Anonymous wrote:how is the school or environment for black kids? Do they have a hard time fitting in at the school?

Terrific! Solid friendships across my DC’s entire class, very inclusive. Faculty who look like my child but all faculty are supportive of all the kids - no lowered expectations or harsher punishment.

Besides the Students of Color Alliance, some SAES alums a few years back created the Black Alumni Collective, which connects the alums and offers various supports for current black students.

Tour and ask specifics. Good luck in the search.

Anonymous wrote:They no longer want kids who need learning supports. So as long as your kid doesn't need any you are good.

I don't think this is true.

Anonymous wrote:how is the school or environment for black kids? Do they have a hard time fitting in at the school?

I hope that a black parent answers this question from their perspective. That's not me, but the student body is made up of 50% students of color or international background. Black students hold positions of leadership and there's a black student alliance group.

how is the school or environment for black kids? Do they have a hard time fitting in at the school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They no longer want kids who need learning supports. So as long as your kid doesn't need any you are good.

What does this mean?

I’m not the poster of that comment however I know that the lower school did not let in many applicants with mild learning challenges this year vs other years where these kids would have been let in. Which lead to low enrollment (from what I’ve heard).

SAES parent. Enrollment is the highest it’s ever been school wide and the school has increased size in lower and middle school fairly dramatically over the 8 years we have been here so that part isn’t quite right.

But I do think, though, that there is mismatch sometimes between the reputation among some of SAES as being especially good at dealing with learning differences or “quirky” kids (whatever that hard to define term means). I don’t think that is true.

We love the school, but it is a pretty traditional suburban private like Bullis or SSSAS or Flint Hill. It is not a school like Burke or Field that has a more nontraditonal approach to learning. To be clear, those schools are awesome. But they different in learning approach to SAES, which is very traditional in most respects. We are lucky to have such variety.

My advice is you’ll likely be much happier with what SAES offers if you are comparing it to Bullis than if you are thinking of it as similar to Field.

How is Burke non-traditional? Because the teachers go by their first names? Because they try to incorporate project based and experiential learning? How is this different than any other mainstream private in the DMV? I find comments like PP’s to be a way to cover up racist, classist, transphobic, etc values.

This is such an odd reply - where does anything this PP says suggest these...

I have toured Bullis, SAES, Burke, Field many times over the years and what PP writes feels on point. While each school has it's own benefits I'd agree that SAES/Bullis are more alike and Burke/Field are more alike. I might put Burke somewhere in the middle on this spectrum with traditional approach ranging from most traditional at SAES/Bullis to Burke then to least traditional at Field. Plus SAES/Bullis are also more similar in the sense that they are out in the suburbs on large campuses. Field can sort of compare on that realm - but not fully as their facilities aren't as complete (no cafeteria) and are inside DC and then Burke is more of pure city feel, without a campus (or cafeteria) but easy access to metro and places to go out to eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They no longer want kids who need learning supports. So as long as your kid doesn't need any you are good.

What does this mean?

I’m not the poster of that comment however I know that the lower school did not let in many applicants with mild learning challenges this year vs other years where these kids would have been let in. Which lead to low enrollment (from what I’ve heard).

SAES parent. Enrollment is the highest it’s ever been school wide and the school has increased size in lower and middle school fairly dramatically over the 8 years we have been here so that part isn’t quite right.

But I do think, though, that there is mismatch sometimes between the reputation among some of SAES as being especially good at dealing with learning differences or “quirky” kids (whatever that hard to define term means). I don’t think that is true.

We love the school, but it is a pretty traditional suburban private like Bullis or SSSAS or Flint Hill. It is not a school like Burke or Field that has a more nontraditonal approach to learning. To be clear, those schools are awesome. But they different in learning approach to SAES, which is very traditional in most respects. We are lucky to have such variety.

My advice is you’ll likely be much happier with what SAES offers if you are comparing it to Bullis than if you are thinking of it as similar to Field.

How is Burke non-traditional? Because the teachers go by their first names? Because they try to incorporate project based and experiential learning? How is this different than any other mainstream private in the DMV? I find comments like PP’s to be a way to cover up racist, classist, transphobic, etc values.

Whoa. Racist, classist, transphobic? You got that from the PP's word "non-traditional"? Take a gummy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They no longer want kids who need learning supports. So as long as your kid doesn't need any you are good.

What does this mean?

I’m not the poster of that comment however I know that the lower school did not let in many applicants with mild learning challenges this year vs other years where these kids would have been let in. Which lead to low enrollment (from what I’ve heard).

SAES parent. Enrollment is the highest it’s ever been school wide and the school has increased size in lower and middle school fairly dramatically over the 8 years we have been here so that part isn’t quite right.

But I do think, though, that there is mismatch sometimes between the reputation among some of SAES as being especially good at dealing with learning differences or “quirky” kids (whatever that hard to define term means). I don’t think that is true.

We love the school, but it is a pretty traditional suburban private like Bullis or SSSAS or Flint Hill. It is not a school like Burke or Field that has a more nontraditonal approach to learning. To be clear, those schools are awesome. But they different in learning approach to SAES, which is very traditional in most respects. We are lucky to have such variety.

My advice is you’ll likely be much happier with what SAES offers if you are comparing it to Bullis than if you are thinking of it as similar to Field.

How is Burke non-traditional? Because the teachers go by their first names? Because they try to incorporate project based and experiential learning? How is this different than any other mainstream private in the DMV? I find comments like PP’s to be a way to cover up racist, classist, transphobic, etc values.

Our children attend/attended one of the progressive K-8 schools discussed on this board. Our oldest’ a top two choices for HS were Burke and SAES. Burke is similar in many ways to our K-8: most notably the strong focus on social justice and emphasis on student centered inquiry and learning. By comparison, it is accurate to say that SAES is more traditional. Our oldest chose SAES because Burke “felt to much like our K-8” and wanted a more traditional school. We love SAES (and the teachers and curriculum are top notch) and think it is a good fit for this particular child, but the pedagogy is not truly progressive like our K-8 or Burke. For example, our kid is assessed more frequently by quizzes and tests than their former classmates who now go to Burke. There is project based learning, but the structure of the classroom (and the school as a whole) is more traditional.

We felt lucky to have the choice between these two schools. They are both excellent, and I would be more than happy to send my children to either. It really just depends on the kid. In fact, I think that my current middle schooler will eventually end up at Burke. We shall see.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They no longer want kids who need learning supports. So as long as your kid doesn't need any you are good.

What does this mean?

I’m not the poster of that comment however I know that the lower school did not let in many applicants with mild learning challenges this year vs other years where these kids would have been let in. Which lead to low enrollment (from what I’ve heard).

SAES parent. Enrollment is the highest it’s ever been school wide and the school has increased size in lower and middle school fairly dramatically over the 8 years we have been here so that part isn’t quite right.

But I do think, though, that there is mismatch sometimes between the reputation among some of SAES as being especially good at dealing with learning differences or “quirky” kids (whatever that hard to define term means). I don’t think that is true.

We love the school, but it is a pretty traditional suburban private like Bullis or SSSAS or Flint Hill. It is not a school like Burke or Field that has a more nontraditonal approach to learning. To be clear, those schools are awesome. But they different in learning approach to SAES, which is very traditional in most respects. We are lucky to have such variety.

My advice is you’ll likely be much happier with what SAES offers if you are comparing it to Bullis than if you are thinking of it as similar to Field.

How is Burke non-traditional? Because the teachers go by their first names? Because they try to incorporate project based and experiential learning? How is this different than any other mainstream private in the DMV? I find comments like PP’s to be a way to cover up racist, classist, transphobic, etc values.