Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fact that GDS is constantly comparing itself to SFS says a lot. I never hear it the other way around.

Correct. GDS has always been for wannabe Sidwell kids / families.
* cue the, "We turned down Sidwell for GDS!!"

I'm the PP who has a child at Sidwell and two at STA. No, just no.

I know a few families that turned down Sidwell for GDS because they were more culturally comfortable at GDS, whether because there were more families who shared their religion or because their kids had more friends attending GDS, or because they it was closer to home, etc., etc.

There are many reasons why people do choose GDS over Sidwell. That's not to say Sidwell isn't a great school. People make choices for personal and sometimes idiosyncratic reasons. To disparage GDS the way PP has simplistic and childish. Yes, there are some families attending GDS that may have preferred Sidwell over GDS, but there are probably an equal number who preferred GDS over Sidwell.

This reads to me like spin from the cast off director. "These people are HEROES!" I mean, come on.

Anonymous wrote:The fact that GDS is constantly comparing itself to SFS says a lot. I never hear it the other way around.

Correct. GDS has always been for wannabe Sidwell kids / families.
* cue the, "We turned down Sidwell for GDS!!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Keeping something up about how parents act with respect to admissions is much more central to the board. Other stories, like the alleged rape at Sidwell, were taken down.

Because there wasn't a rape.

Call it what you will but it resulted in the perpetrator being removed from Sidwell immediately.

No charges were ever brought forward. It was a false claim and the "perpetrator" should not have left. I would have left too, if I had been falsely accused like that.

The school was satisfied that the perpetrator committed a grave offense and acted, even though the optics of the situation were fraught. The school did the right thing.

This incident was investigated by DCPD detectives who did not see a crime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Keeping something up about how parents act with respect to admissions is much more central to the board. Other stories, like the alleged rape at Sidwell, were taken down.

Because there wasn't a rape.

Call it what you will but it resulted in the perpetrator being removed from Sidwell immediately.

No charges were ever brought forward. It was a false claim and the "perpetrator" should not have left. I would have left too, if I had been falsely accused like that.

The only difference between Sidwell and the Cathedral schools is that they are affiliated with different denominations. Having had children at both schools, I can tell you that while spirituality is a component in both schools, neither is overly religious or attempts to proselytize. The services at STA and NCS are more ecumenical and include celebrations of holy days from different religions. NCS has been very eager to embrace the Episcopal Church's call to social justice (e.g., gun law reform, LGBTQ equality, anti-racism). Sidwell's affiliation with Quakerism also stresses the importance of social justice. Both schools are academically strong. Anyone arguing that one is better than the other is seeking affirmation because of their insecurities.

The Atlantic piece is one of several attempts by the former college office director to spin his departure. And initially, he seems to have had success in doing so outside the school community. He would have everyone believe that he resigned on principle because he couldn’t abide pushy, “entitled” parents engaging in obnoxious behavior. And there apparently were a couple of parents who behaved outrageously. But the reason for the churn in the college office is that the director stubbornly refused to admit that he had made a stunningly bad hire and then to do anything about it. Finally the school admin had enough and counseled the both of them out.

There are way more than three excellent schools in the area, folks. The difference is cost, community, and location. A superior education can be had in many places and the area's brightest students attend many different schools.

Anonymous wrote:The fact that GDS is constantly comparing itself to SFS says a lot. I never hear it the other way around.

I think it’s a troll

The fact that GDS is constantly comparing itself to SFS says a lot. I never hear it the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is the best school in the area. All the haters on DCUM are just pissed because they were either waitlisted and rejected by
the school. I believe about less than 4% of applicants are accepted. Congrats to all who made it in and those who couldn’t make it in are just sour grapes.

It is a good school, particularly for those who have not shot at the Cathedral schools.

What a ludicrous statement. They pull from totally different audiences. Sidwell’s moderately progressive curriculum results in a liberal appeal and the cathedral schools traditional, rigid approach pulls from a more conservative base. Any overlap results from chasing the elite monicker with perceptions of influence and access, nothing else.

We are a family that turned Sidwell down for one child. We accepted for another. It may be the best school in the area for some, but it is not the best school for all children.

Two of our other children attend STA. The school is traditional, but no more rigid than Sidwell. We are not conservative nor are we influence and access chasers. We chose STA because it was the right school for our two very different boys.

These posts are written by people who lack any real knowledge of these schools and whose thought processes rely on cartoonishly simple caricatures.

+1. Both are great schools, and the same sorts of kids go to each. Some might fit better in one versus the other, though, and in our experience that has little to do with PP's over-broad stereotypes. I don't think pp knows either school, much less the many families who have kids in both communities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Keeping something up about how parents act with respect to admissions is much more central to the board. Other stories, like the alleged rape at Sidwell, were taken down.

Because there wasn't a rape.

Call it what you will but it resulted in the perpetrator being removed from Sidwell immediately.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is the best school in the area. All the haters on DCUM are just pissed because they were either waitlisted and rejected by
the school. I believe about less than 4% of applicants are accepted. Congrats to all who made it in and those who couldn’t make it in are just sour grapes.

It’s hard to know if this post is motivated with troll aspiration or genuine intention. Either way, so sad...

GDS surpassed Sidwell about 15 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is the best school in the area. All the haters on DCUM are just pissed because they were either waitlisted and rejected by
the school. I believe about less than 4% of applicants are accepted. Congrats to all who made it in and those who couldn’t make it in are just sour grapes.

It is a good school, particularly for those who have not shot at the Cathedral schools.

What a ludicrous statement. They pull from totally different audiences. Sidwell’s moderately progressive curriculum results in a liberal appeal and the cathedral schools traditional, rigid approach pulls from a more conservative base. Any overlap results from chasing the elite monicker with perceptions of influence and access, nothing else.

We are a family that turned Sidwell down for one child. We accepted for another. It may be the best school in the area for some, but it is not the best school for all children.

Two of our other children attend STA. The school is traditional, but no more rigid than Sidwell. We are not conservative nor are we influence and access chasers. We chose STA because it was the right school for our two very different boys.

These posts are written by people who lack any real knowledge of these schools and whose thought processes rely on cartoonishly simple caricatures.