Georgetown Day School or Sidwell Friends?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

We're not Jewish, URM or wealthy democrats, yet our kid got into both GDS and Sidwell. So don't be discouraged from applying if your kid doesn't fall into one of those categories.

[Anonymous]

A lot of private school payers here trying to persuade themselves those GDS/SFS grapes are sour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

Oh please. WIS Is fine and you are being ridiculous. Stay in your lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

Oh please. WIS Is fine and you are being ridiculous. Stay in your lane.

You're so convincing. You offer so many reasoned arguments. Not convinced.

Talk to anyone who has left WIS who can actually talk about the problems with the quality of teaching and curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd go with GDS. It's not necessarily a progressive pedagogy, but I think it's more in that direction than Sidwell.

This. Apply to both and see where you get in. Also look into Sandy Springs Friends School, Adian Montessori, Maret perhaps and look at a few k-8 schools too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

I am not sure what was wrong with Sidwell's COVID response. They had in person classes/hybrid for the second half of the year, as we all learned more about the virus. Some schools, including the other one mentioned in the title, never really opened at all. Sure, the schools in Maryland were able to do more, that that is in a different jurisdiction playing by different Department of Health rules.

[Anonymous]

"My kid is going to going to apply to colleges in a few years. Should he go to Yale or Harvard? TIA."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"My kid is going to going to apply to colleges in a few years. Should he go to Yale or Harvard? TIA."

Best to start getting prepared ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

We're not Jewish, URM or wealthy democrats, yet our kid got into both GDS and Sidwell. So don't be discouraged from applying if your kid doesn't fall into one of those categories.

Us too and we landed at Sidwell.

On the above, GDS's COVID response was worse than Sidwell for sure (at least for HS, according to our many friends who have GDS HS students)

[Anonymous]

Op isn't even applying for a couple of years, so last year's covid response isn't an issue. In any event, gds seems to be over correcting this year if anything. Lunch in the cafeteria and group desks in classrooms. Neither last year’s response nor this year’s seen on the mark. Hopefully by the grace of god none of this matters in two years though….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

We're not Jewish, URM or wealthy democrats, yet our kid got into both GDS and Sidwell. So don't be discouraged from applying if your kid doesn't fall into one of those categories.

Us too and we landed at Sidwell.

On the above, GDS's COVID response was worse than Sidwell for sure (at least for HS, according to our many friends who have GDS HS students)

I'm curious what Sidwell did for HS last year? I have a GDS HS student and they were back in person 2 days per week in November and 4 days a week in late spring. That seemed to work okay given the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

Oh please. WIS Is fine and you are being ridiculous. Stay in your lane.

You're so convincing. You offer so many reasoned arguments. Not convinced.

Talk to anyone who has left WIS who can actually talk about the problems with the quality of teaching and curriculum.

I don't need to argue with a troll nor convince a Sidwell parent. As a Sidwell parent, I would think it beneath you to criticize schools outside of the "big 3." You probably aren't even a Sidwell parent and probably didn't even get into WIS. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

We're not Jewish, URM or wealthy democrats, yet our kid got into both GDS and Sidwell. So don't be discouraged from applying if your kid doesn't fall into one of those categories.

Us too and we landed at Sidwell.

On the above, GDS's COVID response was worse than Sidwell for sure (at least for HS, according to our many friends who have GDS HS students)

I'm curious what Sidwell did for HS last year? I have a GDS HS student and they were back in person 2 days per week in November and 4 days a week in late spring. That seemed to work okay given the circumstances.

Sidwell was generally the same. I don't get the comparison fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether your son gets into either school will depend on how bright he is and whether you as a family and he as a kid fit into said school's culture. Apply, but don't set your heart on being admitted. There are a lot of quirky factors on whether you'll be admitted to either school. At GDS, it helps if you're Jewish or URM. At Sidwell, it helps if you're a wealthy, influential democrat or an URM.

I grew up in Quaker schools (Philly), but believe me Sidwell is NOT A QUAKER SCHOOL. Maybe it was once upon a time, but it's now a school for the wealthy elite of DC. The headmaster is sleazy and into schmoozing with prominent Democrats whose kids are treated with special kid gloves. Lest people say this is sour grapes, I have a child enrolled, and she loves her teachers and classmates, but I am not fond of the school administration, especially the headmaster, who needs to go. Sidwell's COVID response was pathetic. Probably the worse of the Big 3.

You use progressive education and liberal politics as though they're interchangeable. They're not. Progressive education is a specific pedagogy. GDS is somewhat progressive. Sidwell is not.

WIS is NOT well-respected in the area except by WIS parents and their gullible friends.

We're not Jewish, URM or wealthy democrats, yet our kid got into both GDS and Sidwell. So don't be discouraged from applying if your kid doesn't fall into one of those categories.

Us too and we landed at Sidwell.

On the above, GDS's COVID response was worse than Sidwell for sure (at least for HS, according to our many friends who have GDS HS students)

I'm curious what Sidwell did for HS last year? I have a GDS HS student and they were back in person 2 days per week in November and 4 days a week in late spring. That seemed to work okay given the circumstances.

Sidwell was generally the same. I don't get the comparison fail.

+2. And GDS lower and middle schools met 4 days/week starting last November. The biggest complaint among GDS parents in the fall was that the school wasted the nice weather in September and Octobber by not setting up outdoor tents and having instruction outdoors. I found the weekly in-school testing incredibly convenient and well-run. Also because the LMS building is brand new, GDS was able to upgrade the air filtration system very easily. No complaints here, given the circumstances, and very grateful that our kids were actually to go to school in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op isn't even applying for a couple of years, so last year's covid response isn't an issue. In any event, gds seems to be over correcting this year if anything. Lunch in the cafeteria and group desks in classrooms. Neither last year’s response nor this year’s seen on the mark. Hopefully by the grace of god none of this matters in two years though….

Lunch is not in the cafeteria (at least not for middle school).