Article on Maret in Washington Post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the article there are 42 percent students of color. Do the math.....there are definetly non athlete African Americans at Maret. Maret has to be one if the most diverse independent schools around.

This is a can of worms... but... does this include East &/or South-Central Asian-Americans? Students of Middle-Eastern or Hispanic descent? How do schools define "of color"? It seems somewhat misleading, like they're trying to imply that they're encouraging and assisting URM's, & that "of color" means "look at us, we're giving these kids from the 'hood an education because we're just such good people". I'm looking for diversity in my kids' future school, but I'd like economic, religious, and cultural diversity, not just "we have different skin tones but our dads all work at [local international company/think tank]".

Yeah, you're right. Can of worms. 42% kids of color, the majority of that is African American. The other types of diversity you mention--such as religious, family structure, and socio-economic diversity are also evident at Maret. 24% of the students are on some sort of financial aid. A lot of the 'of color' statements and identifications come from NAIS standards, the National Association of Independent Schools.

Pretty much everything else you state about 'look at us' etc, isn't how Maret operates or views its self as a school. If you want to know about the different types of diversity at your child's future school, you should be sure to ask all the schools as you go through the admission process.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been told about the slow-track classes by a longtime Maret school employee. They are definitely being used for their big-time athletic recruits -- and as the prior poster said, for rich people's kids too. It was definitely described as a separate, much easier track. It is different from non-honors math vs. honors math or regular US History vs. AP US History, for example. And no, schools like Sidwell/GDS/Potomac (in the MAC) or Holton/NCS (in the ISL) do not have a set-up like this. Nor does St. Albans, if people think everyone in the IAC must do this. The person who told me felt like the school was selling out and was saddened by this.

You think they put the same emphasis on girls' sports? Look at the Division I athletes coming out of Maret for football/basketball/baseball and then compare the girls . . .

I don't think the separate track is something that is shameful. The Labs school can not be the only school in DC that can educate a dyslexic kid. Also, I think school are also realizing that not only do they lose a current family, but they see these kids they "counseled out" go on to be very successful and large donors for the school that did eventually educated them.

[Anonymous]

Maret is the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school in dc. It has the best looking kids who are the best at sports and the best at arts and everyone in the city should be jealous.

This is how you boosters sound. My DH interviews kids for his university and the maret kids have been the most critical of their school describing it as a bubble and a haven for rich kids who can't see outside those gates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maret is the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school in dc. It has the best looking kids who are the best at sports and the best at arts and everyone in the city should be jealous.

This is how you boosters sound. My DH interviews kids for his university and the maret kids have been the most critical of their school describing it as a bubble and a haven for rich kids who can't see outside those gates.

Well, actually, no one is saying that--about it being the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school. Maret is what Maret is. STA is STA, Sidwell is Sidwell, St. Andrews is…well, you get my point. Schools are all very different here in DC, and that's the great thing--you can find a community that works for you. Simply stating the facts that are available on the school's website is not being a booster, it's stating facts. I could say that my DH works for a university too, and says that Sidwell kids say that it is a mean spirited place where kids are only out for themselves, or STA says they are one thing, but once you get there, it's nothing like they promised, or NCS sucks the personality and soul out of the young women there in a mean girl extravaganza, but none of that would be true, or all of it could be true. It's one child's experience--and one child's experience is not everyone's experience. Do kids have amazing experiences at their schools. You bet. Do kids have miserable experiences at their schools sometimes? Of course--it's called life.

So, in the end, why this bitterness about schools we have no personal experience with? It's similar to the Sidwell Head of School thread--a bunch of 'information' being tossed around with no personal experience, all gossip, and no constructive purpose.

Enjoy the snow today!

[Anonymous]

FWIW, here are the Department of Education's demographic stats on Maret. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolName=maret&NumOfStudentsRange=more&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=00253448

Total 646
White 612
Black 15
Asian 9
Hispanic 2
Two+ races 8

That's data Maret reported to the government for 2011-12. But surely that cannot be correct, can it? It certainly is inconsistent with Maret's claim of "42% students of color." As far as I can tell, all the other data is accurate (within expected year-to-year tolerances); the only major variance between Maret's website and the Dept of Ed data is on diversity numbers. Must be a mistake somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, here are the Department of Education's demographic stats on Maret. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolName=maret&NumOfStudentsRange=more&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=00253448

Total 646
White 612
Black 15
Asian 9
Hispanic 2
Two+ races 8

That's data Maret reported to the government for 2011-12. But surely that cannot be correct, can it? It certainly is inconsistent with Maret's claim of "42% students of color." As far as I can tell, all the other data is accurate (within expected year-to-year tolerances); the only major variance between Maret's website and the Dept of Ed data is on diversity numbers. Must be a mistake somewhere.

No, that's not even remotely correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret is the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school in dc. It has the best looking kids who are the best at sports and the best at arts and everyone in the city should be jealous.

This is how you boosters sound. My DH interviews kids for his university and the maret kids have been the most critical of their school describing it as a bubble and a haven for rich kids who can't see outside those gates.

Well, actually, no one is saying that--about it being the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school. Maret is what Maret is. STA is STA, Sidwell is Sidwell, St. Andrews is…well, you get my point. Schools are all very different here in DC, and that's the great thing--you can find a community that works for you. Simply stating the facts that are available on the school's website is not being a booster, it's stating facts. I could say that my DH works for a university too, and says that Sidwell kids say that it is a mean spirited place where kids are only out for themselves, or STA says they are one thing, but once you get there, it's nothing like they promised, or NCS sucks the personality and soul out of the young women there in a mean girl extravaganza, but none of that would be true, or all of it could be true. It's one child's experience--and one child's experience is not everyone's experience. Do kids have amazing experiences at their schools. You bet. Do kids have miserable experiences at their schools sometimes? Of course--it's called life.

So, in the end, why this bitterness about schools we have no personal experience with? It's similar to the Sidwell Head of School thread--a bunch of 'information' being tossed around with no personal experience, all gossip, and no constructive purpose.

Enjoy the snow today!

Hey, I like what you did there! Under the guise of calling for an end to bitterness, you recirculated the nastiest stereotypes about other independent schools in DC. Very slick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maret is the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school in dc. It has the best looking kids who are the best at sports and the best at arts and everyone in the city should be jealous.

This is how you boosters sound. My DH interviews kids for his university and the maret kids have been the most critical of their school describing it as a bubble and a haven for rich kids who can't see outside those gates.

Well, actually, no one is saying that--about it being the greatest, most diverse, most academically challenging school. Maret is what Maret is. STA is STA, Sidwell is Sidwell, St. Andrews is…well, you get my point. Schools are all very different here in DC, and that's the great thing--you can find a community that works for you. Simply stating the facts that are available on the school's website is not being a booster, it's stating facts. I could say that my DH works for a university too, and says that Sidwell kids say that it is a mean spirited place where kids are only out for themselves, or STA says they are one thing, but once you get there, it's nothing like they promised, or NCS sucks the personality and soul out of the young women there in a mean girl extravaganza, but none of that would be true, or all of it could be true. It's one child's experience--and one child's experience is not everyone's experience. Do kids have amazing experiences at their schools. You bet. Do kids have miserable experiences at their schools sometimes? Of course--it's called life.

So, in the end, why this bitterness about schools we have no personal experience with? It's similar to the Sidwell Head of School thread--a bunch of 'information' being tossed around with no personal experience, all gossip, and no constructive purpose.

Enjoy the snow today!

Hey, I like what you did there! Under the guise of calling for an end to bitterness, you recirculated the nastiest stereotypes about other independent schools in DC. Very slick.

No. Just a point that was made that anyone can say anything, and it can mean everything or nothing. It is, after all, an anonymous message board where random people can just say whatever they want without any facts to back it up. Anything 'nasty' being said about a school could be all very true, or not at all true, it all depends on the person's experiences. Who are we to say those experiences aren't true?

Someone could also say that the Quaker experience at Sidwell calmed them, centered their souls and made them a better student and more empathetic human being. That their experiences at NCS showed them how to be strong, confident, women and a young man's experience at STA allowed him to find lifetime friendships that he had never been able to experience before and an academic rigor second to none.

But, truly, does it matter what anyone says on these boards? Some will believe it because it backs up their thoughts, others will jump in to defend their school, and someone else will say something mean and nasty. Grain of salt, come hither.

[Anonymous]

The fact that Maret has a jock academic track (slash donor baby track) -- which it surely does not advertise on its website or in its materials -- shows that occasionally some useful factual information comes out of the normal DCUM madness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Maret has a jock academic track (slash donor baby track) -- which it surely does not advertise on its website or in its materials -- shows that occasionally some useful factual information comes out of the normal DCUM madness.

If you want useful information like that go to the Special Needs forum. Every school has academic help for kids. Only certain schools are ashamed to put it on their website.

It is sad that they are not proud to be helping kids, they only advertise the silver lining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Maret has a jock academic track (slash donor baby track) -- which it surely does not advertise on its website or in its materials -- shows that occasionally some useful factual information comes out of the normal DCUM madness.

If you want useful information like that go to the Special Needs forum. Every school has academic help for kids. Only certain schools are ashamed to put it on their website.

It is sad that they are not proud to be helping kids, they only advertise the silver lining.

Every school does have academic help for kids. So does Maret. They are clear about it. It is on their website.

http://www.maret.org/admission/affording_maret/davies_program/index.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Maret has a jock academic track (slash donor baby track) -- which it surely does not advertise on its website or in its materials -- shows that occasionally some useful factual information comes out of the normal DCUM madness.

If you want useful information like that go to the Special Needs forum. Every school has academic help for kids. Only certain schools are ashamed to put it on their website.

It is sad that they are not proud to be helping kids, they only advertise the silver lining.

Every school does have academic help for kids. So does Maret. They are clear about it. It is on their website.

http://www.maret.org/admission/affording_maret/davies_program/index.aspx

My kids go to another school, but I think it is awesome that Maret has this program. It doesn't sound like it is a special track for jocks. It sounds like Maret is not only committed to admitting kids from less privileged backgrounds, but to helping them succeed once they get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Maret has a jock academic track (slash donor baby track) -- which it surely does not advertise on its website or in its materials -- shows that occasionally some useful factual information comes out of the normal DCUM madness.

If you want useful information like that go to the Special Needs forum. Every school has academic help for kids. Only certain schools are ashamed to put it on their website.

It is sad that they are not proud to be helping kids, they only advertise the silver lining.

Every school does have academic help for kids. So does Maret. They are clear about it. It is on their website.

http://www.maret.org/admission/affording_maret/davies_program/index.aspx

My kids go to another school, but I think it is awesome that Maret has this program. It doesn't sound like it is a special track for jocks. It sounds like Maret is not only committed to admitting kids from less privileged backgrounds, but to helping them succeed once they get in.

+1 our school has a similar type program but it is under the radar, which is not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been told about the slow-track classes by a longtime Maret school employee. They are definitely being used for their big-time athletic recruits -- and as the prior poster said, for rich people's kids too. It was definitely described as a separate, much easier track. It is different from non-honors math vs. honors math or regular US History vs. AP US History, for example. And no, schools like Sidwell/GDS/Potomac (in the MAC) or Holton/NCS (in the ISL) do not have a set-up like this. Nor does St. Albans, if people think everyone in the IAC must do this. The person who told me felt like the school was selling out and was saddened by this.

You think they put the same emphasis on girls' sports? Look at the Division I athletes coming out of Maret for football/basketball/baseball and then compare the girls . . .

I don't think the separate track is something that is shameful. The Labs school can not be the only school in DC that can educate a dyslexic kid. Also, I think school are also realizing that not only do they lose a current family, but they see these kids they "counseled out" go on to be very successful and large donors for the school that did eventually educated them.

Students with dyslexia do not necessarily need another track. At our DC's school, there are some very bright dyslexic kids who work very hard. -- maybe harder than some others -- and achieve great grades. Some may need extra time on tests, but when dyslexic kids can really nail standardized college and AP tests from hard work, I don't think they belong in the same discussion of whether to recruit weaker students specifically for athletic talents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been told about the slow-track classes by a longtime Maret school employee. They are definitely being used for their big-time athletic recruits -- and as the prior poster said, for rich people's kids too. It was definitely described as a separate, much easier track. It is different from non-honors math vs. honors math or regular US History vs. AP US History, for example. And no, schools like Sidwell/GDS/Potomac (in the MAC) or Holton/NCS (in the ISL) do not have a set-up like this. Nor does St. Albans, if people think everyone in the IAC must do this. The person who told me felt like the school was selling out and was saddened by this.

You think they put the same emphasis on girls' sports? Look at the Division I athletes coming out of Maret for football/basketball/baseball and then compare the girls . . .

I don't think the separate track is something that is shameful. The Labs school can not be the only school in DC that can educate a dyslexic kid. Also, I think school are also realizing that not only do they lose a current family, but they see these kids they "counseled out" go on to be very successful and large donors for the school that did eventually educated them.

Students with dyslexia do not necessarily need another track. At our DC's school, there are some very bright dyslexic kids who work very hard. -- maybe harder than some others -- and achieve great grades. Some may need extra time on tests, but when dyslexic kids can really nail standardized college and AP tests from hard work, I don't think they belong in the same discussion of whether to recruit weaker students specifically for athletic talents.

True but to the untrained eye a dyslexic kid could be thought of as a "weaker" student. Nobody really knows if these kids are weaker students. Maybe when they play HS and club sports it is harder to get A's. In this area a B student (no matter the reason) is consider "lesser".

Even being in plays can affect grades, play practice is hours long.

I don't think people on this thread really understand sports and academics. Just like colleges, if you want a high level athlete you may need to put some things in place to support them since their schedule is so crazy. It's not that the student is not intelligent but there are just so many hours in the day.