Anonymous wrote:Can you elaborate on the "big transformation" that Bullis is undergoing?

1. Increased enrollment
2. Increased efforts to recruit students from China
3. New head of school wants a powerhouse sports program in football, boys and girls basketball, and boys lacrosse in particular, so Bullis is doing things like bringing in senior transfers for one season, recruiting players currently at other league schools, having athletic transfers repeat a grade, and giving tons of sfinancial aid money out to sports recruits

Can you elaborate on the "big transformation" that Bullis is undergoing?

Bottom line: Bullis is a great school, so is Norwood, St. Andrews etc. Bullis is undergoing a huge transformation under the new Head. Everyone I know there is happy.

When people talk about schools usually they say.

I want a single gender school.

I really like that it is coed.

We really want Catholic.

We really don't want Catholic.

We dont want to travel downtown but it has a shuttle from the red line.

My daughter really want to do plays and they have a good program.

The school is really small (100 kids per grade vs. the 250).

I like the mentoring program they have.

My child felt at home the moment they shadowed.

His father and uncles went there, but he loved the other school.

I love the head of the STEM program.

Never, ever, have I heard somebody say.. We are iAC all the way.

On the ore hand, I have heard people say, he loves football and we didn't think he would be able to play in the WCAC.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are going to and SEC school. Oh wait...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

I think it's peculiar that you use IAC (a sports conference) to compare schools. Why would you lump a bunch of schools in a sports conference to discuss academics.

Mostly, when I look at private schools for my kids I look at location and look for a good fit. If I could not find a good fit close to my home or work then I may look outward from those locations but I would never say, hey I really want my academic kid to go to an IAC school, or a WCAC school.

Great point! For college, for example, would you ever say "I want my academic kid to go to an Ivy League school?" Oh . . . wait . . .

I've heard that too, but not as often as people talking about "the NESCAC schools" or the Ivy League.

It does seem odd to compare schools because they are in an athletic conference together, but even at the independent school level schools are often part of a sports conference because they see themselves as sharing a general educational philosophy and/or being the same size. So, the New England boarding schools have leagues. Catholic schools in this area have an athletic conference separate from the other main independent school athletic conferences, and the Catholic schools that cross over (e.g. Prep in the IAC or Stone Ridge in the ISL) do often compare themselves to the independent schools in their athletic conference in addition to or in lieu of the Catholic schools that are in the WCAC.

Will you hear people talking about "we're applying to an ISL school?" No (you might hear them mention "IAC" explicitly though.) Will they often apply only to a universe of schools encompassed by the ISL, however? Yes. So talking about where Bullis stands in the context of IAC schools or ISL schools does make sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

I think it's peculiar that you use IAC (a sports conference) to compare schools. Why would you lump a bunch of schools in a sports conference to discuss academics.

Mostly, when I look at private schools for my kids I look at location and look for a good fit. If I could not find a good fit close to my home or work then I may look outward from those locations but I would never say, hey I really want my academic kid to go to an IAC school, or a WCAC school.

Great point! For college, for example, would you ever say "I want my academic kid to go to an Ivy League school?" Oh . . . wait . . .

Actually, parents who say that are cutting off a lot of great options for their kids -- Chicago, MIT, Stanford, Duke, Cal Tech -- these are all non-Ivy League universities ranked in the top 10 by US News. None of these schools existed when the Ivy League was established. Oh, and this list doesn't even count the top small liberal arts colleges, which are just as competitive as the Ivies. The PP who said it's all about location and fit is spot on.

My kids are going to and SEC school. Oh wait...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

I think it's peculiar that you use IAC (a sports conference) to compare schools. Why would you lump a bunch of schools in a sports conference to discuss academics.

Mostly, when I look at private schools for my kids I look at location and look for a good fit. If I could not find a good fit close to my home or work then I may look outward from those locations but I would never say, hey I really want my academic kid to go to an IAC school, or a WCAC school.

Great point! For college, for example, would you ever say "I want my academic kid to go to an Ivy League school?" Oh . . . wait . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

I think it's peculiar that you use IAC (a sports conference) to compare schools. Why would you lump a bunch of schools in a sports conference to discuss academics.

Mostly, when I look at private schools for my kids I look at location and look for a good fit. If I could not find a good fit close to my home or work then I may look outward from those locations but I would never say, hey I really want my academic kid to go to an IAC school, or a WCAC school.

Great point! For college, for example, would you ever say "I want my academic kid to go to an Ivy League school?" Oh . . . wait . . .

Anonymous wrote:Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

I think it's peculiar that you use IAC (a sports conference) to compare schools. Why would you lump a bunch of schools in a sports conference to discuss academics.

Mostly, when I look at private schools for my kids I look at location and look for a good fit. If I could not find a good fit close to my home or work then I may look outward from those locations but I would never say, hey I really want my academic kid to go to an IAC school, or a WCAC school.

Good for your daughter, and obviously there are good smart kids at Bullis and very good teachers too. They have a tougher sell by being in MoCo than the DC based schools.

With all that said, the academic reputation does lag behind most of the IAC/ISL schools. Maybe that's outdated or unfair, but that perception exists. The aggressive moves for sports are unlikely to counter that perception, although sports are obviously valued enough in society that perhaps it will make Bullis more attractive as a school destination regardless of impact on its academic profile.

Anonymous wrote:Bullis has a pretty lousy academic reputation in the DC area. I could justify paying $25K+ to send my son to Sidwell or if STA offered 2nd or 3rd grade (I believe STA starts in 4th grade) or the Potomac School.

Forking up over $25K to send my son to Bullis. I think there are must better deals out there than Bullis.

and yes - Bullis is trying to find full paying families to supplement the scholarship athletes they are bringing in for football and basketball. The plan will eventually fail. Bullis tries this plan once a decade and the headmaster gets forced out.

And yet my daughter is in the same class at college with 2 STA grads, 2 Holton grads, 1 Landon grad, 1 GDS grad and 2 Potomac school grads. What was that about lousy?

I heard from an admin at Bullis that they can't fill their third grade so they are adding second graders. It will be a combo class of second and third graders. The following year the second graders will stay in the same class and be the oldest Third grade was so small it wasnt working. Not a very appealing solution to me.

Bullis has a pretty lousy academic reputation in the DC area. I could justify paying $25K+ to send my son to Sidwell or if STA offered 2nd or 3rd grade (I believe STA starts in 4th grade) or the Potomac School.

Forking up over $25K to send my son to Bullis. I think there are must better deals out there than Bullis.

and yes - Bullis is trying to find full paying families to supplement the scholarship athletes they are bringing in for football and basketball. The plan will eventually fail. Bullis tries this plan once a decade and the headmaster gets forced out.

Anonymous wrote:Norwood and St Andrews already start younger, so a K wouldn't help them compete with those schools. I'm guessing it's more that a 2nd grade would them start kids a year before Landon; that since they don't get the kids who get into Landon this way they won't have to compete.

Sorry - that didn't make sense. I meant that moving down to second would be irrelevant as far as competing with schools that already start at K.

Norwood and St Andrews already start younger, so a K wouldn't help them compete with those schools. I'm guessing it's more that a 2nd grade would them start kids a year before Landon; that since they don't get the kids who get into Landon this way they won't have to compete.