Bullis

[Anonymous]

PP here again- sorry OP to answer admittance rates for 9th- Not sure. Not everyone gets in, despite what the haters say. The old stereotype that Bullis is for badly behaved athletes is really and outdated 1980's trope.
However we are not talking big 3 or big 5 level difficulty to get in. There are some very smart kids from Potomac or farther up-county whose parents don't want to drive them into the city, who go to Bullis and they truly shine academically.
They are not the majority of the cohort, however.

It should also be said that Bulls has amazing academic support and does really well in teaching smart kids who may have a mild learning challenge. I have not observed or heard about kids who have any full-on major learning issues
in my kid's class- I think that was more in the past. But they are open to motivated intelligent kids who may need some specific supports. I will say a see a broader range of kids than in my other child's school which is
more competitive and highly regarded, but I am not sure that is a bad thing. I think Bullis does a good job of taking all the kids to their maximum potential.

All that said-I'm still worried about the social stuff in HS

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much for the information. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

[Anonymous]

This is not about high school but my understanding is that Bullis kindergarten is tiny. Like eight kids per class. I personally think that’s awful. Kids need to learn to work independently without a teacher hovering and to be part of a group. Also navigating social skills are important - different groups of friends etc - which in a group of eight is basically impossible.

This is why Bullis has the reputation of catering to people that have money but no clue about education.

[Anonymous]

they just want full payers. if you can pay, you are IN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not about high school but my understanding is that Bullis kindergarten is tiny. Like eight kids per class. I personally think that’s awful. Kids need to learn to work independently without a teacher hovering and to be part of a group. Also navigating social skills are important - different groups of friends etc - which in a group of eight is basically impossible.

This is why Bullis has the reputation of catering to people that have money but no clue about education.

My kids don't go there, but we have toured, applied and shadowed twice, and kids have attended summer camp. Actually, I think Bullis does a really nice job at keeping up with educational research (things like Physics First) without following educational fads.

Since this is the first year that Bullis had K, I am sure that class sizes will grow, but frankly, I think 8 kids to one teacher sounds perfect for those little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not about high school but my understanding is that Bullis kindergarten is tiny. Like eight kids per class. I personally think that’s awful. Kids need to learn to work independently without a teacher hovering and to be part of a group. Also navigating social skills are important - different groups of friends etc - which in a group of eight is basically impossible.

This is why Bullis has the reputation of catering to people that have money but no clue about education.

We have a child in K at Bullis and we have been very happy. We actually prefer a smaller class and our DC has been thriving. Our child would not fair well at a school with 25-30 kids per class (some schools with 7 kindergarten classes!). Not all kids are extroverts and the fact that there are options for a child who gets overwhelmed by a lot of people is a good thing. An overwhelmed child is not going to work to the best of their abilities if they are forced to be in a situation that they fear and/or are scared of. There is a time and place for them to learn to integrate into an overwhelming situation, but in my opinion, the environment that is setting the tone for the rest of their years in school is not the place. We have been SO happy with the kindergarten class and are thankful that it exists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here again- sorry OP to answer admittance rates for 9th- Not sure. Not everyone gets in, despite what the haters say. The old stereotype that Bullis is for badly behaved athletes is really and outdated 1980's trope.
However we are not talking big 3 or big 5 level difficulty to get in. There are some very smart kids from Potomac or farther up-county whose parents don't want to drive them into the city, who go to Bullis and they truly shine academically.
They are not the majority of the cohort, however.

It should also be said that Bulls has amazing academic support and does really well in teaching smart kids who may have a mild learning challenge. I have not observed or heard about kids who have any full-on major learning issues
in my kid's class- I think that was more in the past. But they are open to motivated intelligent kids who may need some specific supports. I will say a see a broader range of kids than in my other child's school which is
more competitive and highly regarded, but I am not sure that is a bad thing. I think Bullis does a good job of taking all the kids to their maximum potential.

All that said-I'm still worried about the social stuff in HS

That's why we left Bullis. The high school social scene there is pretty much about money and looks. Even if your kids have those attributes, do you want them growing up to think that's what's important in life? Ugh. So glad we left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again- sorry OP to answer admittance rates for 9th- Not sure. Not everyone gets in, despite what the haters say. The old stereotype that Bullis is for badly behaved athletes is really and outdated 1980's trope.
However we are not talking big 3 or big 5 level difficulty to get in. There are some very smart kids from Potomac or farther up-county whose parents don't want to drive them into the city, who go to Bullis and they truly shine academically.
They are not the majority of the cohort, however.

It should also be said that Bulls has amazing academic support and does really well in teaching smart kids who may have a mild learning challenge. I have not observed or heard about kids who have any full-on major learning issues
in my kid's class- I think that was more in the past. But they are open to motivated intelligent kids who may need some specific supports. I will say a see a broader range of kids than in my other child's school which is
more competitive and highly regarded, but I am not sure that is a bad thing. I think Bullis does a good job of taking all the kids to their maximum potential.

All that said-I'm still worried about the social stuff in HS

That's why we left Bullis. The high school social scene there is pretty much about money and looks. Even if your kids have those attributes, do you want them growing up to think that's what's important in life? Ugh. So glad we left.

Social scene?? at Bullis?? Seriously?? you leave a school because of looks? and money? I'm sure other school students are much more self absorbed than Bullis. I gotta say I have heard of Bullis parents coming from new money BUT I have never heard that Bullis students are FULL of themselves.
GEICO SURPRISING

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here again- sorry OP to answer admittance rates for 9th- Not sure. Not everyone gets in, despite what the haters say. The old stereotype that Bullis is for badly behaved athletes is really and outdated 1980's trope.
However we are not talking big 3 or big 5 level difficulty to get in. There are some very smart kids from Potomac or farther up-county whose parents don't want to drive them into the city, who go to Bullis and they truly shine academically.
They are not the majority of the cohort, however.

It should also be said that Bulls has amazing academic support and does really well in teaching smart kids who may have a mild learning challenge. I have not observed or heard about kids who have any full-on major learning issues
in my kid's class- I think that was more in the past. But they are open to motivated intelligent kids who may need some specific supports. I will say a see a broader range of kids than in my other child's school which is
more competitive and highly regarded, but I am not sure that is a bad thing. I think Bullis does a good job of taking all the kids to their maximum potential.

All that said-I'm still worried about the social stuff in HS

That's why we left Bullis. The high school social scene there is pretty much about money and looks. Even if your kids have those attributes, do you want them growing up to think that's what's important in life? Ugh. So glad we left.

Social scene?? at Bullis?? Seriously?? you leave a school because of looks? and money? I'm sure other school students are much more self absorbed than Bullis. I gotta say I have heard of Bullis parents coming from new money BUT I have never heard that Bullis students are FULL of themselves.
GEICO SURPRISING

Your post is a little frantic and hard to understand, but to clarify: we left because our values were not in tune with those of the Bullis community.

[Anonymous]

From what I see the Bullis HS kids are far more obsessed with looks and cars and clothes and vacations and anything else flashy as compared to kids at other privates in the area. Its the Bullis kids' Raison D'etre[b].

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I see the Bullis HS kids are far more obsessed with looks and cars and clothes and vacations and anything else flashy as compared to kids at other privates in the area. Its the Bullis kids' Raison D'etre[b].

Yes, there is some of that, but you have to admit that you are generalizing. It's not like kids from Landon and Holton-Arms are any different. The boys I knew that went to Landon were quite fond of themselves and their money...but I am sure they were not all like that.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t Bullis good for students with learning disabilities, especially in LS? I know it doesn’t specifically market itself as a school for children with LDs, but I’ve heard they have a lot of really good resources and students with LD can attend and be “main streamed”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t Bullis good for students with learning disabilities, especially in LS? I know it doesn’t specifically market itself as a school for children with LDs, but I’ve heard they have a lot of really good resources and students with LD can attend and be “main streamed”.

PP poster with kid in middle school. They do having amazing support for otherwise intelligent kids with SMALL educational challenges but NOT full-on LD in my opinion. Fully dyslexia or ADHD or spectrum issues are not things they address. nor do I get the sense that is who they want to be. If your kid needs support with organization, maybe mild reading issues- they do a great job. But they are no equipped to handle big issues- this is the old stereotype of the school. Also there are some super smart, high-functioning kids in the cohort there now, so I do not think it is a good place for a kid with significant learning challenges.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Is there socioeconomic diversity at Bullis? It is DC’s first choice, but all this talk about flashy cars and fancy vacations makes me uneasy. DC is a decent student who is pretty sporty, but I don’t want DC to feel bad about our normal car and house, or to “fall in with a bad crowd” (I know, so old fashioned?). We don’t want an academic powerhouse- just a nice community where DC can get a solid education and play sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Is there socioeconomic diversity at Bullis? It is DC’s first choice, but all this talk about flashy cars and fancy vacations makes me uneasy. DC is a decent student who is pretty sporty, but I don’t want DC to feel bad about our normal car and house, or to “fall in with a bad crowd” (I know, so old fashioned?). We don’t want an academic powerhouse- just a nice community where DC can get a solid education and play sports.

There are kids from all walks of life. My son is in lower school and In his class there are kids from PG county, all over Montgomery County (not just Potomac, Chevy Chase or Bethesda) and from what I can see at carpool and large range of vehicles from Range Rovers to Kia (and yes, it's the parent driving). The school is actually more diverse than people realize.