Also, to 14:51, yes I do know what kids get into. Parent of two boys who went to ISL school. It's not DC......it is parents and schools like Landon.

14:51 -really, a recent graduate is posting on dcum? Doubtful. Are you a teacher, administrator or parent?

Anonymous wrote:Bordley, Huguely, SAT scandal, middle school boy sex game scandal, duke lacrosse stripper (no, they weren't guilty, but they were stupid and privileged).
And, I am a WASP.

THESE are the issues. The school seems to be making good strides and there are many, many nice families whose sons are getting a great education. (Yes, other good prep schools have issues that don't make the papers -- sex game scandals, cheating, defacing property, etc.) Landon needs to keep doing what it's doing and moving forward, although a personnel change or two would signify they are serious about putting the past behind them.

The thing is, many of us do know about Landon. Glad you got into a good college.

Tre Johnson was my teacher and coach and wrote a recommendation that helped me get into an Ivy League school. Sad to see people hung up on bashing a school they know nothing about. Its the DC region that's rotten, not just Landon. Landon has great families and some terrible families just like any other any other school or community. You think the kids at STA and Prep are angels? You have no idea what kids get into, just the trash that gets written in the papers.

any school with a price tag of over $25K / year, you will find fair amount of "entitled, rich, spoiled boys with Barbie moms and old entitled, rich dads"

such an intelligent post.

Anonymous wrote:Landon should just stop trying to "improve" and accept its place in DC as the school for entitled, rich, spoiled boys with Barbie moms and old entitled, rich dads.

I think you're being a little near-sighted. Of course Landon (or any school) wants to improve its image. It does not want a negative image that deters applicants, and a better image will always improve the quantity and quality of applicants.

It seems to me that Landon has faced a series of several bad acts by some relatively small number of students over the past 6-8 years, and that's acting as a drag on the school's reputation. From what I read here on DCUM, it sounds like the school is taking steps to crack down on bad behavior by students, and to point out the many positive things it does. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if this Washington Post piece was encouraged by Landon's people, as an effort to get a good story out. Many schools do this sort of thing -- IIRC, the whole Holton-Lagarde advertisement was placed by a public communications staffer at the school. Nothing wrong with it. I'd also expect (and even hope) the school is doing other things internally, like putting pressure on parents and students to behave well at sporting events and any other situation they might be linked to Landon. None of this will be an overnight fix, but it's all a step in a more positive direction.

Indeed, I'd be more concerned if the school wasn't taking any steps in response.

Landon should just stop trying to "improve" and accept its place in DC as the school for entitled, rich, spoiled boys with Barbie moms and old entitled, rich dads.

Landon actually has a strong African American student body. It has become a popular school for such families, probably due in part to having an AA grad who came back to be AD and then Upper School head. He has left, but the pipeline is still there.

Anonymous wrote:Just very easy and factual to say that no other independent school garners this much well-earned negative press. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

I believe Landon has had some serious governance issues in the past, with a board that was involved in day-to-day aspects of running a school (e.g. Student discipline) to an unprecedented degree. They may have changed that in the past few years -- here's hoping they have.

However, the "negative press" point has a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy to it -- once a school is a target everything gets reported (witness the spate of Sidwell stories now that thre's so much scrutiny bc of the presidents' kids attending). By way of comparison, imagine if Landon had had the "pot brownies" incident that Maret had last spring -- I believe the hue and cry would have been significantly greater. Bottom line: a grain of salt is handy when reading critical comments about any of these independent schools. (it also seems to me that if a school such as Landon is taking steps to change where there are issues, that's something to give them credit for or, at a minimum, withhold judgment.

Just very easy and factual to say that no other independent school garners this much well-earned negative press. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Eight or nine African American families have left Landon in the last two years.

Getting back to the article -- I'm a high school history teacher and it sounded to me like he's doing good things in the classroom. Hard to tell without observing, of course, but it sounds like he plans well, emphasizes writing and making historical arguments, and pushes critical thinking rather than just lecturing and expecting capture and regurgitation. Wishing him the best of luck!

Anonymous wrote:Forgot to mention lawsuit brought by minorities. Great school!

If you're going to cast stones (see John 7:53) do try at least to aim correctly. Do you mean the lawsuit by the white business manager who was apparently fired for cause and then belatedly decided he was the protector of oppressed Latino workers, none of whom joined his suit?

And no, not a Landon parent, employee, grad, trustee, agent, or affiliate. Just a regular ol' fair-minded person.

Forgot to mention lawsuit brought by minorities. Great school!