What do you love/not love about SSSAS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The infinity groups are the worst. Not at SSSAS, but a different Alexandria private. Pre-Covid, our school required kids to join an affinity group and meet during the school day. There were quite a few to chose from: women, LQBTQ, Black, asian, atheist, Jewish. My white, straight, Christian son had no group to identify with. They created a group for all the white, Christian straight boys - “supporting diversity” affinity group. First meeting they had to write down all their privileges in a list. It was a great way to make my then 12 year old feel like sh*t about himself.

Wow - what school is this!?

Burgundy Farm

Huh? We are at Burgundy and not aware of any such affinity groups. Their sports and after school programs are actually somewhat limited. Never seen or read anything about a single affinity group and we are in middle school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually Episcopalian, but my spouse is Catholic. I have no doubt a Jewish or other non-Christian would feel more comfortable at an Episcopal or Quaker school than a Catholic school. PP did not say this, they equated Catholicism to Fundamentalism. My point is that Catholicism is a far cry from Fundamentalism and it is ignorant to lump them together. Anti-Catholic sentiment and prejudice is alive and well in our country.

I didn’t take it as equating the two in terms of beliefs or anything. Just that both may be similarly pervasive or strong or whatever in terms of the religious environment and how comfortable (or not) that might be for someone of a different faith. The religion is a much greater part of the experience.

Also, as far as Episcopal and Catholic being similar, Episcopal is a spectrum. Low or broad Episcopal services are very unlike Catholic services. High Episcopal and Anglican services are much more similar. In my experience, the Episcopal schools tend to align more with the broad Episcopal tradition.

This was the intent if not quite so elegantly stated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The infinity groups are the worst. Not at SSSAS, but a different Alexandria private. Pre-Covid, our school required kids to join an affinity group and meet during the school day. There were quite a few to chose from: women, LQBTQ, Black, asian, atheist, Jewish. My white, straight, Christian son had no group to identify with. They created a group for all the white, Christian straight boys - “supporting diversity” affinity group. First meeting they had to write down all their privileges in a list. It was a great way to make my then 12 year old feel like sh*t about himself.

Wow - what school is this!?

Burgundy Farm

Huh? We are at Burgundy and not aware of any such affinity groups. Their sports and after school programs are actually somewhat limited. Never seen or read anything about a single affinity group and we are in middle school!

Pre-covid. Current 8th grade did this while in 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The infinity groups are the worst. Not at SSSAS, but a different Alexandria private. Pre-Covid, our school required kids to join an affinity group and meet during the school day. There were quite a few to chose from: women, LQBTQ, Black, asian, atheist, Jewish. My white, straight, Christian son had no group to identify with. They created a group for all the white, Christian straight boys - “supporting diversity” affinity group. First meeting they had to write down all their privileges in a list. It was a great way to make my then 12 year old feel like sh*t about himself.

Wow - what school is this!?

Burgundy Farm

Huh? We are at Burgundy and not aware of any such affinity groups. Their sports and after school programs are actually somewhat limited. Never seen or read anything about a single affinity group and we are in middle school!

Pre-covid. Current 8th grade did this while in 6th grade.

+2 Yes, Burgundy did this a few years ago in middle school. When Covid hit they changed the schedule and it was eliminated. They haven’t reinstated the affinity groups so far. Forcing affinity group participation was not well received by some kids and parents, so maybe they decided to get rid of it for good?

[Anonymous]

Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

[Anonymous]

I see the same negative things said about SSSAS on DCUM all the time, and I really do wonder if they're all posted by a handful of disgruntled current or former families. I'm so glad I didn't read DCUM when we were applying to schools for our first DC.

We've had a fabulous experience. Love the emphasis on community, the education is solid and yes, rigorous, but not high pressure. Most importantly, our kids are super happy - and our oldest was NOT happy at her prior private school, so I know it's not just that we have kids who are easy to please.

Anyone considering the school needs to talk to current parents. Someone here said "but all the parents I speak to in person just rave about the school!" Yes, they do! The vast majority of families are very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

We have had the same experience, sadly. There have been some really dedicated and caring teachers along the way, but we will leave.

[Anonymous]

We were a prospective family and ultimately declined admission after talking to a current family we know and trust. Their child is in 8th grade and dealing with real social challenges at SSSAS (so much do that the family applied out for high school). The school seems nice on the surface and we were impressed during the admissions process, but I think there are some real issues in terms of the school environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

Long time SSSAS family. I could have written this verbatim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

I call troll. There isn’t an “honor roll” at SSSAS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

I call troll. There isn’t an “honor roll” at SSSAS.

Yes, there is, actually. It’s call Dean’s List and Head’s List at SSSAS. Generically speaking, it’s an honor roll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS attended SSSAS for 8 years. We were thrilled when we were accepted, and the school was fabulous for the first few years. Fabulous education, fabulous teachers, fabulous environment. I was an enthusiastic school volunteer. However, a few years in, the focus of the school started to change. Grades were eliminated until 6th grade, and even at that time, the teachers were very generous with their grading, and homework was minimal. (We all want to believe that our child is brilliant, but my child put in zero effort, rarely turned in assignments on time, and was on the honor roll.) I just expected a more rigorous curriculum from the school. The math curriculum is at the level (or below) of public schools, and the writing instruction is average. Bullying also became a problem in middle school (from students that had been attending the same school together for almost 7 years), and there were no consequences for extremely cruel children that went so far as to encourage self-harm. We had mixed feelings about leaving as we became close with many of the families, but we decided that the best choice for our child was to leave.

I will never in a million years understand why parents don't raise hell about things like this (bolded). Grades eliminated for kids through 5th grade? Are you kidding me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were a prospective family and ultimately declined admission after talking to a current family we know and trust. Their child is in 8th grade and dealing with real social challenges at SSSAS (so much do that the family applied out for high school). The school seems nice on the surface and we were impressed during the admissions process, but I think there are some real issues in terms of the school environment.

Can you elaborate? What kind of school environment issues?

[Anonymous]

We accepted a LS slot slot this year. On one hand, this thread gives me hope that it's a more progressive environment than I anticipated. On the other, the screen time issue in LS is a red flag as it the bullying in MS and LAX culture in HS. Thanks to everyone who has shared thoughts on here. I'll be sure to share mine when we've had some more experience with the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We accepted a LS slot slot this year. On one hand, this thread gives me hope that it's a more progressive environment than I anticipated. On the other, the screen time issue in LS is a red flag as it the bullying in MS and LAX culture in HS. Thanks to everyone who has shared thoughts on here. I'll be sure to share mine when we've had some more experience with the school.

I'm not an SSSAS parent, but when I read about the things that you mention: progressive environment, screen time in LS, bullying in MS and LAX culture in HS, I put it all together and come up with - a lazy, incompetent administration that has gotten away from a mission of educating kids.