College Counseling at Sidwell - One Year Later

[Anonymous]

Accept the reality that GDS is by far, the number one Harvard feeder-school in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Accept the reality that GDS is by far, the number one Harvard feeder-school in the DC area.

The kids I know who currently attend Harvard from GDS are 1) legacy AND 2) their parents are nationally known and appear on the news. They're not just the generic smart kids.
Granted I don't know all the admits but the ones I do know are not just top students at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:NOT true.

3 in ED at H

Sidwell or GDS?

Don't know about Sidwell, but that is correct for GDS (and it's non-binding SCEA so some may not end up going there)

Where else do you want to know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When asked why college counselors are leaving in droves, the Assistant HoS said, in her very best Mary Poppins voice, that all of the Sidwell students are so wonderful and are qualified to get into every school, but all of them can't go to the same school, so naturally the parents blame the college counselors. And that it happens at EVERY school around here. So that's why there has been turnover. What?!! No wonder they all left! It does NOT happen at every school around here - and since difficult parents are a constant at all schools, to me this points to the administration.

I think the current administration would add Dolores Umbridge to the staff if it could.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It also needs to come to terms with the fact that it is a very good local school, not a nationally recognized prep school, and adjust expectations accordingly.

While the school has been living off the Obama glow for over a decade and not addressing problems or adapting to change, other DC privates (particularly GDS) have advanced ahead.

As demonstrated by GDS having six times as many NMSF this year. Oh, wait...

+1. Bless their hearts; they so badly want to be like Sidwell

I thought that GDS is now at the top of the “Big 3.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accept the reality that GDS is by far, the number one Harvard feeder-school in the DC area.

The kids I know who currently attend Harvard from GDS are 1) legacy AND 2) their parents are nationally known and appear on the news. They're not just the generic smart kids.
Granted I don't know all the admits but the ones I do know are not just top students at all.

There are GDS grads at Harvard. Some indeed may be legacies but their parents are not prominent at all. It’s all about the students.

[Anonymous]

If they are legacies, it’s about the hooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When asked why college counselors are leaving in droves, the Assistant HoS said, in her very best Mary Poppins voice, that all of the Sidwell students are so wonderful and are qualified to get into every school, but all of them can't go to the same school, so naturally the parents blame the college counselors. And that it happens at EVERY school around here. So that's why there has been turnover. What?!! No wonder they all left! It does NOT happen at every school around here - and since difficult parents are a constant at all schools, to me this points to the administration.

I think the current administration would add Dolores Umbridge to the staff if it could.

OMG - I think the current Assistant HoS IS Dolores Umbridge wearing a disguise!

[Anonymous]

What’s the deal with Brian Garman and MK? Why has it gotten so bad? (Ignorant lower school family here who can’t get straight answers)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It also needs to come to terms with the fact that it is a very good local school, not a nationally recognized prep school, and adjust expectations accordingly.

And to adjust expectations, they should also adjust to weight the GPA so that students who choose to take the accelerated courses aren't penalized by the grade deflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with Brian Garman and MK? Why has it gotten so bad? (Ignorant lower school family here who can’t get straight answers)

Nothing, they are fine. There are one or two people posting here with an axe to grind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Accept the reality that GDS is by far, the number one Harvard feeder-school in the DC area.

The kids I know who currently attend Harvard from GDS are 1) legacy AND 2) their parents are nationally known and appear on the news. They're not just the generic smart kids.
Granted I don't know all the admits but the ones I do know are not just top students at all.

There are GDS grads at Harvard. Some indeed may be legacies but their parents are not prominent at all. It’s all about the students.

Dude. I know two kids who went to Harvard from GDS during the past 2 years and both have a very prominent Harvard grad parent.
Why are you making stuff up? I get that you're a GDS backer but these kids ARE legacy with very prominent parents. It doesn't diminish the school to admit that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with Brian Garman and MK? Why has it gotten so bad? (Ignorant lower school family here who can’t get straight answers)

Nothing, they are fine. There are one or two people posting here with an axe to grind.

This is not really accurate. To understand what is really going on here, one needs to understand what the board wants from the HoS at this point. Bryan isn't strategic or trying to improve anything, and Min is going to make sure that the teachers are protected. Everyone in leadership is happy, Bryan and Min are "fine," and the school rests on its laurels.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Then suggest it to the administration rather than complaining about it on an anonymous message board.

The administration is weak and terrible, as you surely know if you have 2 kids in US. The teachers are great but happy with the way things are.

+1. The upper school administration is incompetent. Teachers are great.

I agree that the faculty are great and about the administration. The dysfunction was in the college counseling office last year and the year before. One counselor was just plain incompetent. It took too long, but the admin finally showed him the door. The CCO director was too stubborn, refused to admit he had a staff problem, and grew increasingly frustrated and checked out. Now he’s gone, gone, Gonzaga. To the extent that the administration is to blame, they took too long to force changes, and they still need to provide additional resources to the CCO. But they did act in the end, and recruited back an excellent director to lead and rebuild the CCO.

It's quite the opposite. The administration is completely incompetent and the teachers (who I agree are top-notch) are all trying to figure out how to abandon the sinking ship. The administration (truly led by the current Assistant Head of School who is delusional - she believes that Sidwell is perfect in every way and will hear nothing to the contrary) is more concerned with Sidwell's image than they are with the well-being of the students or the faculty. Ask anyone who works there.

The majority of families thought that last year's CCO director, who is currently very successful and happy at Gonzaga, was a rockstar. The actual reason why he left was because he thought the US Principal was incompetent, and he no longer felt comfortable working for him. He voiced his concerns, but the administration did not listen. And the fact that he tried to stick up for one of his employees and to help him perform better in his job instead of just getting rid of him, I find to be commendable. The "excellent" director that they recruited back was originally asked to leave because she was spending too much time on her outside consulting practice and not enough time on working with the Sidwell students. They were grasping at straws and offered her a boatload of money to come back for a year. Funny how they asked her to leave and then 3 years later begged her to come back.

The administration treats the CCO with such little respect, the only CC left from last year has now resigned - and broken her contract. The woosies at the school are not going to announce this until the middle of December - after EA and ED decisions come out. I am sure they are scrambling to replace her before they have to announce that she too is leaving.

If the administration is not to blame for last year's entire CC department leaving - who is? Someone had to have hired them all thinking they were competent, and now all 3 have left. Why would 3 employees leave Sidwell all at once if they were being treated well and respected by the administration? And it wasn't because of the parents. Granted, last year's graduating class had its share of difficult parents. But these are professionals who know how to deal with parents. They only left because they did not feel supported by the administration.

Many of the points made in this earlier post—which was written before the news of Emily’s departure was widely announced—are very troubling. About the administration generally, and also the counseling office.

Hopefully the board is listening and observing.

Since the HoS and the Assistant HoS are part of the problem (or maybe entirely the problem), emailing them won't really help. Not sure what will - maybe emailing the Clerk of the Board? Does Sidwell even monitor these conversations?

After seeing that Emily was leaving on the listserv, I made a point of attending the meeting where it was announced that she too is leaving - in the middle of the year! As everyone has said, she is a really sweet, well regarded person - why leave in the middle of the year? They announced (very unprofessionally) where she was going - and it wasn't a promotion, just a lateral transfer. When asked why college counselors are leaving in droves, the Assistant HoS said, in her very best Mary Poppins voice, that all of the Sidwell students are so wonderful and are qualified to get into every school, but all of them can't go to the same school, so naturally the parents blame the college counselors. And that it happens at EVERY school around here. So that's why there has been turnover. What?!! No wonder they all left! It does NOT happen at every school around here - and since difficult parents are a constant at all schools, to me this points to the administration.

Hang on. WHAT?!? One third of the senior class lost their college counselor in late November/early December, and MK blamed THE PARENTS and claimed that this type of turnover happens at every school? Are you serious? This is crazy!

[Anonymous]

0 out of 8 for Duke ED isn't too great.