Choosing WIS over GDS or Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

While I am sure GDS retention percentage is high there is no way it is 98%. There are at least 3 kids in my dc's high school class who came from GDS - it is a single sex school so is a bit of a different model from GDS. They can't be the only ones who left that particular class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my limited observations, several families apply to both WIS and GDS because of their emphasis on diversity, because they are not religiously affiliated schools, and because they are both close geographically (Sidwell's LS being in Bethesda). They are both fine schools, no doubt, but we ultimately chose GDS over WIS because we thought that in the long run, GDS might prove a better fit for our child and our family.

The Primary Years IB curriculum at WIS is very impressive, but the general sense is that the GDS upper school is stronger. Also, the attrition rate at WIS is significantly higher than at GDS, not due to the school itself, but because WIS is going to attract a lot of families that relocate. We were personally impressed by the very low student attrition rate at GDS because it suggested both very happy families and a school that works to keep its students. Finally, although students leave WIS with stronger foreign language skills, GDS offered excellent foreign language opportunities for a non-immersion school.

I don't think that you can go wrong in either case. Good luck!

We made the opposite decision, but I agree with much of what this poster says except for the high attrition at WIS. Our child has been there for several years now and I have been surprised by the low attrition given the population.

Our child was accepted to GDS and WIS and we chose WIS because we thought it was a better fit for our child and because we wanted true immersion and the probability of real fluency/bi-literacy. We also thought that it might be a better fit for our family. The families at both schools seem a little posh compared to what we're used to, but we had a feeling that WIS might suit us as parents better, though that was far from the most important factor. I agree that either is a very safe bet for a great education.

When I asked the AD at WIS how many of the PK children stayed on until graduation, she responded that it was about 50%. At GDS, the response to the same question was 98%.

My goodness, I am certainly not concerned about my child's preK friends staying on till 12th grade! It's nice to have departures and arrivals throughout childhood and the teen years. I can't imagine that attrition over a 14-year period is a concern for most people.

[Anonymous]

Attrition and retention rates are important. They say a lot about a school, and is a factor often overlooked by parents who are focused on curriculum. Also, note that GDS (and other schools) add a number of students along the way all the way through high school.

Can't speak to 9:52's claim, although one year is not a good statistical sample. There are probably some years when no students leave GDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attrition and retention rates are important. They say a lot about a school, and is a factor often overlooked by parents who are focused on curriculum. Also, note that GDS (and other schools) add a number of students along the way all the way through high school.

OK, but no one would expect an international school to have the same attrition rate as a hometown school. Most WIS students have at least one non-US parent, so of course they're more likely to leave, primarily because of an international move. There is a sense among some parents that the primary school may have a higher percentage of American families now than in the past (and I have no statistics to prove this) but that wouldn't change the attrition rate for quite some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While I am sure GDS retention percentage is high there is no way it is 98%. There are at least 3 kids in my dc's high school class who came from GDS - it is a single sex school so is a bit of a different model from GDS. They can't be the only ones who left that particular class.

The question asked of the AD was what % of PreK'ers stay through 12th. At GDS, PreK'ers are a small group and disproportionately include kids with prior connections to the school (legacies, sibs, children of faculty and staff). I share the skepticism of the 98% figure (which would mean that, on average, only 1 kid total from the PreK group leaves the school over the course of the next 13 years). In my kid's class, 4-5 of the original 20 have left already and DC isn't in HS yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:... Most WIS students have at least one non-US parent ...

Does this mean that more than half of the WIS students have at least one non-US parent? Is the % really this high?

[Anonymous]

The general formula at WIS is 1/3 non-US, 1/3 with one US citizen one non-US citizen, 1/3 with two American parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I asked the AD at WIS how many of the PK children stayed on until graduation, she responded that it was about 50%. At GDS, the response to the same question was 98%.

I was just looking at WIS website, and it says that for the class of 2010, 19 graduates had been at WIS since 1st grade. I don't know how big the 1st grade classes are at WIS, but anyone who knows could do some easy math to figure out what % stay through graduation (at least for 2010).