Anonymous wrote:You also have to remember that this school started as a segregated "whites only" branch of Peabody, which was just far too black for the founding families -- that's what I find so gross. So if you don't value early literacy and want to live in a racially diverse city but send your child to a free public school where she encounters almost no African Americans, then it's the perfect place for you.

Um, no. My oldest child was in the program in the early years--his class of 20 children was half Caucasion, half African American. and that was several years after it was started. 3 years later my daughter's class was 12 Caucasion, 10 African American (they added two kids per class to raise additional funding).

It might look mostly white now, but it most definitely did not start that way.

Not sure who you are or where you got your information, but doesn't sound like you were actuall a part of the school or the community at the time.

I think that SWS is pretty diverse - there are kids of every race in every grade. It is not majority black. But neither is the neighborhood from which it primarily draws. (Yes, I know, it is now citywide. But it has only be citywide for one admission season). It also is a school that really values diversity and I think celebrates it in a lot of ways, especially through the arts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, this might sound obnoxious, but what is the discipline situation at SWS? Some of the neighborhood kids that go to SWS seem as though they very rarely hear the word no. Wondering if this is school, parents, or both.

SWS has a strong reputation for addressing learning differences, and what you may interpret as discipline issues are more likely children who have other issues requiring remediation. These kids are fortunate to be in a place that respects those differences and works with children and families as needed.

Could be talking about my kid, who definitely is not shy and retiring and tests his share of boundaries. I think one of the best things about SWS is that there is a real focus on fostering kids' strengths and supporting areas of weakness. For some kids, their weaknesses may fall into what you're calling "discipline." At SWS those kids are decidedly not labeled "discipline kids," are embraced, provided with support, and able to really find their place and shine.

ExACTLY! Appeals to some families and not others.

Anonymous wrote:After the open house I moved it from #2 to #6 on the application. I did not think that the principal articulated clearly what separates this school from others. It seemed, for lack of a better word, a bit too fluffy. The focus is more on letting kids be kids than on academics and getting kids to read at an early age. The school environment and project were visually stunning. However, the approach did not resonate well with our family and it would not be a good fit even on the unlikely chance that we got in.

Actually, this is what I found most appealing about the school. My kid is only 3. Why should he be reading at a 3rd grade level or whatever already?

I'd be willing to bet my house that 10:23 applied to SWS last year but is now "happily attending Peabody." Good luck in the lottery this year!

It started off as an early version of a charter school. Teachers wanted to experiment with a different approach to early childhood education: Reggio Emilia. And were given the to ahead to try it within Peabody. They had great success and the approach appealed to many families within the cluster boundary. But not all families felt comfortable trying out a non-traditional approach. Sort of like charter schools now who use different approaches and other Montessori programs within DCPS. Cool thing is that some of those founding teachers are still at SWS and one is now the principal.

There are other DCPS schools that have adopted the Reggio Approach but as a standard early childhood model in all of their classrooms. Parents can't opt in or out if it is their neighborhood school which possibly makes it harder to implement the full program like Sws does. You don't have he same level of parent buy-in.

The insinuation that parents choose Sws to avoid African Americans is truly unfair and the rantings of a very damaged mind. That said, now that the school is city-wide enrollment and a full elementary Sws should and probably will do a much better job of outreach to try and increase diversity there.

What IS the SWS origin story? It does seem interesting that someone created literally a school within a school...

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:You also have to remember that this school started as a segregated "whites only" branch of Peabody, which was just far too black for the founding families -- that's what I find so gross. So if you don't value early literacy and want to live in a racially diverse city but send your child to a free public school where she encounters almost no African Americans, then it's the perfect place for you.

What a bizarre thing to say. Not true then, not true now, and you sound just horrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After the open house I moved it from #2 to #6 on the application. I did not think that the principal articulated clearly what separates this school from others. It seemed, for lack of a better word, a bit too fluffy. The focus is more on letting kids be kids than on academics and getting kids to read at an early age. The school environment and project were visually stunning. However, the approach did not resonate well with our family and it would not be a good fit even on the unlikely chance that we got in.

I think you made a mistake. Having gone through this program twice when it didn't extend beyond K, I will admit that my children weren't reading by the end of K. But somehow over the summer, my children had the light go on and both ended up being voracious readers snd very good students going forward. The pre-literacy and pre-numeracy (?) education at SWS is second to none and the children don't get burned out on learning and school at an early age. It takes a little faith, but it works out well.

There are plenty of kids who read multiple advanced grade levels too. As a child centered learning philosophy, Reggio will typically focus less on reaching some arbitrary age based milestone and more on each individual child's progression with the necessary foundation and support in place. Some of kids learn faster than others. The kids who are behind or have learning differences get more individual help. They also understand the developmental importance of play for all ages and even more so for 3-5 year olds.

Anonymous wrote:OK, this might sound obnoxious, but what is the discipline situation at SWS? Some of the neighborhood kids that go to SWS seem as though they very rarely hear the word no. Wondering if this is school, parents, or both.

SWS has a strong reputation for addressing learning differences, and what you may interpret as discipline issues are more likely children who have other issues requiring remediation. These kids are fortunate to be in a place that respects those differences and works with children and families as needed.

Anonymous wrote:You also have to remember that this school started as a segregated "whites only" branch of Peabody, which was just far too black for the founding families -- that's what I find so gross. So if you don't value early literacy and want to live in a racially diverse city but send your child to a free public school where she encounters almost no African Americans, then it's the perfect place for you.

this is total BS you troll

Anonymous wrote:You also have to remember that this school started as a segregated "whites only" branch of Peabody, which was just far too black for the founding families -- that's what I find so gross. So if you don't value early literacy and want to live in a racially diverse city but send your child to a free public school where she encounters almost no African Americans, then it's the perfect place for you.

cool story

Anonymous wrote:I moved it down on my list after the Open House, but for other reasons.

Are you dying to tell us why?

You also have to remember that this school started as a segregated "whites only" branch of Peabody, which was just far too black for the founding families -- that's what I find so gross. So if you don't value early literacy and want to live in a racially diverse city but send your child to a free public school where she encounters almost no African Americans, then it's the perfect place for you.