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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]WOC here - My kids are older now so my experience is admittedly dated, but I toured SWS during open house season when my oldest was entering PK3.  I recall feeling very out of place and unwelcome among the parent crowd and had zero interest in applying afterwards.  I talked to another friend who is a WOC and she had a similar cold feeling during her visit and didn’t even bother to finish the tour.

In the years since, my DC have played on sports teams and had other activities with kids from SWS and they and their families are all very lovely and nice people.  We’ve also become friends with another minority family that attends SWS and they rave about the school as well.  I am willing to chalk my experience up to a bad first impression.[/quote]

Thanks, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I'm also a POC, and whenever I find people "cold" at first impression, especially people who are "different" in some way, I don't discount the possibility that some of it comes from my own projections and insecurities, or that some people are just introverted and take longer to get to know, or that it's just a stressful situation and people just didn't happen to be in the mood to chat or be especially friendly. Or that people with good intentions just have discomfort with people who are "different" at first and it's very human to have to take time with that. I'm glad you got the chance to get a second impression.[/quote]

White mom here. Another factor is that I think SWS has a really strong “in-group” ethos with respect to their program with the atelier etc etc. I’ve dealt with SWS power parents on some neighborhood issues, and let me just say, they have a STRONG sense of their own specialness. Because the school is so popular they likely also feel no need to be welcoming during open houses. So you were probably feeling that vibe (which could also be mixed with race). I will also say that there always appears to be an inverse relationship between how much people espouse a “wonderful child-centered program!!!” and their warmth/flexibility .... [/quote]

I think this is less true as the original families age out.  I remember hearing about the strong “in-crowd” when I first started SWS, and I did see it at older grades, but not so at younger grades.  I think this is because the earlier families were very close since they essentially were starting a new school together and fighting common causes.  I don’t think they were purposely leaving people out.  Again, I think this is NOT the case anymore. [/quote]

Different WOC here. This is completely false. We got in, and really considered it due to the proximity of our (then) home. However, I met enough parents that I knew we were not a good fit.  Our family values strong academics and morals, not a lot of performative anti racism while mysteriously never been invited for play dates. No thanks.  Also the “prom” was a major turn off. [/quote]

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