Anonymous wrote:And further, it does look bit unusual for a URM student with a national achievement scholarship and athletic record taking the toughest courses at Sidwell to be denied everywhere.

No wonder Tom Farquhar left the school. After his outburst threatening the family, I am surprised he retains a job in ed.

She’s not a URM. He father is a doctor. She was a “lifer” at Sidwell with plenty of advantages. And the the parents got all hissy and entitled when she couldn’t easily use an affirmative action trump card to vault ahead of classmates with similar good, but not outstanding, records.

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell parent here. I think most people on this thread are missing something very basic; The school systematically miscalculated her grades and the principal openly threatened the family with retaliation when they complained.Both unacceptable.

How can a bunch of math teachers mis-calculate grades? Anyone at the school knows how the student teacher power dynamic works. Teachers have a LOT of power over who gets into advanced track classes. Grading is not always transparent.

No wonder the family is pissed offf. If Sidwell wasn’t guilty why did they agree to change the grades?

Squeaky wheel.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read the full lower court judgement. They found ZERO proof Sidwell did anything wrong. ZERO. The parents are nut-jobs.

Nut jobs who were absolutely correct about the math teacher not being able to calculate an average correctly. Incompetence over intent is still not a great picture. And to only fix it once they went to court is mind-boggling. Would not have happened to a white kid from upper NW.

And no manual calculations are necessary, really. Everything is on spreadsheets at Sidwell. Incompetence? Me thinks not.

And further, it does look bit unusual for a URM student with a national achievement scholarship and athletic record taking the toughest courses at Sidwell to be denied everywhere.

No wonder Tom Farquhar left the school. After his outburst threatening the family, I am surprised he retains a job in ed.

I can't understand how the Obamas sent their kids to a school that discriminates against AAs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell parent here. I think most people on this thread are missing something very basic; The school systematically miscalculated her grades and the principal openly threatened the family with retaliation when they complained.Both unacceptable.

How can a bunch of math teachers mis-calculate grades? Anyone at the school knows how the student teacher power dynamic works. Teachers have a LOT of power over who gets into advanced track classes. Grading is not always transparent.

No wonder the family is pissed offf. If Sidwell wasn’t guilty why did they agree to change the grades?

Did you read all the documents? One math grade was changed by a single percentage point.

Yes, and that one percentage point led to a grade difference. Further, Sidwell gatekeeping into advanced classes (Math/Science) is grade based and quite strict. A math teacher who cannot calculate a grade? Gimme a break.

Anonymous wrote:Read the full lower court judgement. They found ZERO proof Sidwell did anything wrong. ZERO. The parents are nut-jobs.

Nut jobs who were absolutely correct about the math teacher not being able to calculate an average correctly. Incompetence over intent is still not a great picture. And to only fix it once they went to court is mind-boggling. Would not have happened to a white kid from upper NW.

Anonymous wrote:Read the full lower court judgement. They found ZERO proof Sidwell did anything wrong. ZERO. The parents are nut-jobs.

And remember that the family earlier brought an action against Sidwell Friends concerning their older daughter. They act entitled and certainly very litigious!

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell parent here. I think most people on this thread are missing something very basic; The school systematically miscalculated her grades and the principal openly threatened the family with retaliation when they complained.Both unacceptable.

How can a bunch of math teachers mis-calculate grades? Anyone at the school knows how the student teacher power dynamic works. Teachers have a LOT of power over who gets into advanced track classes. Grading is not always transparent.

No wonder the family is pissed offf. If Sidwell wasn’t guilty why did they agree to change the grades?

Did you read all the documents? One math grade was changed by a single percentage point.

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell better work hard to change that perception coz no parent is going to pay $50,000 for a school that does not view college placement as part of its job.

I thought private school is all about the experience and no one cares where they end up going to college? No?

While this family seems like an enormous PITA, there are a few items described as “facts” that, if correct, are pretty damning for Sidwell.

1. The math thing...the incorrect calculation of grades is simply inexcusable. Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt that it was neither intentional nor coordinated, it’s unacceptable.

2. Hard to fully get my arms around the accusations that transcripts weren’t provided on time and completely (the McGill one in particular). If, however, that is factually true, it’s also not okay.

3. Shifting gears...she certainly went with the “apply everywhere, someone’s gonna take me” strategy with no real safety school.

4. I’m also quite interested in the athletic angle. When kids are being recruited by a college, they typically have ongoing discussions with the coaches who, in turn, support their application. While the complaint insinuates that all of these schools were interested in her running, it sounds like that simply was not correct.

5. I’d never hire a lawyer to argue a SCOTUS case with an “aol” email address. But hey, that’s just me.

6. I assume that some of the information could have been subpoenaed from the universities to which she applied. For example, if documents were sent on time and completely.

7. Maybe I didn’t read the full complaint in enough detail, but what is the desired recourse or outcome from the plaintiff? Just money?

Sidwell parent here. I think most people on this thread are missing something very basic; The school systematically miscalculated her grades and the principal openly threatened the family with retaliation when they complained.Both unacceptable.

How can a bunch of math teachers mis-calculate grades? Anyone at the school knows how the student teacher power dynamic works. Teachers have a LOT of power over who gets into advanced track classes. Grading is not always transparent.

No wonder the family is pissed offf. If Sidwell wasn’t guilty why did they agree to change the grades?

Read the full lower court judgement. They found ZERO proof Sidwell did anything wrong. ZERO. The parents are nut-jobs.

Exactly.

Of course it is part of the job. At the same token, doing their job requires a degree of honesty to the admissions offices of the schools the kids apply. They cannot simply say that every student from their school is an excellent candidate relative to their peers. When everyone is excellent, no one is.

And if the student played up her status as a first generation immigrant from Nigeria, then I hardly see the issue that the same was noted in her faculty recommendation.

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see the issue here. She likely didn't heed the advice of the college guidance office in terms of having a few safety schools, she wasn't an elite athlete according to the coaches interviewing her out of high school and she was a strong, but not elite student.