Finding the Right Future
Our alumni and their parents tell me, believe it or not, that there is life after WES. And the schools that welcome our graduating students attest that our Dragons enter high school with preparation and positive energy, confidence and — of course — kindness.
Just as our students work to hone their craft in problem-solving, presentation, composition, analysis, mathematics, and more, WES uses great care to help families find the right “next school” for their children.
I am thrilled that every WES Grade 8 student has been accepted by and taken a spot at one of the dazzling variety of excellent schools in the DC area (see the list below).
Middle School Director Kristin Cuddihy and I, with the wise counsel of our Middle School faculty, take great care to work closely and often with every family to assure an optimal outcome. We start with a meeting with all Grade 7 parents in the spring, explaining the timeline of the coming year. The first individual step is an individual meeting that summer with each family, to which we all bring ideas. We continue this conversation in September, meeting as regularly as parents would like, while Kristin initiates meetings with individual students.
Grade 8 families arrange fall visits to school open houses, performances, or other events, as well as appointments to take entrance exams (the SSAT and the HSPT, for diocesan schools). By Thanksgiving break, we will have helped families complete a final list of schools, and begin collating transcripts and recommendations so that applications are made promptly. Then, Kristin and I visit each school to which our students applied and speak with the admissions team about each WES applicant — one of my favorite and proudest duties as Head of School.
Through this process, our ultimate goal is clear: we prioritize finding the right school for each student so they begin high school in the environment that will best enhance their gifts as well as challenge them with new opportunities. And it is thrilling that our Grade 8 students have the maturation to invest genuinely in this process and decision. Their voices typically show great discernment in imagining the next phase of their lives.
Here is the list of the divergent and discerning independent schools that accepted this year’s WES Grade 8 students, along with the outstanding area public schools, with asterisks indicating the schools our students will attend next year.
- Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School*
- Brewster Academy
- British International School*
- Bullis School*
- Edmund Burke School
- The Field School
- Georgetown Day School*
- Georgetown Prep*
- Georgetown Visitation
- Holton-Arms School
- Landon School*
- The Madeira School*
- Maret School*
- Miss Porter’s School *
- Our Lady of Good Counsel*
- Proctor Academy*
- School Without Walls
- Sidwell Friends School
- St. Andrew’s Episcopal School*
- St. John’s College High School*
- St. Stephens/St. Agnes*
- Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
- Washington International School
- Winston Churchill High School*
- Walt Whitman High School*
- Walter Johnson High School*
Danny Vogelman
Head of School
