Is the SWS waitlist moving for Pk3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:07, case in point, what's your demographic? And you're ranking it #1 due in part to geography!

Geography is a HUGE factor for us. We're only ranking schools we can easily walk or bike too. SWS, TR (because of middle school option), LT, and JO. There ya go.

[Anonymous]

^ and I'm just going out on a limb here - but I bet you're Caucasian?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and I'm just going out on a limb here - but I bet you're Caucasian?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

THAT'S why the school's demographics (and LT's PK classes) seem skewed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing. I'm a parent hoping my child gets to attend SWS. Why? Because the school is one block away from me so it's incredibly convenient. Because every child I know that attends is happy there. Because even though I work outside the home, the teachers and principal have regular communication with parents (which I've heard differing stories about at other schools) so I'll know what is going on with my child on a regular basis. Because the teachers seem committed to teaching and helping me raise a happy kid who appreciates the world around them. It takes a village!
Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so, and I won't feel guilty when I apply next year.

If the school were purposefully excluding certain demographic groups I would take issue. But it seems to me that this has always been an opt-in school from the time it started at Peabody. I think the question people should be asking isn't, why is the school predominantly one demographic group. It should be, why aren't other groups applying?

I'm a minority mom and the school is close enough but we chose not to apply. When I visited, I felt the vibe was very cliquey, even amongst the prospective parents which was something I'd never seen at other open houses. I won't attribute it to race though, one of my white friends told me she felt something similar when she went on another tour there. Parents rave about the school and the waitlist shows the demand, so I'm glad they have found a good option. I just didn't feel it was the right place for my child. I imagine other parents who aren't in tune with the school don't bother to apply or they rank it so low they have little chance of admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing. I'm a parent hoping my child gets to attend SWS. Why? Because the school is one block away from me so it's incredibly convenient. Because every child I know that attends is happy there. Because even though I work outside the home, the teachers and principal have regular communication with parents (which I've heard differing stories about at other schools) so I'll know what is going on with my child on a regular basis. Because the teachers seem committed to teaching and helping me raise a happy kid who appreciates the world around them. It takes a village!
Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so, and I won't feel guilty when I apply next year.

If the school were purposefully excluding certain demographic groups I would take issue. But it seems to me that this has always been an opt-in school from the time it started at Peabody. I think the question people should be asking isn't, why is the school predominantly one demographic group. It should be, why aren't other groups applying?

I'm a minority mom and the school is close enough but we chose not to apply. When I visited, I felt the vibe was very cliquey, even amongst the prospective parents which was something I'd never seen at other open houses. I won't attribute it to race though, one of my white friends told me she felt something similar when she went on another tour there. Parents rave about the school and the waitlist shows the demand, so I'm glad they have found a good option. I just didn't feel it was the right place for my child. I imagine other parents who aren't in tune with the school don't bother to apply or they rank it so low they have little chance of admission.

I'm a parent at SWS, and this piece about cliquey is so interesting to me. The school is really cliquey - at first I thought I just had some bad luck with the parents in my older child's grade, but the same thing is true with my younger child's grade. I have no good explanation for it. I think there's some 'looking down on' those who don't volunteer or financially support the school. It's so much like high school sometimes where parents actually give you rude, mean looks or just 'see through you'.

[Anonymous]

^^^^yes. I have experienced the same thing. I have been a parent at multiple schools and never been snubbed or felt a chill like I do at SWS. Not everyone; but there is definitely a vibe. People take themselves very seriously at SWS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^yes. I have experienced the same thing. I have been a parent at multiple schools and never been snubbed or felt a chill like I do at SWS. Not everyone; but there is definitely a vibe. People take themselves very seriously at SWS.

+1 and this is exacerbated by the way the teachers and then other parents work you over to volunteer for everything.

[Anonymous]

I'm an SWS parent and this breaks my heart. I'm so sorry anyone at the school feels this way. I know so many of the families and I have to believe this is misperception. They're all very good people who want the best for their kids and want to be s part of a supportive community.

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to lie ... I would love to have the "problem" of parents being a little snobby. Sadly, we are 200+ on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an SWS parent and this breaks my heart. I'm so sorry anyone at the school feels this way. I know so many of the families and I have to believe this is misperception. They're all very good people who want the best for their kids and want to be s part of a supportive community.

It's a bit like this: "they all feel that they are very good people and that they know precisely what is the best for their kids and will make damn sure they get it. They are very proud of the supportive community they have created for themselves". Now if you put yourself on the outside of that or differ at all in your definition of good people, best for kids or supportive community you can get why it feels tough socially sometimes.

I agree with the pp that this is hardly a huge issue and good mini-problem to have.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I live on the neighborhood and I'm sure the school is a nice place to go, but I still can't figure out why it's demographics are so skewed from the rest of the city. It has so few minority kids, at least from what I see when we go to the playground. I have heard the argument that it is a legacy from the Peabody days, but the Watkins/Peabody district is much more diverse, as is the current Peabody program. I don't think there is any conspiracy here, it's just strange to have such a demographic outlier in the middle of a still pretty diverse part of the city.


Personally, I have two years before we apply and will probably put it on my list, but I think we will prioritize schools with a better MS feed. Our IB is LT and I'm fine with it for early elementary. If we got into SWS or LT and no where with a better MS feed we will be leaving for the suburbs before upper elementary school anyway, so there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of prioritizing SWS in the lottery. It's a very nice but short term solution to the schooling problem on Capitol Hill.

Attend the open house next fall for the answers to your question

If you know the answer, can't you just tell us? If there is an easy explanation for why there is an almost totally white school outside of upper NW (where there is an almost totally white population), give it to us. It is a demographic anomaly for this part of the city, especially for a school with no IB population. Why is that?

The demographics are almost the same as Brent. Get your facts straight.

And? Brent is a school that affords IB preference so the demographics of the school match the neighborhood and are based in large part on socioeconomics selected by who buys there (or could buy there). SWW is a citywide school. So the demographics one would expect would be closer to DC than to Brent. Which is a nice way of saying, you're an a**. If you are going to come at the poster with attitude then at least bring some logic with your attitude.

Not the PP, but I think the poster was just refuting the other poster's claim that SWS's demographics were an anomaly for this part of the city.

When did SWS become city-wide? I thought prior to two-three years ago they gave neighborhood preference. So, I guess it doesn't surprise me that the demographics are what they are. Also, I think even though it is city-wide now, it still draws mainly from the neighborhood - which is pretty close to Brent.

It's ironic, and kind of damned if you do/don't -- when SWS went independent there was a great deal of discussion of maintaining a boundary vs. city-wide enrollment, and the general consensus among DCPS and the school community was that citywide would increase diversity. Given the scarcity of ECE seats and the prominence of sibling priority that hasn't really come to fruition. Any boundary in that area would have the same result either via siblings or demographics of neighborhood. If you removed the medically fragile classrooms SWS would in fact be the whitest school in DC, including Janney and Lafayette. I don't think that's the goal, and if you spend any time in the school you'd see it's an inclusive model for the kids. They tend to bring less baggage than the parents.

Good luck finding anyplace in DC without at least some clique-ish atttitudes. There's a wide range at SWS too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes - the poster that claims it should appear "more diverse to reflect the neighborhood" is ignoring the fact that most of the kids aged 3-9 (SWS' current population age) in the immediate neighborhood are actually no longer that "diverse."

Toddle two blocks over to Ludlow Taylor and take a gander at their PK3 class some time, then explain to me why you aren't just as mystified by that dynamic.

In addition to the Reggio component scaring away traditionalists like our PP, SWS didn't start until PK4 when it was in Peabody and there was a standing rule they wouldn't let you jump from Peabody PK3 to SWS at PK4. So, the children needing a PK3 spot were actually ruled out from attending (this was a cluster rule, not something SWS elected for.) And, the parents that opted to wait had resources to find childcare for an extra year...

Good points. 5-7 years ago it was also not as hard to get IB PK seats in general. Some of the families who started in PK4 were shut out in PK3 and ended up gaining spots in Peabody or SWS at PK4, although some waiting til PK4 for SWS. IB and neighborhood families shut out initially could sometimes gain get midyear spots at Peabody or SWS. The ECE landscape is a different beast today.

[Anonymous]

I don't think the impression that some are talking about is either imagined or bad. One of the reasons to go to open houses is to get a feel for both the school and the community. It's great when schools have parent volunteers at the open house because it helps to get the community vibe. SWS wasn't a good fit for me (I also got an us/them vibe) but it clearly is a wonderful fit for a great many parents. That's one of the nice things about having options.

P.S. I didn't get the impression the other families were evil or bad or meant to create an exclusionary environment. They are all very happy and believe strongly in the school...and that's great. So please don't misread this and start a flame war. Pretty please...

[Anonymous]

^ no flame taken. I guess I'm just surprised since I find one of the most attractive things about the school for us is its inclusive element. Maybe I'm just on the inside though and I really am misreading it. Can anyone give specifics -- it's not like people aren't inviting your kids to birthday parties or vacationing with eveyone but you is it? How do you get an "us/them vibe"?