"Getting into" Independent schools in DC

WEEKLY REFLECTION NUMERO TRES ( THE FINAL ONE)

2008-05-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

This week has been the, not the busiest, but the hardest week so far. The second week of senior project I was like a scavenger, collecting HUGE amounts of information, both visually and through interviews. This week was dedicated entirely to looking back through my information, sorting it all out and putting it all back together so it fit into my book like one 35 piece jigsaw puzzle.

This week I learned the importance of patience. I did not particularly want to sit down for hours at a time and sort through all the information I had gotten, but it was imperative to do so, instead of just copying and pasting. And it was worth the effort. Surprisingly I did like what I was doing, though it was arduous in the beginning, once I had the information all sorted out it was really fun to put it all together and see the final product. Everything pretty much happened as I expected though i was surprised at the speed everything came together. I am the type of person who just has to sit down for HOURS at a time and do a lot, instead of a little work spread out over a longer period of time. So once I got all the info and schools separate it came together, not exactly quickly, but in a timely fashion

I will benefit greatly from this week because it taught me so much the importance of being self-reliant and self-responsible. Since I had no schools to see and appointments to keep, it could have been REALLY to simply lie in the sun all day, and do everything tonight, but I realized i wanted to get it done early so I wouldn't be stressed, and so I did.

I am so glad I decided, albeit very last minute, to do senior project. I have learned a lot and grown a lot and feel that it was definitely benificial to do an independent project rather than just stay in my classes. I won't go into great detail on this blog about everything I have learned and how I have grown because all that delightful information is in my self-evaluation

I can't really say, "until next time" because this is the last time, so i will simply say this myself with this,

PEACE+LOVE

ABBIE

May 23rd- Friday on Friday

2008-05-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today began quite interestingly- off to the doctors i went for TWO shots, which was oh-so delightful and almost brought tears to my eyes...then off to the dentist, where I learned that my wisdom teeth must be pulled out of my mouth ASAP..oh joy. Then back to my house for some work.

I spent many hours looking over my book and paper, and sadly could not find Felipe today so I haven't had a chance to talk with him about my self-evaluation.

It seems weird that Senior project is almost over, three weeks has gone by SO quickly, I have learned so much during these weeks, and I'm glad I went through the effort to do SP, b/c it was DEFINITELY WORTH IT.. here's a preview of how I plan to defend this on Monday..

SELF-EVALUATION

When I first started thinking about senior project it was very late in the process, and I had not put much thought into it. Luckily, I was able to do senior project, and despite the fact it was much harder than I had originally anticipated, I definitely feel as though I have learned a lot and grown as a person. I learned about time management, personal responsibility and accountability, and a great deal about independent schools and the way they work.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

PEACE+LOVE

ABBIE

MAY 23rd.THURSDAY..ON FRIDAY

2008-05-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm not gonna lie, I simply forgot to do my blog yesterday, strange that it happened so late in the process, but what are you going to do?

The only thing I can say in my defense is I was so worried about getting all my stuff done and printed out that i was not thinking about blogging.

Yesterday was probably my second most productive day to date. I finished up my book, printed her out, wrote my self-evaluation and turned that into my mentor, Felipe, to look at, and finished and printed out my research paper.

Today my big plans are to look through every page of my book, self-eval, and paper and check for typos missed by my computer, and just make sure everything looks alright, and going over my original goals again so I can make sure I can defend my project when I present on Monday.

Here's a bit more preview of my AMAZING ( if I may say so myself) book-

INTRODUCTION

I decided to do this project because private schools have always been a big part of my life. I was born at an all-boys boarding school in Massachusetts, and since then I have been surrounded by the world of independent schools. I created this book because I don’t think there is enough information out there for people new to Washington DC and the bubble of private schools that is easy for a kid to read and understand.

Over the week and half I was in Washington DC I visited three very different private high schools in Washington and one boarding school in Virginia.

I spent time at Georgetown day school, Episcopal high school, the Field school and Maret.

This Book contains information, statistics, interviews with students, teachers, and administration, and my personal review of all the four schools. This book also contains an interview with my dad, who is the head of a small private k-8 school in DC, and an interview with my sponsor, Margie Gottfried, who is the assistant director of admissions and financial aid at Sheridan.

I hope this book will provide some insight into impendent schools in Washington DC, and private high schools in general

Peace+Love, Abbie

UNTIL NEXT TIME

PEACE+LOVE

ABBIE

"CRAM TIME"- Wednesday May 21st

2008-05-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today was by far my most productive day. This morning I went over to school to catch up with my crazy mentor, Phil and Michele. Then when I got home around noon, I sat down and started creating my book, and I worked and worked, only stopping for food and running. I am stopping now also to write this blog, but after dinner I plan on going back, my goal is to get all the information for the book down, and then tomorrow going back through and fixing typo's and such, so that friday and the weekend will be dedicated to finishing my research paper and writing the self-evaluation. Today, and this is a FACT, i got TWENTY FOUR whopping pages of my book done.

And here is a preview..

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Georgetown Day school ( P. 1-8)

3. Episcopal high school ( P. 9-15)

4. Field school ( P. 16-23)

5. The Maret school ( P. 24-)

6. Interview with Randy Plummer, head of the Sheridan school

7. Interview with Margie Gottfried, assistant director of admissions and financial aid at Sheridan

8. Closing note

INTRODUCTION

I decided to do this project because private schools have always been a big part of my life. I was born at an all-boys boarding school in Massachussetts, and since then I have been surrounded by the world of independent schools. I created this book because I don’t think there is enough information out there for people new to Washington DC and the bubble of private schools that is easy for a kid to read and understand.

Over the week and half I was in Washington DC I visited three very different private high schools in Washington and one boarding school in Virginia.

I spent time at Georgetown day school, Episcopal high school, the Field school and Maret.

This Book contains information, statistics, interviews with students, teachers, and administration, and my personal review of all the four schools. This book also contains an interview with my dad, who is the head of a small private k-8 school in DC, and an interview with my sponsor, Margie Gottfriend, who is the assistant director of admissions and financial aid at Sheridan.

I hope this book will provide some insight into indepdent schools in Washington DC, and private high schools in general

Peace+Love, Abbie

AND THE REST YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE...

until next time,

Peace+Love

ABBIE

MAY 20th- " A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY FOR TOOO LONG"

2008-05-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the airport at noon, only to discover that my flight reservation had been erased by some cruel twist of fate. So Alas there I was alone at the airport in NYC, w/o money or credit card. Luckily my sister was able to reserve me a flight, but then it was delayed due to the HURRICANE outside. I finally did make it home to New Hampshire- (about an hour ago)

Needless to say I did not get a lot of productive work done on my paper, though I did work in the airport since I had my computer, here is my intro and 1st paragraph ( so far)

We live in a world where stereotypes rule, and people are defined by what they eat, drink, wear and also by where they go to school. There has always been a divide between those who attend private schools and those who attend public schools. This divide becomes increasingly more apparent in high school. So what is the difference between private high school and public high school? Why are private schools considered “better” and often times snobby? Basically what’s all the fuss about private schools?

A private school is a school that is not federally funded and therefore not subject to laws passed in congress pertaining to education, not including of course compulsory attendance based on age laws. This means that private schools can create their own curriculum uninfluenced by the government. This also means that private schools can choose who they want to attend their schools, and these students must pay tuition, which is one of the monetary sources that keeps private schools up and running. The organization that oversees private education and schools in the United States is the National Association of Independent schools, or NAIS.

NAIS was founded in 1997, and represents over one thousand independent schools in the United States. Their mission statement reads as follows, “to be the national voice of independent schools and the center for collective action on their behalf.”[1]. NAIS hopes that independent schools foster an environment that aids, “in preparing students to contribute effectively toward a peaceful, prosperous, just, and equitable world. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) exists to represent and sustain schools that are self-determining in mission and program, free from government control, and governed by independent boards.”1 NAIS is also committed to diversity, and have issued a Antidiscrimination statement which is printed on their website, “All participants are welcome to participate in NAIS programs. NAIS has an institutional commitment to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, NAIS does not discriminate in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, gender, or any other characteristic.” 1 If NAIS is the organization that oversees the majority of independent schools in the country, than AISGW is the organization that oversees independent schools in Washington D.C

[1] www. NAIS.org (May 11^th, 2008)

MONDAY MAY 19th-

2008-05-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty productive day, when I woke up this morning I worked on my paper for a nice long time, and now it is basically done, the only thing I need to do is the conclusion. Sometime this week I will probably go into school and bring my paper to my mentor, Phil so he can look over my paper with me, and see what changes need to be made

I also got a talk to talk via email with a student from Field, and here is the interview-

1) Do you think there is a drug problem at your school?

No. Sure I bet that some people do them at times, but I don’t think that it’s a serious issue or a “problem.”

2) How do you think people perceive your school-image wise?

I think that it really depends on who you’re talking to. I think the stereotype is that Field is an artsy school with lots of students with ADD, ADHD, and “different” learning styles. While there are students who could fit into these categories, Field is also perceived as a liberal-minded school that provides lots of opportunities for its students and has really unique programs – such as the Winter Internship Program – that you don’t find in most other secondary schools. Overall, though, I think that Field is seen in a very favorable light.

3) And what is the biggest stereotype about your school?

See answer to above question: students are artsy, etc.

4) What is your school’s “big thing- why should people come to your school over the others?

The student-teacher relationship/dynamic at Field is truly awesome. Most Field teachers are recent college graduates. They are really fresh with the material they teach and are very approachable both in and out of class. Furthermore, Field teachers are incredibly supportive and have the capacity to become your friend in addition to your teacher (I do not mean this in a weird, sketchy way – it’s merely that they are truly friendly and really want to help you).

I also think that Field’s Internship Program is pretty “big.” I had many valuable internship experiences which not only were fun and great learning experiences but also gave me a leg up when searching for summer jobs and internships and when applying to college.

5) Do you have cliques at your school/bullying, if so how do you deal with them?

I would say that Field does not have any cliques or bullying. People definitely have their own groups of friends that they hang out with, but overall, these groups are not exclusive and most everyone is open to accepting others.

After being at Field for 6 years, I have never been a victim of nor witnessed any bullying.

6) What is the experience of most of the teachers, do you like them?

The vast majority of Field teachers really want to be there and students consequently feel more inclined to like them. I have liked and had great relationships with nearly all my teachers.

7) Do you have a lot of disciplinary problems, how are disciplinary issues handled?

I don’t think Field has too many major disciplinary problems. People are very seldom expelled or suspended from school for bad conduct. Field approaches handling disciplinary problems on a very individual and personal basis/level involving regular conversations between the students and teachers, grade heads, and parents. But really, I think the biggest disciplinary problem at Field is getting some students to do their homework on time. This is mainly addressed by sending students to Lunch Study Hall – a study hall that begins part-way through lunch and continues into the post-lunch study hall period where students work to complete outstanding work. If a student still doesn’t finish his/her work there, then the conversation method is applied and things go from there.

8) In two or three words describe your school’s culture

Relaxed, non-traditional, individualized.

9) Who is “popular” at your school, who fits in the best?

It’s hard to judge popularity at Field. It depends more on who’s the most sociable rather than on factors like personal style, background, etc. The school’s so small anyway that everyone knows practially everyone else so it’s not like there’s a select group of “popular” kids known above everyone else.

I think that the people who fit in the best at Field are people who are extremely open to and willing to accept everyone else, people who have a high respect for the individual.

10) On that note, what type of kid does your school tend to attract?

Field tends to attract students that either don’t like or don’t learn well from more traditional teaching styles. Field also tends to attract students with strong senses of self and lots of creativity.

11) Why do choose not to have a uniform? Do think the freedom of what to wear leads to unfair competition?

Field has a huge focus on the individual and being one’s own self. This philosophy, I think, directly relates to Field’s not having a uniform. People at Field wear what they like because they want to, because it’s part of what makes them, not to compete with others; so I don’t think the lack of uniforms leads to unfair competition.

until next time...

PEACE + LOVE

ABBIE

WEEKLY REflection: Week NUMERO DOS

2008-05-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Another week gone by on this journey called Senior project. Whereas last week I spent my time juggling studies and Senior project, this week I was able to give all of my time, effort and energy to senior project.

Monday I spent the morning at Georgetown Day School, or GDS, where i met with Elaine Scott and was given an excellent 2-hr tour of the entire school, which was recently renovated. Tuesday I got to work on my paper and interview my dad for a nice long chat. Wednesday I spent half the day at the oh-so beautiful prep school called Episcopal in Virginia, where I got to meet with lots of different people and get an extensive tour of the school from three freshman. Thursday i was off to the funky Field school, which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. And finally friday I ended at the Maret school, which also surprised me with their progressiveness.

I learned this week that appearances not only can be deceiving but usually are. Almost all of the schools I visited appeared a whole lot different than they actually were.I loved what I was doing, I was shocked to see how fun it was to sit down and talk about admissions and education, until I realized that this is what I talk about with my family most of the time anyways. Things didn't really happen as I expected, but this was good, I got so much more from all the schools and all the people than I had ever hoped. The amount of information I received was pretty much out of control-but in a good way. Now the tricky part will be sorting through the copious amount of info to find the "good stuff". I will benefit greatly from this week's activities because I finally got to really see the schools and talk with the people who run them behind the scenes.

Next week will be dedicated to putting all of the information that i gathered together, finishing my research paper, writing my reflection and of course creating my brochure. I almost wish that I had taken a video of all the schools because there was so much funky and cool info from each of the schools that i wanted to write down and remember but simply couldn't type all of it down fast enough.

Until next time..

peace+love

Abbie

"rainy day woman"- 5/16/2008

2008-05-16T17:19:00.001-07:00

People in New Hampshire simply do not understand humidity. The best way I can explain the humidity in Washington DC is this, when i woke up this morning my hair was flat and after my walk back from Maret, my hair was, let's just say an afro.

But I digress, this morning was my last day "in the field". i spent the morning at Maret, which was enjoyable, suprisingly so.

I was expecting a uptight school, and the admissions people to be guarded but alas they were far from it. In fact they were the FIRST school to admit they had cliques! which was a HUGE bonus in my book, b/c let's be honest the movie Mean Girls was based on a book written about a particular all girls school in Washington DC which shall remain nameless, so the fact that cliques exist in DC is not exactly a surprise.

My favorite response to one of my questions was this

1) Do you have a lot of disciplinary problems, how are disciplinary issues handled?

- "Case by case, our biggest problem is kids who are too “chatty”, we take a counseling rather than punitive approach, we try to educate kids as much so that when they leave they have the right skills, yet we know that growing up means making mistakes."

Another thing that was cool about Maret is that there entire campus ( K-12) is located on one campus, meaning that high schoolers have to handle kindergardeners and visa versa, which leads to a very friendly, open and unique environment.

Tomorrow begins the tricky task of looking back through the immense plethora of information I have collected, sorting through it and starting to actually put together this "brochure"

Until tomorrow

PEACE+LOVE

Abbie

"Self-discovery, generosity of heart, skills of mind."- Thursday May 15th

2008-05-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

So this morning was definitely my favorite interview. When i first woke up I can't lie what I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed. Yet the moment i arrived at the Field school, I was wide awake. First off the school is literally drop dead gorgeous. A huge white mansion with winding outdoor staircases, it looks more like a spanish villa on the Mediterranean than a small private school in Washington DC. Upon entering the cozy and colorful admissions office, I chatted with a woman whose son went to Episcopal, so we bonded because I spent three hours bopping around there yesterday. Then I met Will Layman, the director of admissions.

When i first got to DC, I thought GDS would be my favorite school by far, seeing as how I almost left Proctor to come to GDS, yet today changed my mind. I found myself letting my guard down without even realizing it, and talking completely honestly with Will. My favorite thing about Field was the fact that every single kid has to take some form of art every single day. This means that Field is one of those rare schools where cliques really don't exist because as Will said, "everyone's a artist and everyone's a jock." When I asked who was popular, what type of kid, Will responded " well there's the kid who goes up at open mic and everyone's like go for it man!" but also "our valedictorian who went to Harvard, was a vegan, and ate lunch alone under a tree every day."

I have been impressed by all of the schools so far, but Field was the first school to wow me, When Will told me about Fields mission statement, I was literally blown away. Most schools missions statements are lengthy, similar and quite frankly boring. So last year when Field had to come up with a new mission statement, the admissions crew sat down with thirty different mission statements from all these different schools, yet removed the name of schools and tried to match them all up, yet "there was no difference between say St. Albans, some military school, and that school in Hippie town California."

Fields mission statement is small enough to fit on three buttons, " Self Discovery" "Generosity of heart" and "Skills of mind" I mean truly what more can you say?

I even got to keep some buttons, and one of them was tye dye, When i remarked that Field was the ONLY school to give me buttons, Will responded, "stick around a bit longer and we'll give you a tee shirt."

This attitude is what makes field so different from any other private schools in the city, even GDS. Field has a totally open, funky and fun environment that makes you want to hang around and watch the kids in action in their different classes. Field is the kind of school that doesn't produce AP students who go off to Ivy leagues spouting off dates and numbers, instead they produce smart, quirky individuals who are farther on the path to self-discovery than most fifty year olds.

After today, I am truly not sure where I would want to go to school If i had to do high school all over again ( which as much fun as it was, I don't think I could) In one morning Field impressed me so much that after four years of thinking I would have gone to GDS, I now could say easily I would have been a happy camper at either school.

Tomorrow I'm off to Maret- until tomorrow..

Peace+Love

Abbie

"A visual trip back in time" May 14th

2008-05-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Today was quite a day- it has been busy busy busy all day, starting at eight when i began my journey to the other side ( aka-Virginia via the key bridge). When I arrived at Episcopal High School -my first thought, completely honestly, was "where's George?( as in Washington) The school itself looks right out of colonial times, yet I quickly found the people were a bit more modern.

At 8:45 I got to sit down the with the director of admissions, Emily Atkinson, we quickly bonded after we discovered that she had graduated only a few years before my sister at Deerfield ( a boarding school in MA). She answered all of my questions, and we even got into some issues that are relevant at prep schools that I hadn't included in my questionnaire..(eating disorders, depression..etc.)

The next step on my journey was a tour of school given by not one but THREE little freshman, I use the word little simply to define age, as all three of them were bigger than me. They showed me around the school, and took me into one of the girls dorms ( Episcopal is a all-boarding school btw). Interestingly enough all the dorms have locks with codes as do the dorm rooms ( maybe something PA should look into to avoid all the theft..)

After the tour, the three kids sat down obligingly while I harassed them some and asked them the questions from my questionnaire. Much the same as GDS the answers from Emily matched pretty well with the answers from the three kids.

Then I met Phil's brother Peter, and he took me over to meet the asst. head of academics, and she also answered a lot of my questions from my questionnaire, the influx of information was nice, and I just wish I had had a tape recorder with me, because I simply could not type everything fast enough.

Finally I got a chance to sit down on a outside porch and talk with Peter about the school, his experience with private schools and of course his brother. His love for the school and for education was evident, and i was inspired by his idea that the kids at Episcopal should utilize DC as a resource. Every Wednesday about 90% of the school goes off campus, usually into the city to museums, the mall..etc.

I loved Episcopal because it is the type of place where your first impression is proved wrong. When i first arrived I was prepared for a uptight, strict boarding school based solely on appearances, yet what I found was a place that was incredibly warm and welcoming, where everyone says hi to each other and smiles.

It's amusing that the 2 schools i have visited so far are on opposite sides of the spectrum. GDS is super liberal, whereas Episcopal, though progressive, is still a fairly traditional institution. Though both schools are academically demanding, and attract "well-rounded kids"

When i got home, I wrote a brief review of the school, which I will expand on more. After lunch, it was off to Sheridan to have a meeting with Margie (my sponsor) we sat down for 45 minutes or so and talked about private schools, high school, her job and of course my project.

My favorite line of the day indeed came from Margie, she is the assistant director of admissions and financial aid at Sheridan, and when we broached the topic of diversity, her face lit up as she described Sheridan's open and caring environment, and then she declared,

" My favorite class is the third grade, it looks like the United Nations!"

So tomorrow I am off to Field to meet with Will Layman and hopefully a student or two, until next time..

Peace+Love

Abbie

"All in the family"-May 13th

2008-05-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day, I didn't have any schools to see, so i got a chance to stay home and continue working on my paper. If my paper were to be compared to a person, then I am 3/4-a whole way done with the skeleton, meaning all the paragraphs have some stuff in them, but now they need to be "fleshed out" more.

The main accomplishment of my day was i got a chance to talk with my dad, who has been a headmaster of private schools for 25 years, and got to ask him questions I have always wondered about, and this was only the beginning, I plan on harassing him every night for the rest of the time he is here, though I believe he is unaware of this lovely fact..

YES I finally figured out how to get things from word onto my blog, so here is part one of my interview with my dad, who is currently the head of Sheridan school, a small k-8 private school in DC...

Me: “ Being a parent of three kids, who have all attended private schools, 2 in DC, what would be your advice to a parent entering into the world of private school?”

Rand: “ Tuition actually doesn’t pay for the tuition of the child, somethinhg like fourteen percent of the education that is not covered by the tuition, so you have to realize that you will be asked to give to annual giving, potentially capital campaign, but You will be asked to contribute.”

Me: “ Knowing what You know about all the different private high schools in DC and after sending hundreds of kids to these schools, if You were an eighth grader where would You want to go, and if You had a child about to go into high school where would You want them to?

Rand: “ GDS for both.”

Me: “ Tell me about the curriculum at Sheridan.”

Rand: “ Well there are three parts to it, A- I decided mainly because I was a parent there needed to be symmetry between the whole nine years, some kind of connection, I had two ideas for the faculty, the one aforementioned, and You wanted eighth grade to be based on current events and global issues- In the book Guns, Germs, Steel by Jared Diamond we found this symmetry, basic premise being where you live influences how you live and people started branching off and trading with each other which led to conflict and war, so we divided up the K-8 social studies curriculum based on the book. An example being, kindergarten studies the six biomes, and first grade studies how you adapt to where You live. At the same time, we decided to go a concept-based curriculum, which basically meant that there were basic concepts that ran through the whole curriculum, such as the idea of power. The third thing we did was to look at the state national standards and we developed a skills matrix based on these standards, that what’s important and unique for Sheridan because a lot of private schools only look internally, whereas we looked to the outside world.”

Me: “ What is something you don’t like about the private schools in DC?”

Rand: “ They can be elitist and too power and money focused, and take themselves VERY seriously.”

Me: “ How do you handle diversity?”

You: “ the easiest answer for me to say is at Sheridan we have established a “responsive classroom model”, which means basically that there be a community rule that governs the classroom, it’s a non-punitive covenant based agreement between the members of the class and the community that helps everyone be treated the same and with respect.”

PEACE + LOVE

abbie

Monday may 12th- "first day in the field"

2008-05-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

So after a week of research today was my first day "in the field". This morning at 9 am I went over to GDS and met with Elaine Scott, I got a chance to sit down in her office and talk to her for about 20 minutes, and ask her all the questions on my questionnaire. She then gave me an AMAZING hour and fifteen minute tour of the school, and we talked the entire time through that as well.

I also got a chance to see my best friend Riley who is a senior at GDS, and ask her the same questions I got to ask Elaine, and the differences in their answers were minimal, which just show the connect between the students and the admin. is small. GDS is a wonderful place filled with students excited to learn and the classrooms are set up in a way where every student's face is visible, so no one can fall through the cracks. In fact from the classes we stopped through, ranging from AP Psychology to evolutionary biology to art to junior "lit" every single student was bright-eyed and talking, and this was first block mind you..

It was really cool to visit another high school as a high school senior and compare and contrast to proctor, it was also nice to visit knowing I was not trying to get in there, so I could be more relaxed and really take in everything Elaine was saying, and fully absorb the school's unique liberal environment.

When i got home I was able to right a reflection of the school, so all the info Elaine told me could be included, which I would love to include on this post, but when i try to copy and paste from word it refuses to go on my blog which ( i'm not going to lie-IS REALLY FRUSTRATING..)

peace+love

Abbie

WEEKLY REFLECTION NUMERO UNO

2008-05-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

This week has had the strange quality of both lasting forever and going by too quickly. I can't believe it has already been a week. I am glad this week is over though because straddling senior project work and school work was not exactly fun. Now that My AP's are done, I can totally focus on Senior project.

I learned that trying to do senior project work and school work is a lot harder than I though it would be, and I need to work on my time management skills. Though the research I did get to do on NAIS and AISGW i liked a lot, and the more I learn and read about independent schools, the more interested I am in them, despite the fact I have only ever gone to Private schools, looking at them from an outsider's perspective is very different. Everything happened pretty much as I expected, except as i said before i was surprised at the challenge of doing two things at once. I will benefit from this week's activities because I got to start some online research for my paper, and have time to set up interviews with all my schools except Sidwell, but I am in the midst of working on that one.

Sunday has been a very productive day so far. I started my research paper, and finished the intro and am halfway through the first paragraph, I tried to copy and paste it onto my blog, but this will not work for some reason.

Tomorrow I am off to Georgetown Day School ( GDS) for my first exciting school experience, I am definitely ready to actually visit a school and get some feedback from students, teachers and the admissions people.

Peace+love

Abbie

DAY NUMERO CINCO

2008-05-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Another exciting beginning to a new day- This morning I spent three hours in the AP US History exam, and when that concluded, I had to rush home and pack for DC. Yet alas when I arrived at the airport, I had missed my flight, was forced to change airlines and fly into (gasp) BWI, so I did not arrive home until about an hour ago. So sadly I truly have nothing new to report on My senior project. I am just glad all the AP's are over, so that I can now fully commit myself to this senior project. Though tonight I did speak with my dad about setting up a meeting with Betsy Downes ( the head of AISGW), and he said it was pretty much a given.

Tomorrow I plan on sitting down, and finally getting to work on my research paper without the distraction of AP classes and school.

Peace+Love

Abbie

DAY NUMERO CUATRO

2008-05-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today began superbly. I spent three and half hours in the AP English exam, after this I was pretty drained, so I went home and ate lunch with my cousin who has just returned from Ireland, where she was studying abroad for four months. I really did not have any time to do any significant work on my project, though I did begin the outline for my research paper, " Private schools: What all the fuss is about."

It will look something like this-

I. introduction- what are independent schools, their purpose, mission, etc..

- Body paragraphs/topics

I. NAIS- basic info, missions statement, resources..

II. AISGW- ( same as NAIS) and hopefully I will be able to interview Betsy Downes, who is the director and a close pal of my dad's

III. Private v. Public, benefits of sending your child to a private school rather than a public school

IV. The world of Private schools in DC, social, economic... ( especially if you're new to the area)

V. Conclusion

-This is what I have so far, but I'm sure it will be subject to change.

But now alas, I must go cram intensely for my AP US history exam

peace+love

Abbie

DAY NUMERO TRES

2008-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a fairly busy day. I had my last two classes of the year, and my last ever history class with Phil. There was not really any time to do any significant work on my project, though I did work more on my questionnaire this morning. I also accomplished my goal of setting up times with all the schools I will be visiting, except Maret and I am just waiting on a call back.

Tomorrow my goal is to survive the AP English exam, and to work on my research paper, and continue research on NAIS and AISGW.

Peace+love

Abbie

DAY NUMERO DOS

2008-05-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a very productive day. Yesterday I decided I was going to read the entire book, Beloved by my AP english test on Wednesday. So this morning, I woke up really early and read a lot, then I took a lovely bike ride over to AP US History, which was quite informative. Then I biked home, and began to work on my senior project. I went on the AISGW website, and took notes about the organization, and then also went to the NAIS website. Some of the facts I learned were absolutely fascinating. Such as the fact that a public school teacher in DC makes at least ten thousand more than a private school teacher. When I write my research paper on AISGW and NAIS, I am planning on including not only their basic info, mission statement, statistics, etc, but all the resources both organizations have. For parents new to DC and the world of independent schools, my brochure will be the perfect companionship to the NAIS and AISGW websites.

I also began writing my questionnaire. This is the questionnaire I will use when I interview students, teachers, and the administration at all of my different schools, this way for each school, I will have three very different sets of answers. This will be helpful for prospective parents because they will get to have a more fully rounded view of a school before deciding if it is the school for them and their children. Ultimately deciding whether or not to send your child to an independent school and which one is a family decisions, and I think having all three points of view ( teacher, student, administration) will be appealing to both parent and student.

Lastly, I also emailed back Phil's brother at Episcopal to set up a day to visit, and emailed the administrators at Maret and Sidwell to set up times, respectively.

All together it was a very productive day, and the more research I do into independent schools in DC, the more interested in them I become.

My goal for tomorrow is to continue my research on AISGW and NAIS, and create an outline for my paper.

Peace+love

Abbie

DAY NUMERO UNO DE SENIOR PROJECT

2008-05-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

So today was a pretty relaxed day. I went to my 2 AP classes, English and History, which were both highly enjoyable. During the time between these 2 classes, I started to do some basic online research about the schools I am going to doing for my project. My goal for tomorrow is to make interview times with all the schools I am doing, I already have some, but some people I have not been able to get a hold of, So tomorrow I will call the schools and make interview times for all of them.

Peace+love

Abs

SAMPLE POST

2008-05-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

THIS IS MY SAMPLE POST, I AM JUST LEARNING HOW TO USE A BLOG, THANKS TOM

PEACE