British International School of Washington
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tkattan
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Greetings to all parents,
Are there any parents in DCurbanmom forum who attend BISW? Our children are currently attending a British school and we are very happy with the british curriculum and we would like to continue with this system for the coming year when we relocate to DC. I would like to hear your feedback about the teaching, facilities, etc.... Grateful for any information you can provide. |
Anonymous
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There are other threads about BSW on this forum. If you do a search you will find them.
My kids are not students at BSW so I cannot tell you much, but I have known people who have sent their kids and weren't happy. However, the school may have made some strides to improve because this was several years ago. It is a for-profit school for what it's worth. I would do the research about the school. There are also a lot of great independent schools in DC so you should look around at those as well. |
Anonymous
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I don't know what it is like now, but I know a family who pulled all their kids out of it a couple of years ago.
They had the following reasons (at that time) 1. Very small classes, like 6 children, in some grades. Apparently there had been applications which someone had failed to process. 2. Frequent change-over of Head of school. One head lasted 6 months because he was a rampant alcoholic apparently and turned up drunk to events and insulted parents. I don't know who replaced him. The school apparently had not checked his references - and all three previous jobs he had been fired from after about 6 months for the same problems. They had lost faith after these things and moved on. But my info is 2 years old, they MAY have turned things around drastically since then. I'm sure someone will come along and say that they have and be able to give a lot more details. Good luck. By the way we are British and there are stacks of us here in other privates and public schools in the area. You won't be alone. |
Anonymous
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We attended the school when the campus was on 16th Street and left 2 years after it moved to the building on Wisconsin Ave. The early years were wonderful. Enjoyed everything about the school from Reception (pre K) to Year 4 (3rd grade) and started doubting academics and extra curriculum activities in year 5 (4th grade). We applied out and are now happy at a Big 3 school. It was evident to our family that our child was no longer being challenged and did not have the other opportunities that private schools provide at that cost. I have to be honest and fair giving BSW credit for giving my child an excellent foundation, love for learning and an independence regarding approach to academics. I would only recommend the early years, but who knows, things may have changed by now. And yes because it is a for-profit school at every turn they will be asking for money.
Best of luck- |
Anonymous
| I think the current head of school is leaving at the end of the year. |
Anonymous
For whatever reasons, its reputation is pretty poor here. And there are dozens of great privates in DC...so I'd suggest you cast your net wide, and see for yourself. |
Anonymous
| Past BISW parent here. Do not waste your time and money at this school. Too many issues including poor management, bullying issues, some rude and incompetent teachers, grading system is a joke. School administration does nothing with your concerns.My kids have done extremely well after we keft the school. Best decision to leave the school. Nursery to grade 2 is fine and goes downhill real quick after that. |
Anonymous
| I have no direct experience but have heard from other international families that British International (and also the French and German schools) live in kind of a 'bubble' outside of the private schools in the DC area and don't really interact much with other students from other schools, even those who are also expats in the USA. Like I said, no direct knowledge just what was passed on to me. |
Anonymous
This was our experience too. I would definitely do your homework and check out other options in the area. Best choice we ever made was moving our child to another independent school. |
Anonymous
| My DC is super happy at the BISW. This is his second year there. Great early years program. I cannot speak for the rest. |
Anonymous
This was our experience too at Washington International School. We found it a positive aspect. |
Anonymous
| My daughter has made huge progress at BISW - she came from a private school in Southwest Virginia. Her reading has jumped two grade levels and I love the strategic approach to math. There is a lot of writing, with a focus on research in nonfiction and plot and voice in fiction - and that is only in first grade! Students are polite, well-behaved, and thoughtful - even tough they come from many privileged families. I cannot recommend the school more highly, especially for Primary. |
Anonymous
| There was a stabbing recently - girl was expelled and her family moved back to their home country. She was 12? |
Anonymous
| As others have said, I would expand your search. We are very lucky to have many excellent private schools in our area, many with fantastic curricula and a wealth of opportunities for growth outside of the classroom. We applied to 4 schools for K. I am not sure if that is the norm, but we felt it helped us find out what we wanted in a school. Good luck! |
Anonymous
That may have been your experience, but not ours at WIS. We've been at WIS since PreK and my kids are now in the Upper School. They have a large circle of friends outside of WIS, including kids from public and private schools. They meet kids through outside activities and then the circles just grow. For example, DD made a good friend at one of the "Big Three" privates through an extracurricular activity, then met many of her friends and now they all are friends. etc. etc. etc. I often hear "Mom, we're all going to Wilson to watch the soccer match." Schools my kids have good friends from: Duke Ellington, SWW, Wilson, Whitman, BCC, Maret, Bullis, GDS, NCS and STA. The private school kids seek out friends from other schools because their schools are so small. |