And into the shiny new trailers, ala Arlington School District. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're all about smaller class sizes. Wouldn't Bullis have the advantage there over public school? New poster here.

depends which public? Some publics do have smaller classes for some subjects. And how much of a difference is that going to be to you

Really? Because in my experience there is a minimum class size at publics. If a class ends up with one kid below the minimum they shift the students to other classes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No better than Whitman

I believe Bullis is in the Churchill zone rather than Whitman if you want to make that comparison. They are totally different schools though so not sure it's a relevant point.


OP there have been a million posts on the virtues, or not, of Bullis. Start with a search.

I think the comparison may be that the kids at Churchill and Bullis are wealthier but not as bright as those that go to Whitman.

If you are looking for a school that has a strong track record getting their kids into highly selective colleges, keep on looking.

Anonymous wrote:

My kids aren't near 3rd grade yet, so I've never looked at Bullis. I do know a former Bullis teacher who says nothing but great things about the school and has highly recommended as a nurturing school that provides kids with a lot of individual attention. Without even having looked at it, I think I can say that I would definitely choose Bullis for my kids over public school. The average class size is 15 at Bullis. I seriously doubt you find that at any public school. I also think that smaller schools offer kids many more opportunities than public to participate in sports, arts, public speaking, and writing. I believe that the MoCo public schools offer a great academic education, but I think for those looking for a more well-rounded experience, Bullis would be a better choice than public.

I can respect both your opinion and that of others who choose public school magnet programs over Bullis. Choice is a great personal freedom many of us enjoy.

Not everyone has a child who is going to qualify for a public magnet. My kids are bright but realistically average for MCPS. We live in a "W" cluster and although our high school is great, I know my kids will be lost there. A lot of parents like me would be thrilled for our kids to go to a school like Bullis for the individual attention and small class sizes. Not every child is headed for an ivy.

Anonymous wrote:Wootton and Churchill HS for comparison.

Metrics: AP scores, SAT scores, national and regional academic prizes

Bullis is a good school but the public schools offer more rigorous courses in a number of subjects and have much stronger students taking those rigorous courses than Bullis. In these instances size and numbers become a disadvantage for Bullis.

This comparison disregards the facts that not everyone can afford to live in the Churchill or a W catchment area and that many people who can afford it choose not to, for one reason or another. So even granting that Churchill or a W school are the gold standard, which many DCUMs seem to accept (and which I certainly don't want to debate), there are a whole lot of people who are not going to pack up and move to Potomac or Bethesda for high school. The no-better-than-public catchall statement fails to take this into account.

I don't have a child at Bullis. I am just puzzled by the multitude of posts on this forum that categorically claim a particular school is no better than public school, as if (a) all public schools are the same and (b) all children are the same.

Was this before or during the new head of school? That makes a huge difference.

My kids aren't near 3rd grade yet, so I've never looked at Bullis. I do know a former Bullis teacher who says nothing but great things about the school and has highly recommended as a nurturing school that provides kids with a lot of individual attention. Without even having looked at it, I think I can say that I would definitely choose Bullis for my kids over public school. The average class size is 15 at Bullis. I seriously doubt you find that at any public school. I also think that smaller schools offer kids many more opportunities than public to participate in sports, arts, public speaking, and writing. I believe that the MoCo public schools offer a great academic education, but I think for those looking for a more well-rounded experience, Bullis would be a better choice than public.

I can respect both your opinion and that of others who choose public school magnet programs over Bullis. Choice is a great personal freedom many of us enjoy.

Anonymous wrote:We're all about smaller class sizes. Wouldn't Bullis have the advantage there over public school? New poster here.

My kids aren't near 3rd grade yet, so I've never looked at Bullis. I do know a former Bullis teacher who says nothing but great things about the school and has highly recommended as a nurturing school that provides kids with a lot of individual attention. Without even having looked at it, I think I can say that I would definitely choose Bullis for my kids over public school. The average class size is 15 at Bullis. I seriously doubt you find that at any public school. I also think that smaller schools offer kids many more opportunities than public to participate in sports, arts, public speaking, and writing. I believe that the MoCo public schools offer a great academic education, but I think for those looking for a more well-rounded experience, Bullis would be a better choice than public.

Wootton and Churchill HS for comparison.

Metrics: AP scores, SAT scores, national and regional academic prizes

Bullis is a good school but the public schools offer more rigorous courses in a number of subjects and have much stronger students taking those rigorous courses than Bullis. In these instances size and numbers become a disadvantage for Bullis.

Which public school(s) are you using as your basis for comparison? Which grade levels? For what kind of student? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but would like to understand how you came to this conclusion.

How about we just post if we actually have knowledge of the school -- and are not just posting rumours? I don't care whether your kid goes to public or another independent school, but on this thread as on many other DCUM threads, the most useful posts are from people who have first-hand experience. FWIW, I'm neither OP nor a Bullis parent -- just someone who has seen a lot of BS on this forum.

From an insider and despite the bias of a Bullis parent it's really just ok academically (local public are just as good) but nice manicured grounds local publics would die for.

Anonymous wrote:We're all about smaller class sizes. Wouldn't Bullis have the advantage there over public school? New poster here.

depends which public? Some publics do have smaller classes for some subjects. And how much of a difference is that going to be to you

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academics are ok. Reputation is ok. College matriculation success is just ok.

Beautiful facilities and campus, though. But just ok.

That is my experience also
Why pay that much when it is not better than the local public?
Just a private for those who cannot get into the good privates. Up to you what you want to put your money into.

When you describe this as your "experience", can you be specific? Are you a Bullis alum, current student, teacher or parent?

We're all about smaller class sizes. Wouldn't Bullis have the advantage there over public school? New poster here.