Washington Episcopal School - feedback needed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

+1 to this!

[Anonymous]

They do not have a block schedule. There are a one or two office hour periods built into the weekly schedule and if you don’t need to meet with a teacher you can use it as a study hall. You have the option to stay until 4:30 for an hour long study hall two days/week (unless you have a game scheduled for that time). DC had an hour of HW per night typicallly but was very good at using spare time at school so that helped.

The school is small so in MS you are looking at 32-37 per class roughly. We had no issues in our grade but other cohorts were less cohesive (both on the kid and parent fronts). We liked a lot of families in the year ahead of us but avoided the families in the grade below.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They do not have a block schedule. There are a one or two office hour periods built into the weekly schedule and if you don’t need to meet with a teacher you can use it as a study hall. You have the option to stay until 4:30 for an hour long study hall two days/week (unless you have a game scheduled for that time). DC had an hour of HW per night typicallly but was very good at using spare time at school so that helped.

The school is small so in MS you are looking at 32-37 per class roughly. We had no issues in our grade but other cohorts were less cohesive (both on the kid and parent fronts). We liked a lot of families in the year ahead of us but avoided the families in the grade below.

Good feedback! Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC had significantly more homework than MCPS peers, but how much they took home varied depending on whether or not it was a day with study hall. The workload was comparable to older DC's at another school.

We loved our experience and wish we'd sent older DC. It was a great balance of solid academics/high expectations from teachers, but it did not feel like a cutthroat environment. DC was very well prepared for one of DCUM's favorite "top" schools. Kids from WES go to a wide variety of HS.

How much homework does MCPS have typically as compared to WES/other middle school privates?

[Anonymous]

PP did you feel like your kid with learning differences got the support they needed from the school (of course, in the end it's the student/parents that have to figure out what the kid needs). Thanks!

For students with mild to moderate learning differences, WES is an excellent option. The learning support teacher in MS is very strong, and she's an effective advocate for students with learning differences. She also teaches the ASC classes in MS, which provide additional support for those students. The number of students in ASC varies per class, but she does a great job with her ASC students!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP did you feel like your kid with learning differences got the support they needed from the school (of course, in the end it's the student/parents that have to figure out what the kid needs). Thanks!

For students with mild to moderate learning differences, WES is an excellent option. The learning support teacher in MS is very strong, and she's an effective advocate for students with learning differences. She also teaches the ASC classes in MS, which provide additional support for those students. The number of students in ASC varies per class, but she does a great job with her ASC students!

If your child needs supports, strongly encourage you to ask about whether or not WES would be able to accommodate those needs/if there is space in the ASC program in the grade that you are applying to. They want your kid to be successful so if you are honest and clear eyed about what your kid needs, they will be honest with you as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

It’s tiny in middle school and can have graduating class as small as 30 kids. So if your kid isn’t vibing with the class, it can be very limited socially. Plus if a bunch of girls or boys leave along the years, the classes can be lopsided quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

It’s tiny in middle school and can have graduating class as small as 30 kids. So if your kid isn’t vibing with the class, it can be very limited socially. Plus if a bunch of girls or boys leave along the years, the classes can be lopsided quickly.

Thanks for this perspective. Any other schools that are bigger but similar positives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

It’s tiny in middle school and can have graduating class as small as 30 kids. So if your kid isn’t vibing with the class, it can be very limited socially. Plus if a bunch of girls or boys leave along the years, the classes can be lopsided quickly.

Thanks for this perspective. Any other schools that are bigger but similar positives?

Norwood has closer to 55-70 kids in middle school. Much bigger than WES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

It’s tiny in middle school and can have graduating class as small as 30 kids. So if your kid isn’t vibing with the class, it can be very limited socially. Plus if a bunch of girls or boys leave along the years, the classes can be lopsided quickly.

Thanks for this perspective. Any other schools that are bigger but similar positives?

Because the MS director was the dean at St. Andrew's, naturally, it's similar. It's also in line with St. Patrick's in D.C. (where the founder of WES was HOS.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What don’t people like about WES? What would you change? Seems too good to be true!

It’s tiny in middle school and can have graduating class as small as 30 kids. So if your kid isn’t vibing with the class, it can be very limited socially. Plus if a bunch of girls or boys leave along the years, the classes can be lopsided quickly.

Thanks for this perspective. Any other schools that are bigger but similar positives?

Norwood has closer to 55-70 kids in middle school. Much bigger than WES.

Although it's bigger, does it still have all those things that people love about WES: strong academics, supportive yet challenging environment, kind families etc?
Have seen mixed things on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Although it's bigger, does it still have all those things that people love about WES: strong academics, supportive yet challenging environment, kind families etc? Have seen mixed things on this forum.

Not sure the description of what people love about WES is accurate -- have seen mixed things on this forum. But Norwood is strong in those areas.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely recommend you shadow with the grade (cohort) you are applying for vs shadowing with a grade above to see what MS looks like. More important to get a feel for the kids your DC will be with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely recommend you shadow with the grade (cohort) you are applying for vs shadowing with a grade above to see what MS looks like. More important to get a feel for the kids your DC will be with.

The school asks students to shadow with the MS grade they're applying for, not their current grade. I see your point about the kids DC will be with- should we ask for another shadow day/partial day?? What would be most helpful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely recommend you shadow with the grade (cohort) you are applying for vs shadowing with a grade above to see what MS looks like. More important to get a feel for the kids your DC will be with.

The school asks students to shadow with the MS grade they're applying for, not their current grade. I see your point about the kids DC will be with- should we ask for another shadow day/partial day?? What would be most helpful?

Does it really? When DC was applying for 5th, all the schools we considered (we didn’t look at WES) had shadow days with the current grade (4th), even places like Congressional where the daily format changes significantly between 4th and 5th because that was the break between LS and MS. At that age, it was more helpful to DC to see what the other students *in their grade* would be like and just get a general idea of the school, rather than experience the specific classes or teachers (but not students) that they would have the following year. YMMV, but it might be worth asking about a shadow day with your child’s current grade instead/in addition to a shadow day with the grade above.