Reply to Feedback on Yorktown HS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Re loving WMS. Believe it. Love it. Have a high achiever and he is very well served there.  Private isn’t an option for us. But we have plenty of friends in DC at the big 3 and middle school doesn’t sound terribly different. At least for the academicly inclined.  Also, don’t know why you think I wouldn’t take pot shots at the vocal entitled-parent population at WMS and YHS. Why not?! Many deserve it. They treat admin and staff like they expect individual attention.   Most of the unhappy parents I know fall firmly in that category. [/quote]

+1 My kid went from WMS to a big 3 for HS and was at no academic disadvantage compared to the private school kids. [/quote]

OP here.  Thanks so much for sharing this.  Would love to hear more about why you decided to forego Yorktown for a private HS.  That's the boat we're in and would love to hear more of the pros and cons you weighed.[/quote]

PP here. I was not enthusiastic about DC going to private HS, but I was overruled by DH and DC. It was DC's idea - they felt like they were in a rut, just coasting, and they were looking for something more challenging. And now, years later, I am 100% certain it was the correct decision.

Pros - The class sizes are much smaller, the teachers (almost all) are more engaged, and it's OK among your classmates - in fact, it's encouraged - to be smart. English/writing instruction is much superior to public HS - several papers required per year, with multiple drafts. College counseling is light-years ahead of that at a public school. And even though we're just separated by a river, DC's classmates who live in Washington and Maryland tend to be more sophisticated and interested in the wider world than DC's Virginia friends. Kind of a city mouse vs country mouse dynamic.

Cons - The commute can be a pain. It can be difficult to get together with friends outside of school - but DC quickly became comfortable with Metro. Other parents are very nice, but I sometimes missed my parent friends I'd known for years. Homework is 3-4 hours/night by junior year. And I wouldn't do it if it would be a struggle to pay $50k/year.

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One more con - DC didn't know anyone else when starting in 9th grade so it took a few months to find a social group, that was hard for a while.[/quote]

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