Anonymous
Post 03/31/2010 07:57     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
If I could collect the best 10 teachers I know. Like the very best ones you had in school. If I put them all together in say BULLIS (yea Bullis) and armed them with the BEST curricula, none of this mickey mouse stuff like EDM that SIDWELL uses, had very small classes (12 kids), that still would not be enough for DCUM parents to believe that any school could be better than Sidwell.
Anonymous
Post 03/31/2010 02:01     Subject: Re:Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
For strong academics, Sidwell would be the best choice. Landon has a great athletic program and a beautiful campus, if that's what floats your boat.

Anonymous wrote:
" NO ONE (at least not on DCUM) has access to objective information that tells us which school teaches better. "


Agree. The longer I have been visiting DCUM, the more concerned I have become that there is simply too much hype about Sidwell (of course, it is a great school, but why so much hype about it?) and too many condescending remarks about other schools -- even though some of those schools (including Landon) may do as good a job on the academic front as Sidwell.

Objective information about how the schools teach and how they support/empower students to achieve academic excellence would be truly helpful to dispell superficial judgements and hype.

In the end, much depends on the teachers. Are we able to compare the teachers (expertise, experience, attitudes, background, etc) of, say, Sidwell and Landon???
Anonymous
Post 03/31/2010 00:31     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
You can't compare the teachers, so people go with the data they have -- scores, college admissions. I'm sure there are great teachers at both schools. One difference is that Landon has more of the teacher/coach model, which in some ways (mentoring, etc) is fantastic (and would be nice if Sidwell would do more of). At times the teacher/coach model can lead to the hiring of someone who is not top-notch in the classroom, but this is a generality and it may not be true for any Landon teacher/coach. These are two great but extremely different schools so it does make me wonder if this is a genuine post or someone just looking to have a little fun.
Anonymous
Post 03/31/2010 00:05     Subject: Re:Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
" NO ONE (at least not on DCUM) has access to objective information that tells us which school teaches better. "


Agree. The longer I have been visiting DCUM, the more concerned I have become that there is simply too much hype about Sidwell (of course, it is a great school, but why so much hype about it?) and too many condescending remarks about other schools -- even though some of those schools (including Landon) may do as good a job on the academic front as Sidwell.

Objective information about how the schools teach and how they support/empower students to achieve academic excellence would be truly helpful to dispell superficial judgements and hype.

In the end, much depends on the teachers. Are we able to compare the teachers (expertise, experience, attitudes, background, etc) of, say, Sidwell and Landon???
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 22:13     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
...said the Landon booster.


Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The schools are so completely different...there's not much to compare. Sidwell does better with college admissions. It is considered more elite by any of the available standards. If you live in DC -- send your kid to Sidwell. If your kid is a great athlete and a "Boy's boy" send him to Landon. It's not that Landon is bad -- it's fine. It's just not known as the stellar educational elite center that Sidwell is.



Woaa. Sidwell may get good college admissions because of the students that enter. NO ONE (at least not on DCUM) has access to objective information that tells us which school teaches better.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 22:12     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
For academics, I'd definitely go with Sidwell. For athletics, I'd go with Landon.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 21:37     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
Anonymous wrote:The schools are so completely different...there's not much to compare. Sidwell does better with college admissions. It is considered more elite by any of the available standards. If you live in DC -- send your kid to Sidwell. If your kid is a great athlete and a "Boy's boy" send him to Landon. It's not that Landon is bad -- it's fine. It's just not known as the stellar educational elite center that Sidwell is.



Woaa. Sidwell may get good college admissions because of the students that enter. NO ONE (at least not on DCUM) has access to objective information that tells us which school teaches better.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 21:23     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
JROTC?? Its pretty absurd to even mention ROTC when speaking of private schools in this area but Landon is not like that at all. I'd probably just leave it at quaker vs. no religious affiliation. ROTC. I am speechless.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 21:20     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
JROTC?? Its pretty absurd to even mention ROTC when speaking of private schools in this area but Landon is not like that at all. I'd probably just leave it at quaker vs. no religious affiliation. ROTC. I am speechless.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 15:35     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
15:06 post says it all. Landon for athletics and all boys.
Sidwell for academics and multi discipline approach. Fair comparison.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 15:23     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
I agree. The schools are completely different in philosophy and outlook.

All male, versus Co-Ed, gung-ho sports versus a more multi-discipline approach (not to take away from Landon arts, theater etc), Quaker versus essentially jROTC.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 15:06     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
The schools are so completely different...there's not much to compare. Sidwell does better with college admissions. It is considered more elite by any of the available standards. If you live in DC -- send your kid to Sidwell. If your kid is a great athlete and a "Boy's boy" send him to Landon. It's not that Landon is bad -- it's fine. It's just not known as the stellar educational elite center that Sidwell is.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 14:54     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
If you don't see the difference, send your kid to Landon.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 11:30     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon
From the FAQ (first posting) -- links to some spread sheets on test scores, etc.:
Where can I find info about all these schools? Spend time looking at each school's website, because it will have lots of info about the school's curriculum, teaching philosophy, sports, extracurriculars, test scores, etc. Some data on test scores and other academic awards is compiled here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnukIDABt_...QbnFUQ0VfMHRpTFp1SUIxS2c&hl=en . Information on college matriculation for many schools is analyzed here: http://matriculationstats.org/ .
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2010 06:05     Subject: Academic strength of Sidwell and Landon

How to compare? No helpful statistics readily available and a visit to the schools or occasional interactions with their students don't indicate any significant differencies.

I would appreciate your views and references / useful sources of data and unbiased information if any.