Norwood v. Sidwell's Lower School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP, I would ignore the snarky remarks. If you wanted to hire an educational consultant fine--many of us would do the same, if we had the resources. I, for one, appreciate your feedback about Norwood. Since so many consider Sidwell to be the Holy Grail, it's nice to get positive feedback on other good schools.

The average family in this country does not hire an educational consultant to help place their children in kindergarten/primary school (with "no prep" for WPSSI entrance tests).

I agree, but I think that is in large part because many of us cannot afford it--not because we are simply opposed to the practice. From what I've heard, it can cost you anywhere from $3,500-$5,000 to use one for Kindergarten. I don't have that kind of money, but I wouldn't necessarily begrudge someone who does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We were at Norwood K-8, now at a Big 3 for HS. When we applied K, the ed consultant we used (because we were new to town) said the big difference is that the cohort of really top kids at Norwood would be narrower. We lucked into a very strong class at Norwood, there, but from what we learned along the way this advice generally holds. Norwood does good things in a lot of areas, especially English and arts. It is weaker in sciences and foreign language.

We also learned along the way that while many families fall in love - absolutely love - with Norwood in lower school, by the time they reach middle school the close-nittedness becomes cliquey, the politics of the school become tiresome, and parents check out more (to a mroe normal level). The MS is probably the stronger component, though.

".....When we applied K, the ed consultant we used (because we were new to town)...."

Who cares the reason? Does this legitimize using an ed consultant for Kindergarten school admission? Does this make you feel better about the decison to use an ed consultant? I assure you it does not change the fact one iota.

[Anonymous]

I do not begrudge any family for using an educational counsultant for their 5-year-old to enter Kindergarten. I don't begrudge anyone for paying for Aristotle Circle WPSSI school admission prep lessons for their 5 year-old children. We certainly can afford it. But, since both parents in our household are educated and went to school we did not find this necessary for our children to gain admission to Kindergarten. We, and the kids, preferred to use those resources for a trip to Disney.

[Anonymous]

To get back on topic, I heard that one benefit of Norwood is that they don't redshirt kids. Sidwell, on the other hand, has a reputation for holding kids back a year so they will be bigger and smarter. Also, Norwood has a strong sibling policy whereas Sidwell does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, since both parents in our household are educated and went to school we did not find this necessary for our children to gain admission to Kindergarten. We, and the kids, preferred to use those resources for a trip to Disney.

How wonderful to be you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get back on topic, I heard that one benefit of Norwood is that they don't redshirt kids. Sidwell, on the other hand, has a reputation for holding kids back a year so they will be bigger and smarter. Also, Norwood has a strong sibling policy whereas Sidwell does not.

I don't know if the school has a policy about summer birthdays, but in DC's class at Norwood, there are a few kids who turned 6 before starting kindergarten--parent-initiated redshirting occurs everywhere.

The sibling policy is very strong, and the admissions office will give you a heads-up if they believe Norwood is probably not the right school for a sib.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get back on topic, I heard that one benefit of Norwood is that they don't redshirt kids. Sidwell, on the other hand, has a reputation for holding kids back a year so they will be bigger and smarter. Also, Norwood has a strong sibling policy whereas Sidwell does not.

I think someone might have given you false info about Sidwell. Here is their statement on age cut-offs: http://www.sidwell.edu/admissions/admissions-faq-2/index.aspx.

Sidwell wrote:We have an age requirement at our Lower School and use September 1 as our birthday cutoff. Your child must meet the age requirement for the grade to which he/she is applying. For applicants for the 2010-2011 academic year, please refer to the dates below for guidance.
Grade Age Born Before
PK 4 9/1/2006
K 5 9/1/2005
1 6 9/1/2004
2 7 9/1/2003
3 8 9/1/2002
4 9 9/1/2001

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To get back on topic, I heard that one benefit of Norwood is that they don't redshirt kids. Sidwell, on the other hand, has a reputation for holding kids back a year so they will be bigger and smarter. Also, Norwood has a strong sibling policy whereas Sidwell does not.

I think someone might have given you false info about Sidwell. Here is their statement on age cut-offs: http://www.sidwell.edu/admissions/admissions-faq-2/index.aspx.

Sidwell wrote:We have an age requirement at our Lower School and use September 1 as our birthday cutoff. Your child must meet the age requirement for the grade to which he/she is applying. For applicants for the 2010-2011 academic year, please refer to the dates below for guidance.
Grade Age Born Before
PK 4 9/1/2006
K 5 9/1/2005
1 6 9/1/2004
2 7 9/1/2003
3 8 9/1/2002
4 9 9/1/2001

In DS's grade at Sidwell, the August birthday boys were held back, but the June birthday boys were not. I don't know whether it was school-suggested or parent suggested, but I don't really consider one month to be over-the-top redshirting.

[Anonymous]

At Norwood, if you turned 6 before May, you do not start Kindergarten.
I don't think that the big three would be reluctant to start a kid in K if they turned 6 in January.

[Anonymous]

So Norwood has a stated policy of redshirting?

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of this policy, but I think 9:42 meant the opposite: older children are expected to enter first grade, not kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP. I think Norwood's policy is that they will not allow parents to redshirt a child unless they were born AFTER May of a particular year (i.e. you can redshirt summer birthdays but not kids born January through April).

[Anonymous]

The simplest thing is to call the admissions office - or the AD can answer here!
When we entered Norwood, he was a Dec. birthday and attended K in public -- he was required to repeat K at Norwood (back in the day when public had a Dec 31 deadline) regardless of aptitude. The argument was about maturity. Friends who attend GDS tell me it is common to find kids w/ August birthdays (i.e., quite young). So I think schools do approach it differently, and some more transparently than others!

[Anonymous]

Both great schools. One note about the Pre-K-12th grade "security" at Sidwell. Simply this: it's false. While your child may very well end up attending the school through high school, I have 2 good friends who entered Sidwell in Pre-K, but were not invited back after Middle School and to this day they are angry about the way it was handled. The school was of no help in out placement. I might add both are very bright and succesful. The rejection impacted them signficantly as that age is an especially sensitive time. One was emotionally devastating and remains close friends with her old classmates but resents the school; the other really hasn't kept in touch with her old classmates because the whole experience was humiliating.

My point is, choose a school where you see your child blossoming in the next few years. Who knows what school will be the right fit for your child when they are older.

[Anonymous]

pp, now you got me thinking about some kids who left Sidwell angry. I wonder if they were asked to leave.