Beauvoir or Key School??

[Anonymous]

Yes, of course it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know 2 boys who went from Key to STA last year, but from 4th. Another friend, who kept their son at Key for 5th, was WL at STA this year. It stinks because he is a GREAT kid but it was the wrong year.

Regardless of what anyone says, getting into STA from any school, other than Beauvoir, is a gamble. Our DS got into STA from another private, with a great track record for placement at STA, but we knew damn well it was still far, far, far from assured and he had almost perfect grades, high testing scores and great recs. The reality is, as qualified as our DS is, He was extremely fortunate to get in to STA since he didn't attend B and we do not have family members who went to STA.

Was that school by chance, St Pats, where the Head of School used to work in high level admnin at STA ?

This year, for St Pats:

Four 3rd graders offered admission for 4th
Eight 6th graders offered admission for 7th
8th graders offered admission for 9th

[Anonymous]

Another Key parent here. Another thing to consider is that Key does send a good number of kids to Big 3/Big 5 schools, but those kids tend to leave after 3rd or 4th grade, so that they can apply to those schools in entry years. In recent years, a bunch of kids have left Key early to attend St. Albans, NCS, Maret, GDS, and Sidwell. (Also FWIW, a good number go to Landon, which I haven't seen reflected in the prior posts.) So you can't look at the middle school choices of any graduating 5th grade Key school class and get a full sense of where kids generally wind up after Key.

Overall, Key has been a fantastic experience for my kids. Key academics are very strong. (My kid joined her Big 3 class totally prepared and had no problem with the transition.) We love the experience of having our kids in a neighborhood school. We've walked our kids a few blocks to school, joining a wave of neighbors walking up their little ones. You see your child's teacher every single morning at dropoff. The Key principal and the teachers are supportive and responsive and accessible. The few minutes of chatting with the other parents on the blacktop every day reinforces a strong sense of community. It feels like we are all raising our kids together. You run into the other families all the time - at Safeway, or the library, or the pool.

Now that one of my kids is in private school, we are amazed at the difference in the dropoff/pickup experience. There's zero interaction with the teachers or other parents. It's a lot more work to get to know the other parents. We absolutely love the new school, but I wouldn't have traded the Key experience for anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Key parent here. Another thing to consider is that Key does send a good number of kids to Big 3/Big 5 schools, but those kids tend to leave after 3rd or 4th grade, so that they can apply to those schools in entry years. In recent years, a bunch of kids have left Key early to attend St. Albans, NCS, Maret, GDS, and Sidwell. (Also FWIW, a good number go to Landon, which I haven't seen reflected in the prior posts.) So you can't look at the middle school choices of any graduating 5th grade Key school class and get a full sense of where kids generally wind up after Key.

Overall, Key has been a fantastic experience for my kids. Key academics are very strong. (My kid joined her Big 3 class totally prepared and had no problem with the transition.) We love the experience of having our kids in a neighborhood school. We've walked our kids a few blocks to school, joining a wave of neighbors walking up their little ones. You see your child's teacher every single morning at dropoff. The Key principal and the teachers are supportive and responsive and accessible. The few minutes of chatting with the other parents on the blacktop every day reinforces a strong sense of community. It feels like we are all raising our kids together. You run into the other families all the time - at Safeway, or the library, [/b]or the pool.[b]

Now that one of my kids is in private school, we are amazed at the difference in the dropoff/pickup experience. There's zero interaction with the teachers or other parents. It's a lot more work to get to know the other parents. We absolutely love the new school, but I wouldn't have traded the Key experience for anything.

What pool? There is no neighborhood pool in Palisades.

[Anonymous]

Lots of Key School families at Bannockburn and Mt Vernon pools.

[Anonymous]

There were 3 fifth grade Key families at the GDS welcome reception last week for students accepted to middle school.

[Anonymous]

Interesting to know PP. Do most people leave Key before 5th? I know at some other Ward 3 schools kids tend to leave at 3rd or 4th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Key parent here. Another thing to consider is that Key does send a good number of kids to Big 3/Big 5 schools, but those kids tend to leave after 3rd or 4th grade, so that they can apply to those schools in entry years. In recent years, a bunch of kids have left Key early to attend St. Albans, NCS, Maret, GDS, and Sidwell. (Also FWIW, a good number go to Landon, which I haven't seen reflected in the prior posts.) So you can't look at the middle school choices of any graduating 5th grade Key school class and get a full sense of where kids generally wind up after Key.

Overall, Key has been a fantastic experience for my kids. Key academics are very strong. (My kid joined her Big 3 class totally prepared and had no problem with the transition.) We love the experience of having our kids in a neighborhood school. We've walked our kids a few blocks to school, joining a wave of neighbors walking up their little ones. You see your child's teacher every single morning at dropoff. The Key principal and the teachers are supportive and responsive and accessible. The few minutes of chatting with the other parents on the blacktop every day reinforces a strong sense of community. It feels like we are all raising our kids together. You run into the other families all the time - at Safeway, or the library, or the pool.

Now that one of my kids is in private school, we are amazed at the difference in the dropoff/pickup experience. There's zero interaction with the teachers or other parents. It's a lot more work to get to know the other parents. We absolutely love the new school, but I wouldn't have traded the Key experience for anything.

Question: Do you mean to suggest that it is easy for a family at Key, who may be at Key as an out of bounds family to get into a Big 3 school ?

You have said that your child is now at a "Big 3" . Are you or is your DH or anyone in your family an alum of that school ? Is your HHI north of 500K a year ? Are you big law, a lobbyist, an Exec at WAPO, CNN, or ABC, or do you have a similar profile ?

Since you prortray it as " so easy". Should we assume that you are an" East of the Park" family , who was offered B for K, but tunred it down 'cause you just knew you could get your 1st choice out of Key as a LMC family with no hook .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know 2 boys who went from Key to STA last year, but from 4th. Another friend, who kept their son at Key for 5th, was WL at STA this year. It stinks because he is a GREAT kid but it was the wrong year.

Regardless of what anyone says, getting into STA from any school, other than Beauvoir, is a gamble. Our DS got into STA from another private, with a great track record for placement at STA, but we knew damn well it was still far, far, far from assured and he had almost perfect grades, high testing scores and great recs. The reality is, as qualified as our DS is, He was extremely fortunate to get in to STA since he didn't attend B and we do not have family members who went to STA.

Was that school by chance, St Pats, where the Head of School used to work in high level admnin at STA ?

This year, for St Pats:

Four 3rd graders offered admission for 4th
Eight 6th graders offered admission for 7th
8th graders offered admission for 9th

I have heard great things about Saint Pat's and more so since Peter Barrett( from STA) took over as the Head of School. But, OP did not apply to St Pat's and if she is worried about tuition at a Private B of St P is about same difference.

The only relevant fact borne out by this long thread is that, so far, it has been shared that:

About 30-33 boys from Beauvoir will be accpeted at STA.

From other schools, that number is 0-4 boys accpeted.

[Anonymous]

Where are the Key families moving?

Anonymous wrote:Key parent here again. I only know the independent school choices for 12 of the current 5th graders. Nine of those got their first choice -- preferences I knew about before acceptance letters were mailed, so the parents are not putting a happy face on an unwanted outcome. Don't know about the rest, but I have no reason to believe my sample is skewed. Also, many of the other students have chosen to go to public schools, or are moving so did not apply to any independent schools.

Over the last couple of years, I can think of the following independent schools students attended after Key: Edmund Burke, GDS, Holton Arms, Field, NCS, OLV, Potomac, Sidwell, St. Patrick's, Waldorf, and WES. I do not claim this list is complete, but you get the idea that it is diverse.

Just trying to stick to the facts here, not trying to mislead anyone with "baloney."

[Anonymous]

Do let drum know what you decide!

[Anonymous]

OP here: Thanks to everyone. We have decided to go with Beauvoir. I am sure Key is a wonderful place, but it was just too hard to turn down the opportunity for DS to be at Beauvoir, particularly as it takes the pressure of getting into STA in 4th. It will be hard for us financially but we will make it work. Good luck to everyone else in their decisions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Key is a very good school (it is our public too and we thought about it very hard) but classes are much larger than at private. Space is at such a premium that there are even trailers for later years. We have good friends who' son went to STA after Key but Dad was an alum. Other friends were not so fortunate and are now trying to decide what to do next. It is a much bigger gamble. Still, the cost of private is overwhelming. It is insanely expensive truly, and yes, we struggle to paybforour kids. That said, DS was accepted for STA for next year and I doubt it would have been as low stress if he had been coming from Key.

Thanks for the 2-week di*( tease. That was fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Key is a very good school (it is our public too and we thought about it very hard) but classes are much larger than at private. Space is at such a premium that there are even trailers for later years. We have good friends who' son went to STA after Key but Dad was an alum. Other friends were not so fortunate and are now trying to decide what to do next. It is a much bigger gamble. Still, the cost of private is overwhelming. It is insanely expensive truly, and yes, we struggle to paybforour kids. That said, DS was accepted for STA for next year and I doubt it would have been as low stress if he had been coming from Key.

Thanks for the 2-week di*( tease. That was fun!

HUH???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Key is a very good school (it is our public too and we thought about it very hard) but classes are much larger than at private. Space is at such a premium that there are even trailers for later years. We have good friends who' son went to STA after Key but Dad was an alum. Other friends were not so fortunate and are now trying to decide what to do next. It is a much bigger gamble. Still, the cost of private is overwhelming. It is insanely expensive truly, and yes, we struggle to paybforour kids. That said, DS was accepted for STA for next year and I doubt it would have been as low stress if he had been coming from Key.

Thanks for the 2-week di*( tease. That was fun!

HUH???

My mistake. Note meant for the OP who dragged everyone on and created a lot of controversy and nonsense for 2 weeks.