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Sidwell K: class size & schedule
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Anonymous
Is it just me, or as physical plant, is Sidwell much less appealing than Beauvoir and Maret? I'm always a bit surprised to hear people rave about the facilities. I sometimes wonder if the lower school is the stepchild of the Sidwell family. |
Anonymous
OK smarty-pants, I read the website. But I still have no idea whether seventh graders can do Algebra. My kid did pre-algebra in sixth grade. From the website (which I read, of course), it looks like the answer is "no", but if it's such a great school then maybe they make exceptions? Can you point to the part on the website where this is answered? No, I didn't think so. And apparently all the upper school tours are booked, according to a PP (which, by the way, is another example of the same phenomenon.) So what do I do now? Call the admissions office and suck up? Send in my application fee anyway, as the school apparently expects me to do? |
Anonymous
To me this feels like the same phenomenon -- the school just going through the motions, knowing that tons of people will apply anyway. |
Anonymous
| We thought Sidwell's lower school was earthy, welcoming and full of warmth. Beauvoir felt very nice as in a nice house after the housekeeper just went through. Despite the historic background of the house, Maret's classrooms and hallways look like a typical school you'd find anywhere outside the beltway. |
Anonymous
YES!!!!! Call the school and ask if 7th graders can do algebra. What's the big deal. They won't ask for your name and there is no need to equate calling the AD with sucking up. |
Anonymous
| PP, did you like GDS? |
Anonymous
| My daughter did pre-algebra in 6th and then moved to Sidwell in 7th. The school would have allowed her to do algebra if we had pushed it, but after investigating the whole scheme, we decided that the accelerated 7th grade math topics class was probably more interesting/stimulating than algebra. Just talk with the school -- either now or when/if your child gets in. Sidwell is an amazing school with oodles of challenge. |
Anonymous
Well obviously it's not a huge deal, and of course I'm perfectly capable of picking up a phone. (Although another helpful poster may have answered my question.) But that's not the issue. But what everybody here but you is asking: why does the school put the onus on us, instead of taking the simple step of making somebody knowledgeable available for this type of question? |
Anonymous
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WRT GDS - talking only about environment?
GDS is on two campuses so you have the benefit of the middle schoolers being sheltered from high school kids and their issues. This is ideal for those who favor a K-8 environment. The classrooms and hallways are very similar to Maret's, i.e., nothing special. GDS has a nice playground. |
Anonymous
Maybe your situation is unique and worthy of a call. Maybe the Admissions Office will learn that there is a gap in the information being provided. |
Anonymous
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We are at another big-3 school and don't have a particular stake in the Sidwell admissions process, but some of the PPs are being a bit unfair. Given the small size of Sidwell's class in the early grades, it is statistically very unlikely that any particular non-priority candidate will be offered admission. They probably have several times as many non-prioriy applicants as they need or are able to evaluate sensibly. So, rather than get into detailed discussions with people they are most likely going to end up rejecting, it is more efficient (and easier) just to give them a brief tour that maintains the buzz about the school and gives them just enough information to apply. The details can come later in the unlikely event that the applicant is admitted.
Take a look at the threads where some of the rejected families expressed their hostility at Sidwell last March. Imagine how much worse it would have been if they had felt that the school has been more encouraging of their application. |
Anonymous
Well, that was highly relevant information. |
Anonymous
Thanks for this insight, which was useful. I do believe the Cathedral schools, GDS, Maret and others all reject tons of applicants. Yet you don't see people on DCUM showing such hostility towards these other schools. My sense -- and maybe I'm wrong, flame away -- is that some of the hostility to Sidwell is linked to how families are treated by Sidwell during the applications process. If you read threads on the school, there are tons of angry posts about the admissions process, whereas for Beauvoir it's more about the poster's gut reaction to the curriculum or students walking in rows. It's possible that treating families who have little chance as if they are still welcome and valuable created a warmer feeling for these other schools. |
Anonymous
| PP here, I'm not trying to be flip and just realized it came off that way. By "insight" I was referring to the speculation that Sidwell thinks it shouldn't waste peoples' time. |
Anonymous
| The strange thing is that at least in my experience, the Sidwell admissions people are first-rate. They're warm, they're welcoming, they're approachable--even more so than the admissions staff at the other highly popular schools we toured. Yet somehow the Sidwell application process is particularly alienating. It's possible, however, that it's changing for the better. I gather (from other posts here) that parents will not be asked to fill out the "pop quiz" questionnaire during the playdate this year. |