Sheridan School- Tell me your experiences!

[Anonymous]

We are considering it for our child. it seemed amazing on the tour and very warm and supportive, yet also academically engaging. I have heard things about people leaving recently due to a change in culture/leadership. But I don't know the details. Would love any insights or advice from current or former parents.

[Anonymous]

Jessica Lee is a wonderful addition to the Sheridan's commitment to progressive education. I also appreciate that it is recommitting to (beyond lip service) equity, diversity goals. We have been there 3 years - never part of the cult of the former director. We loved the school without knowing anything about the controversy apparently surrounding his abrupt departure - and if anything comes up here about it ignore/or indulge - your choice but it is a gem of a school. I think your term 'academically engaging' is sopt on as I don't think it falls for the narrative of academic rigor in the 'we push our kids' sense: the kids are so interested in learning and experiencing the world. It's a big gulp to pay tuition but such a gift for our family

[Anonymous]

We are a relatively new family and are extremely pleased with our choice. We were aware of the previous head, but chose Sheridan solely on the merits of Jessica Lee.

What we like:
Two full teachers per class and three for kindergarten as well as excellent and enthusiastic specialists in science, reading, Spanish, music and art.

Focus on whole child: academic and social development.

Strong and warm community. Parents and kids across grades know each other

Commitment to diversity.

Renewed emphasis on outdoor education/ mountain campus

Parent athletic groups like running and basketball.

Inclusive pricing: lunch, fees, field trips, mountain campus included in tuition

Free early drop off

Free after school music lessons beginning in first grade

What I would want to improve: the playground, but fortunately that's underway

What seems to be working, but we'll assess over time: single classroom, differentiation

[Anonymous]

Op here. Such great responses! How is the art program? What if your kid gets a little distracted in some classes (eg math). Not disruptive but just at-dreamy. Will the teachers be able to pull her back in ?

[Anonymous]

I mean "day dreamy"

[Anonymous]

I have a day dreamer type kid and there's been no issue. The wonderful thing is that you aren't kept in the dark as to where your kid's strength's/weaknesses are as the conferences are so detailed and personal. The policy is also no 'letter-type' grading until I think 3rd grade (?) so what you hear is information about your kid that will help your kid. And the teachers/support team are all TRULY open to meeting to talk about any areas of concern at any time.
I am not thrilled with the art program but my kid (who is very artsy) enjoys it. Honestly i somewhat think the school has been seduced by the eccentricity of the teachers' personality and not embracing that art can and should be a place to push every envelope that every other subject in the school asks the kids to do. I am in a creative field so it is important to me so art - and maybe music - which we had such high hopes for are not quite as wonderful as I hope (giving a honest assessment for what Sheridan could be - but take with grain of salt as we did NOT find better elsewhere.)

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately the art program is a weak link at Sheridan and has been for years. They just haven't been able to find great teachers that connect with the kids. Also, the kids only have visual art once a week. The new head should probably clean house and rework that department.

Music on the other hand is a strong program. My DD learned to read music on a basic level by the 5th grade, and the concerts the kids gave were really amazing. The school offers free violin and guitar lessons after school.

[Anonymous]

To add a different perspective: My child was completely disinterested in art when he entered in K. Something happened in those first few years at Sheridan to ignite his love for art. We have a few pieces that he painted in K up in our family room, and visitors are always surprised when we tell them he did them when he was five. (Not bragging on my child but on the teacher. My son's work was pretty much representative of what most kids were doing.)

My child has had a very good experience at Sheridan (still in the lower school). We never experienced the old head, but the new head Jessica Lee really knows progressive education. We are happy with the direction in which the school is headed.

In our experience, trust the impressions you get on the tour at Sheridan. What you see is what you get. It is a warm, nurturing, friendly school.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I often hear my office colleague complain about the lack of rigor/differentiation. The complaints began in 3rd grade and are still going on in 4th. Mtgs with the Administration resulted in a few minor improvements that were not sustained over time. That said, this family seemed to enjoy the warm/fuzzy experience in the earlier years but now are almost to the points of cutting the cord rather than wait it out through 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

that;s interesting about the art. My daughter is very self-directed in art and has had mediocre art so far at public, except for one year, so she probably will never lose her artistic bent regardless of schooling. She is an average/low math student so the lack of differentiation I think would be less a concern for us than for the more advanced kids, maybe? Or will she get lost in the large (for private school) math class?

[Anonymous]

The kids who struggled in math in my DDs class at Sheridan ended up with tutors. This was about 4 kids out of the class of 24.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To add a different perspective: My child was completely disinterested in art when he entered in K. Something happened in those first few years at Sheridan to ignite his love for art. We have a few pieces that he painted in K up in our family room, and visitors are always surprised when we tell them he did them when he was five. (Not bragging on my child but on the teacher. My son's work was pretty much representative of what most kids were doing.)

My child has had a very good experience at Sheridan (still in the lower school). We never experienced the old head, but the new head Jessica Lee really knows progressive education. We are happy with the direction in which the school is headed.

In our experience, trust the impressions you get on the tour at Sheridan. What you see is what you get. It is a warm, nurturing, friendly school.

This is closer to our experience as well. Granted, our expectations were pretty low with regard to art b/c DC never really expressed interest. Surprisingly DC has done more that we thought possible along the lines of the what the PP above described. Again, our expectations weren't terribly high, so those with more creative backgrounds might be better placed to comment.

[Anonymous]

OP here. i do think that really artistic, creative kids end up thriving even when they don't have access to the top art programs. My daughter is just really into it at home and is happy to just draw all the time without instruction. At the high school level (or maybe even 7th/8th) i think it would be cool for her to harness this talent into digital art or graphic design.

Do the teachers offer any extra instruction or guidance when a kid is struggling with a particular section of the math curriculum? Office hours? study halls? etc? My daughter is actually pretty good with the main concepts, but she makes careless errors. A little extra attention could help her see what she is missing when she gets a problem wrong, you know?

[Anonymous]

OP, I take it you are not looking to enter in K, correct?

[Anonymous]

This has been our experience, too. Made it to 4th grade and are now ready to "cut the cord" if you will. The super small nurturing, lovey dovey-ness is sweet in K-3 and quite amazing. But the academics are weak, differentiation is non-existent and internal support structure is VERY thin when its needed the most, starting in 3rd grade. Though they have a new Literacy Specialist this year for the first time, but probably too late to help our child. We have 5 new kids in the 4th grade class this year -- that many families bailed after 3rd grade because the school gets weaker after that. Yes some of those families wanted GDS or Sidwell to start with and were looking for an entry point to get out, but they also cited social concerns with the smallness of the school, lack of clarity and resources with support, etc. So many of the kids at Sheridan are getting outside tutoring and/or enrichment which is ridiculous. If you are looking for a school filled with nice and happy kids, I would say Sheridan is 75% that. If you want differentiated instruction and a strong middle school experience, look elsewhere. The school should recast itself as a K-4 school, with 2 classes per grade, because they do the younger grades the best.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I often hear my office colleague complain about the lack of rigor/differentiation. The complaints began in 3rd grade and are still going on in 4th. Mtgs with the Administration resulted in a few minor improvements that were not sustained over time. That said, this family seemed to enjoy the warm/fuzzy experience in the earlier years but now are almost to the points of cutting the cord rather than wait it out through 8th grade.