with clean transparency or do you prefer dirty knickers?

I have a problem with OP and PP's attacking the reputations of individuals, who though not named, can be easily identified " current head" " acting AD" for two reasons: One, they are not privy to this conversation and thus cannot defend their reputation AND secondly, the OP takes her swioes at the professionals and at NCS, while she hides behind her own anonymity.

You want transparency: what is your name, OP ? Ask for a meeting with the Head and direct your questions to her. She will then have a chance to answer . If you REALLY care about the condition of NCS, directing your concerns to a person in a position to do something about them would be much more productive means for change than gossip spewed by "anonymous".

Good luck to all in the process of finding a good school for their DC.

[Anonymous]

To set the record straight on turnover: the head is in her 9th or 10th year, and her contract was recently renewed (indicating board confidence). The head of the upper school is in her second year and very well-liked, the former US head is still at NCS as assoc. head, the head of the middle school started this year and we think she's absolutely amazing (definitely an improvement) - young, dynamic, great with the girls, and the head of the lower school is retiring at the end of the year after 10+ years at NCS (she is a mom of both NCS and STA alums, and previously worked at STA before coming to NCS). AD is an interim this year while they do a search for new AD.

We are a current MS family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could be they wanted co-ed.

Last time I checked, Holton and Stone Ridge were single-sex.

Sounds to me as if those girls didn't get accepted to NCS.

I am new to this discussion, but I want to set the record straight for the person who posted this nonsense. Girls select schools for different reasons. NCS is not first choice for everyone. I know many of you want to believe this but it is simply not true. Each school ends up with girls that may have wanted to go to a different school and was turned down. This is the case for NCS, Holton, Stone Ridge and Visitation. Each of these schools are great and offer something different. College placement is pretty much the same at all of these schools. I have looked at past list and can't see much difference.