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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m the parent of two kids who graduated from WES, one having started in 6th and the other in 4th. I agree the middle school is incredible. Both my children started out in public school before switching to WES. I actually really wish my kids could have been WES “lifers.” I think the curriculum really builds in a unified  unravelling. Both my kids missed out on tremendous grammar and writing instruction in third grade and likely earlier.  When we were at WES, it seemed the strongest students were all “Lifers.” And the kids and parents - who scattered to many different schools - are still in touch even though our eldest are out of college now. [/quote]

How was the transition from public to WES? That's a concern at any public to private but especially to a small school like WES.
Is it a pretty stressful academic environment?[/quote]

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m the pp you replied to. I would say that academically, the biggest thing to adjust to at WES was the amount of feedback and oversight the teachers provide as compared to public. For example, in public, the teachers would barely review homework, and I noticed that even graded assignments and reports were missing critical feedback. My kids just were not pushed to do their best work in public.

Otherwise, it was actually far less stressful than public because the teachers seemed much happier and more in control of the classes than we observed in public. Since many teachers created their own curriculum, they knew the subject matter inside and out and could handle very advanced questions, which really drew my boys in to their studies.

The grade level teachers coordinate closely so it is rare that kids would have too many tests on one day, for example. Speaking of tests - there were far fewer standardized assessments and very few all multiple choice assignments and quizzes, which was the norm in public school.

Hope this helps! [/quote]

+1.

One thing WES is the best at is recruiting and retaining good teachers. I agree that the work is intentional, and the teachers have significant freedom with curriculum development. I have a daughter at WES and a WES graduate at a Catholic HS. In her freshman year and sometimes in her sophomore year, she would comment that the work was exactly what she did in middle school. As a parent, I don't have anything I could complain about -- HOS, HS placement, the kids, they're all the best.[/quote]

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