NCS impressions
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Anonymous
| I agree with you but I don't know will be done about it, especially with colleges having race-based graduations. |
Anonymous
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I've had two daughters at NCS who were not academic superstars, and as a matter of fact, one was going to leave at one point but stuck it out and had a great time at NCS.
Great school, great parents, great faculty and staff. Wouldn't trade the experience for the world. |
Anonymous
NCS handles these issues better than most? Well that does not set that bar very high now does it? The lower school had to incidents of the N-word being written on a bathroom stall in the 4th grade hall. African American girls were distraught and inconsolable when the incident was exposed to them. Head of Lower School promised to keep families apprised regarding the situation and how the school would address issues of race. **Crickets** until it happens a second time. More of the same and now the year has ended and it was never mentioned again. Your concern over affinity groups for children of a minority ethnic groups seems to stand on shaky ground with these incidents in their rear view. I can guarantee that having to experience the grief of such an ugly word, twice no less, in front of other children that couldn't not grasp the depth of the experience, was more polarizing than a club for girls to feel supported and understood in a large community. |
Anonymous
| In 9th grade my daughter had Bs and a C in physics. She struggled but had lots of support. Have the advisor stay ontop of the kid and check in regularly. Ncs makes kids do work for good grades. Daughter is at uva now and couldn't be happier about the academic experience at ncs. Ncs doesn't sugarcoat and nor will your students peers. |
Anonymous
| Ncs does not sugarcoat but they also withhold information that might help a student. |
Anonymous
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All of these NCS post are a tad depressing. I have a DD at Beauvoir and while we were (and still are not) set on NCS, I would be lying if I said one of the attractive things about Beauvoir was the feeder relationship (opportunity to apply early admissions) with the other schools on The Close and NCS' supposedly highly regarding reputation. After reading thread after thread after thread about NCS (and most of them seeming to balance on the negative side) I am really worried if my DD would be happy there. Yes, I know she will be academically challenged, but will her spirit be crushed by what sounds like such a mean spirited environment? What's even more odd is when I talk to the young ladies who are there now, who attended Beauvoir, they all say how much they like it. When I ask their parents how it is going, there are a few who say there were some rough social years but once their DD found her group things improved drastically. This all seems like so much to put on the shoulder of girls.
Is this the norm in the independent school world? Or is it truly just a NCS thing? |
Anonymous
I think that's the norm in the secondary school world. Growing up isn't easy and children will face challenges....that's a normal part of the process and to be expected. Parents that try to shield their children from these realities will retard their social development. No school is perfect and every class will have its own social landscape but ultimately it's up to the parent to you know, actually parent their child and guide them through the ups and downs. |
Anonymous
I don't mean to tell you how to live your life but if you have access to actual NCS students and families, why would you turn to an anonymous forum that includes comments made by people with no connection to the school? My daughter really enjoyed her time at NCS. I'm sure if you attended some of the games or performances and struck up a conversation with the girls, you would learn everything you need to know. |
Anonymous
Agreed. My daughter is in the US now at NCS and loves it. I do not recognize the school that is described in the negative posts. In my daughter's experience, the school and the girls are incredibly supportive. Then again, if someone says they have a daughter at NCS who doesn't like it, I believe them. Fortunately for you, because your daughter is already at Beauvoir, you and she should be able to figure out firsthand whether NCS is right for her. Do not base your decision on posts in this thread, even mine. |
Anonymous
PP here is something to consider: My DD attends NCS and struggles socially but does not want to consider attending another school. She would likely give you the impression that she loves her school and would not change a thing. As her mother, I know that this is not true and that she is having a difficult time finding her way and making strong connections. My advice to current Beauvoir parents is to be honest about where your DD is in the social chain because it's not likely that this will change once at NCS, even adding new girls. |
Anonymous
I understand your point, but I am not turning to an anonymous form for a definitive answer or guidance. I come here just to see what the pulse/buzz is out there in general, and I would suspect that is why most of us read these threads. I have gotten good advise, some not so good advise, good information, some not so good information from the threads generally. I even find the negative ones informative. Regarding this specific thread, my question was because I want to believe a lot of what I read on here than sounds negative as it pertains to NCS is just the independent school world, but I began to wonder if perhaps I was being naive and just wanted to believe that because I am not ready to not have NCS not be an option. So my question was to see what the opinions of were. So far, its seems those of you that have responded all of daughters at NCS. So it doesn't appear that the answers have been jaded by a lot of people not connected to NCS. Having gone to public school (though not in an high income area) I can tell you that a LOT of this stuff never went on. Though that could also be a sign of different times as well. |
Anonymous
Interesting, and I have heard this from a few parents. What I have not heard is whether they believe it is because of something unique to NCS, the private school world, just being a young girl, etc. and whether they think this issue could be resolved by changing schools or could have been avoided altogether by choosing another private school (or even public). Perhaps there is no answer because it would all be speculative anyway. But for your child, so what are doing? Letting her stick it out and find her way? I can only imagine how hard it might be to sit back and watch it but not be able to do much to help fix it. As for the "social chain" what exactly do you mean? Do you mean, where we are financially or do you mean where she is in terms of popularity and friends? |
Anonymous
I was referring to where she is in terms of popularity. Although this will be the case no matter where we choose to enroll our DC, I think families overlook this because they assume that 5 years of friendships at BVR will translate well. There is much to be considered, not all children move on to Cathedral schools. What if the closer friends made a different school choice? Sure there may be time to keep those connections outside of school but not having a core group of friends during the day is tough on a young girl. There are plenty of naysayers and deniers but I know this as truth not just for my family. The teachers are wonderful at doing their best to guide and support the girls but they admit to be unaware of many social dynamics until it emotions spill over in some cases. I am hoping this is not the case for all private schools, if so, our options will be severely limited. We are employing a combination of supports such as counseling, teaching DD how to respond in difficult and hurtful situations and keeping an eye out for a better option. NCS is a great school but I will not sacrifice my DD's emotional and mental health for it, even if she doesn't understand it. |
Anonymous
| A good friend of mine has enrolled her daughter in three different schools over a 7 year period because the child had difficulty fitting in socially. After the third school the parents realize the child's struggles have far more to do with the child than with the school environment. |
Anonymous
And while that may be true for your friend it does not change that there is a toxicity level there that far too many people deny. |