Sidwell Community

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear from Sidwell families about the sense of community (or lack thereof?) at the school. One often hears of alpha parents who are super competitive and perhaps instill this behavior in their children. Is this really the case or is this reputation a gross generalization?

[Anonymous]

Mom of a Sr. The kids have a strong sense of community and support one another, because they have many shared positive experiences including Meeting for Worship. By Upper School the parents have very little influence over the kids or the school. They provide meals for play practice and time at swim meets, but the kids handle their own issues and their own interactions with their teachers. The parents only come in if their is a big issue. The kids feel very close to their favorite teachers and administrators. Its a nice atmosphere, despite the difficulty of the course work and the pressure the kids usually bring upon themselves to get into the top colleges. By senior year the kids are really bonded and embrace their diverse fellow students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a Sr. The kids have a strong sense of community and support one another, because they have many shared positive experiences including Meeting for Worship. By Upper School the parents have very little influence over the kids or the school. They provide meals for play practice and time at swim meets, but the kids handle their own issues and their own interactions with their teachers. The parents only come in if their is a big issue. The kids feel very close to their favorite teachers and administrators. Its a nice atmosphere, despite the difficulty of the course work and the pressure the kids usually bring upon themselves to get into the top colleges. By senior year the kids are really bonded and embrace their diverse fellow students.

Thank you for your feedback. Does the school feel more like a elite institution or a close community?

[Anonymous]

Close community, but it is rigorous.

[Anonymous]

It does not fell socially or economically elite. It feels academically elite/difficult. Kids feel like they are surviving the academic pressure together. Socially they feel they are a member of a community. They are protective and proud of each other.

[Anonymous]

There is obviously a lot of wealth at a school like Sidwell but it is not celebrated. There is some elitism but that stems more from a sense that the school is one of the top academic high schools in the country. Everyone knows how how hard it is to get in and how hard it is to do well. As far as community, that is a grade by grade thing. Some grades gel better than others for what ever reason. Some of my best adult friends are parents at the school.

[Anonymous]

There are no parent teacher conferences like in elementary and middle schools. Parent community is not strong at the high school level.

[Anonymous]

Did you not read about how they treat the sick and elderly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would love to hear from Sidwell families about the sense of community (or lack thereof?) at the school. One often hears of alpha parents who are super competitive and perhaps instill this behavior in their children. Is this really the case or is this reputation a gross generalization?

In lower school, whenever there is a new crop of parents at an entry year - such as K or 3rd - there will sometimes be 1-2 parents who view education as a competitive blood sport. You may have met some parents like this on the school application circuit - they are the ones constantly name-dropping their child's accomplishments. I believe it usually comes from a place of insecurity and fear about whether their child will fit in and whether they will be accepted by the other parents. Whatever the reason, in my experience, those parents usually calm down after a half year or so. The school discourages this hyper-competitiveness, and it's only a tiny number of outlier parents who act this way.

[Anonymous]

The sense of community at the Lower School is one of my favorite (and unexpected) parts of the school. I think the school goes above and beyond to arrange events that bring parents together, with or without children, so that they can get to know one another. Now, some of our closest friends are from the school.

[Anonymous]

My view as the parent of a lifer: The bigger the school gets (22 in PK vs. 128 senior class) the less tight the community will be. In Lower School, it's much easier to get to know people and there are many opportunities to do so. However, while parents are certainly not as involved in upper school, where their children are expected to be more independent, there is a lot of camaraderie around cheering for sports teams and, to some extent, music performances. There are also opportunities to volunteer and the parent potlucks continue in upper school.

There are definitely a few very wealthy families and some alpha parents - this is Washington, after all. Some of the wealthiest are also some of the nicest, most unassuming people. The school is big enough that everyone should be able to find his/her niche, parents and kids.

[Anonymous]

There are Alpha parents at all DC schools... This is a troll thread

[Anonymous]

I know some scary alpha parents and some lovely, down-to-earth parents at Sidwell. The common denominator is impressive jobs and lots of money.

I think your assessment of whether the school "feels wealthy" will depend on where you're coming from. If you're blue collar, that cafeteria, other amenities, and other peoples' vacations will inspire awe, no question. I know about some jaw-dropping vacations. I remember a WaPo quote from a senior Obama official about how "we're all just regular parents in the carpool line." Well sorta....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you not read about how they treat the sick and elderly?

I'm sorry your child didn't get in. Hoping mine will fare better.

[Anonymous]

New Sidwell family here (middle school). I anticipated the stereotype and have been pleasantly overwhelmed by a community that is the exact opposite. Although there must be parents here like you describe, I have yet to meet a parent who has crowed about his or her power career/accomplishments. In fact, no one has mentioned employers/fancy houses/dream vacations. The community--parents and kids-- feels very welcoming and diverse.