Potomac School pressure cooker or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers kids, legacy kids. I see nothing with board members many of whom don’t even have kids currently at the school. All in all the school is great and better than most private are in terms of responsiveness. I feel that the unhappy people at Potomac would find a way to be unhappy anywhere. There are things to work on with sports being a big one. I feel like the school is great in course correcting when a problem comes up and have confidence that this one will be addressed and athletes will be happier. There are a few coaches who need to retire or dramatically change how they run their programs.
Athletes who leave the school or who choose to avoid coaches is an issue. I am convinced this is why the AD left. Will be nice
to see the new AD build on what the former started. I feel good about that.

So they aren’t treating the athletes right over there?

You have to speak to someone with a kid in your child’s sport. There are some amazing programs with coaches who are involved in recruiting for those pursuing college sports. Some programs don’t appear to have that same level of support. My athlete has had a fantastic experience both playing on the teams and in the recruiting process. Ask someone in admissions to connect you to a family that can share their experience.

My kid was a top player in their sport both locally and nationally. Easily the top player on Potomac's team and was treated incredibly poorly by the coach, mostly because the coach is a very quirky person, and had a preference for people like them. Went on to play D1 but with absolutely zero support from the school. None from the coach or the AD. The former college counselor was supportive, but nobody in that office knew anything about recruiting either. They really do not care about athletic recruiting. And that is fine. Academics are 100% their priority there, so just know that. If you're looking to play at the D1 level, Potomac is a massive detriment because there isn't a single team or coach there who supports that.

I’m so sorry this happened to your student athlete. I would be very upset if my kids didn’t have their varsity coach’s engagement in the recruiting process. But I have had direct experience with two different sports whose coaches were proactive, connected to college coaches, and incredibly helpful to my athletes throughout. I think talking to a family specific to someone’s chosen sport is the best bet. Obviously there is a wide range. Saying there isn’t a single Potomac coach who cares about or is capable of helping with D1 recruiting is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything on this anonymous board should probably be taken with a grain of salt this week.

I have non-US kids at Potomac and, while I haven’t heard about any of this, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. That said, I would just advise people to talk to real parents in real life after decisions come out to get a lay of the land anywhere. DCUM gets real weird in early March!

This is true, there are probably people who want other people to decline spots so they can get off WLs!

I am not one of them (posted above about my neighbor). But also, while DCUM may give you an overly pessimistic impression, the parent welcome committee may give you an overly optimistic impression. That’s what they were selected for! Plus, in general parents don’t usually complain about their kids’ education (public or private) except to people they are really close to.

[Anonymous]

If you have concerns about the level of pressure, you should definitely try to talk to a range of US parents (not LS or IS). Also, be aware that many students have tutors outside of school, which is not only expensive, but time consuming on top of sports requirements and other activities. The workload is manageable if your child does not select honors classes, but that will impact the college admissions process, if that matters to you / your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

PP here - that is exactly what I meant. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have concerns about the level of pressure, you should definitely try to talk to a range of US parents (not LS or IS). Also, be aware that many students have tutors outside of school, which is not only expensive, but time consuming on top of sports requirements and other activities. The workload is manageable if your child does not select honors classes, but that will impact the college admissions process, if that matters to you / your child.

What a trade off, you will still get to go to Potomac, but won’t get into a good college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

PP here - that is exactly what I meant. Thank you!

You are welcome! The rant implying your family was a problem and feeding into toxic pressure seemed completely the opposite of what you had written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

PP here - that is exactly what I meant. Thank you!

You are welcome! The rant implying your family was a problem and feeding into toxic pressure seemed completely the opposite of what you had written.

You think the poster who told somebody with legitimate concerns that they just have sour grapes isn't a problem? Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My kid was a top player in their sport both locally and nationally. Easily the top player on Potomac's team and was treated incredibly poorly by the coach, mostly because the coach is a very quirky person, and had a preference for people like them. Went on to play D1 but with absolutely zero support from the school. None from the coach or the AD. The former college counselor was supportive, but nobody in that office knew anything about recruiting either. They really do not care about athletic recruiting. And that is fine. Academics are 100% their priority there, so just know that. If you're looking to play at the D1 level, Potomac is a massive detriment because there isn't a single team or coach there who supports that.

Looks like the boys basketball team sends some kids to D1 schools every so often. Not football though.

well, since Ko has taken over 10 years ago, it will be 5 out of 10 years that they've sent a football player to DI.

[Anonymous]

I think last year they had 11-12 kids commit to play in college. Not sure how many were D1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

I think pp is referring to sports, and my guess would be soccer. Some have the view that the coaches favor their club players outside of school.

Of course they do. It happens at most schools. Soccer is one of the most political sports out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

I think pp is referring to sports, and my guess would be soccer.

Some have the view that the coaches favor their club players outside of school. [/quote]

When you see ECNL level players being passed over for 3rd/4th string club players and their coach “happens” to be the asst coach of the school team, well, what else can one reasonably conclude?

DP. Different private. We had kids that didn’t even play soccer outside of high school (no club) make it over done kids that dominate in Club. The nepotism and favoritism was so out of control. And little did I know it started before the kids even got to the high school. And man some of the parental @ss kissing was at levels I never even saw in Club soccer. It really messed with some really great kids/players.

[Anonymous]

That's terrible. This is at the varsity level for certain sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's terrible. This is at the varsity level for certain sports?

Freshmen, JV and Varsity at our school, but the varsity soccer is so corrupt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's terrible. This is at the varsity level for certain sports?

Freshmen, JV and Varsity at our school, but the varsity soccer is so corrupt.

Parents are already working their angle with the coach for next year. Fall season. The fix will be in.