Changes at Sidwell

[Anonymous]

I've heard here and there that Sidwell is not what it used to be. Another thread on this board mentioned that in recent years it has not been as welcoming of African American students as other "elite" independent schools. A parent we know with two children at the school says that the school has changed since it underwent a massive fundraising campaign several years ago and started to put more emphasis on wealth in the admissions process. The school hasn't necessarily changed, he says, but the parents have. At an open house I attended this fall, the head of the lower school mentioned that he felt so troubled by socioeconomic divisions within the Sidwell community (with parents self-sorting into socioeconomically homogeneous social groups) that he sent a letter to all parents addressing the subject.

If you have children at Sidwell--particularly at the lower school--do you feel that these concerns are valid, or are they overblown? Are families there very conscious of wealth? Is the school less inclusive or diverse than you expected or might like?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

To the PP, your points are valid in my opinion. But, the school is trying to improve the socioeconomic diversity at the school. However, the admissions team has more of an impact on that than the workshops and letters to parents. There have been some changes in the admissions team recently so, perhaps, this issue will be addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, your points are valid in my opinion. But, the school is trying to improve the socioeconomic diversity at the school. However, the admissions team has more of an impact on that than the workshops and letters to parents. There have been some changes in the admissions team recently so, perhaps, this issue will be addressed.

When we toured Sidwell, the new director of admissions talked about a recent multi-million dollar grant that will increase financial aid to low income families. In my opinion, this step to increase the socio-economic diversity of the school will only serve to increase the existence of these socio-economically divided homogenous groups. Many schools (perhaps not Sidwell) are recognizing the barbell effect, where there are the very wealthy and the economically disadvantaged. To increase aid to low income families leaves out middle and upper middle income families who could potentially help bridge the gap between these two disparate groups. It is those families in the middle who are continuously squeezed in terms of affording the tuition at independent schools because they don't qualify for aid.

[Anonymous]

what income level is considered upper middle class? just curious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what income level is considered upper middle class? just curious?

Depends on who you ask, where you live, and what you can afford where you live. According to wikipedia, $100,000 plus. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class

[Anonymous]

Maybe if this thread were called "trouble at Sidwell" it would get more responses? Anyone?

[Anonymous]

Just saw this thread. I have a child at Sidwell. The school wrestles with diversity issues of all varieties -- race, religion, economics -- but I find there's actually a bit too much navel-gazing going on. Because it's located in DC, is private, and costs $$$, you're going to get a disproportionate number of wealthy, white families. That said, Sidwell works very hard to make all feel welcome.

I got the distinct feeling in the parent interview that the admissions officer wanted to make sure we weren't high-maintenance parents. In fact, one of Sidwell's strengths is that its parents are low-key -- even the ones who employ multiple people in their homes. I asked my spouse about this and neither of us can recall a time when we were frowned upon because we both work outside the home and can't volunteer as much, or because we didn't have as much money as others.

As for Sidwell changing because of its big capital campaign, get over it. All private schools need to raise $$$ for new buildings and endowments. Sidwell was actually pretty late to the game. I make solicitations for Sidwell and parents are encouraged to give what they feel comfortable with -- $50 or $1000. Again, the school is low-key about it. The people who complain about all this stuff are projecting their own fears about class and race onto the school.

[Anonymous]

does sidwell have a high jewish population? more so than others?

[Anonymous]

How does it compare to Beauvoir in this respect?

[Anonymous]

There are lots of very rich non white families in DC, where do they send their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of very rich non white families in DC, where do they send their kids?

Is this actually true? I guess it depends on what the definition of "lots" is, but, Brookings Institution-type pie charts indicated that this is not the case in the District of Columbia.

What does this have to do with Sidwell, btw?

[Anonymous]

Ah, it very true. Come to Potomac or Bethesda or Mclean or Great Falls. Lots of non white, very wealthy people.

[Anonymous]

For example, lots of Asian families have money, why are they not at Sidwell. Maybe because they know that they don't need the hassle to educate their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, it very true. Come to Potomac or Bethesda or Mclean or Great Falls. Lots of non white, very wealthy people.

Did you know: these communities are not in the District of Columbia? the PP said there are 'lots' of non-white, wealthy families in D.C. I think that's not actually the case, based on US Census data.

And, the Asian population of the District of Columbia is also fairly small, esp. for a city of its size. There may well be very significant populations of Asian-Americans living in, say, Oakton. But do they really want to drive 50 minutes each way to take a child to Sidwell each morning (evening)?

[Anonymous]

Ah yes, I see that the Asian population of the District of Columbia for 2006 was about 3.2 %. Less than the US average