Petty incident or detail that turned you off a school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell. Great school and we have many friends with kids there who love it and are happy. Unfortunately, during our Zoom information session, a few of the 5th or 6th graders that presented (and were great - all of them were intelligent, well spoken, absolutely lovely) noted how their teacher(s) helped when they were feeling anxious. The fact those children referred to feeling anxious at all during that type of presentation worried me. I felt it wouldn't be a good fit for our child.

Well all of these schools with a Socio-Emotional Learning curriculum obsessively talk to kids about anxiety starting in Kindergarten. So now every poor kid thinks they have anxiety but what they really have is crazy left-wing indoctrination.

Bless your heart. Absolutely keep teaching your kids to suppress their negative feelings and hiding their difference. That’ll work out great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:During my daughter's shadow at a rigorous girls school, a student left the class crying. Huge red flag that we ignored...We should have probably taken it as a sign of things to come...

What eventually happened?

[Anonymous]

The transportation manager was off-putting.

The admissions office had told us this person was helpful it was surprising and made us think that there are people in the school who only treat some people well because they are wealthy or because of their race. It really made me look for other signs this was happening and we decided against the school after DD was admitted.

[Anonymous]

Open lunch. Personal preference. I felt like it was helping reinforce cliques in the school because the kids were not forced to socialize together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Entered a third grade classroom on a tour and noted the wall clock was stopped by five hours. I thought it showed a lack of care on the teachers part to leave it stopped and she missed opportunities to teach kids how to read a standard clock.

I would have come to the same conclusion—until I taught in a school that had old wired clocks that were no longer functioning properly. We were not able to physically remove them—and they “worked” but were off by hours and minutes. The solution though is to cover them—a sun, a smiley face, etc. And get another battery operated clock!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Entered a third grade classroom on a tour and noted the wall clock was stopped by five hours. I thought it showed a lack of care on the teachers part to leave it stopped and she missed opportunities to teach kids how to read a standard clock.

I would have come to the same conclusion—until I taught in a school that had old wired clocks that were no longer functioning properly. We were not able to physically remove them—and they “worked” but were off by hours and minutes. The solution though is to cover them—a sun, a smiley face, etc. And get another battery operated clock!

Pp here. Good tip.

We were glad we declined that school when we heard the teacher in that room sent emails to the parents asking for funds for art supplies; they completely ran out by November. Her three kids went there and I wondered if she brought stuff home for their projects. Anyways, the vibe I got was she was checked out and just showed up for the free/discounted tuition.

[Anonymous]

Saw explicit instructions teaching children to read using 3-cueing on a 1st grade class whiteboard. Said nothing, but that was a total deal-breaker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions director told us they have adhd in response to us asking about fit for our adhd kid. Just bc our DC has adhd doesn’t mean we want the folks who run the school to have it. Friend who is a parent at the school then told me their DC’s advisor also has adhd and told parents that in a meeting. Same advisor that didn’t return emails. As we started to note how many alums are teaching at the school and also may have adhd we got concerned.

This can't be a real thought and if so you are an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions director told us they have adhd in response to us asking about fit for our adhd kid. Just bc our DC has adhd doesn’t mean we want the folks who run the school to have it. Friend who is a parent at the school then told me their DC’s advisor also has adhd and told parents that in a meeting. Same advisor that didn’t return emails. As we started to note how many alums are teaching at the school and also may have adhd we got concerned.

Wait. Are you saying you don’t want your child who has ADHD going to a school run by people with ADHD because they can’t possibly be good at their jobs because of their ADHD? Oh my.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw explicit instructions teaching children to read using 3-cueing on a 1st grade class whiteboard. Said nothing, but that was a total deal-breaker.

What is 3-cueing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw explicit instructions teaching children to read using 3-cueing on a 1st grade class whiteboard. Said nothing, but that was a total deal-breaker.

What is 3-cueing?

Teaching kids to guess words based on the first letter of the word and the picture on the page rather than actually reading.

[Anonymous]

Want TRULY petty?
The "alpha mom" at the open house was wearing a sweatshirt that said "Thicc and Tired" and my husband said he expected the school to have classier looking parents.
We went there anyway and it's been great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw explicit instructions teaching children to read using 3-cueing on a 1st grade class whiteboard. Said nothing, but that was a total deal-breaker.

What is 3-cueing?

Teaching kids to guess words based on the first letter of the word and the picture on the page rather than actually reading.

Why is this a deal-breaker for you? It's commonly used and is an effective strategy for certain kids .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw explicit instructions teaching children to read using 3-cueing on a 1st grade class whiteboard. Said nothing, but that was a total deal-breaker.

What is 3-cueing?

Teaching kids to guess words based on the first letter of the word and the picture on the page rather than actually reading.

Why is this a deal-breaker for you? It's commonly used and is an effective strategy for certain kids .

I’m not the PP and it’s an absolute dealbreaker for me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in 2 cities and looked at many schools over the years. Highlights from 3 schools we withdrew applications from:

(1) HOS tried joking with teachers and students, and was met with nothing but disdain; it was painfully obvious he was not liked by anyone. I’d already felt uncomfortable so this just magnified the feeling. There were other minor issues, but the poor staff interactions really clinched it.

(2) Shadow day went poorly.

(3) DH & I saw an aide speak sharply to and manhandle a student by grabbing them roughly by the shoulders and pushing them into place. We were alone in a hallway waiting for our meeting with the HOS when we witnessed this. And, yes, we reported all that we saw.

Neither #2 nor #3 are petty little incidents. #2 is a non-petty, due diligence point