K-8 parents of 8th graders—are you satisfied with outplacement?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you’d apply for k thru 8 for midddle. Unless it’s for back up if you don’t get into a k thru 12? Why out your kid through the application process twice and make them join a class of kids who all know each other in middle school just to have to leave again in two to three years?

k-8 puts the resources in the k-8. Many k-12(specially the big 5) direct the majority of resources to 9-12. These top schools are very different. What you think is a good fit in k or 4th is not by 9th and it is missable for the kid. Many times the kids want a change. They are bored by the same old insular social scene.

Once you have gone through the application processes once it is not really that big of a deal to do it again. Applying for 9th grade is about grades, teacher recs, test scores, extracurricular activities, etc. Doing the application process again in 8th really makes you think about who your kid is and what schools will be a good fit. Plus everyone else in the class is doing.

Bottom line you pick a school for the kid.

We’ve been at both k-8 and now k-12 and I’d really disagree with this. My younger kids at a k-12 get to benefit from all of the resources that would never be available at a k-8. The facilities are in a different league, they have access to specific teachers a k-8 couldn’t justify, they get the school spirit of real pep rallies, varsity games, etc. There is tons of interaction between the divisions so even when my kids were little they’d go to a varsity game in their sport and the high schoolers would greet them by name, etc. They still have all the same leadership opportunities and everything bc the divisions have their own heads, student leadership opposition, etc.

It’s a personal preference and determination based on what each family wants for their kids. What you share about the benefits of k-12 are exactly what some say are why they do not like a k-12 and prefer a k-8. Some do not want any interaction or influence from high schoolers for lower school students. They don’t want to attend pep rallies or varsity games, because they want the focus on whatever the k-8 students are doing, where at a k-12, the majority of big school activities and events are going to center around the upper school. There is not a right answer here, it is what works for you kid/family.

+1. We couldn’t care less about varsity games for kids 10+ years older than ours

Let me put this another way. At a K-12, your kid has access to the top rated high school robotics instructors, debate coachs, music instructors and facilities which they won't get in a K-8 (yes, as part of their approach the K-12 have these coaches dip down and have offerings for the younger kids. . Yes ,the K-8 might ALSO have robotics and debate--but the calibur of what is offered is just fundamentally different--not even close. I've had kids at both--the K-12 resourcing bleeds downward--giving the younger kids access to amazing resources K-8 just can't afford in that model. That's not hte reason to choose a K-12--but if you think a K-8 gives so much more focus to the younger kids than a K-12, that is just not correct.

You do not know what you are posting about.

Actually they do. Look at any of the robotics tournaments or the recent debate tournaments and compare how the k-8s did vs the k-12s. Not even a remote comparison.

[Anonymous]

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I just don’t believe this.

This was Norwood’s placement last year: https://www.norwoodschool.org/program/high-school-placement

By my count, 22 of out of the 48 kids went to a top tier school:

GDS — 2
Prep — 1
Holton — 4
Landon — 2
Maret — 2
NCS — 1
Potomac — 2
Sidwell — 5
STA — 3

People will say some of these aren’t top tier, but they’re all very strong. I don’t believe all these kids fell into the categories PP listed. How many 8th graders have developed an app anyway?!

I’d be careful interpreting the list above. This is not the number of individual students that ended up going to these schools, this is the number of acceptances the schools have issued. In most cases, from our experience, it’s the same kids who are getting multiple acceptances at these top tier schools ( elite athletes, URM, super scholars ) . For example, one very elite athlete ( and bright student) at our K-8 got into 4 of the “ Big 5”. When our school publishes acceptances, it might look like they had 4 students accepted at those schools when they in fact had only 1.

I think the list is showing matriculations, at least as to these schools. The bolded schools, some (but all listed above) with the numbers in parentheticals, are schools where Norwood grads ended up, and I'm sure the intent was to show the number of Norwood grads at each. Otherwise why would they have even bothered to list list numbers after Churchill and Whitman?

You are correct - the numbers the PP included in this list are the numbers who intended to start the school year at these schools. I could list the names of those numbers above.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Its always going to be the rich and connected that get into the "Big 3" anyway, so no surprise. Being neither of those, we focused on other schools.

Not really. Mostly the kids from our K-8 who got into 9th grade were top athletes or URMs

That's because those are the only kids the new school will be able to place well into college.

They are looking for kids that they can get into top colleges.

There’s a lot of truth in this statement. I would add that super scholars also make the cutoff, even if they’re white straight males. That describes my DS and his handful of friends who came in at 9th to Sidwell, and it was a good risk for Sidwell. These unhooked young men all attend T15 schools now on their academic strength. Which is > average smart DC lawyer’s kid smart.

[Anonymous]

We don't know yet because the school doesn't share grade wide stats.

[Anonymous]

When one of our kids applied out from our K-8 a number of years ago the top 3 passed over the unhooked top students (no wealth or connections, no recruited athlete—and they all recruit despite telling you they don’t) in favor of athlete from wealthy, deep, pocket family and another student from a very wealthy, well connected family who was a nice kid but struggled academically. The top students were wait listed. Well, those waitlisted kids are now at top universities and the others are not. One of them is at a very good school and I honestly hope they like it. The other connected by wealth kid didn’t have an amazing high school experience. Academics were tough. Never made a lot of friends. The truth is the waitlisted kids in the end were better off. They still wound up at top Universities and really enjoyed their high school years. Looking back my kid learned a valuable lesson. You cannonly control what you do. Work hard for you. Pursue your passions because they are meaningful to you. Throw your hat in the ring for jobs, internships, opportunities, etc. you’ve worked for and are qualified for but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it. Move on. There are many paths we can take to happiness and success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3 children went K-8 and then 'graduated' to new schools for high school. If I could go back in time, I would have moved them earlier. Socially, it takes about 1.5 years to settle into a new school with friends. At the end of high school, they are flying high and loving their group of friends. But it can be a very hard process to get to that point. They must be patient and know that it takes time. Of course there are benefits to being the leaders on campus when in middle school at a K-8, but I'm not sure it was worth it. This was just our experience, but a common story amongst our friends. Good luck with your decision!

After our fist finished K-8 we moved the younger ones earlier. Socially our first figured things out for high school but socially middle school at the K-8 was not a good experience. They were in a pretty toxic class and it left a mark. In retrospect the particlar cohort of teachers lacked the ability to handle the toxicity. Some teachers are gifted with intelligence regarding emotions and some are not. Middle schooler are highly emotional and having teachers who understand and enjoy working with kids that age makes a huge difference. Our younger kids moved for middle school from our K-8 and the teachers at their new school just seemed to get middle schoolers. It was such a marked contrast to our first child’s experience that we acrually felt bad we hadn’t moved them earlier. I now tell parents, reassess every year and make sure the school is still meting the needs of your child. Schools change. Kids change. Teavhers change. Make sure those changes are still working for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When one of our kids applied out from our K-8 a number of years ago the top 3 passed over the unhooked top students (no wealth or connections, no recruited athlete—and they all recruit despite telling you they don’t) in favor of athlete from wealthy, deep, pocket family and another student from a very wealthy, well connected family who was a nice kid but struggled academically. The top students were wait listed. Well, those waitlisted kids are now at top universities and the others are not. One of them is at a very good school and I honestly hope they like it. The other connected by wealth kid didn’t have an amazing high school experience. Academics were tough. Never made a lot of friends. The truth is the waitlisted kids in the end were better off. They still wound up at top Universities and really enjoyed their high school years. Looking back my kid learned a valuable lesson. You cannonly control what you do. Work hard for you. Pursue your passions because they are meaningful to you. Throw your hat in the ring for jobs, internships, opportunities, etc. you’ve worked for and are qualified for but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it. Move on. There are many paths we can take to happiness and success.

You sound jealous and awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its always going to be the rich and connected that get into the "Big 3" anyway, so no surprise. Being neither of those, we focused on other schools.

Not really. Mostly the kids from our K-8 who got into 9th grade were top athletes or URMs

That's because those are the only kids the new school will be able to place well into college.

They are looking for kids that they can get into top colleges.

There’s a lot of truth in this statement. I would add that super scholars also make the cutoff, even if they’re white straight males. That describes my DS and his handful of friends who came in at 9th to Sidwell, and it was a good risk for Sidwell. These unhooked young men all attend T15 schools now on their academic strength. Which is > average smart DC lawyer’s kid smart.

Yuck! It is people like you who ruin the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When one of our kids applied out from our K-8 a number of years ago the top 3 passed over the unhooked top students (no wealth or connections, no recruited athlete—and they all recruit despite telling you they don’t) in favor of athlete from wealthy, deep, pocket family and another student from a very wealthy, well connected family who was a nice kid but struggled academically. The top students were wait listed. Well, those waitlisted kids are now at top universities and the others are not. One of them is at a very good school and I honestly hope they like it. The other connected by wealth kid didn’t have an amazing high school experience. Academics were tough. Never made a lot of friends. The truth is the waitlisted kids in the end were better off. They still wound up at top Universities and really enjoyed their high school years. Looking back my kid learned a valuable lesson. You cannonly control what you do. Work hard for you. Pursue your passions because they are meaningful to you. Throw your hat in the ring for jobs, internships, opportunities, etc. you’ve worked for and are qualified for but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it. Move on. There are many paths we can take to happiness and success.

You sound jealous and awful.

Sounds to me like a good way to look at it. Life’s not fair and the admissions process is not fully transparent. It’s better to get on with it and do what you can do.

[Anonymous]

Our small K-8 got 3 into Sidwell, 1 into Maret, 1 into GDS, ~5 each into SAES, Burke, Field, and SSFS, and a few into all girls and public honors. And others I may not know about.

[Anonymous]

at the end of the day most of these kids go to their first or 2nd choice schools and a majority of the families are happy with their schools. a few years ago my DD wound up at her safety school and was disappointed. She decided to go and thrived; showing significant academic growth and a good group of friends. college applications were thoughtful and happy with acceptances. To those considering k-8 or those getting ready to apply to HS don’t get caught up in the Big 5 “elite” school race. there are only so many spots and it will all work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When one of our kids applied out from our K-8 a number of years ago the top 3 passed over the unhooked top students (no wealth or connections, no recruited athlete—and they all recruit despite telling you they don’t) in favor of athlete from wealthy, deep, pocket family and another student from a very wealthy, well connected family who was a nice kid but struggled academically. The top students were wait listed. Well, those waitlisted kids are now at top universities and the others are not. One of them is at a very good school and I honestly hope they like it. The other connected by wealth kid didn’t have an amazing high school experience. Academics were tough. Never made a lot of friends. The truth is the waitlisted kids in the end were better off. They still wound up at top Universities and really enjoyed their high school years. Looking back my kid learned a valuable lesson. You cannonly control what you do. Work hard for you. Pursue your passions because they are meaningful to you. Throw your hat in the ring for jobs, internships, opportunities, etc. you’ve worked for and are qualified for but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it. Move on. There are many paths we can take to happiness and success.

You sound jealous and awful.

I completely disagree. There's nothing offensive or jealous sounding in that post but I don't think you should necessarily measure success at a private school by what college you end up at. The important point is that top students will do well anywhere and that they don't really "need" a particular school to make that happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its always going to be the rich and connected that get into the "Big 3" anyway, so no surprise. Being neither of those, we focused on other schools.

Not really. Mostly the kids from our K-8 who got into 9th grade were top athletes or URMs

That's because those are the only kids the new school will be able to place well into college.

They are looking for kids that they can get into top colleges.

There’s a lot of truth in this statement. I would add that super scholars also make the cutoff, even if they’re white straight males. That describes my DS and his handful of friends who came in at 9th to Sidwell, and it was a good risk for Sidwell. These unhooked young men all attend T15 schools now on their academic strength. Which is > average smart DC lawyer’s kid smart.

Yuck! It is people like you who ruin the DMV.

This post is yucky and gloating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we are a former Langley family with many friends still at the school and I agree with PP.
Their outplacement this year was not the best.
Zero accepted at Sidwell , 1 accepted at GDS. I am not sure about other “Big 5s” but seems like the same few kids who got into several of the top schools

to be fair the 8th grade class is one of the smallest at Langley so hard to compare when saying it is a small few. the list above with school school names by a prior poster is correct there was more than one to GDS, maret, cathedral schools etc. several applied to field and got in. yes there are a few on waiting lists as well

I’m a parent familiar with this grade and it’s always been an outlier class. Small, a lot of kids with behavioral issues. Not sure what was in the water that year. The current 7th grade is a really nice group I expect that Langley will do well with outplacement next year. [/quote

i haven’t heard outplacement wasn’t the best. lots of good choices for the current 8th graders. rising 7th grade class is larger so it will be harder with more competing for those slots. really disappointed in this post.

[Anonymous]

agreed. why is another Langley parent throwing shade at a graduating class? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones