Norwood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Only major hooks got into the top 3 or 5. Terrible outcomes. You'll hear they are good, for the ones with hooks. Duh.

Were there any that were waitlisted everywhere?

Right... did many kids apply to these schools and not get in? Or did they apply more broadly?

My Norwood grad didn't get into "Top 3" either, but those weren't schools we ever considered. In our class, everyone I heard had choices they were happy with. We personally had two choices and a WL. If I were to rank them, the WL was the #2, accepted at #1.

[Anonymous]

My DD shared a big group text going around about admissions, so I can fill in some details. Can't guarantee it's entirely accurate, but we've confirmed most of it elsewhere.

They did really well with Maret, average with other tops (STA/NCS, Sidwell, Holton), poorly with Potomac, and terribly with GDS (1 or 2 admissions), even considering the issues they're having.

About a dozen kids got into Bullis, and a handful for GP and Landon.

She said two top students were shut out from top schools, both with no hooks.

And yes, many of the kids that got into the top schools (my daughter included, to be fair) have some sort of hook or another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having two kids who have gone through or who are currently at Norwood. Must weigh in… my DC that graduated last year ended up getting admitted to two “big three schools.” Second child won’t apply to those schools bc they’re not a good fit for him. The benefit of a K-8 is that once you’re looking at high school you have a much better idea of what is best for your kid. Also- all the kids from Norwood who end up at a public high school go bc that’s their choice, it’s not bc they didn’t get in to a private high school. Norwood’s outplacement is excellent. Also- hearing from current 8th grade kids, every kid got into numerous schools and will have options!!

We are not Norwood parents, but at another K-8, and this is our experience too. The Norwood families we know have been very pleased with the outplacement process and one thing I have heard from all the parents who have gone through it at Norwood is how much the school does set the students up to know what high school matches their skills and abilities. I love my DC's school, but that is the one drawback, there is just a lot more angst around admission to "big 3" and it is likely anecdotal, but, the Norwood parents I encounter seem a bit less angsty about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Only major hooks got into the top 3 or 5. Terrible outcomes. You'll hear they are good, for the ones with hooks. Duh.

This is not true. My unhooked child got into a "Top 3" and a "Top 5" this year from Norwood. But more important is the experience they have had there, I can't imagine having sent them anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Only major hooks got into the top 3 or 5. Terrible outcomes. You'll hear they are good, for the ones with hooks. Duh.

Were there any that were waitlisted everywhere?

Right... did many kids apply to these schools and not get in? Or did they apply more broadly?

My Norwood grad didn't get into "Top 3" either, but those weren't schools we ever considered. In our class, everyone I heard had choices they were happy with. We personally had two choices and a WL. If I were to rank them, the WL was the #2, accepted at #1.

Norwood does a good job at advocating for families - often a child is accepted at top choice but WL at a competitive school that is lower on their wishlist. This happened to us too, but Norwood knew that that school was below others.

[Anonymous]

Lots of unhappy Norwood families. The vast majority of admissions for the best schools (not all, of course) had serious hooks, and a lot of good students ended up with just their safety schools. Administration is apparently working hard at influencing wait lists, but we’ll see if that helps.

[Anonymous]

What are some of the WL schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are some of the WL schools

My DC at Norwood told me today that one student got into St. Albans, and one got into GDS off the waitlist.
Pretty impressive if accurate.

[Anonymous]

Norwood usually has impressive outplacement but not this year. Many unhappy parents and students. Wonder if the HOS can make up for it with the WL kids. And the one child who got into STA had a major hook so it shouldn't count as a Norwood accomplishment.

[Anonymous]

Current Norwood middle school parent here - we too loved it when we were admitted and DC was younger. Realize now that it is a small school and your child's social experience will depend heavily on the make up of the other kids in their grade. We have had some great teachers and some terrible teachers which is probably true at any school. The school has definitely had issues in the past few years in my DC's class with social/emotional learning/bullying incidents - again, this could be cohort dependent. The art and music have been great and the ability for all kids to play on the sports teams is also beneficial for my kid. Hoping for good outplacement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Norwood usually has impressive outplacement but not this year. Many unhappy parents and students. Wonder if the HOS can make up for it with the WL kids. And the one child who got into STA had a major hook so it shouldn't count as a Norwood accomplishment.

Did you look at the post above yours? Getting kids into STA and GDS off the WL is pretty good accomplishment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current Norwood middle school parent here - we too loved it when we were admitted and DC was younger. Realize now that it is a small school and your child's social experience will depend heavily on the make up of the other kids in their grade. We have had some great teachers and some terrible teachers which is probably true at any school. The school has definitely had issues in the past few years in my DC's class with social/emotional learning/bullying incidents - again, this could be cohort dependent. The art and music have been great and the ability for all kids to play on the sports teams is also beneficial for my kid. Hoping for good outplacement.

Current Norwood lower school parent here — just curious about whether the bullying showed up earlier or whether it was more recent? DD doesn’t report any issues right now, but we are in lower elementary, so I know that can change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Norwood middle school parent here - we too loved it when we were admitted and DC was younger. Realize now that it is a small school and your child's social experience will depend heavily on the make up of the other kids in their grade. We have had some great teachers and some terrible teachers which is probably true at any school. The school has definitely had issues in the past few years in my DC's class with social/emotional learning/bullying incidents - again, this could be cohort dependent. The art and music have been great and the ability for all kids to play on the sports teams is also beneficial for my kid. Hoping for good outplacement.

Current Norwood lower school parent here — just curious about whether the bullying showed up earlier or whether it was more recent? DD doesn’t report any issues right now, but we are in lower elementary, so I know that can change.

Different poster here, not the one above. It is really grade dependent, as I have heard at many local privates. There can be years with a great group, and years with a few challenging kids like at any school. Sometimes the boy group is great, and not the girl group, or the other way around. If you look at threads in the private school forum you will see this at most area schools. The school can be great, and then one year out of four there is a cohort with more challenges. The nice thing is the grades are usually big enough that there are enough kids to find social alternatives, which is harder at some other smaller privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Norwood middle school parent here - we too loved it when we were admitted and DC was younger. Realize now that it is a small school and your child's social experience will depend heavily on the make up of the other kids in their grade. We have had some great teachers and some terrible teachers which is probably true at any school. The school has definitely had issues in the past few years in my DC's class with social/emotional learning/bullying incidents - again, this could be cohort dependent. The art and music have been great and the ability for all kids to play on the sports teams is also beneficial for my kid. Hoping for good outplacement.

Current Norwood lower school parent here — just curious about whether the bullying showed up earlier or whether it was more recent? DD doesn’t report any issues right now, but we are in lower elementary, so I know that can change.

Different poster here, not the one above. It is really grade dependent, as I have heard at many local privates. There can be years with a great group, and years with a few challenging kids like at any school. Sometimes the boy group is great, and not the girl group, or the other way around. If you look at threads in the private school forum you will see this at most area schools. The school can be great, and then one year out of four there is a cohort with more challenges. The nice thing is the grades are usually big enough that there are enough kids to find social alternatives, which is harder at some other smaller privates.

NP. Our kids are at another K-8, and the above is absolutely true. My son’s class has a great group of boys who really get along, but I am not sure I would have kept him there if he had been a girl in that grade. On the other hand, my daughter’s grade is a really great group, and the boys and girls all get along and hang out together. The grade between theirs is a big mess. It is really luck of the draw. We have friends with kids at one of the other K-8s, and their experience is similar.

[Anonymous]

Former graduate of Norwood excelling at MCPS magnet program. Norwood prepared her well. That particular MCPS magnet was her first choice. We believe the teacher’s personal knowledge of her helped her stand out with recommendations in the application process.