Long-time Burgundy family here and I would say that in our tenure at the school there has never been an exodus in the middle school as there was this year. Families can and do leave in the lower school for a variety of reasons, but those who stick it out for 7-8 years do not typically leave with one year to go. Seventh grade is not typically an exit year nor is it typically an entry year at other schools. This is not as easy to dismiss as PP would like to make it seem.

Anonymous wrote:This happens from time to time. A few years ago, something like one-third of the combined 2/3 class was withdrawn simultaneously. We've heard that there is real unhappiness with the Head, and with the departure of the prior MS head. We found Burgundy to be quite a nasty place, and academically it was a disappointment to us. The published list of colleges didn't seem to include at least three community-college enrollments and several "gap" years.

Anonymous wrote:Following the thread with amusement. It is absolutely an impressive list. Not sure how anyone can challenge it. HOWEVER, can the school replicate it again? Lower school parents are watching with angst as only three teachers remain from just two years ago at the Middle School and a fifth of the 7th grade class left this year (all students who had been at the school for many years). In prior years, it was almost unheard of for a long-term student to leave without finishing the 8th grade capstone year. Anyone knowing what is going on in the Middle School?

You have posted this view quite a few times on DCUM. I'm sorry that you found Burgundy to be so disappointing, but I think "nasty" is an adjective that few Burgundy families would use.

Families leave Burgundy for many reasons, as do staff. At a small school, just 6 or 7 kids leaving represents a fifth of a class ... but if they each left for entirely different reasons (such as family moving, financial contraints, genuine unhappiness with the school, getting a jump on 9th grade admissions, etc.) then it is difficult to draw overly alarming conclusions. I don't rule out alarm but just suggest caution.

This happens from time to time. A few years ago, something like one-third of the combined 2/3 class was withdrawn simultaneously. We've heard that there is real unhappiness with the Head, and with the departure of the prior MS head. We found Burgundy to be quite a nasty place, and academically it was a disappointment to us. The published list of colleges didn't seem to include at least three community-college enrollments and several "gap" years.

Anonymous wrote:Following the thread with amusement. It is absolutely an impressive list. Not sure how anyone can challenge it. HOWEVER, can the school replicate it again? Lower school parents are watching with angst as only three teachers remain from just two years ago at the Middle School and a fifth of the 7th grade class left this year (all students who had been at the school for many years). In prior years, it was almost unheard of for a long-term student to leave without finishing the 8th grade capstone year. Anyone knowing what is going on in the Middle School?

Following the thread with amusement. It is absolutely an impressive list. Not sure how anyone can challenge it. HOWEVER, can the school replicate it again? Lower school parents are watching with angst as only three teachers remain from just two years ago at the Middle School and a fifth of the 7th grade class left this year (all students who had been at the school for many years). In prior years, it was almost unheard of for a long-term student to leave without finishing the 8th grade capstone year. Anyone knowing what is going on in the Middle School?

O.K., a class of about 30 kids ends up with students at Amherst, Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Stanford, Haverford, Kenyon and William and Mary and you are not impressed? What planet do you come from?

It is disingenuous to make a partial public listing on the schools website and only publish the complete list in the schools private publication.

Anonymous wrote:There are 24 schools listed and the total class is only about 30, so I don't know how that would really qualify as "smoke and mirrors."

Also doesn't claim to be the total list. They may not even have the total list yet.... Note the note: Complete list will be published in Voices (school publication).

As for diversity, always a struggle at a small school that does not have a hefty endowment (like schools that rather than be intentionally diverse from the start, were intentionally undiverse for generations). It's not perfect. They try.

Anonymous wrote:PP Real diversity is a joke at Burgundy. They give a lot of lip service to diversity but it isn't truly a diverse school.

They are better at it in the lower grades. Overall they probably have no more or less diversity than any of the other privates in Alexandria.

There are 24 schools listed and the total class is only about 30, so I don't know how that would really qualify as "smoke and mirrors."

The list below omits several junior/community colleges, and also omits several gap years.

+1 Smoke and mirrors.

PP Real diversity is a joke at Burgundy. They give a lot of lip service to diversity but it isn't truly a diverse school.

Just a thought from a Burgundy parent - If you really want to devote a lot of energy to thinking about where your three-year-old will go to high school or college, you will probably not be happy at Burgundy. You won't find many parents (or any faculty or administrators) sharing your concerns and that will be a recipe for frustration.

It's also probably not going to be a happy place for you if you worry about where your child's classmates will go to high school. When the time comes, my DC will have an opinion about where to go. DC might really want to go to a prep school or decide on a "real world" experience at TC Williams. I expect Burgundy to provide us with guidance about where they think DC will thrive and be an advocate with high school admission directors. But, it doesn't matter to me where DC's classmates go. What should I care if someone makes a different calculation and goes to a different high school than DC would choose?

Choose Burgundy if you feel the school's philosophy is consistent with your own. Ask yourself if you think you can work with the teachers and administrators about your child's educational development. Every child is going to hit a few bumps between JK and 8th grade and you're going to have to work within the school's framework.

Choose Burgundy if you really value diversity. Your child may become good friends with a child of a different race/ethnicity or whose family has a very different level of income than yours. They may even become BFFs with a child from a family with very different lives (politics, orientation, religion etc.). Ask yourself if you would be comfortable having dinner with their parents or if you'd prefer children of people like you.

Possibly, but it would be interesting to compare this list with where graduates of SSSAS, ACDS, and Browne are going, as those are the closest comparable private schools in Alexandria.

The list below omits several junior/community colleges, and also omits several gap years.

Anonymous wrote:Here's another datapoint-- college matriculation for the Burgunday class of '08 (remember, this is a class of 30 kids):


Congrats to the Class of 2008  
Burgundy's Class of 2008 is graduating from high school and preparing for their next adventures. Below is a list of some of the colleges they will be attending. A complete list will be included in the upcoming issue of Voices. 

Amherst College
Bennett College
Bucknell University
College of Charleston
Columbia University
Cornell University
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Ithaca College
Kenyon College
McDaniel College
Northeastern University
Princeton University
Savannah College of Art and Design
St. John's College
Stanford University
The College of William & Mary
Tulane University
University of Houston
University of Pittsburgh
University of Vermont
Virginia Commonwealth University
Xavier University
Yale University