Sidwell parents please share thoughts & comments specifically on lower school

[Anonymous]

Thank u for positive qnd room-for-improvement comments

[Anonymous]

That is room-For-improvement

Anonymous wrote:Thank u for positive qnd room-for-improvement comments

[Anonymous]

I have a child at the lower school. It's a great place. I'm really happy DC is there. If you could be more specific about what you want to know, that might help me respond.

If you're trying to make a tough admissions decision, I'd really recommend calling the school's admissions office, and ask to be put in touch with a couple current families. That way, you can have a real conversation which will be lots more useful to you. Getting answers on DCUM is always hard because there's no way to QC anonymous answers, and because there inevitably will be a lot of cross-talk from people who want to take jabs rather than provide info.

[Anonymous]

Actually, a simple what you like/love about the school would be great. No one ever seems to post anything positive.

[Anonymous]

And invariably, anything positive that is posted is very vague and generic. Rarely does one hear specifics/details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And invariably, anything positive that is posted is very vague and generic. Rarely does one hear specifics/details.

PP, why don't you set a positive example for everyone? Name your child's school and post a specific description about what you like about it.

[Anonymous]

Here is someone's description of Sidwell's lower school from another thread:

We have had nothing but outstanding and committed teachers at every grade and in every discipline (Spanish, Sceince, Art, Music, PE, etc). The approaches to learning in each class and grade are unique, in many cases take on an overarching Quaker tenor/perspective and certainly contribute to the maturation of the whole child.

But that description was immediately criticized for not being specific enough.

[Anonymous]

Is there a feeling of community at the school? If so, can you please share a few personal incites?

[Anonymous]

Well PP, that description isn't specific at all. It provides no detail, and if you remove the word "Quaker" from the description, it could be said by any parent about any school, and be just as meaningless. It tells me nothing concrete as a parent about what I could expect for my child. To see an example of specifics, check out the post from a GDS parent at 7:37 this morning, in the GDS vs Beavoir thread. That post gives someone information about what their child's experience would be like if they attended GDS.

The description pasted above, on the other hand, tells a parent nothing about what they should expect from their child attending Sidwell. "Outstanding and committed teachers"? How so? What do they do that makes them outstanding and demonstrates their commitment? "Unique" approaches to learning? If they truly are unique, explaining how they are unique should be easy to do. An answer that followed up on these points might, in fact, provide some specifics.

I'm really not meaning to be argumentative, PP, but it is frustrating that for some reason specifics about the Sidwell experience are rarely addressed. And that, in turn, leads people to believe that there is not much special about the Sidwell lower school experience, other than the name and a ticket to the high school.

[Anonymous]

PP at 13:07, are you actively in the process of making a decision between Sidwell and some other school?

[Anonymous]

Yes, but what's the difference anyway if I wasn't? And, I'm not the OP who asked for such information also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a feeling of community at the school? If so, can you please share a few personal incites?

Yes, definitely in my experience. Whenever you pick up or drop off your child, at almost any time of day, there seem to be clusters of parents talking. The regular meetings for worship draw many parents to spend time at school with their children. The school provides many opportunities for parent and families to gather outside of school. There is a never-ending supply of community service projects (Martha's Table, Brightwood Elementary, A Wider Circle, etc) that draw families on the weekdays and weekends. There are local non-school soccer and other extracurricular organizations where several Sidwell families will join as part of a large group. Small clusters of families often seem to get together on weekends for trips to the zoo, to a park, or other fun events. Just about every person I've met is interesting and fun to talk to, and our family has made many new friends. I'm sure there are more reclusive families, but I have not met them yet (I suppose because it's their decision to be more reclusive).

There definitely is a feeling of community at the school. I can't really compare that to other independent schools in the area. Until just now, I'd always assumed that most schools in the area are similarly community/family oriented, but maybe that's not correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but what's the difference anyway if I wasn't? And, I'm not the OP who asked for such information also.

It makes a big difference to me. I think very highly of Sidwell, and I am quite willing to spend a long time answering earnest questions from real people who are trying to make the very difficult decision between two or more schools. But I'm not really interested in trying to justify my choice of schools to someone who is just looking for reasons to criticize.

It seems like you may already have decided that "there is not much special about the Sidwell lower school experience" because "for some reason specifics about the Sidwell experience are rarely addressed [on DCUM]." If that's the case, I don't see much point in trying to change your mind. If you're truly trying to make a decision between schools, I really think you ought to ask the admissions office for some names of parents to call, so you can really talk about the issues that concern you and your child. You'll get much more useful information from talks like that than you will from DCUM posts.

Good luck with your search.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a great sense of community at the Sidwell Lower School. Our experience started from the Admissions letter and process where we were given several families with which to interact. There were coffees and other social events in the March-April timeframe so we could learn even more about the school and the community. Once we made the decision to send our child, we were given many opportunities over the summer for transition play dates and activities. We were also invited to join the class Stoddert soccer team and similar kinds of activities.

In terms of a school day, we have been very pleased with the teachers in each of the grades we have experienced. We are never surprised about the attention and detail they take to getting to really know our child, personality, learning style and how they help guide and nurture through both the academic and social side of school.

There are scores of opportunities for parents to volunteer in the classroom, on field trips, overnights (for older kids) etc. It is a great opportunity to see the personalities of all the kids in a class or grade, to see the teachers in action and to work side by side with other parents. The "famous" parents spend time in the classroom and really are regular, real people, contrary to popular belief. I would also note that the school has taken the initiative to ensure there are opportunities for working parents in the classroom. This has been a high priority over the past several years. This has resulted in schedule changes etc to ensure every member of the community is able to participate to a degree they wish to.

I would concur with others who suggest that you reach out to the AD and ask for families or staff to ask specific questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but what's the difference anyway if I wasn't? And, I'm not the OP who asked for such information also.

It makes a big difference to me. I think very highly of Sidwell, and I am quite willing to spend a long time answering earnest questions from real people who are trying to make the very difficult decision between two or more schools. But I'm not really interested in trying to justify my choice of schools to someone who is just looking for reasons to criticize.

It seems like you may already have decided that "there is not much special about the Sidwell lower school experience" because "for some reason specifics about the Sidwell experience are rarely addressed [on DCUM]." If that's the case, I don't see much point in trying to change your mind. If you're truly trying to make a decision between schools, I really think you ought to ask the admissions office for some names of parents to call, so you can really talk about the issues that concern you and your child. You'll get much more useful information from talks like that than you will from DCUM posts.

Good luck with your search.

This is apparently a typical response for a Sidwell lower school parent. Sometimes I wonder whether they even know what their kids do at school. Why else would they refuse to talk about it?