Sidwell or St. Albans for 9th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell or STA for overall quality of experience and quality of life? Kid is smart, funny, kind and sporty but not a D1 recruit-to-be. Wants a great high school experience.

Very different communities. The parents and kids are very different. A family that is happy at one would not necessarily be happy at the other. There are threads on here about the communities and their differences and similarities.

To be fair, we’ve read posts comparing the two, and one thing that is often said is “the same kinds of kids go to both.” In fact, that might actually be a quote from one of the posts in the comparison threads, and it gets a lot of +‘s.

Big difference between the two. STA is far more conservative than Sidwell. Sidwell has to be one of the most liberal schools in the DC area that embraces diversity, social activism, and LGBTQ. You don't see the same at STA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell or STA for overall quality of experience and quality of life? Kid is smart, funny, kind and sporty but not a D1 recruit-to-be. Wants a great high school experience.

Very different communities. The parents and kids are very different. A family that is happy at one would not necessarily be happy at the other. There are threads on here about the communities and their differences and similarities.

To be fair, we’ve read posts comparing the two, and one thing that is often said is “the same kinds of kids go to both.” In fact, that might actually be a quote from one of the posts in the comparison threads, and it gets a lot of +‘s.

Big difference between the two. STA is far more conservative than Sidwell. Sidwell has to be one of the most liberal schools in the DC area that embraces diversity, social activism, and LGBTQ. You don't see the same at STA.

Sidwell's liberalness is overblown. Is it a place that is comfortable hiring, retaining and making Black/LGBTQ people feel welcome? Yes. Representation matters at Sidwell, but it is not otherwise a "left wing" school. In fact, it is a little conservative in that New England yankee way. If you want a school that promotes social activism, that is GDS.

To analogize these schools to Ivies, StA/NCS is Princeton, Sidwell is Yale and GDS is Brown.

[Anonymous]

STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - I think both are great and I think your son should choose. Have them start making pros/cons lists - this can include curriculum, lunch, length of day, all boys/code, teaching style, campus...whatever.

One thing I'll add that others haven't mentioned, but my DS noticed (and has been confirmed by friends who attended) was the importance of sports teams at St Albans. Sidwell has great teams but, as a whole, sports doesn't have the same culture at Sidwell as it takes on at St Albans. Also, athletic requirements, I believe are much more time consuming at St Albans. For kids that love team bonding and consider the sport as downtime, maybe this is time well spent. Some boys thrive in this sort of culture.
For others, it's a stressor on top of academic requirements and may not love a culture that is sports heavy (even if they play on multiple HS teams). It's not good or bad in general, but it could be good or bad for a specific child.

Over the past couple of years, all of the teams at Sidwell, other than baseball and football, have won league and city championships. The coach of those two teams has retired, with the replacements top notch. Yes, Sidwell isn't all consumed by sports, but the athletic program is very well supported and the kids are very involved and successful, with many going on to play in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

Indeed, not even close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

Indeed, not even close.

Elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have two sons, one who went to Sidwell and the other went to STA (more than a handful of years ago). My oldest went to Sidwell and responded well to the community. While there are many students who are hyper-competitive (as there are at all schools), my kid was a little more laidback, but definitely engaged and a bit of a smart ass (in the best way possible). He enjoyed going to a coed school and made many friendships with people of all genders. My youngest went to STA and enjoyed it also. Like at Sidwell, academics at STA are great. However, as a mother, I did not like some of the attitudes my youngest son learned about women at STA. Although there are many nice students at the school, there is a culture of misogyny there. When Obama first ran for the Democratic presidential nominee, many of my son's friends used to joke around with each other by saying "bros before hoes" (is that how you spell the plural, or is that just for the gardening implement?). I was glad when my son was able to take a class at NCS so he had some exposure to girls in the classroom. I am very feminist-identified, so hearing my son tell me some of the horrible things he heard go around the school disappointed me. I think that the new head is trying to change the culture, but I also have read and heard (on this site and among alums) that the school has its fair share of Trump-identified people (I won't dare call them Republicans). This is just my family's experience, and I know that YMMV, but I wanted to share our story. Good luck!

+1. Lots of truth here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I think both are great and I think your son should choose. Have them start making pros/cons lists - this can include curriculum, lunch, length of day, all boys/code, teaching style, campus...whatever.

One thing I'll add that others haven't mentioned, but my DS noticed (and has been confirmed by friends who attended) was the importance of sports teams at St Albans. Sidwell has great teams but, as a whole, sports doesn't have the same culture at Sidwell as it takes on at St Albans. Also, athletic requirements, I believe are much more time consuming at St Albans. For kids that love team bonding and consider the sport as downtime, maybe this is time well spent. Some boys thrive in this sort of culture.
For others, it's a stressor on top of academic requirements and may not love a culture that is sports heavy (even if they play on multiple HS teams). It's not good or bad in general, but it could be good or bad for a specific child.

Over the past couple of years, all of the teams at Sidwell, other than baseball and football, have won league and city championships. The coach of those two teams has retired, with the replacements top notch. Yes, Sidwell isn't all consumed by sports, but the athletic program is very well supported and the kids are very involved and successful, with many going on to play in college.

I'm pp - agreed. The point wasn't the success of the teams, how the programs are run, or whether students have school spirit. I'd add to your list that Sidwell's AD is top notch.

The point I was making was the role that sports plays in the culture of the schools. At St Albans sports plays a MUCH larger role in the culture than it plays at Sidwell. OP has a sporty kid, so this is probably ok. But it's a difference. My other point is that the minimal athletics/sports requirement takes up more time at St Albans.

[Anonymous]

Most students will still need to do 3 seasons of sports/PE for 3+ years at Sidwell, even with the new credit system. I really don't think that is a factor that should weigh on the decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

Indeed, not even close.

Agree with this. Also agree that the myth of extreme liberalism at Sidwell is really overblown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

Indeed, not even close.

Elaborate?

There are so many threads here on this issue. Where have you been? My statement is based on what parents told me who have kids at both schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most students will still need to do 3 seasons of sports/PE for 3+ years at Sidwell, even with the new credit system. I really don't think that is a factor that should weigh on the decision.

You can meet those requirements by doing dance, yoga, weight training or even equestrian in your own time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most students will still need to do 3 seasons of sports/PE for 3+ years at Sidwell, even with the new credit system. I really don't think that is a factor that should weigh on the decision.

Kids are required 10 seasons (out of 12) but the way points work are you get more credit for playing on a team...so a single team sport in each year will cut your season requirement down to 9 seasons.

Also PE options at Sidwell include some that can be done during school hours, before school, and meet just 45 min 2x a week. Does St Albans have that small of a commitment? And how socially acceptable is it to be in a PE option and never on a team. At Sidwell, nobody would think twice if a kid chose this path - NOONE. I don't think that's true at St Albans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most students will still need to do 3 seasons of sports/PE for 3+ years at Sidwell, even with the new credit system. I really don't think that is a factor that should weigh on the decision.

Kids are required 10 seasons (out of 12) but the way points work are you get more credit for playing on a team...so a single team sport in each year will cut your season requirement down to 9 seasons.

Also PE options at Sidwell include some that can be done during school hours, before school, and meet just 45 min 2x a week. Does St Albans have that small of a commitment? And how socially acceptable is it to be in a PE option and never on a team. At Sidwell, nobody would think twice if a kid chose this path - NOONE. I don't think that's true at St Albans.

Again - I don't think this applies to the OP's child...but this DOES matter for some kids. And, some don't realize the impact of sports requirement or extracurricular requirements when applying to and choosing schools. I had SEVERAL families comment in 9th grade (after leaving k-8) that they were really surprised at the sports requirements for their child and how long their days were - they had failed to take this into consideration. My child was very keen to understand the entire typical day at a school and paid closer attention than even I was at first. This is not a dig on any school - it's just a heads up for those making decisions in case it matters to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA handled the pandemic far better than Sidwell.

Indeed, not even close.

Unless you expect to have another, different pandemic next year, both schools will be fully in person this spring and presumably next fall.