The new money / no morals folk don’t care. And sadly they exist in droves

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Actually, they should.

But anyone working to get rid of it, take note.
- big 3 alu

Really like the Gonzaga “be kind” motif...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I'm not muck raking. I'm sincerely wondering if it might be easier to be accepted at these schools this year and wondering if Landon had fewer applications after its bad press years ago. I'm sure there is a core constituent base and that Landon rebounded. But, was there a dip? If considering Holton or Prep or St. Albans, might my DD and/or DS have an easier chance applying this year? DD is also looking at Catholic girls schools.

Why would you put Holton in that group? I don't particularly like Holton, but one of its students being assaulted 35 years ago does not seem to have anything to do with the school overall. It's not like they created a culture that encouraged being assaulted then and for sure don't now.

My hypothesis would be that all the single sex schools will take a hit. But only time will tell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

So you aren't supporting your non-DC coed Jesuit high school because of what happened in the 80s at Georgetown Prep? You know that sounds ridiculous right?

That is like saying you won't send a kid to a Big Ten school because of what happened at Penn State. Zero logic.

The letter written by the current head of Georgetown Prep was a big turnoff, actually, with the talk of being elite. If that’s the current attitude of the order, that’s an issue for me.

Loved the letter from the headmaster at Gonzaga:



Dear Parents and Guardians,

During orientation at the beginning of this academic year, Mr. Jim Kilroy, Dean of Students, introduced the students to a simple theme that he and his office will be continually reinforcing throughout this school year: A Gonzaga student is kind.

Given recent news events that have divided our nation and that hit particularly close to home for many in our community, that theme of kindness has taken on even more meaning and relevance. The recent news events fall on the heels of other scandals and social challenges that already had many of us feeling raw and exposed.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we are all concerned about the state of the world our children are growing up in. Our students, your sons, are not immune to this sentiment. Across the country, drug and alcohol abuse among teens remains prevalent, and, tragically, teen suicide rates are rising because of stress, bullying, and unreasonable expectations for perfection in a very imperfect world.

Although we cannot, and should not, shelter your sons from the world around them, our goal is to offer a safe, kind environment where open discussions are encouraged, differing viewpoints are welcome, and a community of support exists to help students confront and answer difficult questions.

However, nourishing your sons’ mental, social, and emotional health is not a task we can accomplish alone. We need your help. This year, we will endeavor to educate your sons about racial and social injustice, we will develop programs that foster unity, and we will talk about informed consent and treating women with the respect and dignity that Christ demands of us. We will create space for dialogue so that your sons leave Gonzaga confident in their own unique gifts and respectful and inclusive of all people they encounter. We strongly encourage you to talk about and reinforce these same messages at home.

All of this is to say that there seems like no better time to focus on cura personalis, or care for the whole person. A united front at school and at home will yield the most positive results. To that end, we are offering two programs for parents this October that we sincerely hope you will attend. Details are as follows:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Well, we're talking about people applying to the schools, right? Not people who are already enrolled? All the stories over the past how many weeks make private schools, to the outsider, look pretty bad. (I'm sure everyone with a child already in one of the schools though will slough it all off). If I was an admissions person at any DC private though, I would be worried.

If you're applying, you already are interested in a private education. If your theory is right, and a few change their minds, there are still plenty of others who will apply. It's not like they have openings. And your hypothesis depends on everyone thinking public schools have none of the same past behavior and therefore must be a better alternative. Which is false.

I think you're underestimating the damage that has been done to the image of private schools.

The image in the eyes of the general public, who are paying attention to these schools at a casual level, may be damaged.

However, applicant families are looking at these schools close up, not based on news articles. If they are coming from public, those families are dealing first-hand with things like the John Hopkins audit of MCPS 2.0 and, for example, seeing their kids bored out of their minds with Chromebooks-focused homework (or whatever specific grievance is pushing them towards private - go read the public boards to get a taste of the many grievances that people have). In other words, when you are actually making this type of decision (which is usually at the elementary level, initially), you are looking at real, practical things that directly affect your child, not some sort of ivory tower analysis about a culture that may be quite different by the time your kid is a senior in high school (or that may stay on the periphery from what you and your child experience). Further, you are going to assume that you can parent your way around any cultural problems at the school - after all, most of us think we're the outlier/great parents that can overcome these types of things. For these reasons, I would be surprised if there are meaningful declines in applications.

What would really hurt applications would be a recession, or the nearby public systems catering towards upper-income families as opposed to focusing so much on closing the achievement gap (which seems to be one of the grievances that drives many full-pay families to private from public).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Well, we're talking about people applying to the schools, right? Not people who are already enrolled? All the stories over the past how many weeks make private schools, to the outsider, look pretty bad. (I'm sure everyone with a child already in one of the schools though will slough it all off). If I was an admissions person at any DC private though, I would be worried.

If you're applying, you already are interested in a private education. If your theory is right, and a few change their minds, there are still plenty of others who will apply. It's not like they have openings. And your hypothesis depends on everyone thinking public schools have none of the same past behavior and therefore must be a better alternative. Which is false.

I think you're underestimating the damage that has been done to the image of private schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Well, we're talking about people applying to the schools, right? Not people who are already enrolled? All the stories over the past how many weeks make private schools, to the outsider, look pretty bad. (I'm sure everyone with a child already in one of the schools though will slough it all off). If I was an admissions person at any DC private though, I would be worried.

If you're applying, you already are interested in a private education. If your theory is right, and a few change their minds, there are still plenty of others who will apply. It's not like they have openings. And your hypothesis depends on everyone thinking public schools have none of the same past behavior and therefore must be a better alternative. Which is false.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

So you aren't supporting your non-DC coed Jesuit high school because of what happened in the 80s at Georgetown Prep? You know that sounds ridiculous right?

That is like saying you won't send a kid to a Big Ten school because of what happened at Penn State. Zero logic.

The letter written by the current head of Georgetown Prep was a big turnoff, actually, with the talk of being elite. If that’s the current attitude of the order, that’s an issue for me.

I think you're touching on a different issue, which is that schools like Georgetown Prep have to sell parents on paying a high tuition to get a fairly mediocre academic program/cohort, at least compared to the top independent schools in the area. They aren't calling themselves "elite" out of arrogance; it's really insecurity and a desire to punch above their weight class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Well, we're talking about people applying to the schools, right? Not people who are already enrolled? All the stories over the past how many weeks make private schools, to the outsider, look pretty bad. (I'm sure everyone with a child already in one of the schools though will slough it all off). If I was an admissions person at any DC private though, I would be worried.

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Anonymous wrote:Duke lacrosse, UVA Rolling Stone, etc. This is not that different. Those schools are doing just fine.

Because both those stories were bogus. No reason to have any negative effect.

georgetown prep seems concerned: https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/georgetown-prep-head-urges-reflection-schools-culture

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

So you aren't supporting your non-DC coed Jesuit high school because of what happened in the 80s at Georgetown Prep? You know that sounds ridiculous right?

That is like saying you won't send a kid to a Big Ten school because of what happened at Penn State. Zero logic.

The letter written by the current head of Georgetown Prep was a big turnoff, actually, with the talk of being elite. If that’s the current attitude of the order, that’s an issue for me.

So don't apply.

There's no doubt many other schools where people with your ideological bent will feel more comfortable.