Tell me about Whitman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming my DS will not get into any privates just because it’s almost impossible right now, we are turning to our inbounds HS, Whitman. I hear only great things. My DS is a very good student with some LD, great athlete who will no doubt make the team of his sport and may even play varsity freshman year. He’s super quiet. How will he do at Whitman? He’s never been in such a huge school. His current school is tiny. But he’s looking forward to HS.

Whitman is better than any private school in the area

Then why do so many families in the Whitman sending area send their kids to private schools at significant expense?

Are these people dumb?

In our Potomac neighborhood we see Landon, Prep, Gonzaga, Bullis, St Albans, Holton, etc. jackets and sweatshirts in abundance. And some Whitman ones, too.

Vanity.

If by "vanity" you mean a realization that Whitman has been trading on its reputation from 25 years ago for a while now, its recent acceptance results for top colleges have been pedestrian and no longer are even the best among MCPS high schools, and that MCPS is such a train wreck now that it's only going to get worse in years to come, then I agree 100%.

Look, Whitman is a good school. But it's not the best-in-class public school that it once was. To seriously wonder why families would choose to send their kids to some of the best private schools in the DMV over Whitman means you're either in denial and want to make yourself feel better about your personal decision, or you have no ability or desire to understand why it's not for everyone.

But it's still better than any private school acceptance results in the DMV.

PP - Where can I find data that shows this? We're trying to figure out the private vs. public question and trying to piece together college acceptance results seems impossible.

Bethesda Magazine posts all the destinations of all the Bethesda area schools, and you can compare them to the college acceptances as outlined on the private school websites (if they have them).

I did this one year and while it looked like 10-15 kids from Whitman were going to the Ivies + MIT & Stanford, there were similar numbers going from the privates like GDS and Sidwell. But those private schools as you know, have a far smaller student body, so statistically, they were sending more kids to those colleges than the publics. Hope that helps.

Oh yes and the numbers of kids from Blair are sooo much higher than any W or private too.

Of course they are. Affirmative action guarantees this.

You're clearly an idiot or a troll. So which one is it?

[Anonymous]

Whitman. I have a child there and a child at a private high school. Whitman counselor is very accessible, smart and responsive. My son likes Whitman bc coursework is manageable, he can redo exams if grade low, and he can blend in whereas his brother’s experience is much more academically rigorous- w more homework smaller classes more accountability and higher expectations. Lots of course choices - regular, Honors,AP. More diversity at WWHs. Also if a student is smoking or vaping at Whitman NOTHING happens- just hand it over if caught BUT at private school serious infraction/consequence. Drugs at Whitman are easily accessible and widely used given post openly on instagram and given my son’s experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming my DS will not get into any privates just because it’s almost impossible right now, we are turning to our inbounds HS, Whitman. I hear only great things. My DS is a very good student with some LD, great athlete who will no doubt make the team of his sport and may even play varsity freshman year. He’s super quiet. How will he do at Whitman? He’s never been in such a huge school. His current school is tiny. But he’s looking forward to HS.

Whitman is better than any private school in the area

Then why do so many families in the Whitman sending area send their kids to private schools at significant expense?

Are these people dumb?

In our Potomac neighborhood we see Landon, Prep, Gonzaga, Bullis, St Albans, Holton, etc. jackets and sweatshirts in abundance. And some Whitman ones, too.

Vanity.

If by "vanity" you mean a realization that Whitman has been trading on its reputation from 25 years ago for a while now, its recent acceptance results for top colleges have been pedestrian and no longer are even the best among MCPS high schools, and that MCPS is such a train wreck now that it's only going to get worse in years to come, then I agree 100%.

Look, Whitman is a good school. But it's not the best-in-class public school that it once was. To seriously wonder why families would choose to send their kids to some of the best private schools in the DMV over Whitman means you're either in denial and want to make yourself feel better about your personal decision, or you have no ability or desire to understand why it's not for everyone.

But it's still better than any private school acceptance results in the DMV.

PP - Where can I find data that shows this? We're trying to figure out the private vs. public question and trying to piece together college acceptance results seems impossible.

Bethesda Magazine posts all the destinations of all the Bethesda area schools, and you can compare them to the college acceptances as outlined on the private school websites (if they have them).

I did this one year and while it looked like 10-15 kids from Whitman were going to the Ivies + MIT & Stanford, there were similar numbers going from the privates like GDS and Sidwell. But those private schools as you know, have a far smaller student body, so statistically, they were sending more kids to those colleges than the publics. Hope that helps.

LOL
And where did you get the Sidwell list so you could compare?

DP but Sidwell publishes their matriculation on their website.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I’d like to hear about people’s experiences there. Clearly from my original post, my excellent boy isn’t aiming to go to an Ivy League school, so I really don’t care about how many kids from Whitman end up at Harvard or whatever. What is the general atmosphere like there? Are the classes and teaching generally good? Is there a lot of bullying? Etc. I am not interested in debating if Whitman is on par with the privates.

Because it's a big school you are going to find all kinds of different kids who are interested in different things but in general, most kids there want to succeed and are focused on doing well. IMHO the best thing about whitman is the teachers. My DD struggled a bit academically at first given the rigor, but her teachers all went out of their way to help and push her and ensure that she stayed on track. She ended up graduating at the top of her class as a result. Next to teachers, the wide range of extras enabled her to explore other interests and find courses that she would not have had access to in a smaller school. We did not have any issues with bullying so I can't weigh in on that. I'm sure it does happen from time to time like any school but the fact that it never came up in four years leads me to think they have a pretty good handle on it.

It always surprises me to read some of the negative things on here because overall it was a great experience and I would highly recommend the school. And pretty much all of the people I know IRL feel the same. OP I would suggest you reach out to the school directly as they can give you a tour and connect you with real people who can provide better insight that those here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whitman. I have a child there and a child at a private high school. Whitman counselor is very accessible, smart and responsive. My son likes Whitman bc coursework is manageable, he can redo exams if grade low, and he can blend in whereas his brother’s experience is much more academically rigorous- w more homework smaller classes more accountability and higher expectations. Lots of course choices - regular, Honors,AP. More diversity at WWHs. Also if a student is smoking or vaping at Whitman NOTHING happens- just hand it over if caught BUT at private school serious infraction/consequence. Drugs at Whitman are easily accessible and widely used given post openly on instagram and given my son’s experience.

Hum. I think you're not being entirely honest here. Didn't all the privates in the DMV dispense with AP courses / exams about 3 years ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whitman publishes senior college destinations in the school paper (The Black & White) each spring for anyone who is curious. Always lots of kids going to great schools all over the country and lots of kids going to community college, which I’m assuming never happens at the top local privates.

When you say a lot go to CC what kind of numbers are you talking? I see that list every year and while a huge number go to UMDCP I only ever see less than 3 or less than 5 going to CC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming my DS will not get into any privates just because it’s almost impossible right now, we are turning to our inbounds HS, Whitman. I hear only great things. My DS is a very good student with some LD, great athlete who will no doubt make the team of his sport and may even play varsity freshman year. He’s super quiet. How will he do at Whitman? He’s never been in such a huge school. His current school is tiny. But he’s looking forward to HS.

Whitman is better than any private school in the area

Then why do so many families in the Whitman sending area send their kids to private schools at significant expense?

Are these people dumb?

In our Potomac neighborhood we see Landon, Prep, Gonzaga, Bullis, St Albans, Holton, etc. jackets and sweatshirts in abundance. And some Whitman ones, too.

Vanity.

If by "vanity" you mean a realization that Whitman has been trading on its reputation from 25 years ago for a while now, its recent acceptance results for top colleges have been pedestrian and no longer are even the best among MCPS high schools, and that MCPS is such a train wreck now that it's only going to get worse in years to come, then I agree 100%.

Look, Whitman is a good school. But it's not the best-in-class public school that it once was. To seriously wonder why families would choose to send their kids to some of the best private schools in the DMV over Whitman means you're either in denial and want to make yourself feel better about your personal decision, or you have no ability or desire to understand why it's not for everyone.

But it's still better than any private school acceptance results in the DMV.

PP - Where can I find data that shows this? We're trying to figure out the private vs. public question and trying to piece together college acceptance results seems impossible.

Bethesda Magazine posts all the destinations of all the Bethesda area schools, and you can compare them to the college acceptances as outlined on the private school websites (if they have them).

I did this one year and while it looked like 10-15 kids from Whitman were going to the Ivies + MIT & Stanford, there were similar numbers going from the privates like GDS and Sidwell. But those private schools as you know, have a far smaller student body, so statistically, they were sending more kids to those colleges than the publics. Hope that helps.

LOL
And where did you get the Sidwell list so you could compare?[/quote]

I got it from their website. Where did you think I got it, pulled it out of my ass? Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’d like to hear about people’s experiences there. Clearly from my original post, my excellent boy isn’t aiming to go to an Ivy League school, so I really don’t care about how many kids from Whitman end up at Harvard or whatever. What is the general atmosphere like there? Are the classes and teaching generally good? Is there a lot of bullying? Etc. I am not interested in debating if Whitman is on par with the privates.

I have two kids at Whitman, a boy and a girl. It's crowded, noisy and chaotic. There are days wasted at school football rallies and "spirit days" "one Whitman" etc where you aren't allowed to leave early, and are patronized with the most obvious, boring lectures about diversity (yes we know we are diverse and these rules don't hold up in reality). Also the counselor allocated to my kids, is next to impossible to see - it's February and neither has managed to get an appt to see them.

The teaching is patchy - so while the syllabus is fairly consistent from class to class, you might have an ancient Algebra 2 teacher who is unclear, barely audible (due to a crowded, noisy class and mask wearing) and shuffling towards retirement, while in the next room you might have a highly engaged, excellent Algebra 2 teacher who has clarity and actually teaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience is that the private school my child attends is not better than what was being taught in public. English is worse at the private and math is ok. This is at one of the top privates in DC, we will not be returning next year.

Usually it is the other way around better English and worse Math at most private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’d like to hear about people’s experiences there. Clearly from my original post, my excellent boy isn’t aiming to go to an Ivy League school, so I really don’t care about how many kids from Whitman end up at Harvard or whatever. What is the general atmosphere like there? Are the classes and teaching generally good? Is there a lot of bullying? Etc. I am not interested in debating if Whitman is on par with the privates.

I have two kids at Whitman, a boy and a girl. It's crowded, noisy and chaotic. There are days wasted at school football rallies and "spirit days" "one Whitman" etc where you aren't allowed to leave early, and are patronized with the most obvious, boring lectures about diversity (yes we know we are diverse and these rules don't hold up in reality). Also the counselor allocated to my kids, is next to impossible to see - it's February and neither has managed to get an appt to see them.

The teaching is patchy - so while the syllabus is fairly consistent from class to class, you might have an ancient Algebra 2 teacher who is unclear, barely audible (due to a crowded, noisy class and mask wearing) and shuffling towards retirement, while in the next room you might have a highly engaged, excellent Algebra 2 teacher who has clarity and actually teaches.

Football rallies are more important than school for kids socially. My shy daughter in A W school in pandemic started doing stuff on trampoline and mats watching tic tic videos for almost one year. To my surprise she begged to try out cheerleading and made it. She did the whole football season and every rally. She loved it. Honestly she will forget every class from 9th grade eventually but being a cheerleader was a huge deal. She practiced 20 hours a week. The Pom Pom girls practice too, and the players and coaches of course and heavy PTA involvement and the parents. It is called school spirit. It took a lot of guts for my daughter to attend school on Pep rally day in full uniform and make up on bus and perform a full routine in front of whole school at 14 with back flips that took a year to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whitman publishes senior college destinations in the school paper (The Black & White) each spring for anyone who is curious. Always lots of kids going to great schools all over the country and lots of kids going to community college, which I’m assuming never happens at the top local privates.

When you say a lot go to CC what kind of numbers are you talking? I see that list every year and while a huge number go to UMDCP I only ever see less than 3 or less than 5 going to CC.

It has been a while since I checked, but around 15. It’s self reported, and I’m sure not all of the kids opt to report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’d like to hear about people’s experiences there. Clearly from my original post, my excellent boy isn’t aiming to go to an Ivy League school, so I really don’t care about how many kids from Whitman end up at Harvard or whatever. What is the general atmosphere like there? Are the classes and teaching generally good? Is there a lot of bullying? Etc. I am not interested in debating if Whitman is on par with the privates.

I have two kids at Whitman, a boy and a girl. It's crowded, noisy and chaotic. There are days wasted at school football rallies and "spirit days" "one Whitman" etc where you aren't allowed to leave early, and are patronized with the most obvious, boring lectures about diversity (yes we know we are diverse and these rules don't hold up in reality). Also the counselor allocated to my kids, is next to impossible to see - it's February and neither has managed to get an appt to see them.

The teaching is patchy - so while the syllabus is fairly consistent from class to class, you might have an ancient Algebra 2 teacher who is unclear, barely audible (due to a crowded, noisy class and mask wearing) and shuffling towards retirement, while in the next room you might have a highly engaged, excellent Algebra 2 teacher who has clarity and actually teaches.

Football rallies are more important than school for kids socially. My shy daughter in A W school in pandemic started doing stuff on trampoline and mats watching tic tic videos for almost one year. To my surprise she begged to try out cheerleading and made it. She did the whole football season and every rally. She loved it. Honestly she will forget every class from 9th grade eventually but being a cheerleader was a huge deal. She practiced 20 hours a week. The Pom Pom girls practice too, and the players and coaches of course and heavy PTA involvement and the parents. It is called school spirit. It took a lot of guts for my daughter to attend school on Pep rally day in full uniform and make up on bus and perform a full routine in front of whole school at 14 with back flips that took a year to learn.

Your response, is inane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’d like to hear about people’s experiences there. Clearly from my original post, my excellent boy isn’t aiming to go to an Ivy League school, so I really don’t care about how many kids from Whitman end up at Harvard or whatever. What is the general atmosphere like there? Are the classes and teaching generally good? Is there a lot of bullying? Etc. I am not interested in debating if Whitman is on par with the privates.

I have two kids at Whitman, a boy and a girl. It's crowded, noisy and chaotic. There are days wasted at school football rallies and "spirit days" "one Whitman" etc where you aren't allowed to leave early, and are patronized with the most obvious, boring lectures about diversity (yes we know we are diverse and these rules don't hold up in reality). Also the counselor allocated to my kids, is next to impossible to see - it's February and neither has managed to get an appt to see them.

The teaching is patchy - so while the syllabus is fairly consistent from class to class, you might have an ancient Algebra 2 teacher who is unclear, barely audible (due to a crowded, noisy class and mask wearing) and shuffling towards retirement, while in the next room you might have a highly engaged, excellent Algebra 2 teacher who has clarity and actually teaches.

Football rallies are more important than school for kids socially. My shy daughter in A W school in pandemic started doing stuff on trampoline and mats watching tic tic videos for almost one year. To my surprise she begged to try out cheerleading and made it. She did the whole football season and every rally. She loved it. Honestly she will forget every class from 9th grade eventually but being a cheerleader was a huge deal. She practiced 20 hours a week. The Pom Pom girls practice too, and the players and coaches of course and heavy PTA involvement and the parents. It is called school spirit. It took a lot of guts for my daughter to attend school on Pep rally day in full uniform and make up on bus and perform a full routine in front of whole school at 14 with back flips that took a year to learn.

Your response, is inane.

How so? HS sports and other extracurriculars are an important part of adolescents' maturing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whitman publishes senior college destinations in the school paper (The Black & White) each spring for anyone who is curious. Always lots of kids going to great schools all over the country and lots of kids going to community college, which I’m assuming never happens at the top local privates.

When you say a lot go to CC what kind of numbers are you talking? I see that list every year and while a huge number go to UMDCP I only ever see less than 3 or less than 5 going to CC.

It has been a while since I checked, but around 15. It’s self reported, and I’m sure not all of the kids opt to report.

In 2021 only 340 students reported but they graduated about 520. Kids going to CC or not continuing would be less likely to report for obvious reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming my DS will not get into any privates just because it’s almost impossible right now, we are turning to our inbounds HS, Whitman. I hear only great things. My DS is a very good student with some LD, great athlete who will no doubt make the team of his sport and may even play varsity freshman year. He’s super quiet. How will he do at Whitman? He’s never been in such a huge school. His current school is tiny. But he’s looking forward to HS.

Isn't this one of the segregated schools?