What can a K-8 do to Keep Students through 8th?

[Anonymous]

Children vary. Schools vary. Choose carefully the best fit for your own DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this thread is giving k-8's a bad name. I know some are too small, but there are others that are great and run well.

It’s not about whether they’re well run. It’s the reality of the landscape of DMV privates. The most competitive privates in the area are often K - 12. It’s hard to get into those schools, even for students with strong grades and strong social skills. So very often - not always but very often - strong students from K-8s apply before 9. If they’re accepted and leave the K-8, that school must replace that strong student by choosing from a smaller applicant pool, often of kids who were struggling in public for academic or social reasons. So in K-8s, the class dynamic - academically and socially - grows weaker and more challenged. Not sure there’s anything schools can do about this - it’s just the reality of the private school “market.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this thread is giving k-8's a bad name. I know some are too small, but there are others that are great and run well.

It’s not about whether they’re well run. It’s the reality of the landscape of DMV privates. The most competitive privates in the area are often K - 12. It’s hard to get into those schools, even for students with strong grades and strong social skills. So very often - not always but very often - strong students from K-8s apply before 9. If they’re accepted and leave the K-8, that school must replace that strong student by choosing from a smaller applicant pool, often of kids who were struggling in public for academic or social reasons. So in K-8s, the class dynamic - academically and socially - grows weaker and more challenged. Not sure there’s anything schools can do about this - it’s just the reality of the private school “market.”

This. It's not really about management, though of course bad management will wreck a school. It's about K-8 not being the right fit for certain older kids, and small schools being easily unbalanced by attrition. It's inherent in the model here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Children vary. Schools vary. Choose carefully the best fit for your own DC.

Way too logical

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We adore our K-8. We like the academics, the atnosphere, families, facilities, happy middle school environment, nuturing feeling. It's just a great place and we want both of our kids to stay through with. I'm feeling a little antsy, though, hearing about families jumping ship early. I think most want to secure a high school spot, others might be less happy, want a bigger environment, or a more competitive sports program, I'm not really sure. What, though, can a school do to retain more families? If you left your K-8 early, is there anything the school could have done to "keep" you?

So there you go. Why do you care what other families do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adore our K-8. We like the academics, the atnosphere, families, facilities, happy middle school environment, nuturing feeling. It's just a great place and we want both of our kids to stay through with. I'm feeling a little antsy, though, hearing about families jumping ship early. I think most want to secure a high school spot, others might be less happy, want a bigger environment, or a more competitive sports program, I'm not really sure. What, though, can a school do to retain more families? If you left your K-8 early, is there anything the school could have done to "keep" you?

So there you go. Why do you care what other families do?

She's clearly worried that the 6-8th experience won't be as good, because of attrition.

[Anonymous]

I actually find this thread makes me desire a k-8 more.

The posters on this thread are able to have a civil dialogue while remaining realistic and offering thoughtful suggestions.

I would love to see more k-12/6-12 threads to be this thoughtful and productive.

It really shows me that the caliber of the k-8 community is high, they seem to be less defensive and more attune to the pros and cons of their schools.

[Anonymous]

My child just went through a k-8. Early years were mixed. Strong when teachers were consistent, weak when their were blips which all schools have. Covid made things hard for all.
Every classmate who just graduated is having a
difficult go at it, specially socially. Our new school does a decent job at creating opportunities to mix in the "new kids" but there have been many weeks where my kid does not have weekend social plans. Kids need that kind of independence. The 9th graders who have been in the school have an easier go at 9th grade dynamics. I regret not pulling earlier. Also, our school had a very small 8th grade class which is not an ideal thing for that age group.

[Anonymous]

I attended a K-8 and wish my parents had moved me sooner. By 8th grade, the class got really small and we were all sick of each other. The mean girl drama was bad and with a class so small, there weren't many options for escape. So when my children were in a K-8, I knew I'd never keep them there for middle school. We just applied out last year and my child is loving the bigger school (k-12) - more social options, fun all school activities to include things like homecoming and sports games, and more opportunities for activities in general. Our K-8 was great for PK and K, but beyond that - we could've been happier at their current K-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We adore our K-8. We like the academics, the atnosphere, families, facilities, happy middle school environment, nuturing feeling. It's just a great place and we want both of our kids to stay through with. I'm feeling a little antsy, though, hearing about families jumping ship early. I think most want to secure a high school spot, others might be less happy, want a bigger environment, or a more competitive sports program, I'm not really sure. What, though, can a school do to retain more families? If you left your K-8 early, is there anything the school could have done to "keep" you?

So there you go. Why do you care what other families do?

She's clearly worried that the 6-8th experience won't be as good, because of attrition.

No its just that 6-8 in middle school ends up sucking for alot of kids. It's great that it works for some, but generally i don't think it does.

[Anonymous]

There are so many great 9-12 only schools that are great options to go from a K-8 school. Georgetown Visitation, Georgetown Prep, Madeira, Episcopal, Gonzaga, Bishop O’Connell, to name a few. They focus on high school and school leadership is not busy with younger grades like in K-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child just went through a k-8. Early years were mixed. Strong when teachers were consistent, weak when their were blips which all schools have. Covid made things hard for all.
Every classmate who just graduated is having a
difficult go at it, specially socially. Our new school does a decent job at creating opportunities to mix in the "new kids" but there have been many weeks where my kid does not have weekend social plans. Kids need that kind of independence. The 9th graders who have been in the school have an easier go at 9th grade dynamics. I regret not pulling earlier. Also, our school had a very small 8th grade class which is not an ideal thing for that age group.

My teen is now in a 150 person 9th grade from a k-8 with less than 50. She found her new group easily and does not associate with any of the kids from her k-8 that also are at her school. She did not have a difficult social transition and was thrilled to expand her friend groups and have a grade large enough that drama doesnt impact the entire class.

[Anonymous]

Overall, K-8 has been good for our kids. It definitely has an "it takes a village" vibe where we all really know each other's kids. Middle school has been interesting socially because middle school is still middle school no matter how you slice it. Overall, it's been great that both my kids and are family are so well known. It's cozy. I don't know that we would have received this type of individualized attention elsewhere. We will be applying for high schools next year, so that will be the real test. We hope our kid will end up with some decent options.

[Anonymous]

For those who proactively switched before 8th grade, was your DC still happy at the school? If so, how did the transition go?
Our DC is in elementary at a wonderful K-8. It’s been a great fit for her, she is happy, and we think it’s a special place. But i am not sure we’ll stay through 8, for many of the reasons named on this thread. I am, of course, nervous about switching her out of a place where she’s happy and doing well. At the same time, I don’t want to wait until it potentially isn’t a great fit, and don’t want to find we’ve completely missed the opportunity to be admitted to the school that could be the right fit for the next phase of her education.
For those who left early, how did you think about this? How did you support your DC in transitioning out of a school they are happy at before many of their peers are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this thread is giving k-8's a bad name. I know some are too small, but there are others that are great and run well.

It’s not about whether they’re well run. It’s the reality of the landscape of DMV privates. The most competitive privates in the area are often K - 12. It’s hard to get into those schools, even for students with strong grades and strong social skills. So very often - not always but very often - strong students from K-8s apply before 9. If they’re accepted and leave the K-8, that school must replace that strong student by choosing from a smaller applicant pool, often of kids who were struggling in public for academic or social reasons. So in K-8s, the class dynamic - academically and socially - grows weaker and more challenged. Not sure there’s anything schools can do about this - it’s just the reality of the private school “market.”

Believe it or not, not every k-8 private school family is gunning for the Big X DMV high schools. Our kids went to Big X and for the most part, the other strong kids from their cohorts did as well. There were a few who wanted to go to Big X but weren't accepted and plenty who never wanted Big X to start. The kids who wanted to go to Big X did great at their next tier high schools and got into great colleges. If your goal is to go to Big X, then maybe K-8 wasn't the right place for you to begin with. Those are the families that leave early - and at our school - I'd say they miss out. But then again, they didn't value what the k-8 had to offer in the first place. Different strokes. But the k-8 is doing great.