St. Andrews: Don't Buy The "Happy Kids" Marketing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a single NMSF as far as I know. How is college placement?

We're new to the school, but last year's seniors and their parents seemed quite pleased with college placement, both in terms of process and results. I know there were students who went to Stanford, Dartmouth, Cornell and Williams among other schools. That said, I'd weigh process much more heavily than outcomes, which have so much to do with individual factors that might not apply to your child. What I was glad to hear from parents of seniors was that the counselors worked with their students and parents as a team and really helped the kids figure out what they wanted in a school.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 11:41. Also, when you consider the academic breadth of the student body -- and how small the grades are compared to some downtown privates -- I think their college placement looks pretty darn good. As for NMSF, I don't know this year -- they don't emphasize it. I do know several who made it (and some others who just missed by a point or two) in recent past years. I've always thought a more interesting statistic would be to compare SSAT entrance percentiles with SAT percentiles. I suspect St. Andrew's kids on average go up substantially, but I have never seen any sort of data to answer that question (for St. Andrew's or for any other school for that matter).

[Anonymous]

Everyone we know there is very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone we know there is very happy.

We withdrew our preschooler from St. Andrews because it seemed too stiff and wasn't worth the price. The motto of the school we moved to is "learning should be fun." That's the right approach, and the opposite of this overserious and overpriced school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

How is that "transformative".
You sound like an elevator speech from every school in DC. Are you in admissions? well done monitoring the school's feedback.

[Anonymous]

Respect to the OP, but I couldn't disagree more, and I hope things turn around for your child. For my family, and having had experience with both public and another "Big 3" school, St. Andrew's has completely lived up to the "hype" and more. My DC is challenged without being stressed, and is, indeed, happy. The teachers are great, the other parents are down to earth and kind, and overall we couldn't be happier with this "hidden gem." I hope, for those who are interested in the school, that you don't take only the perspective of an anonymous posting, but come see the school for yourself. It has completely changed our DC from an anxious, underperforming kid to one who is happy to go to school every day.

[Anonymous]

This post underscores how you should assume every assertion by schools has a level of spin as well as a layer of truth. There's so much that each child's personal experience at a school brings to the relationship with ever school.

IMO St Andrews is a warm and happy school - but no matter how happy some kids are at St Andrews, for example, there are always going to be kids who don't fit. Maybe its the school's approach, or the kid's class cohort, or the teaching style. I know of one kid who has had the opposite transformation to that of 22:06 - kid was happy to go to school every day and is now anxious and unhappy. IMO schools can create an opportunity for learning and community, but every kid and family will experience it differently. I don't think you can fault St Andrew's or any school entirely if a student's personal experience does not meet the hype.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

How is that "transformative".
You sound like an elevator speech from every school in DC. Are you in admissions? well done monitoring the school's feedback.

No, I don't work for admissions -- I'm just a parent trying to respond to the question above, which I'll take on faith as sincere. I'm sorry you're so cynical you can't imagine that. Good luck with your school search -- and I do mean that very sincerely!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

How is that "transformative".
You sound like an elevator speech from every school in DC. Are you in admissions? well done monitoring the school's feedback.

I heard last year they hired a bunch of new young teachers and didn't train them in the 'transformative learning approach'. Marketing....

[Anonymous]

Are you discussing st andrews in delaware or a more local st andrews? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Based on the comments, we're discussing St Andrews in Potomac MD, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

How is that "transformative".
You sound like an elevator speech from every school in DC. Are you in admissions? well done monitoring the school's feedback.

I heard last year they hired a bunch of new young teachers and didn't train them in the 'transformative learning approach'. Marketing....

I haven't seen anything like that in the middle and upper schools. My kids have some younger teachers and others who are more seasoned vets. All are inventive, encouraging and generous with their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me what is transformative about transformative learning at St. Andrews?

I agree! Decent school, but for the time we attended, we saw no evidence of this concept of 'Transformative Learning'. I think it gets back to OPs post, it is a marketing technique rather than an actual approach or product.

As a parent with kids in the middle and upper schools at St. Andrew's, I'm deeply appreciate of the faculty. My kids have been fortunate to have teachers who are creative and dedicated and who really like and believe in kids. The faculty work with parents as part of a team to help every student succeed. To me, the excellence of the faculty reflects the school's emphasis on research-based teaching, innovation, and faculty professional development.

How is that "transformative".
You sound like an elevator speech from every school in DC. Are you in admissions? well done monitoring the school's feedback.

I heard last year they hired a bunch of new young teachers and didn't train them in the 'transformative learning approach'. Marketing....

You seem to have "heard" a lot, but not to be speaking from direct experience. This is a warm and special school, and people should check it out for themselves. Our family loves it. To each their own, but we feel lucky to have found St. Andrew's.