Reply to Sidwell or St. Albans for 9th?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have children at both.

My daughter attends Sidwell, boys attend STA.

Admin at STA is night and day stronger than at Sidwell. Sidwell's HOS is very focused on prestige and influence, and gives preferential treatment to the well-connected. So much for Quaker values.

STA boys are encouraged to be supportive of one another, character education is integrated into the curriculum, chapel services where boys lead and speak encourage them to think about values. Sidwell does character education, too, but it seems more focused on wokeness.

Both schools have bright, intense students. Both are high pressure, but STA has more moderating elements. Faculty are very engaged and caring at STA; they are invested in the success of every student.  Sidwell teachers on the whole seem more detached. At Sidwell if a child needs help, it's their job to reach out to the teachers. At STA if a child needs help, the teacher might reach out to the child.

Sidwell students are supportive but they almost seem to glorify suffering and try to outdo each other in all-nighters and other all-out efforts to achieve. STA has highly competitive kids, too, but you're not supposed to show the sweat. The boys are expected to be self-deprecating about achievements and to help others. Bragging about grades is a no-no. Everyone excels in something and they are encouraged to appreciate each others' strengths.

There are some very conservative families at STA. There are some very woke families at Sidwell. The conservative families at STA are quiet about it. The woke families at Sidwell are very loud about it.

Both communities have many normal people who are welcoming. On the whole, politics and wokeness is less in-your-face at STA, because there's an effort to build community across political beliefs, which is not as true at Sidwell. There is more diversity of thought at STA, because there are few conservative families at Sidwell. I'm not sure how comfortable they are at STA either, as the majority of the school despite rumors to the contrary skews moderate and liberal. However, there is a careful restraint at STA around politics, with the exception of a few people on both sides.

College counseling is 1000X better at STA. Read some of the past threads on the DCUM issues with college counseling at Sidwell. It would never have been allowed to deteriorate to that extent at STA, because the school is better managed and the morale among faculty/admin is higher. I've heard STA teachers are the best paid among private schools in the DC area. Most of the teachers seem genuinely happy and that's reflected in their work with the students.

Both schools are excellent schools. As a parent I'm happier with STA. IMO it's better in terms of overall student experience, parent community, and administrative stability and strength. If you send your child to Sidwell, hire a private admissions counselor as soon as your child enters 9th grade.

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I have to address the PP. I am a Sidwell parent of children in upper and lower school. I am also the aunt of 2 young AA males at STA. The PP keeps mentioning "wokeness" in a negative light versus why it's been long overdue in both schools. My two nephews at STA have silently suffered over the years due to an administration that chose not to directly address the behaviors and elites culture at the school. Comments such as "most minorities live in the ghetto or you are only here because you play basketball" and etc went on unchecked because of these were the children of the who's who of DC. I won't even discuss the daily country club hang out routine. This is not to say Sidwell has not had its fair share of issues, but they are choosing not to ignore or tolerate these issues. I see Sidwell making sure children are civically engaged and are well educated on social issues. They do not impose a position, but allow for a forum to discuss and educate.

Both schools are academically rigorous and offer great programming. [/quote]

Cathedral family that is very glad (as are all families we know) that the looooong administration at sta is under new and very capable leadership.

Cc Hangouts are still a thing to some degree, but thankfully it gets less "cool" over time. Honestly it's boring. [/quote]

I agree that the country club hang out is still in effect at STA. If that’s an issue for you then you shouldn’t go there. Many boys belong to the same clubs and the boys go golfing there often and on the weekends and over the summer and if you don’t belong you can’t go especially during the pandemic.

St. Albans gets a lot of things right but the one thing they don’t get right is the parent community. It’s our least favorite aspect of the school.[/quote]

[b]St. Albans gets a lot of things right but the one thing they don’t get right is the parent community. It’s our least favorite aspect of the school[/b].[/quote]

This is interesting. I'm a Sidwell parent and can honestly say that the parent community is one of my favorite aspects of the school![/quote]

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