I have searched this site, but wanting more info on Grace Episcopal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that was my statement, and I wasn't trying to offend. Not sure if you read it as offensive to Chevy Chase or to Silver Spring?

My point was that Eastern Montgomery county has more challenges than Western (as is pointed out repeatedly on other threads in this forum). Most private schools are in the west, where the top public schools also are located. But Grace is further East, where more parents opt for private because they aren't comfortable with their local public. It may not seem like a value to spend 17K if you live in a top 10 elementary district, but it sure can if your home school is 75% Farms.

offensive to certain parts of Silver Spring

I am not putting down Grace. I know it's a good institution, and I've known people who have sent their children there.

I simply believe we have to be careful in how we make these comparisons between public and private schools. The term FARMs (free and reduced meals) often has a negative connotation associated with it - poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues. These are children we're talking about who have no choice in where they attend school. Furthermore, these schools are filled with dedicated staff members who devote a lot of emotional energy into leveling out the playing field.

If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children, but keep in mind that by pulling your children out of the local elementary schools, you're helping to maintain the FARMs rate of 75% - which translates into widening the divide between The Haves and The Have Nots.

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I just wanted to quickly respond to this poster's comment. The reason FARMS has those negative connotations are because, factually, all those issues you brought up in your own words ("poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues") DO exist in high-FARMS schools, and are of concern. Tsk-tsking people for speaking of such matters honestly doesn't help anyone. As you yourself say, people with the means should find the best fit for their children. Personally, I am not at all ashamed of not wanting my children to be in a high-FARMS school, and honestly, while I may feel fleeting discomfort at "widening the divide between the Haves and Have Nots," there is no way I would base a school decision for my children on a political issue.

I am not "tsk-tsking" people. I am simply pointing out that with a balanced population, these "problems" I mentioned above (poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues) would not be as prominent. However, if you're pulling your children from the local schools (and I'm assuming the children discussed in this thread are some of the "best and brightest."), the majority of the remaining children are at the low socioeconomic end, which does indeed translate into more behavioral issues. You say, "Personally, I am not at all ashamed of not wanting my children to be in a high-FARMS school. . ." So rather than working to help a societal issue, you choose to run from it. In my opinion, you run b/c of fear (fear of surrounding your child with poor students or students for whom English is not a first language). Fear is not a political issue. It has more to do with ignorance. FARMs is a political issue only in the sense that it allows schools to receive Title I funding in order to ATTEMPT to level the playing field.

I see from Grace's website that "approximately one-third of Grace students are non-Caucasian or foreign nationals." Race aside, what is the socioeconomic breakdown of the student body? Obviously, considering the tuition, the students come from families for whom money is not an issue. (Let's face it; $17,000 is college tuition for many.) And if financial aid is available, what is the percentage of students who are needy?

So who's really to blame for widening the divide? the families of children who cannot afford to pay a high tuition or the families who choose private institutions over public schools?

In reference to my original statement that "If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children," do some self-reflection and think about what motivates you to run from your local school. If your Christian faith draws you to the school, then that's an acceptable reason to pays such a high tuition to enrich your child's life. If it's fear of poverty and children of immigrants, then there are deeper issues that you will transfer to your child, thus creating a larger societal problem.

PP here. If by "running from a societal problem" you mean I choose not to make my child be a guinea pig in the name of leveling the playing field, then yep, we're running. I would never place fixing a societal problem above my children's needs.

And it's quite amusing that you have set yourself up as the arbiter of what is "an acceptable reason" for choosing private school.

Happy holidays everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do some self-reflection and think about what motivates you to run from your local school. If your Christian faith draws you to the school, then that's an acceptable reason to pays such a high tuition to enrich your child's life. If it's fear of poverty and children of immigrants, then there are deeper issues that you will transfer to your child, thus creating a larger societal problem.

A parent may very well prefer not to have his/her child in a classroom where half of the class is struggling with basic literacy (in any language) without having "deeper issues that [s/he[ will transfer to [his/her] child, thus creating a larger societal problem." And there are many ways to help attack the larger problems you claim to be so concerned about other than sending your child to public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:do some self-reflection and think about what motivates you to run from your local school. If your Christian faith draws you to the school, then that's an acceptable reason to pays such a high tuition to enrich your child's life. If it's fear of poverty and children of immigrants, then there are deeper issues that you will transfer to your child, thus creating a larger societal problem.

A parent may very well prefer not to have his/her child in a classroom where half of the class is struggling with basic literacy (in any language) without having "deeper issues that [s/he[ will transfer to [his/her] child, thus creating a larger societal problem." And there are many ways to help attack the larger problems you claim to be so concerned about other than sending your child to public school.

So, in addition to the high tuition you're spending, you'd be willing to pay higher taxes to fund your local (ailing) school? If so, that's wonderful. I completely applaud that.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We also donate directly to public schools in our area and volunteer.

[Anonymous]

I want to point out that diversity is a value at Grace. The PP who keeps taking people to task for not having "acceptable" reasons for choosing private schools rightly points out that Grace has been very successful in attracting a student body that is racially diverse (more so than other private schools). If you were perusing the website, you might have also noticed that financial aid is available for those families who cannot afford the tuition. So socioeconomic diversity is also a value.

My public school is less diverse on a racial basis than Grace and it is not a high FARMs school. I send my kids to Grace even though it is a considerable financial sacrifice for us. They're receiving an academically excellent education in an environment that teaches and models morals and values. Those two things are equally important to me and I did not see them given equal importance in the public schools.

As far as the public schools go, I'm not really on some kind of mission to reject them, drive them down, widen the gulf between the haves and have nots, etc, etc.. I'm making an individual choice for what's best for my family. And I'm letting the politicians, the government and the school administration run the public schools. I think those people are the ones who have the power to make a change if change is needed, not individual families who choose to enroll or not based on the program provided.

I think the PP's message is basically a political one--the PP thinks it's a civic duty to choose public schools unless there's an "acceptable" reason not to. But people don't do their "duty" for all kinds of individual reasons that are important to them at the time. If the PP wants to motivate more people to choose public schools, there are numerous avenues through which to lobby to make the public schools' programs or environment more attractive to such families. I think posting on DCUM in a forum for parents interested in independent schools is a particularly low yield recruiting avenue, but hey, it's a free country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We also donate directly to public schools in our area and volunteer.

Your child attends a private institution, yet you also donate directly to the public schools?

in what form? other than taxes, that is

[Anonymous]

Books (teachers' and librarians' wish lists) and cash to the HSA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Books (teachers' and librarians' wish lists) and cash to the HSA.

Ditto. Also we volunteer time for fundraising book sales at our local elementary and middle school twice a year.

Grace is about half students of color now rather than a third. I understand that about 40 families receive financial aid, which is a substantial number in a small school such as this one. So with all due respect to the PP who believes there's little diversity at Grace, at least economically, she's simply not correct. I find it very ironic that this particular school has attracted her ire, given the actual facts about the students and families there. Does she feel the same way about DC families who opt for private schools over public? But to each her own, I suppose. We have a good local elementary school and it's not anything close to 75% FARMS. (I suspect this is true of many Grace families, actually.) But the idea of 25 kids in a kindergarten class doesn't thrill me, which is the case at our local public. And the values and service education at Grace is a big draw for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago, we turned down acceptance to Grace for our child. Got caught up in the luxurious facilities and competitiveness of the big 3. Don't know a lot about Grace, but it definitely felt nurturing for kids, welcoming for parents, and the academics seemed fine. We SERIOUSLY REGRET TURNING DOWN GRACE. Child attended a big 3 and we are certain child would have been better at Grace. A previous poster actually mentions that maybe the academics at Grace are not as rigorous as (blank)...trust me you would be surprised. We have been quite disappointed with the lack of rigor at this big 3 school. Please do focus on the academics and social climate (for kids) at the school, DO NOT be fooled by the facilities and big name families at these schools.

Amen!!! (My guess is that you are at Beauvoir... I might be wrong, but this is my gut...)

[Anonymous]

Big name families -- sounds like Sidwell or GDS.

[Anonymous]

I am curious--how it is that Grace keeps tuition so (comparatively speaking) low? On their website it says they are independent, but also that they are supported by a parish. Could someone who knows please clarify? Are they subsidized by the parish/church? If not, how is their tuition so low compared to other schools? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

In answer to 13:16, Grace is not subsidized financially by Grace Church. It is an outreach ministry of the church and two members of the Vestry are on the board. Tuition is lower because the school does not have the fancy facilities some other places have. Nor are there a ton of administrators. In general the budget is focused on quality education but is frugal on the frills. Tuition is not as low as some other schools (Catholic schools for instance) because Grace is committed to paying a competitive salary to teachers.