Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 17:39     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Stone Ridge has always been known as a kind of dumpy "mean girl" school with a bullying problem, despite being much lower tier than NCS or Holton. Not really a ton of advantages to make up for the issues


This is a ridiculous statement.

To answer OP’s question—DD is a recent graduate so our experience with LS is now dated but we felt the academics were strong and teachers were excellent. Things got a little rocky in MS with some unevenness in teachers and challenges that often arise with tween girls. I honestly think we would have had issues at any k-12 because MS usually gets lost in the middle. US was outstanding. Looking back, I’m not sure we would choose SR for LS or MS again because it was a looong time to be at one school with all girls. I think if we could do it again, we’d go coed through 8th and then apply for 9th because the US IMO is the best part of the school. The 9th grade admit is tough and that’s a dice roll but still…


It's the truth, whether the recent Stone Ridge moms want to admit it or not....


DP. I and several other parents personally witnessed at least two of these moms behaving in what can only be explained as adult bullying behavior. Shocking behavior. Anyone else at the event will verify the incident.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 17:13     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ll address those comments one at a time. Daughter and other relatives recently graduated (all but one started in LS).
Competitive socially and academically: Yes. It is a very good school in the DC area, so of course it is competitive academically. But that is at the top of the class. If you are taking less rigorous schedule, it is not crazy competitive. Socially, I observed quite a few big personalities and it was competitive.
Inflexible admin: Not that I observed
Athletes privilege: Well, yes, in lacrosse.
Donors’ children favored: Not that we observed
Not LGBTQ inclusive: Not true, but that is based on limited sample size. Of course, I am sure you would find more inclusivity at some of the non-Catholic schools.
High teacher turnover: Not in our experience, although there were a lot of older teachers retiring.
Lack of services for children with disabilities: no information
Internationally diverse and transient: school seemed fairly diverse internationally. Not as many AA students as Bullis, but some. Did not find it transient.
Pristine campus: With the new building, the campus is much better.
It is a very good school but can be rough socially for certain girls.


Agree it’s for a certain type of girl. If you aren’t that type, it is rough. And the admin is no help.



Can you describe the type of girl? Just curious. Thx

Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 17:13     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ll address those comments one at a time. Daughter and other relatives recently graduated (all but one started in LS).
Competitive socially and academically: Yes. It is a very good school in the DC area, so of course it is competitive academically. But that is at the top of the class. If you are taking less rigorous schedule, it is not crazy competitive. Socially, I observed quite a few big personalities and it was competitive.
Inflexible admin: Not that I observed
Athletes privilege: Well, yes, in lacrosse.
Donors’ children favored: Not that we observed
Not LGBTQ inclusive: Not true, but that is based on limited sample size. Of course, I am sure you would find more inclusivity at some of the non-Catholic schools.
High teacher turnover: Not in our experience, although there were a lot of older teachers retiring.
Lack of services for children with disabilities: no information
Internationally diverse and transient: school seemed fairly diverse internationally. Not as many AA students as Bullis, but some. Did not find it transient.
Pristine campus: With the new building, the campus is much better.
It is a very good school but can be rough socially for certain girls.


Agree it’s for a certain type of girl. If you aren’t that type, it is rough. And the admin is no help.

Can you describe the type of girl? Just curious. Thx
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 17:06     Subject: Stone ridge
Can anyone share how the school deals with mean girl behavior in middle school if it’s persistent?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 16:37     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Stone Ridge has always been known as a kind of dumpy "mean girl" school with a bullying problem, despite being much lower tier than NCS or Holton. Not really a ton of advantages to make up for the issues


This is a ridiculous statement.

To answer OP’s question—DD is a recent graduate so our experience with LS is now dated but we felt the academics were strong and teachers were excellent. Things got a little rocky in MS with some unevenness in teachers and challenges that often arise with tween girls. I honestly think we would have had issues at any k-12 because MS usually gets lost in the middle. US was outstanding. Looking back, I’m not sure we would choose SR for LS or MS again because it was a looong time to be at one school with all girls. I think if we could do it again, we’d go coed through 8th and then apply for 9th because the US IMO is the best part of the school. The 9th grade admit is tough and that’s a dice roll but still…


It's the truth, whether the recent Stone Ridge moms want to admit it or not....
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 16:34     Subject: Stone ridge
With respect to lower school, can anyone share how the school determines financial aid, meaning how they view debts vs income ratio? I know this could be hard to answer any insight is appreciated. Thx!
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 15:26     Subject: Stone ridge
PP: Thanks for taking the time to set out your family's experience at Stone Ridge. Our kid has applied and we know very little about the school; your perspective here is very helpful.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 12:19     Subject: Stone ridge
I have two girls at SR. The lower school is much smaller and very nurturing. Academically it’s very strong with reading and writing, one of the teachers mentioned to me once that all of her students had high standardized test scores in those areas.

Middle school gets bigger, 50-80 girls per grade. They have the same mean girl issues that I’ve heard from every other girls middle school. Academics are still good and the sports get competitive in many sports. I didn’t notice any sports favoritism but my girls were also both athletes.

High school is even bigger, around 100 per grade. It is academically competitive and I wouldn’t send a girl who wasn’t at least an average student. Sports and arts are strong, I’m sure there are some that are more popular than others but my girls have friends from across different interests. Socially there seems to be a small but generally supportive group of LBGT students and lots of girls who are mostly focused on school.

Overall we’ve really enjoyed SR. Best of luck in your school search.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 11:11     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:In lower school, girls are competitive?


No, not in our experience. Our cohort was great and we did not have competitiveness issues--academically, athletically, or socially. The class below us seemed to have quite a few moms who were very tight and really into social maneuvering. MS starts in 5th and that was largely fine too. I think 6th was when we felt the first bit of the competitiveness and that was largely social e.g., who is cool and who is not type of crap that is very standard at that age. In Upper School, I actually don't remember competitiveness; there were the "popular" girls and the super successful athletes and the girls who everyone knew were very smart/taking the hardest classes, but everyone just seemed to do their own thing.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 10:55     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ll address those comments one at a time. Daughter and other relatives recently graduated (all but one started in LS).
Competitive socially and academically: Yes. It is a very good school in the DC area, so of course it is competitive academically. But that is at the top of the class. If you are taking less rigorous schedule, it is not crazy competitive. Socially, I observed quite a few big personalities and it was competitive.
Inflexible admin: Not that I observed
Athletes privilege: Well, yes, in lacrosse.
Donors’ children favored: Not that we observed
Not LGBTQ inclusive: Not true, but that is based on limited sample size. Of course, I am sure you would find more inclusivity at some of the non-Catholic schools.
High teacher turnover: Not in our experience, although there were a lot of older teachers retiring.
Lack of services for children with disabilities: no information
Internationally diverse and transient: school seemed fairly diverse internationally. Not as many AA students as Bullis, but some. Did not find it transient.
Pristine campus: With the new building, the campus is much better.
It is a very good school but can be rough socially for certain girls.


Agree it’s for a certain type of girl. If you aren’t that type, it is rough. And the admin is no help.



You shouldn’t make these kinds of comments without being more clear. I have a daughter at the school and have no clue what you’re hinting at when you say a “certain type of girl”?


Athletic, socially saavy, neurotypical, no LDs. Range of academics but mostly bright girls. Less diverse than some other schools.

It’s rough for girls who aren’t as socially “competitive.” Esp if entering at MS or HS not from a Catholic k-8. Some teachers are more sympathetic and helpful but the admin is not. Our DD was looking forward to going but this has been our experience, unfortunately.

Also, girls with learning differences because the school doesn’t offer much beyond standard supports.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 10:51     Subject: Re:Stone ridge
Why
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 10:16     Subject: Re:Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:I am thinking of applying to SR. Does you daughter like it there?

Middles schoolers should probably not be posting (or reading) this forum.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 10:09     Subject: Re:Stone ridge
I am thinking of applying to SR. Does you daughter like it there?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 09:26     Subject: Stone ridge
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ll address those comments one at a time. Daughter and other relatives recently graduated (all but one started in LS).
Competitive socially and academically: Yes. It is a very good school in the DC area, so of course it is competitive academically. But that is at the top of the class. If you are taking less rigorous schedule, it is not crazy competitive. Socially, I observed quite a few big personalities and it was competitive.
Inflexible admin: Not that I observed
Athletes privilege: Well, yes, in lacrosse.
Donors’ children favored: Not that we observed
Not LGBTQ inclusive: Not true, but that is based on limited sample size. Of course, I am sure you would find more inclusivity at some of the non-Catholic schools.
High teacher turnover: Not in our experience, although there were a lot of older teachers retiring.
Lack of services for children with disabilities: no information
Internationally diverse and transient: school seemed fairly diverse internationally. Not as many AA students as Bullis, but some. Did not find it transient.
Pristine campus: With the new building, the campus is much better.
It is a very good school but can be rough socially for certain girls.


Agree it’s for a certain type of girl. If you aren’t that type, it is rough. And the admin is no help.



You shouldn’t make these kinds of comments without being more clear. I have a daughter at the school and have no clue what you’re hinting at when you say a “certain type of girl”?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2025 09:21     Subject: Stone ridge
In lower school, girls are competitive?