I think the meh reviews on MOTH are largely due to the principal's unwillingness to kiss up to types of people who largely contribute on MOTH (let's be real, there is very little diversity on MOTH). I agree that most people attend LT for one or two years until they get in somewhere "better" or "more established." However, I think much of this is changing now due to the saturation of the more renown Hill schools and the fact that some local families are deciding to stay on. It's an uphill battle since perception does matter and unfortunately the principal hasn't quite caught on to this. Then again, if I were her, I wouldn't want to spend a lot of my time kissing up to people I know will leave the school by 1st grade. It's the chicken and the egg problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually MOTH has been very positive on L-T in recent years. It's the crappy neighbors that spread the haterade all over the place.

MOTH is in many ways the opposite of DCUM: there is no anonymity, so you are much more likely to hear only the positive because no one wants to offend anyone. You're also dealing with some selection bias.

Yes! Just the fact there is not a ton of positive press on MOTH speaks volumes... If MOTH is "meh" you can be pretty sure you are getting the short end of the stick....

I wouldn't characterize the press on MOTH about LT as being "meh", though. There really hasn't been much public feedback on any schools lately. Usually people reply privately. OP, if you're still worried and can't believe things posted here anonymously, why don't you ask for feedback on MOTH so you can get some non-anonymous feedback?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually MOTH has been very positive on L-T in recent years. It's the crappy neighbors that spread the haterade all over the place.

MOTH is in many ways the opposite of DCUM: there is no anonymity, so you are much more likely to hear only the positive because no one wants to offend anyone. You're also dealing with some selection bias.

Yes! Just the fact there is not a ton of positive press on MOTH speaks volumes... If MOTH is "meh" you can be pretty sure you are getting the short end of the stick....

What does it say when the "Principal's Message" page on the LT website is blank?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, are other Cap Hill schools this controversial? What's up with the mega-defensive catty tone of all of these responses?

If you can dig through the archives where some DCUMS basically wanted to burn LT to the ground, salt the earth and then run the Principal out of town.


IMO the main issue people have with LT is that like other Hill schools it has really seen an upswing in testing and quality in education but unlike Maury or Watkins the prinicpal hasn't gone out of her way to play favorites with a certain socio-economic group and generally just is more focused about being an educator than marketing her school to IB families.

While I don't put much credence in the race-based critiques from the anti-LT crowd, the pro-LT side uses the same tactics. Am I really to believe that the perceived problems with the principal are fabricated due to an unfulfilled desire for special treatment?

I suspect the real answer lies somewhere in the middle. I also think we are seeing why marketing is an important aspect of a principal's job. Perception can drive reality. While it is easy to say good riddance to IB families who have the wrong perception, the reality is that the school would be better off with them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually MOTH has been very positive on L-T in recent years. It's the crappy neighbors that spread the haterade all over the place.

MOTH is in many ways the opposite of DCUM: there is no anonymity, so you are much more likely to hear only the positive because no one wants to offend anyone. You're also dealing with some selection bias.

Okay, but there are also a lot of current parents here on DCUM who like the school. I toured it a couple of years ago when it was my IB school and also was impressed with the parents, teachers and program. I had several neighbors who were completely convinced that their children were too good for Ludlow Taylor and were not shy about saying so.

Anonymous wrote:Actually MOTH has been very positive on L-T in recent years. It's the crappy neighbors that spread the haterade all over the place.

MOTH is in many ways the opposite of DCUM: there is no anonymity, so you are much more likely to hear only the positive because no one wants to offend anyone. You're also dealing with some selection bias.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, are other Cap Hill schools this controversial? What's up with the mega-defensive catty tone of all of these responses?

If you can dig through the archives where some DCUMS basically wanted to burn LT to the ground, salt the earth and then run the Principal out of town.


IMO the main issue people have with LT is that like other Hill schools it has really seen an upswing in testing and quality in education but unlike Maury or Watkins the prinicpal hasn't gone out of her way to play favorites with a certain socio-economic group and generally just is more focused about being an educator than marketing her school to IB families.

Well . . . there Is that pesky issue about LT being flagged for excessive DCCAS erasure rates in 2010 with the subsequent drop in scores in 2011.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Students at Brent are delicate little cherry blossoms floating on a sea of tranquility.

Truly.

But, sadly, there are some Brent parents who really think this way . . . .

OP - I would put Ludlow-Taylor's ECE up against almost any other on the Hill. And we were an SWS family.

My Brent blossom could kick the crap out of any L-T punk without breaking a sweat. And if any lightweight L-T kid joins the dice game that our Brent blossoms run near the wobble horse, then the only thing they will leave with is empty pockets.

LOL -- what a fantasy. Brent blossoms start getting bloody noses at the mere thought of our L-T toughs. Then they run to their mommies asking for the tissue with aloe in it, cause no way could they wipe their noses with newspaper the way our kids do.

I think you will be fine, especially if you don't try to "take on" the principal. I frankly think that's where a lot of families messed up. We left when we were able to lottery to a new school but our dc was pretty unhappy there. Not sure whether we would have stayed had the experience been better.

Pretty much. She doesn't ask "how high" when they say jump.

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, are other Cap Hill schools this controversial? What's up with the mega-defensive catty tone of all of these responses?

If you can dig through the archives where some DCUMS basically wanted to burn LT to the ground, salt the earth and then run the Principal out of town.


IMO the main issue people have with LT is that like other Hill schools it has really seen an upswing in testing and quality in education but unlike Maury or Watkins the prinicpal hasn't gone out of her way to play favorites with a certain socio-economic group and generally just is more focused about being an educator than marketing her school to IB families.

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, are other Cap Hill schools this controversial? What's up with the mega-defensive catty tone of all of these responses?

It's the principal and the oob kids in upper grades - the local people want to make it work but feel like they're fighting an uphill battle.

To the SWS Pp, glad you loved their ECE - good to know you're happy for the next 4 years at SWS.

We are LT in bounds and really happy to read all of this. We hadn't heard negative things per se, but just have seen the schools physical image change a lot. Sounds like the program has changed a lot as well. We are looking forwards to the lottery!

Just curious, are other Cap Hill schools this controversial? What's up with the mega-defensive catty tone of all of these responses?