Anonymous wrote:What does that mean even? Do only the smartest survive?

In 25 years of school work this was one of the most confused topics I encountered among adults. I think people often say "structure" when they really mean "order."

I'd argue that "structure" refers to the intellectual and pedagogical underpinnings of a school — the way the program evolves from the early to the later grades, the way a school thinks about and acts in accord with its mission, and whether sub-programs like professional development, exchange programs, and social/emotional growth initiatives are grounded in both mission and practice.

"Order" is about the way kids and adults dress, whether students call teachers by first names, whether they raise their hands, and whether things look, well, orderly.

Order is easy to see — but it doesn't necessarily correlate with the level of academic challenge, the level of fairness or respect for others in the community, or the general feeling of a campus.

Good schools have structure, but I don't think a high degree og order is essential to a great school. Lots of schools have both structure and order, or just one. I ran a middle school that was very high in structure, but definitely below the median in order. I believe education is almost always nonlinear, often messy, and most effective when people are comfortable. Ironically, that approach appealed least to those who walked through the front door wanting a school that was highly "structured." My main point is to be clear about what you're looking for, and I hope my distinction is useful to you.

If you are asking whether GDS is "unstructured," my opinion is generally that it does have a discernible structure. If you are asking whether it is "orderly," my opinion is that it probably appears a bit disorderly to a person who likes rows and columns. You'll have to decide, of course, whether you agree, and whether it appeals to you.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

I don't like to compare schools on measures like "academics" — there are just too many moving parts. I think it's tempting to say we know The Rankings, as if there are any rankings in the first place that mean anything at all, or any meaningful distinction between, say, Yale and Stanford that can be measured and assigned a number. The more I've learned, the more I've realized that most students can be happy at many different schools. More important: the more resilient the child, the more likely his or her school career will be positive. In the history of DC schools, no child ever got a crappy education because she went to WIS instead of another DC school.

As for whether WIS might fit your family: The school, as others have noted, has something of a monopoly on the IB program (insofar as anybody can apply — my own child is about to complete an IB program but it's a public school, so it's only open to students in our boundary). If that kind of learning appeals to your family, WIS is a great option and provides more opportunities than any student can take advantage of, as well as unmatched international diversity. If you want an IB curriculum, you like your tour, and your children are fortunate enough to have the family means to attend independent school, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to apply.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

Anonymous wrote:Lol, no misunderstanding. It was a small, newish school and they literally said they needed my DD's SAT scores. Tried to get the daughters of one board member to befriend her to change her mind about leaving. My DD just needed more in the way of academic challenge than the smaller school could provide. That Big Three changed her life. It was worth the commitment.

Truisms:

1. It's better to presume good intentions.

2. Intentions are not always good.

Glad it worked out for you and your daughter!
Peter

Anonymous wrote:Peter- thanks for your information. They make it seem like they have more recess time than other schools (3 is more than we currently have at our school but they do stay outside longer than 15 minutes).

We're currently at a small Montessori school and are transitioning simply because the school is too small (socially) and eventually need to transition to a more "traditional" school at some point.

We're looking for small class sizes, close proximity (we live in Vienna), character education and a sense of community. We do want a place where the kids will be challenged, but not stressed out and we value a broad education- humanities, arts and not only STEM. We want them to continue to love school as much as they do now and not "burn out" before they get to college.

Would you suggest another school in the area or am I asking for too much? The only reason we haven't looked at our public schools is because we were concerned about class sizes.

Maybe it would be better if I contacted you offline?

I would still appreciate input from current BASIS families on their personal experiences with the school/teachers/admin.

Hi there. I'd be happy to talk further if you'd like to shoot me a note. If you have a DCUM account, you can send me a Private Message, or use the email in my disclaimer.

Cheers,
Peter

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I forgot to add, the previous school did not want my DD to leave and expressed that to the new school.

Wow, that really stinks, pp. Is this a common practice? DC is a smart kid at a K-8, one of the top in her class and I know the school doesn't want to lose her. But, would they say that to the schools to which we are applying?

PP: I wonder if you're misinterpreting? In cases like those, I was candid with the school to which our student was applying as well. My intention was to convey: "Great kid. We'd love to hang on to her, but we understand it's a family decision and we can't (and wouldn't) stop them even if we wanted to." It was a recommendation, not an attempt at sabotage.

Sometimes the new school would offer a spot, sometimes they'd say, "We have too many for 7, but come back in two years." That was the most common reply at the most competitive schools.

Peter

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, Peter- excellent advice. We are at a k-8 applying out so we have a few more years before we really need to leave. IF DC is waitlisted, I will request to meet with an AD in June/July or early Sept to see if they have any suggestions.

Great! Make the meeting a quick one. The script: You understand, of course, that there are no guarantees, but you're hoping for a little clarification on what their encouragement to reapply means, because you really love the school and remain interested.

Good luck!
Peter

Anonymous wrote:If you currently at BASIS, would appreciate any information about your current experiences. We are concerned about the level of homework, culture of pushing the kids too hard too early and the fact that they still seem to be "working out the kinks." Everyone that I met from admissions to teachers seemed to be somewhat stressed and just didn't seem all that happy to be there.

We are looked at the lower elementary program.

I just visited Basis in Tyson's at their invitation last week, so my information is about as current as it's going to get.

Any new school will be working out kinks (as will all the older ones!). The real question is whether the kinks they're working out are ones you appreciate and can live with.

I thought that the kids at Basis seemed pretty happy and regular. The diversity was astonishing, especially for a new school — one of the "least white" student bodies I've seen in a long time. There is no program for tuition reduction (often called "financial aid").

The approach at Basis emphasizes academic work over unstructured play. There are three 15-minute recess periods in K each day, plus 30 minutes of "Movement Foundation," a guided program for large muscle development. There are also three recess periods for 1–4 each day, but no Movement. That's far less than other lower schools whose curriculums are more play-based. In middle school the kids have PE three days a week; there is no additional scheduled time for physical activity.

On the other side, Basis has an Academic Enrichment period in MS each day, for kids to get help and expand their work. In LS they have two teachers, one who is touted as an expert in subject matter, and a second who is (roughly) a learning specialist. There is a strong engineering approach that seems to value creative input to complex projects.

At the HS level, there's a pretty broad liberal arts curriculum, but there is clearly emphasis on science and math, and the course offerings are VERY challenging. Almost every course is offered solely at the "Honors" or "AP" level. College counseling begins in ninth grade, about two years earlier than at independent schools (by which I mean 501(c)3 schools — Basis is a for-profit enterprise).

If expectations like three AP courses in tenth grade, multiple science classes in a single year, highly accelerated math (up to two years compared to most schools) appeal to you, it's worth considering. If competitive sports teams, a progressive teaching approach, and broad offerings in the visual and performing arts are very important, it's probably not the place for your family, and I don't think they'd claim otherwise.

That said, your gut feeling is important at any school, and the level of homework that seems to leave you discomfited is part of the culture at Basis, not a kink they're working out.

There are lovely people worth marrying that YOU wouldn't marry — almost all of the people we meet, in fact. In that sense I'm a proponent of the view that there are no "good" or "bad" schools. There are schools that fit a student and family, and schools that do not. Basis may be wonderful for the right kid and not so wonderful for YOUR family. There are lots of other great schools out there. Good luck!

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a list of which of the privates in DC offer scholarships/financial aid for their summer camp program?

I think you can assume safely that most summer camps at independent schools offer some fee reduction based on ability to pay — though it certainly makes sense to ask if that's an important part of your decision-making.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

Anonymous wrote:Last year my child received a rejection with a request for my child to apply again to a school again next
year at both of my top choices . So we applied again. Not sure I should have done so and afraid I am getting my hopes up.

Thus I am curious

- does anyone have a sense of whether a students chances when reapplying after such feedback a) the same as that of other applicants b) less than that of other applicants or c) greater than that of other applicants?

If you decided to reapply in such a situation I'd love to hear your story and any lessons learned.

If the "request" for a child to reapply was personal, and not simply part of a pro forma WL or reject letter, it's not a guarantee, but it's hard to see it as anything but positive. No school wants to set a family up to be rejected.

Reapplying is usually viewed positively, as a sign that a family really, really wants a particular school. If a student is qualified, there is no categorical reason that reapplying is not a good idea. A brief meeting with an admission office during a down time (end of the year or September), for the purpose of asking whether whether an applicant has any real shot in the coming year after being turned away, is a fair request. In any event, however, in case it's not obvious, I don't think applying more than three times is likely to yield a different result.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a private school. Each graduating class has its own character. Most kids are nice. Some years have more than their share of entitled kids. And, yes, you can sometimes see them coming years in advance. Lower school teachers will tell us when a class is full of challenging kids.

This has been my experience in schools as well.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that some of the AISGW schools are also members of AIMS, which the Baltimore schools belong to. The Baltimore schools are allowed to call at 10 a.m. on Feb. 17.

I think a lot of what the Baltimore schools do is based on being competitive with the Catholic schools, which used to notify earlier and actually had a contract due date before the independent schools even communicated their decisions.

Virtually all DC independent schools and DC-area Maryland independent schools are members of both AIMS and AISGW. There are very few schools between DC and Baltimore that have equal allegiances to the Baltimore and DC markets; I can think of only one or two at most.

Notification dates vary around the country; New York, for example, is about four to six weeks ahead of the DC area.

Peter

Truisms:

Boys' school clothing is not the same thing as a grown man's dinner suit.

A man should learn how to iron the occasional item of clothing, especially dress shirts.

Corollary: An Oxford cloth shirt is not a dress shirt.

Heat and starch kill cotton. Use both sparingly.

Non-iron shirts get that way because they are treated with formaldehyde. It's the fluoride of the 2010s; how else to explain the election?

A man's socks should never be funnier than he is.

(No charge for all of this important advice.)

Anonymous wrote:We are in Fairfax county, and kids attend a top notch Private High School, generally regarded as one of the best on this board. Wife is subbing at local public high schools these days (stay at home Mom that is bored). We make $300,000, live in No VA. Grandparent pays tuition (2 now soon to be 3 when third kid is in HS).

Wife arguing with me saying Grandparent wasting money paying when they should save money for college. Grandparent will retire and likely will only be able to contribute very little for college. We have high expenses and will be comfortably be able to afford state school for college in Virginia but private, ivy, etc. will be a stretch.

Thoughts? Pull them out of high school in private and go Fairfax county. The one she is subbing at today is much better school than the high school we are zoned for (though she subbed there previously and said it was also pretty good). We would have to move and don't have money for downpayment to area where she is subbing today.

Two points occur to me.

First: There are advantages to private school and advantages to public school. In general, the former include smaller classes, participation in more activities and athletics, access to teachers and administrators, and (usually) highly capable college counseling. In general, the latter include big-time sports, living closer to your child's friends, a more "real world" sense of how the bureaucracy works — and the money to pay for independent college counseling (!). As with car shopping, you can't have the Accord with the Camry's transmission. You have to pick one set of advantages; you can't mix and match.

Second: If you prefer independent schools, and have limited funding for whatever reason, I would advocate spending that money as early as possible. What your children learn at an early age influences their view of the world and stays with them forever. My own children attended independent schools through grade 8 (one graduates this year), and MCPS thereafter. While MCPS was certainly not as fond an experience for the older, what she learned from ten years at an independent lower school has influenced every part of her life, from her ethical sensibilities, to an ability to play to strengths and compensate for weaknesses, to the way she approaches a calculus problem she doesn't understand at first.

Obviously, I'm sure reasonable people will disagree. There are advantages to spending the money later, but, as above, you have to choose the set of advantages that makes most sense to you.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

Anonymous wrote:I went to one and the kids were pretty mean oh so long ago ... is there one with a reputation for kids who are just nicer and less social climbing? I'm totally fine if that means they are nerdier/geekier or something - I recognize this may.m be a true fantasy...

Regarding normal hurt feelings, not horrific bullying: All schools have some random meanness. It's part of growing up, and while it's unfortunate, it helps kids to build resilience and skills to resolve conflict. As I once said to a parent, "They don't do it because they are terrible kids, or because their parents are awful, or because the teachers don't care. They do it because they're 11." (The parent replied, "But Jenny is 12." I realized I had not made the point I intended to make. LOL.)

If kindness is very high on your list of values, I'd suggest looking at schools where kindness is reinforced on a daily basis as a part of the curriculum, in every class, beginning at the earliest grades. The schools that sponsor Kindness Day or Be Nice to Everybody Week are, in my experience, not as likely to be focused on it, and kids understand innately that such an approach is a bandage on a problem rather than an actual commitment to a particular value. If the seventh grade math teacher glosses over a cry of "That's so gay!" because he has a lot of material to cover, that would be a red flag to me.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

I've always preferred "normal" to "average," and I have always considered the "normal range" to run, roughly, from the 20th to the 85th percentile.

It is tempting to use test scores to compare, because numbers are easily compared and there is no grey area about whether 60 is better than 40 — it simply is. As a PP notes, school admission offices are generally very savvy about weighing the non-numerical parts of an application. If a school works well with "average" students, and most schools do, then "average" students should do fine there.

Peter
_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I have counseled hundreds of students in finding their next schools. I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students and parents ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com