Loved SWW at Francis Stevens (open house today); why all the negative reviews?
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Anonymous
| I'm OOB for Francis Stevens but am considering putting it as my #1 choice. Went to the open house today and liked the 'feel' of the school, the curriculum, etc. Also appealing that DC could be there through 8th grade and that the demographics for the younger classes seemed similar to the older classes. Other schools I've been to have a stark difference between K and 4th/5th...clearly at some point many parents decide to pull their kids out. Based on demographics alone, that seems to happen less at Francis Stevens. But searching on DCUM I find overwhelmingly negative comments...are these dated? Or would I be making a mistake sending DC there when our IB option is well regarded? |
Anonymous
| I'm not sure any OOB families got in last year-- I'd check those numbers first. We had a "good" lottery number but were never called from OOB. |
Anonymous
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I feel like FS is generally well-regarded here. However, the high school is definitely pissed about the merger--is that what you mean?
It was one of our top choices last year for PK3 and we never got off the waitlist. |
Anonymous
| I don't know anything about the HS merger...but maybe that's what's driving the comments I've seen. Basically just that it's a sub-par school... |
Anonymous
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We're in 1st. Got in OOC in PK3 and have had to survive a couple of tough years with closure and massive teacher turnover.
The new administration has hit its stride this year and seems to know what it's doing and when having to juggle priorities, always puts classroom instruction first, which is not something you see in a lot of schools. |
Anonymous
| The HS is completely separate. The only thing the school's share is name and a principal. Students at FS have to Test into Walls like everyone else in the district. It does not feed to the hs. |
Anonymous
We have friends in pK4 who got in OOB over the summer. It needs its own principal. The building could be better. Unclear whether the younger kids will stay for MS. It really should have "school without walls' in its name. |
Anonymous
| Agree with PP that both schools would be better served with their own principal. |
Anonymous
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I think the trick is to trust your gut and not believe everything you read on DCUM ?
-signed very happy SWWFS parent |
Anonymous
| The only real negative comments I've seen about the ekementary school over the past couple years are that the name is misleading and that the school is hurting the effort to create real neighborhood schools. Then again many of the neighborhood school proponents eschew their neighborhood schools to send their kids to SWWFS. |
Anonymous
Advice from a current SWWFS parent - they added new classrooms last year and I know of several OOB families that were admitted. You should consider it if you're interested - one never knows how the lottery will play out. It worked for our family 
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Anonymous
| Thanks, everyone. We'll definitely give it a try. even though I know our chances are slim Not only are we OOB, but PK4. So I assume there will only be a handful of slots after most of the PK3 kids already there move up. And if this year doesn't work we can try again next year with our youngest for PK3 and K. |
Anonymous
| As it grows in popularity, it will be very hard as it is an alternative inbounds to some other Ward 2 schools. |
Anonymous
Really? I heard the upper grades are not diverse at all. |
Anonymous
| What is your IB school OP? |