CHDS Promoter - Who are you? Do you live in NW DC?

[Anonymous]

Your promotions are everywhere. Just curious.

[Anonymous]

What is CHDS?

[Anonymous]

Don't know if you'd call me a promoter, but I've posted a couple of comments about Capitol Hill DAy School -- both kids went there, to Maret for high school, one now at an ivy. CHDS was great for them. We don't live in NW, but know lots of families who did make the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your promotions are everywhere. Just curious.

The tone of your post is offensive. Perhaps you did not intend it to be. But suggesting "promotions" and a single poster certainly would be offensive, intended or otherwise.

I am not affiliated with CHDS in any way. I have not posted "promotions" or anything about the school previously. I simply compelled to rush to the "promoter," if in fact there is truly only one, which, incidentally, I highly doubt, as it is a lovely school with much to offer.

We applied to CHDS several years ago. It was the warmest and coziest of all of the DC private schools we considered. The staff was excellent. The students seem engaged. The outplacement record (including statistics not only of high school placement, but of eventual college placement as well) was amazing.

One negative - we did find the building itself charming, but in need of expansion and updating. But in the end, it was simply the commute (we live in Bethesda) that convinced us not to accept there. If the commute is not an issue, I would encourage you to seriously consider them. They seem like a healthy tonic to many of the ills afflicting many of the NW private schools (of which, DC is enrolled - we are quite happy, but I will say that the posters who criticize the Big Three are not always simply spewing venom, and that there is often truth embedded, sometimes quite deeply, in their posts).

[Anonymous]

I am neither of the previous posters but I am a current parent of a CHDS middle schooler and we love the school. It's been great for both of our kids and great for us as a family. I don't live in NW but don't live on Capitol Hill either. We have been making the commute to CHDS for over 10 years now because it is worth it. So OP, not really sure what your point is but I think there are lots of fans of CHDS (and from reading other posts apparently one unhappy former parent).

[Anonymous]

Having encouraged my suburban Maryland cousin to consider CHDS as an alternative to the private and public schools in her MOCO vicinity, I checked this forum as a nod to due diligence. I'm puzzled by this thread. Could the source of the query about living in NW say something about what prompts the question, and also if she/he could elaborate on the reason for the negativity, since this is, in my experience, an atypical reaction to the school. We commuted to CHDS from Silver Spring for several years and it was unquestionably worth the drive. We visited the gamut of private schools in the area, and CHDS was our first choice because it was strong academically-- including a legendary English teacher who actually made sure all the students mastered grammar, creative and gifted math and science teachers, a vibrant music and arts program, foreign language for all students all the way through, an unusual and inspiring field trip program with a full time coordinator, lots of Shakespeare, lots of performances, poetry writing, and and a history teacher who taught the kids so much that many of them eventually coasted through the SAT 2 history subject tests--and, as important, was a place where kindness, mutual respect, and love of learning were in evidence throughout the school all day every day. I was there fairly often and at various times, and the building (yes, small and old, but lovely and cozy) always hummed with harmonious activity. There wasn't a gym, per se, but the kids got a lot out of the fitness program the school offered, the inclusive sports teams, and they used nearby Results gym in the winter. It was a perfect place to do middle school, in particular. My son was wait listed when he applied for 3rd grade, but eventually managed to secure a spot in the class. He went on to DCPS after 8th grade, but was eager to find a college that would feel as right to him as CHDS had, and he's a now freshman at a fine coed liberal arts college where his love of learning is resurfacing. So, I agree that it's a gem, and relatively undiscovered.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, there is someone here who goes beserk whenever anyone says anything nice about CHDS. Dunno if it is a parent of a kid who had a bad experience, or a kid who didn;t get in, or a disgruntled former staff member, but it's a little weird. My kids applied to CHDS last year and got waitlisted. We were incredibly disappointed because it was our top choice school. They ended up getting admitted off the waitlist, but by then we had made other plans and it was really too late to change. We're happy with our current situation and won't reapply-- basically, don;t want to uproot the kids now that they are settled and happy elsewhere-- but we loved CHDS and would have been absolutely delighted ot send our children their. We have colleagues and friends whose kids go there and are very happy with it. As far as "promoters" go, I can;t see why someone who really likes a school shouldn't promote it!