New Leadership at Landon School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was no exodus last year troll.

15-20 kids leaving after 8th grade? Sounds like an exodus in my book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully Jim will be empowered to do what he needs to do in order to spur real change at Landon. The problems at the school run deep. Unfortunately, there was an exodus of really great families from Landon last year for whom Jim's hiring just came a little too late.

This is not true. We are a new Landon family and the school we experienced is nothing like the cartoonish characterizations I've read on this site.

In fact, some of these posts over the years made me think twice (well, 3 times, 4 times, etc.!) about whether I wanted to even look at Landon for my son. Well, I am so glad I did! We found a warm, nurturing community, committed teachers, mentors and coaches….and so much more.

Have there been troubles in the past with students - yes. Will kids at every school make mistakes - sure. Do other private (and public) schools have trouble - yes. Should an entire school -- or the boys who are currently enrolled -- be maligned by judgments about past actions of other people? Of course not! Are the intelligent, reasonable parents who look for wonderful educational opportunities for their boys smart enough to decide for themselves whether Landon is a good place - you bet.

I re- read your post and see that you are a new parent to Landon. I was as excited and exuberant as you are now when we first started. Check back in here in a few years and let us know how it's going. I'm sorry, but the bloom comes off the rose at Landon very quickly....

[Anonymous]

I re- read your post and see that you are a new parent to Landon. I was as excited and exuberant as you are now when we first started. Check back in here in a few years and let us know how it's going. I'm sorry, but the bloom comes off the rose at Landon very quickly....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not true. We are a new Landon family and the school we experienced is nothing like the cartoonish characterizations I've read on this site.

In fact, some of these posts over the years made me think twice (well, 3 times, 4 times, etc.!) about whether I wanted to even look at Landon for my son. Well, I am so glad I did! We found a warm, nurturing community, committed teachers, mentors and coaches….and so much more.

Have there been troubles in the past with students - yes. Will kids at every school make mistakes - sure. Do other private (and public) schools have trouble - yes. Should an entire school -- or the boys who are currently enrolled -- be maligned by judgments about past actions of other people? Of course not! Are the intelligent, reasonable parents who look for wonderful educational opportunities for their boys smart enough to decide for themselves whether Landon is a good place - you bet.

Your son hasn't spent one day in the school and you are already rationalizing that the criticism of Landon is unfounded? LOL.

There is a reason that the school has a culture of misogyny and bad behavior. It either attracts families who condone/encourage boorishness and/or it has a culture that breeds it.

There is a reason why Landon has been attached to so many scandals. Please don't resort to the lame "well, other schools have issues, too" mantra that Landon families use as excuse #1.

[Anonymous]

The rising 9th grade class did not lose 20 kids. Where do you get this information?

4 kids left after 8th grade for Bullis. Some of them left because they couldn't handle the academic course load and two of them left because they felt they wouldn't make the varsity lacrosse team believe it or not. (Silly reason of you ask me)

2 were recruited away for St John's to go play basketball / football.

3 kids left for boarding schools which is very common for families who want a different experience.

2-3 kids left due to financial aid reasons or the parents were relocating across the country.

In total, around 12 - 13 Kids left after graduating 8th grade.

I'm sure you are looking to try and spin this into some "big juicy story" but I can assure you it's not.

[Anonymous]

Your stats are wrong. In addition to what you listed above, two going to Maret. Four going to Sidwell. Two going to Gonzaga. Two going to Prep. Plus the ones you list above.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]The rising 9th grade class did not lose 20 kids. Where do you get this information?

4 kids left after 8th grade for Bullis. Some of them left because they couldn't handle the academic course load and two of them left because they felt they wouldn't make the varsity lacrosse team believe it or not. (Silly reason of you ask me)

2 were recruited away for St John's to go play basketball / football.

3 kids left for boarding schools which is very common for families who want a different experience.

2-3 kids left due to financial aid reasons or the parents were relocating across the country.

In total, around 12 - 13 Kids left after graduating 8th grade.

I'm sure you are looking to try and spin this into some "big juicy story" but I can assure you it's not.

[/quote]

It is disgusting enough that you single out the alleged reason why some kids may have left. But to cite that some left because they couldn't hack it academically? Do you feel really proud to say that out publicly? You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

To the poster that called out kids for the reason they left: THAT IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A LANDON PARENT. Disgusting. Clearly, this poster is the parent of a rising 9th grader and for whatever horrific reason, decided it was her right and responsibility to share personal data. Given what a small world it is, if you are in the Landon community, you now know exactly who the kids are that she is referring to. Thank God we got out. You should be ashamed.

[Anonymous]

Best of luck to the new HOS. The above post which singled out the transferring boys is typical of Landon. The reputation of the school has been hard earned by both the students and the parents. HOS needs to make large changes fast and should keep making wise changes. It's going to take some years to get positive results and change the environment-if the board allows.

[Anonymous]

We have friends whose son is coming to Landon from Maret this year. They were not happy with the culture at Maret, both in terms of academics and athletics.

[Anonymous]

Uh huh.

[Anonymous]

Mom of two NPS alums here. Jim Neill will be a wonderful addition to Landon. We were always impressed with how he communicated with both parents and kids. He really really cares about his school. He also happens to be an excellent business manager.

[Anonymous]

Landon has by far the most controversial reputation among any high schools, public or private, in the DC area. Where there is smoke, there has to be at least some fire. It has reached the point where, as one poster noted, parents wince before admitting their kids are enrolled there.

Why would anyone pay so much money for a school like that when there are so many high quality alternatives available? It makes no sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Well, as a former Landon parent, I can tell you that we naively thought it would be different. Had a friend with a son in the level above ours and she raved about it. So we bit and jumped in. What we soon learned is that no one wants to talk about the problems and the friend with the son who convinced us to go? She transferred her son out the year after we arrived. There is a culture there that unfortunately is in-bred and in some cases celebrated. Overt disdain for boys there are scholarship (our son was not on scholarship, but would share stories about how the kids talked about the boys who didn't "pay full freight.") In-fighting between the parents over LAX and sports (whose son is getting preferential treatment over another boy, etc.) With the teachers also serving as the boys' coaches, the line gets muddied over what kind of behavior is overlooked because a particular boy is a superstar athlete. There are undoubtedly some great teachers there, a number we adored, and also some that are only there because of family relationships...teachers who have no business being in a classroom or teaching young boys. Cursing in class in not unusual at all. The list just goes on and on. After a few years of rationalizing and hoping it would get better, we finally gave up, realizing that it was not the kind of environment we wanted for our son long term. We simply found another school with values that are more closely aligned with our own.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure Jim will have a positive impact on the school. We really do wish him all the luck. He has a wonderful reputation....