So, if you had an average kid -- where would you send them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bullis, Field, or Burke

What's the deal with Bullis? Considering its nice location in the heart of affluent Potomac, and its great facilities, you would think it would be considered a top tier program. What gives?

Is is possible that Bullis is what Bullis wants to be? Serving a wide variety of kids well in a heterogenous setting; developing well rounded kids with strong skills and rich experiences in academics, athletics and the arts; encouraging kids to strive for their own personal best, rather than competing against external criteria. These seem to be the goals that Bullis has set for itself, and from everything I hear they meet them. Maybe the people at Bullis feel these goals are just as valid as producing Harvard students and serving the kids with the high WPPSI scores?

That seems reasonable PP. However I'd imagine its tough for Bullis not to feel the pressure of competing with "top tier" schools - especially with the Type A affluent demographics of its surrounding neighborhoods. Good for them for sticking with a particular niche and mission.

Just to be clear, I'm the person who wrote the post you're replying to and I should add that I'm not a Bullis staff member, or even a Bullis parent. I'm simply someone who went on an admissions tour and talked to some people, and walked away with the impression that Bullis is both a great school, and a potential great fit for my particular kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should go to the best public schools they can. Why spend money on average?

Actually the average need more help than the stars.

Mom of an average student who left public for private

I agree 100%. I'd say that engaged average students as well as the "high normal" gifted students are the most under-served students in the public school system nationwide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For Virginia schools:

Congressional, Browne, Alexandria Country Day, Langley School?
All good schools for good, solid students.

I say this again and again, people who want a strong academic program with an incredibly wonderful liberal arts/humanities slant really should look at Westminster. It does have high standards as far as behavior goes and I know that turns many parents off, but sending my DC there was one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about Langley but based upon what I hear about Congressional, I'd take it off the list. Would include Burgundy with Browne and ACDS - all have some good kids but primarily average to upper average. The reps of each school are changing so we can no longer assume the same about each school. New Heads and lots of teacher turnover - good and bad. Browne with a new building or two and ACDS building more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I do not think "average" is a bad thing, espcially average in Washington DC. Its better than a genius with terrible social skills or a precocious musician with self-confidence issues or an outstanding and exceptionally talented athlete who is utterly self-absorbed or a stellar mathmetician who hates to read, or a brainiac who never lifts her headout of a book, and can;t carry on aconversation with real live people to save her life. "Average" is as under valued in our society as "nice" is. Give me a smart, savvy, personable, well-rounded joe-averager any day. Those are actually the individuals who seem to end up the happiest people and most successful people, at least from an enjoyment of life perspective. They sample and enjoy lots of different things, have rich social lives, enjoy reading a myriad of books on all sorts of topics. Seriously, especially in a place like Washington, average is not bad word, average is actually a pretty great position from my viewpoint.

I like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anything about Langley but based upon what I hear about Congressional, I'd take it off the list. Would include Burgundy with Browne and ACDS - all have some good kids but primarily average to upper average. The reps of each school are changing so we can no longer assume the same about each school. New Heads and lots of teacher turnover - good and bad. Browne with a new building or two and ACDS building more.

Ouch! When did intelligence become intertwined with the idea of a child being "good".

[Anonymous]

Didn't mean to imply that, pp. Was trying to ensure that "average" was not being seen as a negative in this discussion. No harm intended.

[Anonymous]

PP, maybe I misunderstood, I read the reply as "some kids are good, but the rest are average" if you meant it as "lots of good kids, some of whom have average academic skills" then I apologize.

[Anonymous]

I think being an average student often translates to reading and doing math at grade level. I agree with the above poster that so-called average children are not well served in both public and private schools. We have a child who reads and does math competently at grade level. He is very musical and very creative in terms of analogic thinking. We've had a difficult time finding a school that is OK with his average reading and math skills, but yet appreciates and challenges him where he needs to be challenged. There is a pervasive and unhealthy attitude in both public and private schools that kids in the middle don't need anything extra, that their needs are automatically met.

[Anonymous]

re: Catholic schools and negative influences -

I wonder if some of that comes from their families/heritage not necessarily the school experience as i find the some parents to be very social and some serious drinkers.

This is totally off-topic, but I would just like to say that every Catholic school I've ever known or personally attended is full of hard-drinking Irish Catholic families. Today's families are not as big as they were in the 60s/70s, but hard-drinking nonetheless. Mine being one of them. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anything about Langley but based upon what I hear about Congressional, I'd take it off the list. Would include Burgundy with Browne and ACDS - all have some good kids but primarily average to upper average. The reps of each school are changing so we can no longer assume the same about each school. New Heads and lots of teacher turnover - good and bad. Browne with a new building or two and ACDS building more.

Red above is factually incorrect about at least one of those schools. The kids may not march like martinets, but the "average" is well above "average."

[Anonymous]

Just as with the 99.9 percent thread, you have to differentiate between different levels within "average" and between different kids at that level. A kid at the 80th percentile (which technically is "high average") who is willing to work very hard and not earn fantastic grades would do fine at any school in the area. A kid at the 50th, who does not want to work too hard, would struggle and be unhappy at most of the schools mentioned. Take IQ with a huge grain of salt, look at environments in which your kid does well now, find a similar environment, and be prepared to make a change if it's not working out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I do not think "average" is a bad thing, espcially average in Washington DC. Its better than a genius with terrible social skills or a precocious musician with self-confidence issues or an outstanding and exceptionally talented athlete who is utterly self-absorbed or a stellar mathmetician who hates to read, or a brainiac who never lifts her headout of a book, and can;t carry on aconversation with real live people to save her life. "Average" is as under valued in our society as "nice" is. Give me a smart, savvy, personable, well-rounded joe-averager any day. Those are actually the individuals who seem to end up the happiest people and most successful people, at least from an enjoyment of life perspective. They sample and enjoy lots of different things, have rich social lives, enjoy reading a myriad of books on all sorts of topics. Seriously, especially in a place like Washington, average is not bad word, average is actually a pretty great position from my viewpoint.

In total agreement with this! Besides, those people are the backbone of society.

[Anonymous]

WES and St. Patrick's are good choices. St. Pat's doesn't require the WPPSi test for nursery or Pre-K so it is a good option for kids that didn't score well. Most kids at the Big 3's have scores in the 90's with many having 95% an higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I do not think "average" is a bad thing, espcially average in Washington DC. Its better than a genius with terrible social skills or a precocious musician with self-confidence issues or an outstanding and exceptionally talented athlete who is utterly self-absorbed or a stellar mathmetician who hates to read, or a brainiac who never lifts her headout of a book, and can;t carry on aconversation with real live people to save her life. "Average" is as under valued in our society as "nice" is. Give me a smart, savvy, personable, well-rounded joe-averager any day. Those are actually the individuals who seem to end up the happiest people and most successful people, at least from an enjoyment of life perspective. They sample and enjoy lots of different things, have rich social lives, enjoy reading a myriad of books on all sorts of topics. Seriously, especially in a place like Washington, average is not bad word, average is actually a pretty great position from my viewpoint.

In total agreement with this! Besides, those people are the backbone of society.

Smart, savvy, personable, and well-rounded already take you out of the realm of "average." Nor would anyone call "the happiest" and "most successful" people "average."

If you want to say that personality or character matters more than brains or talent, then say it. But don't assume that social skills or emotional well-being or considerateness are inherently/exclusively the lot of people with average intelligence.

There are plenty of smart or talented people who are kind and happy and plenty of average people who are insecure and miserable. Not to mention people who outright suck at both school and sports but are delightful human beings in other more important ways.