Maret, Sidwell or GDS

Anonymous
I am an Asian parent. Maybe it's my culture, but I do not care about facilities or prestige. I care about the quality of teaching and results. Somebody mentioned it to me but I did not have the time to verify it: is it true that Maret has the highest concentration of PHDs in its faculty compared to all the other DC privates?
Anonymous
no
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:GDS is the one with no cafeteria, right? Glass houses


GDS never arranged any shady below market deals that kept public parks away from poor kids. I think Maret has the biggest glass house now.
Anonymous
But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.


The point wasn't which school has better infrastructure/facilities. It's how each school deal with its facilities limitations. GDS spends considerable money building better facilities. Maret steals from DCPS kids.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Maret is well below the other two in terms of prestige and infrastructure. They don't even have their own playing fields and have been doing shady deals to use a DC public park at a low cost because one of the Council Member's sons attended Maret and arranged for a sweetheart deal.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/why-dont-we-get-the-field-use-of-playing-field-pits-an-elite-private-school-against-dc-public-schools/2019/08/31/5081b5de-ca5c-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html


The Deadspin article is a better read on the Maret's use of public facilities--something parents should consider before choosing Maret.
https://deadspin.com/the-legendary-public-rec-center-in-a-private-schools-po-1837648863
https://dcist.com/story/19/08/30/public-field-private-use-an-elite-school-has-had-special-access-to-a-d-c-field-for-almost-a-decade/


They should also consider that Dave McKenna is hack writer that’s been trying to take down private schools in this area for years.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.


The point wasn't which school has better infrastructure/facilities. It's how each school deal with its facilities limitations. GDS spends considerable money building better facilities. Maret steals from DCPS kids.


No it was not. It was a passing potshots about facilities and prestige and was wrong on both counts.
Anonymous
Such a petty exchange...just so small...
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.


The point wasn't which school has better infrastructure/facilities. It's how each school deal with its facilities limitations. GDS spends considerable money building better facilities. Maret steals from DCPS kids.


No it was not. It was a passing potshots about facilities and prestige and was wrong on both counts.

That’s your opinion. When I hear people refer to a big 3, I most commonly hear GDS included among with Sidwell and the Cathedral Schools. GDS was also one of the first integrated private schools in this area and has socially progressive values and wouldn’t screw over public school kids the way Maret has been doing for a decade.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Maret is well below the other two in terms of prestige and infrastructure. They don't even have their own playing fields and have been doing shady deals to use a DC public park at a low cost because one of the Council Member's sons attended Maret and arranged for a sweetheart deal.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/why-dont-we-get-the-field-use-of-playing-field-pits-an-elite-private-school-against-dc-public-schools/2019/08/31/5081b5de-ca5c-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html


The Deadspin article is a better read on the Maret's use of public facilities--something parents should consider before choosing Maret.
https://deadspin.com/the-legendary-public-rec-center-in-a-private-schools-po-1837648863
https://dcist.com/story/19/08/30/public-field-private-use-an-elite-school-has-had-special-access-to-a-d-c-field-for-almost-a-decade/


They should also consider that Dave McKenna is hack writer that’s been trying to take down private schools in this area for years.


Translation: I can’t find something factually inaccurate in McKenna’s article about Maret’s bad behavior, so let me just attack him personally.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Such a petty exchange...just so small...


Welcome to private school!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.


The point wasn't which school has better infrastructure/facilities. It's how each school deal with its facilities limitations. GDS spends considerable money building better facilities. Maret steals from DCPS kids.


No it was not. It was a passing potshots about facilities and prestige and was wrong on both counts.

That’s your opinion. When I hear people refer to a big 3, I most commonly hear GDS included among with Sidwell and the Cathedral Schools. GDS was also one of the first integrated private schools in this area and has socially progressive values and wouldn’t screw over public school kids the way Maret has been doing for a decade.


No none ever used Big 3 outside of the board. And even on this board, GDS as part of the term is up for debate. But Maret remains more difficult to get in to than GDS. That's just the way it is - draw your own conclusions.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am an Asian parent. Maybe it's my culture, but I do not care about facilities or prestige. I care about the quality of teaching and results. Somebody mentioned it to me but I did not have the time to verify it: is it true that Maret has the highest concentration of PHDs in its faculty compared to all the other DC privates?


I'm a white American parent and I'm with you.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But PP's point was about facilities and it is not really tenable to say that GDS has better infrastructure than Maret, at least at present, given the cafeteria. The other point, that GDS has more prestige, is just laughable, but perhaps backlash from dealing with the DC government will change that. Seriously doubt it though.


The point wasn't which school has better infrastructure/facilities. It's how each school deal with its facilities limitations. GDS spends considerable money building better facilities. Maret steals from DCPS kids.


No it was not. It was a passing potshots about facilities and prestige and was wrong on both counts.

That’s your opinion. When I hear people refer to a big 3, I most commonly hear GDS included among with Sidwell and the Cathedral Schools. GDS was also one of the first integrated private schools in this area and has socially progressive values and wouldn’t screw over public school kids the way Maret has been doing for a decade.


No none ever used Big 3 outside of the board. And even on this board, GDS as part of the term is up for debate. But Maret remains more difficult to get in to than GDS. That's just the way it is - draw your own conclusions.


My conclusion is that Maret is hard to get into because it is a very small school.
pbraverman
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:I am an Asian parent. Maybe it's my culture, but I do not care about facilities or prestige. I care about the quality of teaching and results. Somebody mentioned it to me but I did not have the time to verify it: is it true that Maret has the highest concentration of PHDs in its faculty compared to all the other DC privates?


I agree entirely that the quality of teaching is by far the most important aspect of a school's appeal. However, I was a teacher for three years and a private school administrator for 20, and I have never seen even the slightest correlation between a Ph.D. degree and the quality of teaching. I hired and worked with fantastic teachers from no-name colleges, and I fired teachers with degrees from schools near the top of the US News list.

The skills needed to obtain a Ph.D. and those needed to communicate effectively with a roomful of eighth graders are almost entirely distinct, perhaps even incompatible. As much as we'd like to believe we've found the formula for the perfect [student, teacher, school, life], we haven't. That's because there is no formula.
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