GDS vs Maret

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Virginia and are looking at Maret. I was shocked that Maret’s literature states: 8% of students reside in Virginia. That has to be the lowest of the Sidwell, GDS, STA/NCS cohort? I tried to look up the others but without success.

Maret is much more a 'neighborhood' school. like lots of kids are actually walking distance to school - much more than the sidwells of the world. It is a nice, relatively low-stress option if you are local and have money. A bunch of our neighbors in upper NW chose it for this reason. For HS, lots of people come there after either Sheridan or St Pats.

Do not know about “lots of people come there after Sheridan or St Pat”. It has a 5-8% acceptance rate in 9th grade. Lower if you take out sibling preference. In a good year 1-2 kids from these schools would get in. Though those same kids get into every school they applied to because they are top students.

We went to the US open house and our last name started with “H”. DS gave name and the staffer checked off his name. This was from a clip board holding all the names. The first page was single spaced with four columns. The staffer went seven pages deep before getting to our name. It seems like you are uninformed.

Since they publish neither how many people apply nor how many they accept, how could you possibly know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is known nationally but not because of its education program or resources such as Andover. It's know. Because of the DC folks who have attended the school. Not the same thing.

Exactly, it's known because of Presidents' daughters. And, among colleges, strong students from any of the competitive DMV schools are regarded highly. All of these schools will prepare your DC for college and will have rigorous courses for them.

Despite what has been said above in this thread, any of these schools is a hard admit for HS and it fluctuates annually depending on what the schools need to fill in the rising HS cohort. So apply to ones your child is interested in and then see where they get accepted, that's when you have a choice.

We know examples of all of these scenarios - there is no clear pecking order; getting into GDS but not Maret, Sidwell but not Maret, Sidwell but not GDS, GDS but not Potomac, Sidwell but not Potomac, GDS but not Sidwell, Potomac but not Maret, Sidwell, GDS, Maret but not Potomac....it is all over the map. (left out STA/NCS single sex)

I'm also not convinced it's really that much more prestigious than the other DC schools among the elites. The Obamas wanted GDS, but couldn't because the campus wasn't secure enough. They settled on Sidwell because the Biden kids were already enrolled there and it was easier for secret service to have them all in the same place. Maret and NCS were also on the finalist list for the Obama girls.

All of the elite DC schools are very popular and nationally recognized. However, none of them are truly in the national scene or known outside of the DC bubble.

Some of you love lying on Sidwell to make yourselves feel better about [insert name of whatever random school your children attend].

“A number of great schools were considered,” Lelyveld said. “In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now.”

The selection comes after weeks of speculation about whether President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, would choose a public or private school. Michelle Obama toured Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day School two weeks ago by herself and then again earlier this week with her daughters and her mother, who will be moving to Washington with the Obama family.

Only Sidwell and GDS were seriously considered. They didn’t even bother to tour NCS or Maret. In the end, they chose the best school. Deal with it.

https://www.politico.com/...nds-015878

[Anonymous]

why do we care whether the Obama girls attend Sidwell or not? How are they doing now post college? have the achieved something on their own without their parents' name paving the way?

[Anonymous]

Educational consultant. Maret and GDS known in DC. Sidwell people have heard of but it's not seen as an elite or forward-thinking school. Good school but traditional and not innovative. Great facilities is really what separates it from GDS and Maret. A lot of overlap in applications between GDS, Maret, and Sidwell. Similar kids in many ways. In various years, kids transfer from Sidwell to Maret, GDS to Maret, Maret to Sidwell. College profiles are similar. Competitive to get in to either one of these schools due to preference given to most siblings---which makes it seem like schools are even more elite but they actually start with very few spaces. High profile families have chosen all three schools at various points---this says something since these families tend to have their choice of school. The attempts to elevate any of these schools is arrogant and silly.

[Anonymous]

As a long-time Maret parent, I will say that the new Head of School has been a real disappointment and his leadership is weak at best. Our youngest child is in the eleventh grade and we are just going to ride it out until graduation, but if I was a parent looking at schools during an entry year, I would probably not consider Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Educational consultant. Maret and GDS known in DC. Sidwell people have heard of but it's not seen as an elite or forward-thinking school. Good school but traditional and not innovative. Great facilities is really what separates it from GDS and Maret. A lot of overlap in applications between GDS, Maret, and Sidwell. Similar kids in many ways. In various years, kids transfer from Sidwell to Maret, GDS to Maret, Maret to Sidwell. College profiles are similar. Competitive to get in to either one of these schools due to preference given to most siblings---which makes it seem like schools are even more elite but they actually start with very few spaces. High profile families have chosen all three schools at various points---this says something since these families tend to have their choice of school. The attempts to elevate any of these schools is arrogant and silly.

“Educational consultant” 😆

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Educational consultant. Maret and GDS known in DC. Sidwell people have heard of but it's not seen as an elite or forward-thinking school. Good school but traditional and not innovative. Great facilities is really what separates it from GDS and Maret. A lot of overlap in applications between GDS, Maret, and Sidwell. Similar kids in many ways. In various years, kids transfer from Sidwell to Maret, GDS to Maret, Maret to Sidwell. College profiles are similar. Competitive to get in to either one of these schools due to preference given to most siblings---which makes it seem like schools are even more elite but they actually start with very few spaces. High profile families have chosen all three schools at various points---this says something since these families tend to have their choice of school. The attempts to elevate any of these schools is arrogant and silly.

“Educational consultant” 😆

As noted by other poster. Arrogant and Silly. Spot on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time Maret parent, I will say that the new Head of School has been a real disappointment and his leadership is weak at best. Our youngest child is in the eleventh grade and we are just going to ride it out until graduation, but if I was a parent looking at schools during an entry year, I would probably not consider Maret.

Examples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Educational consultant. Maret and GDS known in DC. Sidwell people have heard of but it's not seen as an elite or forward-thinking school. Good school but traditional and not innovative. Great facilities is really what separates it from GDS and Maret. A lot of overlap in applications between GDS, Maret, and Sidwell. Similar kids in many ways. In various years, kids transfer from Sidwell to Maret, GDS to Maret, Maret to Sidwell. College profiles are similar. Competitive to get in to either one of these schools due to preference given to most siblings---which makes it seem like schools are even more elite but they actually start with very few spaces. High profile families have chosen all three schools at various points---this says something since these families tend to have their choice of school. The attempts to elevate any of these schools is arrogant and silly.

The traditional piece is spot on and not a lot of options for classes. Eg if you aren’t a stem kid, too bad, you still have to take very specific science offerings. Facilities are dingy. GDS much better. We left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Educational consultant. Maret and GDS known in DC. Sidwell people have heard of but it's not seen as an elite or forward-thinking school. Good school but traditional and not innovative. Great facilities is really what separates it from GDS and Maret. A lot of overlap in applications between GDS, Maret, and Sidwell. Similar kids in many ways. In various years, kids transfer from Sidwell to Maret, GDS to Maret, Maret to Sidwell. College profiles are similar. Competitive to get in to either one of these schools due to preference given to most siblings---which makes it seem like schools are even more elite but they actually start with very few spaces. High profile families have chosen all three schools at various points---this says something since these families tend to have their choice of school. The attempts to elevate any of these schools is arrogant and silly.

The traditional piece is spot on and not a lot of options for classes. Eg if you aren’t a stem kid, too bad, you still have to take very specific science offerings. Facilities are dingy. GDS much better. We left.

I thought y’all wanted the Sidwell talk to end. I guess not because Sidwell is dominating this GDS vs. Maret thread. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time Maret parent, I will say that the new Head of School has been a real disappointment and his leadership is weak at best. Our youngest child is in the eleventh grade and we are just going to ride it out until graduation, but if I was a parent looking at schools during an entry year, I would probably not consider Maret.

Examples?

The handling by the Head of School around some anti-Semitism on campus has been slow and confusing. Some teacher departures were handled awkwardly. A bright and well-liked tenth grade student was counseled out in mid-September and has upset a lot of parents from that grade. Teachers at Back to School Night were complaining about the lack of transparency on a number of issues.

But, more than that, it is clear that the vibe has changed. I know that is not very specific, but I am on campus with some frequency and that's the easiest way to put it. The fact that I obscured my youngest child's gender in the previous post because of a concern about retaliation is something that I would not have done in the past.

This is not to say there is not a lot that is great about the school. There are a number of great students and wonderful teachers. My spouse and I have become close friends with some of the other parents. But there is a definite shift occurring. Naturally, a school will feel different under a different Head of School, but this difference is not for the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time Maret parent, I will say that the new Head of School has been a real disappointment and his leadership is weak at best. Our youngest child is in the eleventh grade and we are just going to ride it out until graduation, but if I was a parent looking at schools during an entry year, I would probably not consider Maret.

Examples?

The handling by the Head of School around some anti-Semitism on campus has been slow and confusing. Some teacher departures were handled awkwardly. A bright and well-liked tenth grade student was counseled out in mid-September and has upset a lot of parents from that grade. Teachers at Back to School Night were complaining about the lack of transparency on a number of issues.

But, more than that, it is clear that the vibe has changed. I know that is not very specific, but I am on campus with some frequency and that's the easiest way to put it. The fact that I obscured my youngest child's gender in the previous post because of a concern about retaliation is something that I would not have done in the past.

This is not to say there is not a lot that is great about the school. There are a number of great students and wonderful teachers. My spouse and I have become close friends with some of the other parents. But there is a definite shift occurring. Naturally, a school will feel different under a different Head of School, but this difference is not for the better.

Why was the kid counseled out (no need for specifics, but can you give a general reason?)? What kinds of things were the teachers complaining about specifically?

We're also at the school but have not heard these things but I'm not saying they aren't true. Just hoping to get some more information.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why student was counseled out (if that's what happened). I do know I received a strange email from the parent of the kid (who I had never interacted with) that gave me a lot of pause about judging the situation. In terms of some of specifics about the Head I don't know much but feel good about everyone else at the school. I see him at various events but not sure about his leadership or lack of leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why student was counseled out (if that's what happened). I do know I received a strange email from the parent of the kid (who I had never interacted with) that gave me a lot of pause about judging the situation. In terms of some of specifics about the Head I don't know much but feel good about everyone else at the school. I see him at various events but not sure about his leadership or lack of leadership.

And to add to this I also felt that the student's situation was not anybody's business. So the strange email plus my general feeling about private situations reinforced my desire to steer clear about rumors around any of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Virginia and are looking at Maret. I was shocked that Maret’s literature states: 8% of students reside in Virginia. That has to be the lowest of the Sidwell, GDS, STA/NCS cohort? I tried to look up the others but without success.

Maret is much more a 'neighborhood' school. like lots of kids are actually walking distance to school - much more than the sidwells of the world. It is a nice, relatively low-stress option if you are local and have money. A bunch of our neighbors in upper NW chose it for this reason. For HS, lots of people come there after either Sheridan or St Pats.

Do not know about “lots of people come there after Sheridan or St Pat”. It has a 5-8% acceptance rate in 9th grade. Lower if you take out sibling preference. In a good year 1-2 kids from these schools would get in. Though those same kids get into every school they applied to because they are top students.

We went to the US open house and our last name started with “H”. DS gave name and the staffer checked off his name. This was from a clip board holding all the names. The first page was single spaced with four columns. The staffer went seven pages deep before getting to our name. It seems like you are uninformed.

Since they publish neither how many people apply nor how many they accept, how could you possibly know this?

Let’s just say I have seen the numbers.