Interesting -- very similar conversation happening now on DCPS forum about Janney elementary school. Bottom line is that we have seen the behavior described here at virtually every school our children have attended (public and private) -- among parents and students. Even schools that are supposed to embrace difference, support creativity etc. And at some of the schools we expected to like -- that we thought would be more open-minded and accepting of difference -- we saw some truly unkind things. People are complicated. 11:35, after one of our DCs attended a progressive K-8 school -- where curiosity was definitely encouraged -- we thought we knew what HS, including some on your list, would work. We were disappointed when one school visit yielded hours on mine craft and fairly little rigorous instruction. Maybe just a bad day, but the point is that each school has its virtues and its challenges. Another of our children attends a school thought to be one of the most rigorous schools discussed on this board. And the truth is creativity is NOT encouraged there. Five hours of homework a night is. Our experience is that each stage of child development brings different challenges. Visit a bunch of places and see where you think your child could most likely thrive. Truth is it might not be the same at each stage -- and no place is perfect. After having kids at five schools, I have stopped beating up on schools I know little about. Not entertaining, and my guess is that most schools are perfect for some set of kids -- and we should celebrate that. Good luck!

It is an OK school. PP here. Parent of two grads. Hindsight is 20/20. OK doesn't equal "worth it." Very cliquey. Lots of helicopter parents. Hard to break into sports if lifers have established themselves in specific positions. Now 'recruiting' for certain sports, including in senior year. Way too much nepotism. Ice breaker get-togethers for new kids at homes where most of the kids already know each other and don't include the new kids. Lots of BH clubby types and ANCC clubby types. Lunches for moms that are hard for working moms to get to. Looking back, I wonder why we stayed. I guess because it seemed 'OK.'

22:02 here. It's hard for many of the reasons others have mentioned. I am sure there are plenty of nice families with nice kids at SSSAS, but the culture seems a bit overly materialistic and anti-intellectual. I am sure it is "rigorous" in the sense that kids have to work hard to get good grades, but that kind of rigor is not the same as having a culture in which curiosity, creativity and individuality flourish. I want my kids to be in a diverse school where there is no pressure to fit into a cookie cutter mold, and where they can be themselves and be appreciated and encouraged.

SSSAS doesn't seem awful-- it seems like a perfectly okay school -- but it doesn't seem all that interesting, either. We are more attracted to Field, Burke, the New School and even TC Williams.

As I said, I would be very, very happy to be proven wrong! If you think I am wrong please tell me. The kids could ride their bikes to school if they went to SSSAS-- oh boy would I love that.

Anonymous wrote:Well if you go away for vacation, many SSAS parents hold a party in your house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really, really want to like SSSAS because we live in Alexandria and it would be a whole lot more convenient than the DC schools. (Not to mention somewhat cheaper). But it's hard.

Why is it hard? I sincerely would really like to know your thoughts if you don't mind posting.

+1. Please elaborate.

Anonymous wrote:I really, really want to like SSSAS because we live in Alexandria and it would be a whole lot more convenient than the DC schools. (Not to mention somewhat cheaper). But it's hard.

Just like any school, if you have to try, it is not the right fit for your family/child. We felt that way about Sidwell.

Well if you go away for vacation, many SSAS parents hold a party in your house.

Anonymous wrote:I really, really want to like SSSAS because we live in Alexandria and it would be a whole lot more convenient than the DC schools. (Not to mention somewhat cheaper). But it's hard.

Why is it hard? I sincerely would really like to know your thoughts if you don't mind posting.

+1 22:02

I really, really want to like SSSAS because we live in Alexandria and it would be a whole lot more convenient than the DC schools. (Not to mention somewhat cheaper). But it's hard.

Not that this matters but I thought SSSAS middle and upper school were pretty ugly. They look like my own suburban public high school, built in the 1950s... brick and more brick, but not charming old brick, just ugly suburban brick. I admit that Burgundy's campus has spoiled me.

The wonderful thing about this area is that we have a lot of great options for our children, including public. Some may feel the culture at SSSA to be a great training ground for their child to survie in the future and other ma not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We turned down SSSAS, in part, because of this bull$hit. Not our style at all. Not into the cocktail parties where moms glare at each other, act phony nice, and then point out to their clique that so-and-so has a last season tory burch bag. The horror!

Signed,

Burgundy Farm family from Rosemont

So... you go to SSSAS cocktail parties? This does not make any sense.

This is the Burgundy parent, and - yes - we went to multiple events for admitted students, including cocktail parties. Our DC was accepted. The parent culture at SSSAS was immediately obvious to us. I think the PPs sum it up well. At Burgundy there is money, too, but much less of a focus on materialism, name brands, and cars driven. The parents are much more down to earth and friendly. Less cliquey.

Not at SSSAS, but will say that 1) all the parents I have met from this school seem like really nice people; and 2) anyone who thinks bullying is unique to any place is confused. Further, a school can only do so much about bullying. Fixing it is mostly up to the kids involved, but at young ages MUST involve parents. Teachers and administrators are not there to parent children - bullies or the bullied. There is only so much they can do. Being a private school, they can do more than a public, but it is still only so much. The fix has to happen at home. In my mind, that includes teaching the bullied to stand tall and face it head on.

Teach your kids about "Stop Walk Talk" when dealing with bullies.