Deep Racism Problems at NCS and STA: Questions/Answers we can't get through admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

No facts whatsoever. No, they didn’t do it at school. They did it in their personal time on social media.

What no one has noted yet is that the students were immediately expelled.

By the way, just to be clear, anti-Semitism is not the same thing as racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

And yet they keep on admitting some of these families, despite the fact that the kids or the parents or both have records that make quite clear how they view these issues and how they have mistreated others on the basis of race, national origin, or sexual orientation. And for what? Seriously, for what?

4 years ago and they were expelled . There were those who said “ first offense “ and “ but they are young and they fell into an internet dark web parents didn’t know about “

That argument lost and they were expelled

Yeah schools have a role to set a high moral standard and educate young people , including socially, but ultimately kids comes from families and morals are learned at home - or not unlearned at home - and to blame a school - like some posters seem to relish doing is kinda unrealistic. A bad apple or two can get in . The school expelled them - the only one gloating over what they did is YOU

So, do you want improvement or more opportunities to gloat ?

Different poster. Sorry but your post is factually incorrect. It was 2.5 years ago to be exact. It was spring of 2018. Yes the boys were expelled but they received a lot of support by parents and kids. Victims received zero support. In fact a few boys put the names of the boys that did this on their helmets to honor them.

Did the school insist they take those off the helmets?

I don’t think they knew. That came out after the fact.

I am a different poster and I so not think STA encourages racism or elitism in the least. I really don’t.

I and many others think where they have failed is by admitting too many families that don’t want diversity or inclusion and who are vocally and publicly against BLM and against DEI and some against LGBTQ openly. So now they are left with a mess which will takes years to clean up after these families graduate from the Close.

I'm white from upper NW and everyone I Know at STA comes from one social group (I could even say clique). The rest of us (the normal Joe's) know not to even apply. Why? Because these families have been turning their nose up at us for years in preschools, sports teams, etc.
Pick the coldest/most distant parents on your kid's team and they're bound to be STA parents. Plus we (the journalists, the government workers, the public school families) know we're not getting into STA. The school will follow the money and prestige every time. We know our place and STA knows what they want. The stupid thing
is that they keep wondering why they have such issues with race and class. Well, duh. It's obvious to anyone who has any contact with STA. Stop preferentially admitting the wealthy assholes of Washington and their friends and your problem will be reduced by half overnight.

My DH and I are two government workers on public salaries, and we know many other families at the school who are as well. We also know many journalists, research scientists at NIH, single parents, formerly public school parents, parents who are academics or teachers. There are many normal Joe’s and Josettes at the school. Your poorly written, sloganeering rant against STA is informed by stereotyping and self-pity rather than any real knowledge of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but everyone needs to stop scapegoating these issues on the Chevy Chase Club. There are members at STA just like there are at many other schools in our area. The vast majority of STA parents are not members and there are tons of uber wealthy parents at STA who are not members. There may be Chevy members you don’t care for or agree with politically, but there are also very nice families who you would like and agree with. To blame all of STA’s issues on a handful of club members is ludicrous and absurd. STA’s issues run much deeper and are the result of an entrenched culture of elitism, privilege, and competition they foster with their messaging. It is also the result of admissions and who they prioritize. Sure they have been working on prioritizing diversity, but they also prioritize wealth, ability to donate big $, and connected families. These two priorities have eliminated the middle ground population and created a dichotomy of have and have not. Then you throw in the constant message that your the best of the best and it creates the culture we are seeing. There is an underlying level of competition, especially among the parents. Whose child is truly the smartest, the best student, the best athlete, the most talented, the most popular, etc. The pressure is real for a lot of these kids and they’re pushed by their parents to perform. We pay $50k a year for you to be at this top school that we got you into and you need to succeed and achieve. The reality that no one wants you to know is that the majority of these boys are no more gifted intellectually or academically than the majority of boys at other schools in our area. Boys at STA are equal to boys at Prep, Landon, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St. Anselms, etc. They are normal boys, some are brilliant and super talented and others are normal above average to average kids. It’s the same at most highly competitive schools in our area. The difference is this culture described above of constantly being told they are the best of the best and better than everyone else, the great divide in social economics (no middle ground/have and have nots), the constant stress to achieve, and the competition especially among parents which translates to kids. It’s a pressure cooker academically, socially, financially, athletically, etc. And guess what, it’s boiling over.

How have the other top privates in DC managed to not be bipolar like this? NCS, GDS, and Sidwell are all much more friendly to professional class, non-connected families. We applied out of DCPS and each of these schools took kids from our school. STA did not. And the boys who applied were fantastic--straight As, great athletes, etc. I know a handful of the boys that STA did take
and they were more of the same: connected, wealthy and from a certain social set and a few feeder privates. They were no more qualified than any of the boys I know who did not get in, in fact many were less so. They were just wealthier and more connected.
Will they (STA) ever stop this practice? The new head of school could be then nicest guy on the planet and have the best of intentions but until this practice is changed it will be more of the same and it will continue to boil over. The other top DC schools have a different value system and have no problem admitting the kids of the "middle ground" population. Why is STA so different?

The problem is that you think you know the qualifications of the applicants, but you probably don’t. It’s easy to conclude that kids were just “wealthier and more connected.” As an STA parent, I’ve seen admissions up close and the pool of talent they recruit from is incredible, but they also look at intangible slike personality. Being bright alone is not enough. There are many middle ground kids and suggesting that they don’t based on your limited perspective is ludicrous.

Your arrogance in assuming you know all there is to know about the kids who got in speaks volumes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

No facts whatsoever. No, they didn’t do it at school. They did it in their personal time on social media.

What no one has noted yet is that the students were immediately expelled.

By the way, just to be clear, anti-Semitism is not the same thing as racism.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?

[Anonymous]

Not the PP, but it was a mix of kids pictured/targeted, not just Black kids. Because it centered on the Holocaust, it was experienced by many as an anti-Semitic incident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but everyone needs to stop scapegoating these issues on the Chevy Chase Club. There are members at STA just like there are at many other schools in our area. The vast majority of STA parents are not members and there are tons of uber wealthy parents at STA who are not members. There may be Chevy members you don’t care for or agree with politically, but there are also very nice families who you would like and agree with. To blame all of STA’s issues on a handful of club members is ludicrous and absurd. STA’s issues run much deeper and are the result of an entrenched culture of elitism, privilege, and competition they foster with their messaging. It is also the result of admissions and who they prioritize. Sure they have been working on prioritizing diversity, but they also prioritize wealth, ability to donate big $, and connected families. These two priorities have eliminated the middle ground population and created a dichotomy of have and have not. Then you throw in the constant message that your the best of the best and it creates the culture we are seeing. There is an underlying level of competition, especially among the parents. Whose child is truly the smartest, the best student, the best athlete, the most talented, the most popular, etc. The pressure is real for a lot of these kids and they’re pushed by their parents to perform. We pay $50k a year for you to be at this top school that we got you into and you need to succeed and achieve. The reality that no one wants you to know is that the majority of these boys are no more gifted intellectually or academically than the majority of boys at other schools in our area. Boys at STA are equal to boys at Prep, Landon, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St. Anselms, etc. They are normal boys, some are brilliant and super talented and others are normal above average to average kids. It’s the same at most highly competitive schools in our area. The difference is this culture described above of constantly being told they are the best of the best and better than everyone else, the great divide in social economics (no middle ground/have and have nots), the constant stress to achieve, and the competition especially among parents which translates to kids. It’s a pressure cooker academically, socially, financially, athletically, etc. And guess what, it’s boiling over.

How have the other top privates in DC managed to not be bipolar like this? NCS, GDS, and Sidwell are all much more friendly to professional class, non-connected families. We applied out of DCPS and each of these schools took kids from our school. STA did not. And the boys who applied were fantastic--straight As, great athletes, etc. I know a handful of the boys that STA did take
and they were more of the same: connected, wealthy and from a certain social set and a few feeder privates. They were no more qualified than any of the boys I know who did not get in, in fact many were less so. They were just wealthier and more connected.
Will they (STA) ever stop this practice? The new head of school could be then nicest guy on the planet and have the best of intentions but until this practice is changed it will be more of the same and it will continue to boil over. The other top DC schools have a different value system and have no problem admitting the kids of the "middle ground" population. Why is STA so different?

The problem is that you think you know the qualifications of the applicants, but you probably don’t. It’s easy to conclude that kids were just “wealthier and more connected.” As an STA parent, I’ve seen admissions up close and the pool of talent they recruit from is incredible, but they also look at intangible slike personality. Being bright alone is not enough. There are many middle ground kids and suggesting that they don’t based on your limited perspective is ludicrous.

Your arrogance in assuming you know all there is to know about the kids who got in speaks volumes.

This is ridiculous. You forget that the STA boys are out and about in the community. Anyone who lives in DC knows many of them. Most are totally indistinguishable from any other boys. They are not some sort of elite breed of human. However, they generally are outliers on the wealth scale. You can track them on my son's two teams by who drives the Teslas and Land Rovers. It's a 1:1 correlation.
You can't tell me that I'm wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

And yet they keep on admitting some of these families, despite the fact that the kids or the parents or both have records that make quite clear how they view these issues and how they have mistreated others on the basis of race, national origin, or sexual orientation. And for what? Seriously, for what?

4 years ago and they were expelled . There were those who said “ first offense “ and “ but they are young and they fell into an internet dark web parents didn’t know about “

That argument lost and they were expelled

Yeah schools have a role to set a high moral standard and educate young people , including socially, but ultimately kids comes from families and morals are learned at home - or not unlearned at home - and to blame a school - like some posters seem to relish doing is kinda unrealistic. A bad apple or two can get in . The school expelled them - the only one gloating over what they did is YOU

So, do you want improvement or more opportunities to gloat ?

Different poster. Sorry but your post is factually incorrect. It was 2.5 years ago to be exact. It was spring of 2018. Yes the boys were expelled but they received a lot of support by parents and kids. Victims received zero support. In fact a few boys put the names of the boys that did this on their helmets to honor them.

Did the school insist they take those off the helmets?

I don’t think they knew. That came out after the fact.

I am a different poster and I so not think STA encourages racism or elitism in the least. I really don’t.

I and many others think where they have failed is by admitting too many families that don’t want diversity or inclusion and who are vocally and publicly against BLM and against DEI and some against LGBTQ openly. So now they are left with a mess which will takes years to clean up after these families graduate from the Close.

I'm white from upper NW and everyone I Know at STA comes from one social group (I could even say clique). The rest of us (the normal Joe's) know not to even apply. Why? Because these families have been turning their nose up at us for years in preschools, sports teams, etc.
Pick the coldest/most distant parents on your kid's team and they're bound to be STA parents. Plus we (the journalists, the government workers, the public school families) know we're not getting into STA. The school will follow the money and prestige every time. We know our place and STA knows what they want. The stupid thing
is that they keep wondering why they have such issues with race and class. Well, duh. It's obvious to anyone who has any contact with STA. Stop preferentially admitting the wealthy assholes of Washington and their friends and your problem will be reduced by half overnight.

My DH and I are two government workers on public salaries, and we know many other families at the school who are as well. We also know many journalists, research scientists at NIH, single parents, formerly public school parents, parents who are academics or teachers. There are many normal Joe’s and Josettes at the school. Your poorly written, sloganeering rant against STA is informed by stereotyping and self-pity rather than any real knowledge of the school.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I tend to think research scientists and tenured professors (particularly at prestigious universities) ARE elite. Private schools fight for those parents/families. (and those families tend to donate, as they value a rigorous education). Perhaps I am missing your precise point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but everyone needs to stop scapegoating these issues on the Chevy Chase Club. There are members at STA just like there are at many other schools in our area. The vast majority of STA parents are not members and there are tons of uber wealthy parents at STA who are not members. There may be Chevy members you don’t care for or agree with politically, but there are also very nice families who you would like and agree with. To blame all of STA’s issues on a handful of club members is ludicrous and absurd. STA’s issues run much deeper and are the result of an entrenched culture of elitism, privilege, and competition they foster with their messaging. It is also the result of admissions and who they prioritize. Sure they have been working on prioritizing diversity, but they also prioritize wealth, ability to donate big $, and connected families. These two priorities have eliminated the middle ground population and created a dichotomy of have and have not. Then you throw in the constant message that your the best of the best and it creates the culture we are seeing. There is an underlying level of competition, especially among the parents. Whose child is truly the smartest, the best student, the best athlete, the most talented, the most popular, etc. The pressure is real for a lot of these kids and they’re pushed by their parents to perform. We pay $50k a year for you to be at this top school that we got you into and you need to succeed and achieve. The reality that no one wants you to know is that the majority of these boys are no more gifted intellectually or academically than the majority of boys at other schools in our area. Boys at STA are equal to boys at Prep, Landon, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St. Anselms, etc. They are normal boys, some are brilliant and super talented and others are normal above average to average kids. It’s the same at most highly competitive schools in our area. The difference is this culture described above of constantly being told they are the best of the best and better than everyone else, the great divide in social economics (no middle ground/have and have nots), the constant stress to achieve, and the competition especially among parents which translates to kids. It’s a pressure cooker academically, socially, financially, athletically, etc. And guess what, it’s boiling over.

How have the other top privates in DC managed to not be bipolar like this? NCS, GDS, and Sidwell are all much more friendly to professional class, non-connected families. We applied out of DCPS and each of these schools took kids from our school. STA did not. And the boys who applied were fantastic--straight As, great athletes, etc. I know a handful of the boys that STA did take
and they were more of the same: connected, wealthy and from a certain social set and a few feeder privates. They were no more qualified than any of the boys I know who did not get in, in fact many were less so. They were just wealthier and more connected.
Will they (STA) ever stop this practice? The new head of school could be then nicest guy on the planet and have the best of intentions but until this practice is changed it will be more of the same and it will continue to boil over. The other top DC schools have a different value system and have no problem admitting the kids of the "middle ground" population. Why is STA so different?

The problem is that you think you know the qualifications of the applicants, but you probably don’t. It’s easy to conclude that kids were just “wealthier and more connected.” As an STA parent, I’ve seen admissions up close and the pool of talent they recruit from is incredible, but they also look at intangible slike personality. Being bright alone is not enough. There are many middle ground kids and suggesting that they don’t based on your limited perspective is ludicrous.

Your arrogance in assuming you know all there is to know about the kids who got in speaks volumes.

This is ridiculous. You forget that the STA boys are out and about in the community. Anyone who lives in DC knows many of them. Most are totally indistinguishable from any other boys. They are not some sort of elite breed of human. However, they generally are outliers on the wealth scale. You can track them on my son's two teams by who drives the Teslas and Land Rovers. It's a 1:1 correlation.
You can't tell me that I'm wrong.

That’s right. No one can tell you that you’re wrong. That’s your problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP, but it was a mix of kids pictured/targeted, not just Black kids. Because it centered on the Holocaust, it was experienced by many as an anti-Semitic incident.

DP. Actually they cut out the faces of JEWISH classmates and portrayed them as dead corpses in a holocaust picture and that is why it is anti-Semitic. They also cut out the face of one African American teacher. The fact they targeted Jewish classmates in a hate incident is why it is anti-Semitic. The AA teacher being targeted as well is why it is racist.

Yes the boys were expelled but I think the fact that they received a lot of support including being honored on boys helmets instead of shamed was disturbing for many in the community. Also parents in the school and boys in other forms were not notified of the incident so it spread by mouth and caused angst particularly for Jewish and African American families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP, but it was a mix of kids pictured/targeted, not just Black kids. Because it centered on the Holocaust, it was experienced by many as an anti-Semitic incident.

Are you at STA? If you were at STA you would know it was Jewish kids targeted in the pic as being dead at a concentration camp. That’s why it’s anti-Semitic. Sigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

And yet they keep on admitting some of these families, despite the fact that the kids or the parents or both have records that make quite clear how they view these issues and how they have mistreated others on the basis of race, national origin, or sexual orientation. And for what? Seriously, for what?

4 years ago and they were expelled . There were those who said “ first offense “ and “ but they are young and they fell into an internet dark web parents didn’t know about “

That argument lost and they were expelled

Yeah schools have a role to set a high moral standard and educate young people , including socially, but ultimately kids comes from families and morals are learned at home - or not unlearned at home - and to blame a school - like some posters seem to relish doing is kinda unrealistic. A bad apple or two can get in . The school expelled them - the only one gloating over what they did is YOU

So, do you want improvement or more opportunities to gloat ?

Different poster. Sorry but your post is factually incorrect. It was 2.5 years ago to be exact. It was spring of 2018. Yes the boys were expelled but they received a lot of support by parents and kids. Victims received zero support. In fact a few boys put the names of the boys that did this on their helmets to honor them.

Did the school insist they take those off the helmets?

I don’t think they knew. That came out after the fact.

I am a different poster and I so not think STA encourages racism or elitism in the least. I really don’t.

I and many others think where they have failed is by admitting too many families that don’t want diversity or inclusion and who are vocally and publicly against BLM and against DEI and some against LGBTQ openly. So now they are left with a mess which will takes years to clean up after these families graduate from the Close.

I'm white from upper NW and everyone I Know at STA comes from one social group (I could even say clique). The rest of us (the normal Joe's) know not to even apply. Why? Because these families have been turning their nose up at us for years in preschools, sports teams, etc.
Pick the coldest/most distant parents on your kid's team and they're bound to be STA parents. Plus we (the journalists, the government workers, the public school families) know we're not getting into STA. The school will follow the money and prestige every time. We know our place and STA knows what they want. The stupid thing
is that they keep wondering why they have such issues with race and class. Well, duh. It's obvious to anyone who has any contact with STA. Stop preferentially admitting the wealthy assholes of Washington and their friends and your problem will be reduced by half overnight.

My DH and I are two government workers on public salaries, and we know many other families at the school who are as well. We also know many journalists, research scientists at NIH, single parents, formerly public school parents, parents who are academics or teachers. There are many normal Joe’s and Josettes at the school. Your poorly written, sloganeering rant against STA is informed by stereotyping and self-pity rather than any real knowledge of the school.

Everyone I know like this has a grandparent footing the entire tuition bill, paying off the mortgage, paying for expensive travel, etc. It’s easy to work in a normal field when all of your schooling and housing expenses are covered by the family trust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone or any school that makes decisions based on anonymous posts deserves what they get. I read some of the posts. Even the former head of Diversity at NCS gets tossed under the bus. While some of the older posts are plausible do you really believe a current student told another that if this was a few years ago I’d lynch you?

You're talking about a school where kids photoshopped black faces onto holocaust corpses in 2019. So yes, I believe these posts are plausible. Good grief.

What was so grotesque and troublesome about this event which happened TWO year ago is:

Not only did the kids do it but they felt confident enough to do it openly at school. Clearly they didn't fear repercussions or expulsion for doing this. They assumed the school would have their back or that it would just be laughed off.
It really shows how intrenched racism is in parts of this school community.

And yet they keep on admitting some of these families, despite the fact that the kids or the parents or both have records that make quite clear how they view these issues and how they have mistreated others on the basis of race, national origin, or sexual orientation. And for what? Seriously, for what?

4 years ago and they were expelled . There were those who said “ first offense “ and “ but they are young and they fell into an internet dark web parents didn’t know about “

That argument lost and they were expelled

Yeah schools have a role to set a high moral standard and educate young people , including socially, but ultimately kids comes from families and morals are learned at home - or not unlearned at home - and to blame a school - like some posters seem to relish doing is kinda unrealistic. A bad apple or two can get in . The school expelled them - the only one gloating over what they did is YOU

So, do you want improvement or more opportunities to gloat ?

Different poster. Sorry but your post is factually incorrect. It was 2.5 years ago to be exact. It was spring of 2018. Yes the boys were expelled but they received a lot of support by parents and kids. Victims received zero support. In fact a few boys put the names of the boys that did this on their helmets to honor them.

Did the school insist they take those off the helmets?

I don’t think they knew. That came out after the fact.

I am a different poster and I so not think STA encourages racism or elitism in the least. I really don’t.

I and many others think where they have failed is by admitting too many families that don’t want diversity or inclusion and who are vocally and publicly against BLM and against DEI and some against LGBTQ openly. So now they are left with a mess which will takes years to clean up after these families graduate from the Close.

I'm white from upper NW and everyone I Know at STA comes from one social group (I could even say clique). The rest of us (the normal Joe's) know not to even apply. Why? Because these families have been turning their nose up at us for years in preschools, sports teams, etc.
Pick the coldest/most distant parents on your kid's team and they're bound to be STA parents. Plus we (the journalists, the government workers, the public school families) know we're not getting into STA. The school will follow the money and prestige every time. We know our place and STA knows what they want. The stupid thing
is that they keep wondering why they have such issues with race and class. Well, duh. It's obvious to anyone who has any contact with STA. Stop preferentially admitting the wealthy assholes of Washington and their friends and your problem will be reduced by half overnight.

My DH and I are two government workers on public salaries, and we know many other families at the school who are as well. We also know many journalists, research scientists at NIH, single parents, formerly public school parents, parents who are academics or teachers. There are many normal Joe’s and Josettes at the school. Your poorly written, sloganeering rant against STA is informed by stereotyping and self-pity rather than any real knowledge of the school.

Everyone I know like this has a grandparent footing the entire tuition bill, paying off the mortgage, paying for expensive travel, etc. It’s easy to work in a normal field when all of your schooling and housing expenses are covered by the family trust.

DP. And? What is your point exactly? Yes of course $50,000 a year is a luxury and expensive. I am not sure what your point is.

[Anonymous]

And here we go again with the haughty elitism that makes everyone crazy. Sure I work in a field that doesn't pay well enough to afford my children's tuition cost and my parents or grandparents pay for it. What's your point? I'm not elite or privileged. 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but everyone needs to stop scapegoating these issues on the Chevy Chase Club. There are members at STA just like there are at many other schools in our area. The vast majority of STA parents are not members and there are tons of uber wealthy parents at STA who are not members. There may be Chevy members you don’t care for or agree with politically, but there are also very nice families who you would like and agree with. To blame all of STA’s issues on a handful of club members is ludicrous and absurd. STA’s issues run much deeper and are the result of an entrenched culture of elitism, privilege, and competition they foster with their messaging. It is also the result of admissions and who they prioritize. Sure they have been working on prioritizing diversity, but they also prioritize wealth, ability to donate big $, and connected families. These two priorities have eliminated the middle ground population and created a dichotomy of have and have not. Then you throw in the constant message that your the best of the best and it creates the culture we are seeing. There is an underlying level of competition, especially among the parents. Whose child is truly the smartest, the best student, the best athlete, the most talented, the most popular, etc. The pressure is real for a lot of these kids and they’re pushed by their parents to perform. We pay $50k a year for you to be at this top school that we got you into and you need to succeed and achieve. The reality that no one wants you to know is that the majority of these boys are no more gifted intellectually or academically than the majority of boys at other schools in our area. Boys at STA are equal to boys at Prep, Landon, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St. Anselms, etc. They are normal boys, some are brilliant and super talented and others are normal above average to average kids. It’s the same at most highly competitive schools in our area. The difference is this culture described above of constantly being told they are the best of the best and better than everyone else, the great divide in social economics (no middle ground/have and have nots), the constant stress to achieve, and the competition especially among parents which translates to kids. It’s a pressure cooker academically, socially, financially, athletically, etc. And guess what, it’s boiling over.

How have the other top privates in DC managed to not be bipolar like this? NCS, GDS, and Sidwell are all much more friendly to professional class, non-connected families. We applied out of DCPS and each of these schools took kids from our school. STA did not. And the boys who applied were fantastic--straight As, great athletes, etc. I know a handful of the boys that STA did take
and they were more of the same: connected, wealthy and from a certain social set and a few feeder privates. They were no more qualified than any of the boys I know who did not get in, in fact many were less so. They were just wealthier and more connected.
Will they (STA) ever stop this practice? The new head of school could be then nicest guy on the planet and have the best of intentions but until this practice is changed it will be more of the same and it will continue to boil over. The other top DC schools have a different value system and have no problem admitting the kids of the "middle ground" population. Why is STA so different?

The problem is that you think you know the qualifications of the applicants, but you probably don’t. It’s easy to conclude that kids were just “wealthier and more connected.” As an STA parent, I’ve seen admissions up close and the pool of talent they recruit from is incredible, but they also look at intangible slike personality. Being bright alone is not enough. There are many middle ground kids and suggesting that they don’t based on your limited perspective is ludicrous.

Your arrogance in assuming you know all there is to know about the kids who got in speaks volumes.

Thank you for proving my point. Tons of boys in our area, whether they applied to STA or not, are equally as smart and successful as STA boys and in some cases even more so. There are also plenty of boys in our area who are just as smart and talented with good personalities as boys a STA. Many could even be highly successful at STA. Even kids who weren't admitted, because the pool of applicants so "incredible" and the spots are so few. I know lots of boys who were admitted in earlier years who would never make the cut for 9th. I also know boys who do not compare to the top applicants but still get in because they are legacies or donors or connected. To suggest that this practice does not take place is absurd and a total lie.

[Anonymous]

Setting the elitism, racism, anti-semitism, and sexism aside, is STA really all that hard academically? I know a lot of boys who claim to have 3.7-3.8 unweighted GPAs in the upper school. These are not book worm types who spend their free time in the library studying, these are boys who spend their free time playing club sports and partying a lot. If STA is really that strenuous then how do so many students have such high GPAs?