Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve decided not to apply my DD to Holton. It looks like a great school but I don’t like the deliberate association with Landon. I know no school is perfect. But the recent articles about a number of boys schools in this area makes me think there is an inherent problem with the culture at these schools that promotes a feeling of privilege and superiority.

The single sex schools all have deliberate associations:

Holton/Landon
Visitation/Gonzaga
Stone Ridge/Georgetown Prep
National Catherdral/St. Albans
Oakcrest/The Heights

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

You people really place way too much into this “alumni network”. These are his high school friends who are defending him. They would do the same thing if they all went to public school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard for me to believe it won't have an impact. I went to a coed Jesuit high school (not metro DC area), and I have to say it's affected my support of the school. I've been getting calls about attending an upcoming fundraising event, and right now I just can't bring myself to financially support a Jesuit, Catholic institution. I suspect this is not an uncommon feeling, as based on the frequency of the calls I think attendance and support must be down overall.

So you aren't supporting your non-DC coed Jesuit high school because of what happened in the 80s at Georgetown Prep? You know that sounds ridiculous right?

That is like saying you won't send a kid to a Big Ten school because of what happened at Penn State. Zero logic.

The letter written by the current head of Georgetown Prep was a big turnoff, actually, with the talk of being elite. If that’s the current attitude of the order, that’s an issue for me.

Loved the letter from the headmaster at Gonzaga:



Dear Parents and Guardians,

During orientation at the beginning of this academic year, Mr. Jim Kilroy, Dean of Students, introduced the students to a simple theme that he and his office will be continually reinforcing throughout this school year: A Gonzaga student is kind.

Given recent news events that have divided our nation and that hit particularly close to home for many in our community, that theme of kindness has taken on even more meaning and relevance. The recent news events fall on the heels of other scandals and social challenges that already had many of us feeling raw and exposed.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we are all concerned about the state of the world our children are growing up in. Our students, your sons, are not immune to this sentiment. Across the country, drug and alcohol abuse among teens remains prevalent, and, tragically, teen suicide rates are rising because of stress, bullying, and unreasonable expectations for perfection in a very imperfect world.

Although we cannot, and should not, shelter your sons from the world around them, our goal is to offer a safe, kind environment where open discussions are encouraged, differing viewpoints are welcome, and a community of support exists to help students confront and answer difficult questions.

However, nourishing your sons’ mental, social, and emotional health is not a task we can accomplish alone. We need your help. This year, we will endeavor to educate your sons about racial and social injustice, we will develop programs that foster unity, and we will talk about informed consent and treating women with the respect and dignity that Christ demands of us. We will create space for dialogue so that your sons leave Gonzaga confident in their own unique gifts and respectful and inclusive of all people they encounter. We strongly encourage you to talk about and reinforce these same messages at home.

All of this is to say that there seems like no better time to focus on cura personalis, or care for the whole person. A united front at school and at home will yield the most positive results. To that end, we are offering two programs for parents this October that we sincerely hope you will attend. Details are as follows:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be surprised if applications to all DC privates don't fall.

Yes the party culture of DC private schools in the 1989's should make us all rethink private schools.

Well, we're talking about people applying to the schools, right? Not people who are already enrolled? All the stories over the past how many weeks make private schools, to the outsider, look pretty bad. (I'm sure everyone with a child already in one of the schools though will slough it all off). If I was an admissions person at any DC private though, I would be worried.

If you're applying, you already are interested in a private education. If your theory is right, and a few change their minds, there are still plenty of others who will apply. It's not like they have openings. And your hypothesis depends on everyone thinking public schools have none of the same past behavior and therefore must be a better alternative. Which is false.

I think you're underestimating the damage that has been done to the image of private schools.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I'm not muck raking. I'm sincerely wondering if it might be easier to be accepted at these schools this year and wondering if Landon had fewer applications after its bad press years ago. I'm sure there is a core constituent base and that Landon rebounded. But, was there a dip? If considering Holton or Prep or St. Albans, might my DD and/or DS have an easier chance applying this year? DD is also looking at Catholic girls schools.

Anonymous wrote:Duke lacrosse, UVA Rolling Stone, etc. This is not that different. Those schools are doing just fine.

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

Anonymous wrote:I think the kind of parents who know the value of having a close knit alumni network that looks out for one another - as demonstrated in today's article on Kavanaugh in WaPo know that value of sending their children to these kinds of institutions and know the value of being associated with institutions that will groom and look after their own. They know they are the elite and intend to stay that way as long as possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm part of one of the communities in question, and very politically progressive. My view is that I'd rather stay and work to shape the culture myself than abandon it and let the problem continue. In my particular community, I see enough positive action to make me feel reasonably good about the future direction of things.

Pro Kavanagh press conferences?

I am personally opposed to Kavanaugh's nomination, but I don't really have an issue with friends of Kavanaugh giving statements of support based on their own interactions with him, just as I assume that these parents don't have a problem with NCS posting pictures on its website of students holding signs in support of intersectional feminism (or of doing a sit-in over Parkland), or of a faculty member publishing in the Feminist Wire. My focus is on what's happening within the school environment itself, which I find very open-minded and inclusive, not what a few parents may do on their own free time in support of someone that they've known personally for decades.

I think you’re missing a big component of why people are upset. They feel that some of these very conservative views are coming into their school and affecting their community. What don’t you understand about that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actions of one or a few individuals at a local school in the news recently occurred 35-40 years ago. Does any reasonable person really think that those behaviors are still prevalent?

I have no connection to the school except we've been there a few times for children's practices or games. I would have no qualms considering the school for our sons if they were applying to high school and if we lived in the general area.

I think OP is muck raking. Isn't there enough intolerance and nastiness in the world already, OP? Do you really need to dive in, too?

It’s quite hard to believe that people would allow a school’s culture from almost 40 years ago to affect how they think about it now. But yes, people really are that irrational.

So tell us: What year did the school's culture change?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm part of one of the communities in question, and very politically progressive. My view is that I'd rather stay and work to shape the culture myself than abandon it and let the problem continue. In my particular community, I see enough positive action to make me feel reasonably good about the future direction of things.

Pro Kavanagh press conferences?

I am personally opposed to Kavanaugh's nomination, but I don't really have an issue with friends of Kavanaugh giving statements of support based on their own interactions with him, just as I assume that these parents don't have a problem with NCS posting pictures on its website of students holding signs in support of intersectional feminism (or of doing a sit-in over Parkland), or of a faculty member publishing in the Feminist Wire. My focus is on what's happening within the school environment itself, which I find very open-minded and inclusive, not what a few parents may do on their own free time in support of someone that they've known personally for decades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actions of one or a few individuals at a local school in the news recently occurred 35-40 years ago. Does any reasonable person really think that those behaviors are still prevalent?

I have no connection to the school except we've been there a few times for children's practices or games. I would have no qualms considering the school for our sons if they were applying to high school and if we lived in the general area.

I think OP is muck raking. Isn't there enough intolerance and nastiness in the world already, OP? Do you really need to dive in, too?

It’s quite hard to believe that people would allow a school’s culture from almost 40 years ago to affect how they think about it now. But yes, people really are that irrational.