DCUM Forum

Anonymous

12/16/2015 03:23 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look for a religious school with a uniform requirement - Catholic, Episcopalian, or Presbyterian tho NPS only goes to grade 5. Or go left - Waldorf or Oneness Family or Montessori. Good luck.

Thanks! That's what my instinct was. Either religious or granola.

NP here -- Well, you're more realistic than I was -- my dream school was religious/spiritual and granola. So, you clearly get that within the parameters of DC independent schools and the crazy materialistic, status-conscious culture of this area generally, finding a place that has a more down-to-earth community is tough and a matter of relative judgment. That said, I'd urge you to take a look at St. Andrew's. Our DC is in the upper school there, and we really like the community and sense of values. We've had 2 older kids at "fancier" independent schools in the area that talk the talk of humility and empathy, but are really about status, power and money. St. Andrew's walks the walk.

In our experience w SAES, the head of school falls over in an obvious display of high level donor worshipping to such an extreme that it was sickening. Blatant arse kissing. Wealthy donor kids picked for all performances, brochures etc. Seats reserved in the front for them at performances. Regular tuition payers ignored. This was intolerable to us. Nothing down to earth about this.

Hmm . . . I've never seen seats reserved for big donors at any performance or game, and if you take a look at the website, you'll see plenty of kids whose families don't give a lot of money -- as well as some whose parents do . . . but you'll see that same mix on every school website. Similarly, the HOS at any school will greet donors at school events, but I see Robert greeting all parents with equal welcome, not just big donors. As far as "arse-kissing", I guess that's in the eye of the beholder . . . do you spend a lot of time checking out other people's arses?

I'm sharing my families experience there. I'm so glad you've seen otherwise. Somethings are obvious to some and not to others. Be well.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 17:43 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Thanks for all the helpful answers. I know that "down to Earth" is squishy concept, and I tried to provide some examples of what I meant in the OP. Glad that most people seemed to "get" what I mean. I appreciate that reasonable minds can disagree with regard to certain schools (or have just had different experiences with those schools), but it is gratifying to see some of the same schools named repeatedly. Helps to point in that direction. Thanks!

Anonymous

12/15/2015 17:41 Subject: Re:Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:Great question. Our kids went to DCPS and now are thriving at Burke which starts in 6th. It makes a point of bringing together many different kinds of kids, has more kids receiving financial aid than any other independent school (I believe). Very down to earth and small, with individualized attention that makes every kid feel known and seen, without making every kid think they are so special the rules don't apply to them. Lots of kids from Lowell and Sheridan go to Burke for high school.

Thanks!

Anonymous

12/15/2015 17:41 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[

Got it now, sweetheart? I know if its too much for you go back to reading tabloids and drinking cheap wine.

Nice try. I have a doctorate from Harvard. F off.

Sure you do hon, just like every other loser who says that here.

Not your hon and by no stretch of the imagination a loser, and I certainly do. The diploma's hanging on the wall right behind me. If you want to pretend I'm lying because you can't stand to be wrong, then that's your prerogative. I'll just continue knowing the truth. Now go back to your little cave, sad person.

I saw a diploma hanging on the wall at the animal vet's office once. But other than that, who hangs their diploma on the wall behind them anymore?

Everyone with a professional office, but I see how you wouldn't know that.

So, when you say a Doctorate, you have a JD?

The other poster wins.

No, silly. I wouldn't call a JD a doctorate. I'm an MD/PhD. You are really desperate here.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 13:20 Subject: Re:Most down-to-Earth school community

Great question. Our kids went to DCPS and now are thriving at Burke which starts in 6th. It makes a point of bringing together many different kinds of kids, has more kids receiving financial aid than any other independent school (I believe). Very down to earth and small, with individualized attention that makes every kid feel known and seen, without making every kid think they are so special the rules don't apply to them. Lots of kids from Lowell and Sheridan go to Burke for high school.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 13:15 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

A JD is not a "doctorate." LOL.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 12:45 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[

Got it now, sweetheart? I know if its too much for you go back to reading tabloids and drinking cheap wine.

Nice try. I have a doctorate from Harvard. F off.

Sure you do hon, just like every other loser who says that here.

Not your hon and by no stretch of the imagination a loser, and I certainly do. The diploma's hanging on the wall right behind me. If you want to pretend I'm lying because you can't stand to be wrong, then that's your prerogative. I'll just continue knowing the truth. Now go back to your little cave, sad person.

I saw a diploma hanging on the wall at the animal vet's office once. But other than that, who hangs their diploma on the wall behind them anymore?

Everyone with a professional office, but I see how you wouldn't know that.

So, when you say a Doctorate, you have a JD?

The other poster wins.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 09:53 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[

Got it now, sweetheart? I know if its too much for you go back to reading tabloids and drinking cheap wine.

Nice try. I have a doctorate from Harvard. F off.

Sure you do hon, just like every other loser who says that here.

I saw a diploma hanging on the wall at the animal vet's office once. But other than that, who hangs their diploma on the wall behind them anymore?

Everyone with a professional office, but I see how you wouldn't know that.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 09:39 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

"GDS has a down-to-earth atmosphere with a strong social justice tradition in the urban context."

Except for the fact that they want to take over an entire city street in Tenleytown to build their giant campus, regardless of the effects on the community.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 09:32 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

The OP probably should have defined what they meant by "Down to earth".

Seems like just about everyone feels their school --- no matter how exclusive --- qualifies. My reaction to some of the candidates is that these people wouldn't know Down to Earth is it bit them in the posterior.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 09:25 Subject: Re:Most down-to-Earth school community

Sacred Heart in Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights is down-to-earth (if your child is fluent in Spanish). It has a mix of immigrant families, white collar professional families and everyone in between. It is a Catholic school but is very inclusive and has a lot of non-Catholic students whose families chose the school for other reasons. The school focuses on critical thinking and works with Harvard's School of Education to enhance creativity in the classroom. The school community here would be more impressed by your child's good grades or good deeds than by where they went for vacation.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 08:55 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:OP, as you can see, you will receive lots of feedback on this forum. Some is helpful to you and your child. Some is just plain childish. Hope you find value in the former and are not discouraged by the latter. Good luck in your search.

Yes. Unfortunately the nonsense takes up a lot of space and the helpful posts wind up being submerged in earlier screen groupings. To OP, I highly recommend going back through the posts and making use of the helpful ones, and just glossing over the blah-blah. There's actually a fair number of useful posts on this thread but you'll have to go back to find them all.

Anonymous

12/15/2015 07:09 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look for a religious school with a uniform requirement - Catholic, Episcopalian, or Presbyterian tho NPS only goes to grade 5. Or go left - Waldorf or Oneness Family or Montessori. Good luck.

Thanks! That's what my instinct was. Either religious or granola.

NP here -- Well, you're more realistic than I was -- my dream school was religious/spiritual and granola. So, you clearly get that within the parameters of DC independent schools and the crazy materialistic, status-conscious culture of this area generally, finding a place that has a more down-to-earth community is tough and a matter of relative judgment. That said, I'd urge you to take a look at St. Andrew's. Our DC is in the upper school there, and we really like the community and sense of values. We've had 2 older kids at "fancier" independent schools in the area that talk the talk of humility and empathy, but are really about status, power and money. St. Andrew's walks the walk.

In our experience w SAES, the head of school falls over in an obvious display of high level donor worshipping to such an extreme that it was sickening. Blatant arse kissing. Wealthy donor kids picked for all performances, brochures etc. Seats reserved in the front for them at performances. Regular tuition payers ignored. This was intolerable to us. Nothing down to earth about this.

Hmm . . . I've never seen seats reserved for big donors at any performance or game, and if you take a look at the website, you'll see plenty of kids whose families don't give a lot of money -- as well as some whose parents do . . . but you'll see that same mix on every school website. Similarly, the HOS at any school will greet donors at school events, but I see Robert greeting all parents with equal welcome, not just big donors. As far as "arse-kissing", I guess that's in the eye of the beholder . . . do you spend a lot of time checking out other people's arses?

Anonymous

12/15/2015 04:23 Subject: Most down-to-Earth school community

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look for a religious school with a uniform requirement - Catholic, Episcopalian, or Presbyterian tho NPS only goes to grade 5. Or go left - Waldorf or Oneness Family or Montessori. Good luck.

Thanks! That's what my instinct was. Either religious or granola.

NP here -- Well, you're more realistic than I was -- my dream school was religious/spiritual and granola. So, you clearly get that within the parameters of DC independent schools and the crazy materialistic, status-conscious culture of this area generally, finding a place that has a more down-to-earth community is tough and a matter of relative judgment. That said, I'd urge you to take a look at St. Andrew's. Our DC is in the upper school there, and we really like the community and sense of values. We've had 2 older kids at "fancier" independent schools in the area that talk the talk of humility and empathy, but are really about status, power and money. St. Andrew's walks the walk.

In our experience w SAES, the head of school falls over in an obvious display of high level donor worshipping to such an extreme that it was sickening. Blatant arse kissing. Wealthy donor kids picked for all performances, brochures etc. Seats reserved in the front for them at performances. Regular tuition payers ignored. This was intolerable to us. Nothing down to earth about this.