Potomac School pressure cooker or not

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's terrible. This is at the varsity level for certain sports?

Freshmen, JV and Varsity at our school, but the varsity soccer is so corrupt.

Parents are already working their angle with the coach for next year. Fall season.

The fix will be in.

Huh? What does this mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's terrible. This is at the varsity level for certain sports?

Freshmen, JV and Varsity at our school, but the varsity soccer is so corrupt.

Parents are already working their angle with the coach for next year. Fall season.

The fix will be in.

Huh? What does this mean?

For our school (not Potomac), it means the Varsity coach picks the team a full year in advance. Most of the team is notified a year in advance they made it already. For incoming Freshmen, there will be a few told they will at least be on JV--some told Varsity. And, this is boys where you can have a kid be 5'2" at the start of Freshmen year and 6'0" at the start of Sophomore year so it's even crazier. Some parents would throw elaborate team parties to schmooze. It's such a sh*tshow. One parent is already having regular conversations with coach about how to get a rising Sophomore onto varsity next Fall. The good thing about soccer: high school means absolutely ZERO for college recruiting. The college coaches have repeatedly said this. But, for kids that really love their school and want to play for spirit and comradery with classmates and get the big scr*w job it's really disheartening. And, as another poster said, it's not talent. Some of these kids committed to D1 soccer schools so it wasn't because they didn't deserve to be on the team.

[Anonymous]

Seems like this thread has moved wildly off topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the nepotism issue? Are these children of board members or large donors?

I think pp is referring to sports, and my guess would be soccer. Some have the view that the coaches favor their club players outside of school.

Having a local club coach who knows what they are doing is not a negative in my opinion. The club players are stronger than the non club players--in any sport--not just soccer.

Do you not think the AAU bball players get favored by the bball coach. I think its fine to have professional coaches over teacher volunteers.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

PP here - that is exactly what I meant. Thank you!

You are welcome! The rant implying your family was a problem and feeding into toxic pressure seemed completely the opposite of what you had written.

You think the poster who told somebody with legitimate concerns that they just have sour grapes isn't a problem? Okay.

What I said is that I think they aren't likely to be doing this below (as the PP accused them):

"This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The class composition largely drives the US experience-there are a couple of classes that are not cohesive and kids don’t speak to each other unless they are part of the same “group”. The prior comments about nepotism in athletics and some of the coaches ruining the athletic experience have also been true in our experience. And several teachers do not return work in a timely manner-not just English with papers etc. All in all a disappointing experience and we will be glad to be moving on!

Gotta take the sour grapes with a grain of salt. Sorry your family had a negative experience. That is no t the case for vast majority though.

NP here. I think "vast majority" would be vastly overstating that. It's often the people behind the problems who are oblivious to it. OP: while the administration has finally taken a few steps to address the academic pressures--mostly with the block schedule--there still remains quite a bit of pressure that comes from within the student body. There are lots of things to like about Potomac, but some pretty major issues persist, as with many schools.

Please speak to your experience as I will speak to mine. While nothing is perfect, we have been thrilled with almost every aspect of Potomac. It is truly a first rate school that does recognize that not all students are high flyers. Remember that the students who were admitted in the LS may not be the strongest in the US. They certainly know that and teach accordingly. 100% agree with PP that it is the parents who add to whatever potential stress is in any top notch school.

This back and forth alone says a lot about the parent community…

Well, the PP says she'll speak to her own experience after claiming to speak for the "vast majority." Then she talks about "high flyers." This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves.

I actually interpreted the reference to "high flyers" as saying the school supports a wider range of students (and that PP's kids might be included in that wider range) - not as PP having a high flyer.

PP here - that is exactly what I meant. Thank you!

You are welcome! The rant implying your family was a problem and feeding into toxic pressure seemed completely the opposite of what you had written.

You think the poster who told somebody with legitimate concerns that they just have sour grapes isn't a problem? Okay.

What I said is that I think they aren't likely to be doing this below (as the PP accused them):

"This is definitely the kind of parent who is sending the kids who cause the problems to Potomac. They are the ones who call kids "stupid" in front of classmates, talk about them behind their backs to anybody who will listen, question their college acceptances. They are so competitive and insecure at the same time that they can't just worry about themselves "[/quote

You seen intent on defending a poster who immediately told a parent who voiced concerns they had "sour grapes" and that the "vast majority" of parents at Potomac don't feel that way. Then, when got defensive when reminded that they don't speak for a majority. I think they have indicated pretty clearly in repeated posts that they lack empathy and are obviously oblivious to anybody else's experiences but their own--that is a problem. And there are many parents like them at Potomac, who operate at that school as if a small population of connected famlies are the only people there.

[Anonymous]

Responding to OP. Limited experience here with only 1 kid in US right now, but based on experience and conversations with other parents with kids in US, would say US can be very rigorous but rigor and pressure are largely driven by level of class and whether kids are comfortable with B or B+ v As. If grade expectations are lower or your DC isn’t in all honors/advanced classes, it’s very manageable, and yet enriching enough to prepare for college. If your DC is in all honors/highest advanced and expects to get all or mostly As, prepare the DC for hours of work on weekends and nights. But I imagine this is true elsewhere too. Bottom line is there are several paths through Potomac and no they are not all pressure cooker ones.

On feedback, most teachers return work quickly. Where it has taken longer (several weeks ) involves feedback on papers or lengthy written work. The teacher feedback IMO has been so detailed, specific and insightful it was worth the wait though. I have been impressed with the content of feedback, which has helped my DC become a better writer and better at literary and other textual analyses. Good luck on your choices!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Responding to OP. Limited experience here with only 1 kid in US right now, but based on experience and conversations with other parents with kids in US, would say US can be very rigorous but rigor and pressure are largely driven by level of class and whether kids are comfortable with B or B+ v As. If grade expectations are lower or your DC isn’t in all honors/advanced classes, it’s very manageable, and yet enriching enough to prepare for college. If your DC is in all honors/highest advanced and expects to get all or mostly As, prepare the DC for hours of work on weekends and nights. But I imagine this is true elsewhere too. Bottom line is there are several paths through Potomac and no they are not all pressure cooker ones.

On feedback, most teachers return work quickly. Where it has taken longer (several weeks ) involves feedback on papers or lengthy written work. The teacher feedback IMO has been so detailed, specific and insightful it was worth the wait though. I have been impressed with the content of feedback, which has helped my DC become a better writer and better at literary and other textual analyses. Good luck on your choices!

+1 to all of this! Hope all who are waiting get the news they are hoping for!

[Anonymous]

Yes, this tracks with our child's experience, as well. But he has not received this level of feedback from teachers to date. And the teachers overall have been hit or miss, which has been disappointing.

A lot of the kids are under significant pressure from parents to be high achievers (in sports, academics, all around), and that carries over. There is also a lot of wealth and privilege (but maybe similar to other DC private schools).

[Anonymous]

I know this thread is 2 years old, but I’m wondering if parents still feel the same way about the school being a pressure cooker and if the block schedule has helped with managing the workload? Has the US math department made changes? Any feedback from
Current parents is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Not a pressure cooker at all. Very low key. In 9th grade English, for example, students read just to short novels, and other readings are easy and quick. I think the school is trying to cater to a larger market, which could also be related to the massive teacher turn over in recent years. It’s a country club.

[Anonymous]

If the kid loads up on honors classes, only has tolerance for As, plays a sport or some activity seriously, and gets stuck with one of the bad teachers in a given year, yes it can be very high pressure.

If the kid takes minimal honors classes, is fine with imperfect grades, doesn’t play a sport seriously, and doesn’t get one of the handful of painful teachers, no it is fine.

No the math hasn’t changed. Yes there are still some teachers who struggle to grade things in a remotely timely fashion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a pressure cooker at all. Very low key. In 9th grade English, for example, students read just to short novels, and other readings are easy and quick. I think the school is trying to cater to a larger market, which could also be related to the massive teacher turn over in recent years. It’s a country club.

PP, I know that you are reviving an old thread but I don't think that you are asking the best questions. As some of the previous responses suggest, "pressure cooker" wildly varies depending on the kid's abilities & mindset and parents' values & pragmatism.

Also, at Potomac, the relative wealth of the family matters a lot in forecasting the quality of the student experience. IMO, you want to understand the values of the community and institution, the quality of the teaching, the effectiveness of the college counseling and the access/opportunities for challenging courses. Talk with people directly and ask specific questions. Ask if they hire outside tutors and counselors, for example. That's the best way to calibrate if the feedback you are hearing is from families similar to yours.

Potomac, as any private school, is expensive and is a big investment. The ROI and overall experience was mixed to mediocre for us and we wouldn't recommend it generally but there are plenty of people who would, so it's best to put in the time to ask around and learn rather than ask general questions here.

[Anonymous]

Potomac US offers classes in many subjects at different difficulty levels (regular, honors, advanced, whatever).

If a student signs up for classes with higher difficulty than that student's skills and the student wants an A, then it can be a pressure cooker. If student takes classes at a level matching their skills, it would not be such a pressure cooker. A student strong in writing and weak in math might take writing at a more rigorous level and math at a more regular level. In short, it matters which version of which courses a given student takes.

This same principle also applies to several local private schools - and even in many local public schools - anywhere that regular, honors, and AP versions of the same class are offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a pressure cooker at all. Very low key. In 9th grade English, for example, students read just to short novels, and other readings are easy and quick. I think the school is trying to cater to a larger market, which could also be related to the massive teacher turn over in recent years. It’s a country club.

My DC is not yet in the US, but I have friends whose kids are. My understanding is that 9th is a little easier intentionally since it is a "transition" year. Things really ramp up in 10th grade, and 10th & 11th are the toughest.