Reply to Beauvoir acceptance rate

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Beauvoir acceptance rate"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]They let in everyone. Nothing to worry about.[/quote]

Yep. Just go ahead and buy the gear. Go ahead and buy your maret and sidwell and gds gear too. Everyone gets in.  :roll: [/quote]
You seem angry. Beauvoir needs applicants, and barring anything major will not reject them. A sweatshirt is a safe bet right now.

The other schools you mentioned? Not so much.[/quote]

NP here.  I think this is one of the angry Beauvoir parents from last year whose child was rejected by NCS/STA.

Every year, there are a few parents who are shocked that their child -- who is either academically or behaviorally not qualified -- is rejected by NCS/STA.  [b]Beauvoir disciplines gently[/b], and many parents can excuse their child's behavior. However, NCS/STA will not accept kids who have a track record of poor behavior.

This particular angry parent has been posting on DCUM dissing the school at every opportunity.

[/quote]

This explains a lot.[/quote]

The gentle discipline is a double-edged sword. I think it's a pretty fair philosophy on Beauvoir's part not to crack down too hard on very young kids. Young kids mess up. Do I think Beauvoir possibly takes its philosophy too far or implements it for too long? With a few kids, yes. That gentle approach, while beyond defensible in Pk, K, and possibly 1st (and also often successful with kids who just need a little adjustment) becomes damaging  by 1st or 2nd. That's even putting aside the ways in which the gentle approach can be a disservice to the majority of very well-behaved, non-disruptive kids (who must navigate classes with constantly disruptive or poorly behaved kids.

The reality is basically this: If a child has a history of behavioral problems (at Beauvoir or any school), that child is pretty much not getting into STA or NCS. The same is true for a kid who persistently performs poorly academically. For STA and NCS, they don't get in. At other schools, as one PP noted, they get counseled out. That well-known reality doesn't prevent the following inevitability every year, though: Parents of a struggling child freak out when the rejection call comes from STA or NCS. So they blame the math program, the enrichments, the board, the admissions counselor(s), the cathedral, the garden, global studies, and who knows what else. Most of it's completely unrelated, but anger has to go somewhere. To be fair, you could argue that some of that anger could go toward the school, but not for the reasons the parents list. If there's any blame to be leveled at the school, it's that it might actually be doing a (small number of) particularly difficult kids a favor by counseling them out by 2nd grade, and an affirmative disservice by pushing them through. That's not just because of the likely STA and NCS rejection. After a few years of a disruptive existence at Beauvoir, perhaps it would be helpful if the school endeavored to find a better fit for the child. Sometimes fit shift is all it takes. In any case, it doesn't help those disruptive kids to get rejected in 3rd grade, when they come with a track record of behavior problems on their record, and--shockingly--often act just as disruptively at their STA and NCS visits. Beauvoir is in a difficult spot though: The same parents who are livid when their kids don't get into STA and NCS are the same parents who would raise all manner of h*** if beauvoir suggested considering alternatives. Beauvoir could get tougher, but I sympathize with their position.

A tougher stance certainly might prevent the outplacement bitterness and scare-mongering that one or two families spread far and wide each year. "Beauvoir didn't prepare my kid, so that's why he didn't get in." Had nothing to do with a rap sheet of physical violence and a disruptive incident or two or three at STA or NCS during the kid's visit. Nope, Beauvoir just didn't prepare the kid. Resulting post ends up being something like "If you want your kids to learn nothing and have no support, go to Beauvoir." Or "Beauvoir didn't adequately back my kid, daughter of me, a major donor and/or board member because of incompetence in the outplacement office; that's why she didn't get in." Had nothing to do with the kid being blatantly disrespectful to teachers on their visit or other rather appalling acts (I won't mention specifics to keep things anonymous). That's not to say outplacement or anything is perfect--indeed, just look at the millionth Sidwell college counseling thread, which is now at another gazillion pages.

None of this is said to be insensitive to the families and kids who are disappointed, truly. The explanation for rejection almost always lies with the behavior of the child, or, in a few cases, a clear lack of academic fit. That doesn't remove the sting.  Especially for the child, who likely was on notice that he or she needed to shape up, but because they were kept at beauvoir, perhaps not notified ENOUGH for them to truly understand that 4th probably wouldn't not work out as hoped or planned.

Just my two cents, but perhaps beauvoir ought to take a tougher line as the kids get older. If the kid and family still want to try academically and get the benefits of beauvoir, by all means they should have that choice, but they ought to really understand what is going on in no uncertain terms. The early education at beauvoir, for my kids, has been totally worth it, and some families might want that regardless of next steps. If the kid involve has continued behavioral problems, then it seems more justified to take a tougher line as they get older--for the kid's sake and the sake of the other students.

Regardless of all this, PP's are right. Disappointment, rejection, unmet expectations--all of those things are hard. They're also the very things that bring awful vitriol into this forum--whether about beauvoir outplacement, sidwell college placement, or whatever folks are feeling cheated about. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics