Bullyism at the elementary school level

[Anonymous]

We are a mixed race family, our daughter will be entering PK next year and we are looking at applying to a number of schools that we hope will help her thrive intellectually and emotionally and also accommodate her diversity. A dear friend as neighbor whose family is in a similar situation as we are cautioned us against Stone Ridge and Beauvoir and suggested we focus our search on liberal schools like GDS, CHDS, and Maret. According to him SR and Beavoir students engage in bullying behavior against children who don't look like them beginning in the lower school grades and the administration does not intervene because of the fear of offending the parents. I would appreciate thoughts and experiences from parents who are/ have been in a similar situation, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Oh great, two schools thrown under the bus because of a friend's neighbor? Get real

[Anonymous]

OP, all of the schools you mention, including Beauvoir and Stone Ridge, are great schools. Visit them and form your own opinion.

I will say, those schools are all different geographic areas, so I would think about what is realistic in terms of your commute and go from there.

[Anonymous]

It is not my intention to throw anyone under the bus or offend those who attend the schools I mentioned. I asked because I am concerned about my daughter's well being and because i was surprised that someone would make it a point to ID the schools by name

[Anonymous]

How your neighbor knows this? She has a girl at Stone Ridge and another at Beauvoir?

I think you a re just a troll trying to incite people on here.

[Anonymous]

I question this thread. First you claim diversity for yourself thereby presenting your position as untouchable. Then you claim offensive statement made by others, again protecting yourself from recrimination. Yet the slanderous overtone of racism is still presented as fact. Most parents of PK students would trust their own intuition after thoroughly visiting each school in person.

[Anonymous]

Who even is this neighbor's friend? Does he have kids at both Beauvoir and Stone Ridge, or is he going on hearsay of his own? Have you ever met him, and are you sure he's not a nutcase? I'd ignore this, visit both schools and talk to current parents.

[Anonymous]

We looked at Beauvoir but did not go through with the application because we thought it wasn't the right fit for our DD. That said, there seemed to be plenty of very happy looking, diverse kids. We know children of color who have attended and have never heard a word about racist children.

I also think, in general, people should be careful about throwing the word bullying around. Bullying is really a phenomenon that starts in late elementary and middle school, and is when a child is targeted by another kid or group of kids. Little kids not playing with each other day-to-day is not bullying, and IMO makes it difficult for us to deal with the real problem, which exists but is not everywhere a kid feels rejected.

[Anonymous]

Which races? Both schools list what is acceptable in terms of bullying. If you have any Dutch in your bloodline then your child is screwed wherever she goes

[Anonymous]

Thank you previous posters. It is not my intention to upset anyone, if I posted here is because I am looking for feedback from people who have more information than I have. Both our family and our neighbors are of mixed race, which is fairly common in DC; i didnt think schools would be an issue until this was brought up. Full disclosure - our neighbor doesn't have girls so the info he provided is from a close source but not first hand. Again, sorry if I offended anyone but I am tryjng to do my homework.

[Anonymous]

You do not get accurate feedback on an anonymous forum, you get it by visiting and observing the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a mixed race family, our daughter will be entering PK next year and we are looking at applying to a number of schools that we hope will help her thrive intellectually and emotionally and also accommodate her diversity. A dear friend as neighbor whose family is in a similar situation as we are cautioned us against Stone Ridge and Beauvoir and suggested we focus our search on liberal schools like GDS, CHDS, and Maret. According to him SR and Beavoir students engage in bullying behavior against children who don't look like them beginning in the lower school grades and the administration does not intervene because of the fear of offending the parents. I would appreciate thoughts and experiences from parents who are/ have been in a similar situation, thank you.

Sidwell is more diverse than GDS. GDS was once a demonstration school for integration, but you owe to yourself to check the current demographics if diversity is important to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a mixed race family, our daughter will be entering PK next year and we are looking at applying to a number of schools that we hope will help her thrive intellectually and emotionally and also accommodate her diversity. A dear friend as neighbor whose family is in a similar situation as we are cautioned us against Stone Ridge and Beauvoir and suggested we focus our search on liberal schools like GDS, CHDS, and Maret. According to him SR and Beavoir students engage in bullying behavior against children who don't look like them beginning in the lower school grades and the administration does not intervene because of the fear of offending the parents. I would appreciate thoughts and experiences from parents who are/ have been in a similar situation, thank you.

Sidwell is more diverse than GDS. GDS was once a demonstration school for integration, but you owe to yourself to check the current demographics if diversity is important to you.

Agreed. We toured the HS and I was surprised how white it was.

[Anonymous]

Than at least its safe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Than at least its safe

Careful, that could be interpreted the wrong way. GDS is indeed safe - at least with respect to physical bullying.