Mad at the Board

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure why they are bothering with a State of the School address with the current HoS tbh

The board should just have an evening town hall about the search

I guess the board attitude: “nothing is happening here”

The outgoing head standing before the community and delivering a state of the school address is actually him doing his job and the epitome of transparency and openness. It’s really pathetic how negative, and derisive people are on this thread. It’s actually what’s most damaging to the school.

The epitome of transparency and openness is not firing a HoS and then lying about it.

Lmao. Paranoid delusions. Go the state of the school, raise your hand, and ask away. You can do it, keyboard warrior!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure why they are bothering with a State of the School address with the current HoS tbh

The board should just have an evening town hall about the search

I guess the board attitude: “nothing is happening here”

The outgoing head standing before the community and delivering a state of the school address is actually him doing his job and the epitome of transparency and openness. It’s really pathetic how negative, and derisive people are on this thread. It’s actually what’s most damaging to the school.

The epitome of transparency and openness is not firing a HoS and then lying about it.

Lmao. Paranoid delusions. Go the state of the school, raise your hand, and ask away. You can do it, keyboard warrior!

Yes, to get this answer: I resigned because………

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure why they are bothering with a State of the School address with the current HoS tbh

The board should just have an evening town hall about the search

I guess the board attitude: “nothing is happening here”

The outgoing head standing before the community and delivering a state of the school address is actually him doing his job and the epitome of transparency and openness. It’s really pathetic how negative, and derisive people are on this thread. It’s actually what’s most damaging to the school.

The epitome of transparency and openness is not firing a HoS and then lying about it.

Lmao. Paranoid delusions. Go the state of the school, raise your hand, and ask away. You can do it, keyboard warrior!

I would do that, but only once competent and honest people are in charge. I don’t like being lied to on a frequent basis.

[Anonymous]

They don’t take questions at the state of the school address…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My kid is having a great experience so far in the lower school and I frankly couldn’t care less about the drama about the outgoing head, nor do I care to spend my time pretending that my input at this meeting would be meaningful. So yes, I do pay my tuition and no, I tend not to voice concerns to the Board because I don’t really have any. Just because real life at the school for some parents and kids doesn’t resemble the dumpster fire portrayed on anonymous online message boards doesn’t mean that parents are obedient slaves. Perhaps it means - shocker, I know - that they have had different experiences?

I would agree with this poster that people have different experiences and we also loved our lower school experience. That’s a very insulated and well run division of the school and i wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone with the caveat that there needs to be some real work done at the upper school and with the school leadership.

We loved the lower school AND we pulled our 8th grader to go elsewhere for high school. So maybe it’s different experiences and maybe it’s that the disfunction hasn’t affected you personally yet. All I’ll say is that I really hope they do a better job on the next HOS search and return to school to what it was a few years ago - imperfect as all schools are, but still a great place to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My kid is having a great experience so far in the lower school and I frankly couldn’t care less about the drama about the outgoing head, nor do I care to spend my time pretending that my input at this meeting would be meaningful. So yes, I do pay my tuition and no, I tend not to voice concerns to the Board because I don’t really have any. Just because real life at the school for some parents and kids doesn’t resemble the dumpster fire portrayed on anonymous online message boards doesn’t mean that parents are obedient slaves. Perhaps it means - shocker, I know - that they have had different experiences?

I would agree with this poster that people have different experiences and we also loved our lower school experience. That’s a very insulated and well run division of the school and i wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone with the caveat that there needs to be some real work done at the upper school and with the school leadership.

We loved the lower school AND we pulled our 8th grader to go elsewhere for high school. So maybe it’s different experiences and maybe it’s that the disfunction hasn’t affected you personally yet. All I’ll say is that I really hope they do a better job on the next HOS search and return to school to what it was a few years ago - imperfect as all schools are, but still a great place to be.

Most private companies actively seek customer feedback to improve over time and deliver a better experience. Maret (like many private schools) does not. Families leave, yet the school makes no effort to ask why or what it could do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My kid is having a great experience so far in the lower school and I frankly couldn’t care less about the drama about the outgoing head, nor do I care to spend my time pretending that my input at this meeting would be meaningful. So yes, I do pay my tuition and no, I tend not to voice concerns to the Board because I don’t really have any. Just because real life at the school for some parents and kids doesn’t resemble the dumpster fire portrayed on anonymous online message boards doesn’t mean that parents are obedient slaves. Perhaps it means - shocker, I know - that they have had different experiences?

I would agree with this poster that people have different experiences and we also loved our lower school experience. That’s a very insulated and well run division of the school and i wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone with the caveat that there needs to be some real work done at the upper school and with the school leadership.

We loved the lower school AND we pulled our 8th grader to go elsewhere for high school. So maybe it’s different experiences and maybe it’s that the disfunction hasn’t affected you personally yet. All I’ll say is that I really hope they do a better job on the next HOS search and return to school to what it was a few years ago - imperfect as all schools are, but still a great place to be.

I agree with you. The Lower School is fantastic. The Middle and High School (depending on the year) show many of the same classroom disruptions and disfunctions that are often seen in public schools.

[Anonymous]

For those confused by this post—yes, it’s about Maret. As a family currently in the 9th-grade admissions cycle, this has unfortunately become the place to learn about what’s been happening and why the community is so upset.

Last year’s significant departure of 8th-grade students was striking; I don’t know of another school that has experienced a mass exodus like that. With the Head of School now leaving, the situation feels elevated to an entirely new level.

We are grateful that our K–8 school has been transparent with us about the issues involved, including concerns around teacher–student boundaries, religious matters, and more. There are obviously some very disgruntled parents adding to the fire.

[Anonymous]

We are enjoying our HS experience. Middle school was okay. Lower School good. HoS concerns were valid but that is shifting. MT could be tough at times but you knew the ship was running. Hope they do better with new search because these past three years have clearly been very messy, it's been tough to witness on various fronts. I don't care if he resigned or was fired. That doesn't matter as long as it is fixed, and the board is being reflective. This space can be an echo chamber.

[Anonymous]

As noted, people have different experiences and that exists at all independent schools )and schools in general). The impact of a bad HoS can be deep due to impact on both parent and faculty morale. This went on longer than it should have and it sounds like the board didn’t have any great checks on the HoS until it got really really bad and bad enough for a last minute non-renewal (or whatever you call it).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those confused by this post—yes, it’s about Maret. As a family currently in the 9th-grade admissions cycle, this has unfortunately become the place to learn about what’s been happening and why the community is so upset.

Last year’s significant departure of 8th-grade students was striking; I don’t know of another school that has experienced a mass exodus like that. With the Head of School now leaving, the situation feels elevated to an entirely new level.

We are grateful that our K–8 school has been transparent with us about the issues involved, including concerns around teacher–student boundaries, religious matters, and more. There are obviously some very disgruntled parents adding to the fire.

Are the two things related: 8th grade exodus and firing of the HoS? How many students left?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As noted, people have different experiences and that exists at all independent schools )and schools in general). The impact of a bad HoS can be deep due to impact on both parent and faculty morale. This went on longer than it should have and it sounds like the board didn’t have any great checks on the HoS until it got really really bad and bad enough for a last minute non-renewal (or whatever you call it).

Last minute firing.

[Anonymous]

Prior to this current HoS the school was way overenrolled and actually talked about needing to get smaller (we heard this from an admissions rep). This was only the start of his third year which is incredible and it has been a sizable shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prior to this current HoS the school was way overenrolled and actually talked about needing to get smaller (we heard this from an admissions rep). This was only the start of his third year which is incredible and it has been a sizable shift.

I do recall this since we had a sibling apply and were told that sibling preference was not as strong of hook due to size of class and many applications. Kid got in, but we were worried and had a friend whose sibling did not get admitted and ended up at another high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those confused by this post—yes, it’s about Maret. As a family currently in the 9th-grade admissions cycle, this has unfortunately become the place to learn about what’s been happening and why the community is so upset.

Last year’s significant departure of 8th-grade students was striking; I don’t know of another school that has experienced a mass exodus like that. With the Head of School now leaving, the situation feels elevated to an entirely new level.

We are grateful that our K–8 school has been transparent with us about the issues involved, including concerns around teacher–student boundaries, religious matters, and more. There are obviously some very disgruntled parents adding to the fire.

I have a current 9th grader at the school who was there in middle school. There was not a "mass exodus" of 8th graders last year. I've seen that posted here a few times and it simply isn't true. There were one or two more students who left than a typical year, but that's a far cry from "mass exodus." The 9th grade class is great and my kid is very happy to have stayed (and didn't consider leaving).