Anonymous wrote:Actually when we started at Norwood, our "buddy family" said that a "gender divide" was part of the school culture - its reinforced by single sex parties mostly, and play dates.

This past year, our DD was invited to many, many, many girls parties but not a single party for a boy.

This isn't a gender divide, it's basic finance. If you invite both sexes, you need to invite a lot more kids, and your party tab gets massive.

Anonymous wrote:Actually when we started at Norwood, our "buddy family" said that a "gender divide" was part of the school culture - its reinforced by single sex parties mostly, and play dates.

This past year, our DD was invited to many, many, many girls parties but not a single party for a boy.

And did you/will you invite boys to your DDs party?

Actually when we started at Norwood, our "buddy family" said that a "gender divide" was part of the school culture - its reinforced by single sex parties mostly, and play dates.

This past year, our DD was invited to many, many, many girls parties but not a single party for a boy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: In some grades this creates a social strata where the jockier kids annoint themselves kings. .

Welcome to every school ever.

Not in third grade. It is odd and it comes straight from the parents.

Third grade jock social strata? Right....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: In some grades this creates a social strata where the jockier kids annoint themselves kings. .

Welcome to every school ever.

Not in third grade. It is odd and it comes straight from the parents.

Sounds like the PC police run amok here. Guess what? Boys tend to enjoy playing with other boys, and girls tend to enjoy playing with other girls. I certainly never wanted to invite girls to my birthday parties when I was that age. Unless someone can shed some light on ways that the school is actively encouraging some type of gender segregation, I think you need to find some real problems to worry about.

Anonymous wrote: In some grades this creates a social strata where the jockier kids annoint themselves kings. .

Welcome to every school ever.

Not a Norwood parent, so no stakes here for me, but will someone please explain what they mean by a gender divide? One person said the teaches sit boys with boys, and girls with girls, but that the only specific.

We have two kids in Norwood, one in LS and one in MS. And we started in K so have been there many years. To my knowledge, there is no gender divide (whatever that means), boys mix with girls. My kid runs around with whoever is in the playground. Of course, girl/boy will gravitate toward its own gender for play dates, parties etc. Even in the adult world we do that.

And the comment about attracting parents who prioritize sports, I have no idea where you get that from. If it is the number one reason you hear as to why parents chose the school, then your social circle must be extremely tiny.

In MD private schools, parents who prioritize sports would often choose Bullis or Landon.

That being said, Norwood has been doing extremely well in JV soccer and basketball (winning their groups nearly undefeated).

Anonymous wrote:Norwood attracts parents who prioritize sports. It is the number one reasn I hear people give for why they chose the school. It does not attract superb athletes, somewhat the opposite really. It attracts parents who want their children to have the opportunity to play sports that might be denied to them if it were a competitive enrironment. So sports obsessed but not that good. In some grades this creates a social strata where the jockier kids annoint themselves kings. It is a distubing mini 1980's hs experience. Kind of weird. And yes there is a gender divide.

Yes, there is. It may not be noticed by the younger kids, or those who have always been at the school, but its certainly noticed by kids coming from other, more genuinely co-ed type schools.

Norwood attracts parents who prioritize sports. It is the number one reasn I hear people give for why they chose the school. It does not attract superb athletes, somewhat the opposite really. It attracts parents who want their children to have the opportunity to play sports that might be denied to them if it were a competitive enrironment. So sports obsessed but not that good. In some grades this creates a social strata where the jockier kids annoint themselves kings. It is a distubing mini 1980's hs experience. Kind of weird. And yes there is a gender divide.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We've been thrilled with Norwood and will be sending a K student in the fall to join our 2nd grader. My DD has loved all the teachers and honestly doesn't ever say anything that suggests a gender divide. I also don't notice that when watching kids play after school. I saw more of a gender divide at my DDs previous DCPS.

what thrills you, exactly?

Its easy to come on this board and attempt to balance any coherent criticism which has been posted, but really you have to be coherent yourself. Just saying you're "thrilled" makes your post look like a desperate attempt to improve school image but without any of the facts to back it up.

Coherent criticism? I haven't seen any yet. Just wild stabs at saying they segregate sexes somehow without giving any specific examples.
I too am thrilled with Norwood. It's a very warm and caring environment, the teachers have been fantastic, our kids have made great strides in reading and math, and love both science and the arts because of their experienced there. And the head of school is as straightforward and approachable as any I've ever met.

Well the first few posts on this thread are pretty coherent, but maybe you just didn't bother reading any of them.

"The lower school has struggled in recent years. The arts are great, but math, science and foreign languages remain weak. "
That's about as vague a criticism as you can possibly make...what makes the poster say that?

Well its certainly a lot more detailed than "we're thrilled!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've been thrilled with Norwood and will be sending a K student in the fall to join our 2nd grader. My DD has loved all the teachers and honestly doesn't ever say anything that suggests a gender divide. I also don't notice that when watching kids play after school. I saw more of a gender divide at my DDs previous DCPS.

what thrills you, exactly?

Its easy to come on this board and attempt to balance any coherent criticism which has been posted, but really you have to be coherent yourself. Just saying you're "thrilled" makes your post look like a desperate attempt to improve school image but without any of the facts to back it up.

Coherent criticism? I haven't seen any yet. Just wild stabs at saying they segregate sexes somehow without giving any specific examples.
I too am thrilled with Norwood. It's a very warm and caring environment, the teachers have been fantastic, our kids have made great strides in reading and math, and love both science and the arts because of their experienced there. And the head of school is as straightforward and approachable as any I've ever met.

Well the first few posts on this thread are pretty coherent, but maybe you just didn't bother reading any of them.

"The lower school has struggled in recent years. The arts are great, but math, science and foreign languages remain weak. "
That's about as vague a criticism as you can possibly make...what makes the poster say that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I completely agree with most of what has been said and just wanted to add that there is a visible gender divide in the LS, more than we've seen in other schools. Can't speak to what its like in the MS.

Agree - a lot of sporty boys (nothing wrong with that, I have one myself!)

I agree as well, and it has nothing to do with sporty boys. There are also lots of sporty KIDS (of both gender) at the other school my family is a part of. There is a culture at Norwood that encourages a gender divide ,in lower grades at least, by having parties with only one gender invited at the start of the school years, etc , playdates are not common with other gender, etc. this is not as it is at the other schools we have been a part of.
Matters more to some than others and depends on your child's personality and what you want them exposed to. Norwood has a very "traditional" culture in some respects.

I have two kids at Norwood, and have no clue what you're talking about. There have been plenty of parties with both sexes involved, and I've never seen the school do anything official with only one gender in any form.
Playdates aren't common with other genders? When I was an elementary school kid, I certainly didn't want a playdate with a girl.

what grades are your kids in? about 3 -4 people here have supported that this is an issue in the LS. It may well be different in the older grades. We experienced this first hand. Our child was accustomed to being friends with both boys and girls but didn't find this was encouraged. Boys are sat next to boys and girls with girls - inside the classroom, every rotation. That is a specific example for you.

I've got a 2nd and a 5th grader.
I've never seen anything to think it's an issue, which is why I'm genuinely curious. I asked my kids last night, and they said they're never told where to sit, they just sit with their friends. Maybe there are specific teachers that are doing this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I completely agree with most of what has been said and just wanted to add that there is a visible gender divide in the LS, more than we've seen in other schools. Can't speak to what its like in the MS.

Agree - a lot of sporty boys (nothing wrong with that, I have one myself!)

I agree as well, and it has nothing to do with sporty boys. There are also lots of sporty KIDS (of both gender) at the other school my family is a part of. There is a culture at Norwood that encourages a gender divide ,in lower grades at least, by having parties with only one gender invited at the start of the school years, etc , playdates are not common with other gender, etc. this is not as it is at the other schools we have been a part of.
Matters more to some than others and depends on your child's personality and what you want them exposed to. Norwood has a very "traditional" culture in some respects.

I have two kids at Norwood, and have no clue what you're talking about. There have been plenty of parties with both sexes involved, and I've never seen the school do anything official with only one gender in any form.
Playdates aren't common with other genders? When I was an elementary school kid, I certainly didn't want a playdate with a girl.

what grades are your kids in? about 3 -4 people here have supported that this is an issue in the LS. It may well be different in the older grades. We experienced this first hand. Our child was accustomed to being friends with both boys and girls but didn't find this was encouraged. Boys are sat next to boys and girls with girls - inside the classroom, every rotation. That is a specific example for you.