Kenmore MS (Arlington) - happy, or did you transfer/go private?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I pulled my kid after a month. It was an unsafe situation and he was not learning. We had to sacrifice to pay for private school but it is 100% worth it. Stunning to see people in my neighborhood with Teslas and multiple international vacations who send their kids to this school.

Bumping this because we are considering whether to send our smart and socially anxious son to private school instead of Kenmore. I hate the thought of sending him to a massive school that is filled with fighting. Interested in the perspective of parents who have faced this choice.

That’s a generalization. Speak with neighbors with kids at the school.

You can also apply for a neighborhood transfer. Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm are under enrolled and have been accepting transfers. Dorothy Hamm in particular seems like a good fit for your DS. Try to save your money.

Talk to people IRL. Not trolls on the internet. Even the Hamm incident wasn’t totally random. No excuse for the violence, but everyone should still teach their child not to write a check running their mouth that they can’t cash, IFKWIM. If your kid is a shy and gifted student they will be fine. There are lots of students with a similar profile and they stuck together and the occasional incidents, which happen at every single MS BTW, are just background noise. Also, the neighborhood transfer window is closed, but you really don’t need to pay for private to keep your kid safe. If that were true, you’d be hearing more than just internet rumors. You really think hundreds of families with options would keep their kids at a school where they were unsafe and languishing? Really? Save your money. That’s money you will have to pass to your heirs one day, and that’s more likely to affect their outcomes than 3 years of private school.

Wow. Way to excuse violence between 12 year olds.

NO this stuff does not happen at EVERY single MS. Kenmore has a major problem.

Nope, it’s happening. You just heard about this one because it made the news. Incidents at Gunston, TJ, and Swanson have also made the news in the recent past.

And I am not excusing the violence, but explaining that it wasn’t a completely random attack. Should it have happened? Never. But teaching defensive driving isn’t saying it’s okay for others to break traffic laws.

Tell me what has happened at Hamm and WMS this year?

Nothing happened at Hamm. After a basketball game between Kenmore and Hamm at Kenmore, some Hamm students or Hamm players waiting for the Metrobus were jumped without provocation by Kenmore students. It was reported on ARLnow. The details are in the article.

Yes, I know that. PPs are saying that these incidents are happening at all middle schools but it’s not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pulled my kid after a month. It was an unsafe situation and he was not learning. We had to sacrifice to pay for private school but it is 100% worth it. Stunning to see people in my neighborhood with Teslas and multiple international vacations who send their kids to this school.

Bumping this because we are considering whether to send our smart and socially anxious son to private school instead of Kenmore. I hate the thought of sending him to a massive school that is filled with fighting. Interested in the perspective of parents who have faced this choice.

That’s a generalization. Speak with neighbors with kids at the school.

You can also apply for a neighborhood transfer. Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm are under enrolled and have been accepting transfers. Dorothy Hamm in particular seems like a good fit for your DS. Try to save your money.

Talk to people IRL. Not trolls on the internet. Even the Hamm incident wasn’t totally random. No excuse for the violence, but everyone should still teach their child not to write a check running their mouth that they can’t cash, IFKWIM. If your kid is a shy and gifted student they will be fine. There are lots of students with a similar profile and they stuck together and the occasional incidents, which happen at every single MS BTW, are just background noise. Also, the neighborhood transfer window is closed, but you really don’t need to pay for private to keep your kid safe. If that were true, you’d be hearing more than just internet rumors. You really think hundreds of families with options would keep their kids at a school where they were unsafe and languishing? Really? Save your money. That’s money you will have to pass to your heirs one day, and that’s more likely to affect their outcomes than 3 years of private school.

Wow. Way to excuse violence between 12 year olds.

NO this stuff does not happen at EVERY single MS. Kenmore has a major problem.

Nope, it’s happening. You just heard about this one because it made the news. Incidents at Gunston, TJ, and Swanson have also made the news in the recent past.

And I am not excusing the violence, but explaining that it wasn’t a completely random attack. Should it have happened? Never. But teaching defensive driving isn’t saying it’s okay for others to break traffic laws.

Tell me what has happened at Hamm and WMS this year?

Well, nothing that made the news that I remember, which is why I didn’t name those two schools. But a couple years ago a kid bought drugs off the internet and overdosed (didn’t die) at WMS. That kid’s parent came and talked about it at a meeting, so it was not an internet rumor. The point is it’s middle school. Kids make dumb decisions and many mistakes at this age. You can’t avoid it by choosing one school zone over another. And parents on the Gifted Listserv from even Hamm and WMS complain about the lack of challenge. It’s not Kenmore, it’s systemwide. If OP is concerned about a rigorous education in 6-8 grades, private is likely a better fit, though plenty of kids do well in HS and beyond even having gone through public MS. However, OP need not fear for her child’s safety any more so at one MS over another. Geez. Really, the fear mongering is too much. It’s so racist.

[Anonymous]

And aren’t the middle schools ramping up challenging coursework for gifted students next year? Therefore, any lack of challenge is currently being addressed, and students should be better prepared for the rigorous work and hours of homework in high school.

Also, since you mentioned you’re in the W&L district, lots of students from Hamm, Swanson, Kenmore, etc., end up adjusting to the school’s challenging AP and IB coursework every year and succeeding. High school is meant to be challenging, as it prepares students for college or employment after graduation.

[Anonymous]

It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

[Anonymous]

Because a lot of wealthy families value the additional academic and extracurricular offerings of a large public middle school that the vast majority of privates can't provide. They also value demographic diversity, and recognize that the most valuable people skills in the very near future will stem from being able to work with and communicate with people who are different from them. Pay for your powder room renovation, get that big Outer Banks rental and send your kid to Kenmore. Maybe it will be their best bet at escaping your bourgeois mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of wealthy families value the additional academic and extracurricular offerings of a large public middle school that the vast majority of privates can't provide. They also value demographic diversity, and recognize that the most valuable people skills in the very near future will stem from being able to work with and communicate with people who are different from them. Pay for your powder room renovation, get that big Outer Banks rental and send your kid to Kenmore. Maybe it will be their best bet at escaping your bourgeois mindset.

Families also like the community aspect of public schools. Kids grow up knowing other kids in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

Sounds like someone’s jealous lol lol. Some of us enjoy traveling and have family overseas that we need to see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

And I find it difficult to understand families who would sacrifice to afford private school when Kenmore is a perfectly good school and smart motivated kids come out prepared to succeed. I like that my kids are seeing the world and being prepared to live in it, both at school, and through our international trips. Narrowing their experience through private school and no international trips won’t lead to a more successful child, and it will affect the nest egg we plan to leave them, which is what really matters. That’s how the next generation gets a leg up, not through attending a middling but expensive private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

Sounds like someone’s jealous lol lol. Some of us enjoy traveling and have family overseas that we need to see.

So tired of the superiority complexes of people thinking anyone who criticizes, comments, or disagrees "must be jealous."

[Anonymous]

We chose a transfer (for the STEAM program) back in 2017 and were happy. DD's middle school would have WMS, and at the time, it was overcrowded - Hamm wasn't open yet -- and I wanted my kid to not get caught up in the WMS girl drama. Kenmore was a much better place for my gifted girl, who was into tech, theater, and sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose a transfer (for the STEAM program) back in 2017 and were happy. DD's middle school would have WMS, and at the time, it was overcrowded - Hamm wasn't open yet -- and I wanted my kid to not get caught up in the WMS girl drama. Kenmore was a much better place for my gifted girl, who was into tech, theater, and sports.

Is the WMS "girl drama" any worse than that in other schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose a transfer (for the STEAM program) back in 2017 and were happy. DD's middle school would have WMS, and at the time, it was overcrowded - Hamm wasn't open yet -- and I wanted my kid to not get caught up in the WMS girl drama. Kenmore was a much better place for my gifted girl, who was into tech, theater, and sports.

Is the WMS "girl drama" any worse than that in other schools?

We are at Wms and are having a great experience- solid friendships, school activities, supportive teachers, sports, etc. PP mentioned crowding in 2017, Now that Hamm that is no longer the case.

We are not experiencing any girl drama that is inappropriate, mean girl, etc. Of course there’s the normal teen girl hormonal things that go on (who likes who) but no bullying or incidents needing to involve counselors, parents, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

I could take my kids on 10 “budget” international vacations per year, or 3 truly extravagant international vacations (expeditions etc) for the price of one kid in private school for one year in this area. The expense is extremely high and not comparable to travel last time I checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose a transfer (for the STEAM program) back in 2017 and were happy. DD's middle school would have WMS, and at the time, it was overcrowded - Hamm wasn't open yet -- and I wanted my kid to not get caught up in the WMS girl drama. Kenmore was a much better place for my gifted girl, who was into tech, theater, and sports.

Is the WMS "girl drama" any worse than that in other schools?

Our neighbors with girls told us about it, and we knew other families who also chose the transfer for the same reason. I'm glad to hear that it isn't as bad as it was then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's difficult to understand the better off families who spend pretty extravagantly in other areas of their life but send their kids to Kenmore. I don't know how you can take expensive international vacations but not pay for private school.

And I find it difficult to understand families who would sacrifice to afford private school when Kenmore is a perfectly good school and smart motivated kids come out prepared to succeed. I like that my kids are seeing the world and being prepared to live in it, both at school, and through our international trips. Narrowing their experience through private school and no international trips won’t lead to a more successful child, and it will affect the nest egg we plan to leave them, which is what really matters. That’s how the next generation gets a leg up, not through attending a middling but expensive private school.

Well said!