Anonymous wrote:No. It's not an issue because not a single poster can point to a single specific or even general problem. But you know, knock yourself out. Next item will be....(1) NRWBSPID..

Obviously parents are not going to post on this site if they have had a troubling or heart breaking issue. There are not that many AA teenage boys at Sidwell ands a detailed post would out the family. I can tell you what: I have heard the same comments from parents who had AA children at Sidwell 15 years ago, 10 years ago and right now. All basically said the same thing: AA teenage boys get disciplined beyond what their parents thought was fair and there is tension over dating across racial lines.

+1 - no freaking issue people

No. It's not an issue because not a single poster can point to a single specific or even general problem. But you know, knock yourself out. Next item will be....(1) NRWBSPID..

to 1:30 PM - that is probably just as much a function of DC changing as it is Sidwell.

Its only a non issue because its not affecting white people.

Anonymous wrote:There is no issue, this just a weird string

I don't think it is a non-issue at ANY independent school. It is a very real and present issue.

There is no issue, this just a weird string

Anonymous wrote:I have been lifelong friends with an AA male who transferred from STA to Sidwell way back when. It was enlightening hearing about his experiences at STA. I would hope things have changed significantly since then.

"way back when" Sidwell was a different school too. Schools do change. Some for the better, and some...

Anonymous wrote:Just a thought....but it seems like any issues of racism or underwhelming diversity would have been immediately addressed with the arrival of the Obama girls. Am I being naive?

A new couple with two children arrive on campus:. He is Harvard Law. She is Princeton. Both are highly successful and in the upper 1% of SES. Please tell me how their children require some beefing up on sensitivity to diversity because I just don't see it.

I am a Sidwell parent, and the descriptions from 1:30 and 10:28 are nothing like the school I see almost every day.

Anonymous wrote:Just a thought....but it seems like any issues of racism or underwhelming diversity would have been immediately addressed with the arrival of the Obama girls. Am I being naive?

Yes, very much so.

"(maybe it's the sign of the times? Think Kim Kardashian w/ a brain). "

How does this behavior manifest itself? Is this more in the lower school or in the middle/upper schools as well? I can imagine how the types of families is evident at a lower school, where I imagine there is a greater interaction of families on campus, volunteering in the classroom, etc, but are families such a presence at the older grades? I would think that as kids get older, the parents recede into the background. Is that the case at Sidwell?

How are students subject to the crass materialism you described? Is it just the way the students behave as a result of growing up in those kind of families? It seems like such a shame, given the stated mission of the school. Is there really a serious mismatch between the Sidwell described on the website, which sounds so idyllic, and the reality of the school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please speak up for perspective Sidwell AA students. DS accepted for 4th but truly concerned about his emotional well being. Our 2nd option is STA but he's not feeling it.

Send your son to STA and stop overthinking it, Your 2nd option really?! It should be your first as its the best all boys school in the area.

Really not trying to pile on PP - each family has to do what is best for their child. But if I had an AA boy (I have two girls) STA is one of the few schools around here I would send them to.

Honestly, sadly I think this is a money/class issue not a racism issue. Sidwell has changed from the once down-to-earth school it once was... especially in terms of the families it accepts. While there are still many lovely down-to-earth families in the school community, there are now many keeping up w/ the joneses families who provide the money which has driven their last ten years to building buildings (some say at the expense of building character) ... on an unprecedented level. Not the school I grew up knowing. And, sadly with that comes a lot of social climbing and it could be easy to feel like an outsider if your not in the big money/establishment sector. That said, still great academics & great teachers & there are still many families who would never base friendships on prestige or color... but in the old days there were few families that did... but that has changed. (maybe it's the sign of the times? Think Kim Kardashian w/ a brain).

Just a thought....but it seems like any issues of racism or underwhelming diversity would have been immediately addressed with the arrival of the Obama girls. Am I being naive?