I never thought I would be writing in defense of the Landon School for Boys, but this bashing is just so indiscriminate. The school has issues and many are well-known. The Huguely incident is not Landon-specific and should be more of a wake-up call for indulged athletes wherever they go to school. To use that unfortunate event as a litmus test for Landon School discredits any other argument.

My sons have played on club teams with Landon boys and have regularly played against Landon teams for the last 9 years. In that time, we have seen some wonderful kids from Landon and some pretty nasty ones as well. The same goes for the parents -- some of the best people I know and also some parental units that I would prefer not to encounter again. That said, I don't think Landon is any different from the other private schools in the DC area, they are just a lightning rod for criticism. Also, the fact that they routinely beat the other schools in so many sports makes them that "bully" we all love to hate. So, put down the the poison pen and acknowledge that Tre' Johnson is making a difference in the lives of some young men. I wish my guys could get an exposure to someone like Tre', who has achieved excellence in his playing career and thne moved on to success after the NFL. Good for Landon and its students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bordley, Huguely, SAT scandal, middle school boy sex game scandal, duke lacrosse stripper (no, they weren't guilty, but they were stupid and privileged).
And, I am a WASP.

THESE are the issues. The school seems to be making good strides and there are many, many nice families whose sons are getting a great education. (Yes, other good prep schools have issues that don't make the papers -- sex game scandals, cheating, defacing property, etc.) Landon needs to keep doing what it's doing and moving forward, although a personnel change or two would signify they are serious about putting the past behind them.

Landon needs a major housecleaning starting with certain members of the board then Headmaster and Division Heads. A "take no prisoner's" approach would signify a sincere desire for improvement. Without these actions change will not take place and public perception will not improve. If public perception does not improve then Landon will continue having a very difficult time filling it's open slots with qualified students.

You need to do some research. . The lower school head is in his 2nd year as well as the upper school head.

I was surprised to see "Bordley" lead the list of supposed lead the list of Landon evils - even before Huguely - but it makes sense in context - when one understands why it is that Landon so annoys those who live in the bubble: It's all about LAX

http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/14/a-memo-to-maureen-dowd/

the school has over 688 boys enrolled. not sure if its a capacity but my son has told me he has 80 students in his 9th grade class. I know Landon is not a huge private school nor shoudl it ever get to that size. I would imagine there have to be a fwe other indepenent schools who are having trouble filling their school due to the economy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bordley, Huguely, SAT scandal, middle school boy sex game scandal, duke lacrosse stripper (no, they weren't guilty, but they were stupid and privileged).
And, I am a WASP.

THESE are the issues. The school seems to be making good strides and there are many, many nice families whose sons are getting a great education. (Yes, other good prep schools have issues that don't make the papers -- sex game scandals, cheating, defacing property, etc.) Landon needs to keep doing what it's doing and moving forward, although a personnel change or two would signify they are serious about putting the past behind them.

Landon needs a major housecleaning starting with certain members of the board then Headmaster and Division Heads. A "take no prisoner's" approach would signify a sincere desire for improvement. Without these actions change will not take place and public perception will not improve. If public perception does not improve then Landon will continue having a very difficult time filling it's open slots with qualified students.

You need to do some research. . The lower school head is in his 2nd year as well as the upper school head.

Yeah, I was going to say 14:32 needs to wake up but 14:35 did it for me,. No way I'm sending my son there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bordley, Huguely, SAT scandal, middle school boy sex game scandal, duke lacrosse stripper (no, they weren't guilty, but they were stupid and privileged).
And, I am a WASP.

THESE are the issues. The school seems to be making good strides and there are many, many nice families whose sons are getting a great education. (Yes, other good prep schools have issues that don't make the papers -- sex game scandals, cheating, defacing property, etc.) Landon needs to keep doing what it's doing and moving forward, although a personnel change or two would signify they are serious about putting the past behind them.

Landon needs a major housecleaning starting with certain members of the board then Headmaster and Division Heads. A "take no prisoner's" approach would signify a sincere desire for improvement. Without these actions change will not take place and public perception will not improve. If public perception does not improve then Landon will continue having a very difficult time filling it's open slots with qualified students.

Anonymous wrote:Not a Landon School fan. Impressed that this ex-NFL player has a masters degree. Most teacher-coaches aren't qualified to teach core subjects in private school settings (in neither lower/upper school).

And your infinite wisdom on the matter comes from where, again?

Anonymous wrote:Um. One of their graduates murdered someone in a drunken rage. And in recent years, their then current students created an online site rating girls and "reserving," for lack of a better word, girls for themselves for sexual activity. And those are the 2 things that the public found out about. PP, you are absolutely correct, we don't know all 680 families and I am sure some of them are lovely. I won't be taking the chance to find out.

Most students aren't entrusted to the care of the past graduates - Landon is in exclusive company as one of the few schools to NOT have a pedophile teacher/administrator problem or wide spread in school drug scandal in recenet years. When choosing a school for DC we must weigh what concerns us most: a pedophile teacher; a pervasive drug culture or an alum who pulls an OJ years after leaving the school. It's a personal decision.

Anonymous wrote:New day. Sidwell is the target.

Haha, so true.

New day. Sidwell is the target.

Anonymous wrote:But not using Google to find ways to defend their high school. Another silly Landon parent, right?

Nope, not a Landon parent.

You'd be surprised how easy it would be for this site to come to a young alum's notice -- for example, someone hears "there's an article about Mr. Johnson" and Googled and found this site, I'm not surprised there was a resulting post. It rang true to me as something authored by a young person. Obviously there's no way to know for sure on an anonymous forum.

Georgie, is that you?

Anonymous wrote:14:51 -really, a recent graduate is posting on dcum? Doubtful. Are you a teacher, administrator or parent?

I come to this website when Landon is in the news to see what the bored, rich housewives of DC have to say. As for what kids get into in other schools, I became good friends with STA kids in college and their stories from high school were straight out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Made my experience at Landon seem pretty tame in comparison.

But not using Google to find ways to defend their high school. Another silly Landon parent, right?

Anonymous wrote:14:51 -really, a recent graduate is posting on dcum? Doubtful. Are you a teacher, administrator or parent?

This just in . . . a majority of teenagers know how to use Google.