Malia and Sasha Obama Will Go To Sidwell Friends
AP is reporting that the Obama girls will attend Sidwell Friends School, following in Chelsea Clinton's footsteps.
In classic Friday evening news dump, DCPS pwned. More to come.
UPDATE, 5:03 P.M.: LL asked DCPS spokesperson Dena Iverson just how offended Michelle Rhee is that the Obamas chose private school: "Umm, let me find out."
UPDATE, 5:07 P.M.: Ward 3 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh: "I'm delighted that they're going to a school in Ward 3, because all of the schools in Ward 3 are excellent," she says. "They've done well for themselves."
UPDATE, 5:10 P.M.: WCP alum Jake Tapper has the best reporting thus far.
UPDATE, 5:28 P.M.: Here's what Arthur Delaney, scorned Georgetown Day School alumnus, has to say: "it's just like picking Hillary for Secy of State: it's...lame and not change-y"
UPDATE, 5:39 P.M.: Reliable Source is on it! Interesting: "The choice means that the Obama girls will be going to class on two separate campuses in two different cities....Sidwell's lower school is in Bethesda, Md., and that is where Sasha would be attending second grade. Malia is in fifth grade, and that is part of the middle school at Sidwell. The middle school is located on the same campus as the high school in Northwest Washington, a few miles from the lower school."
UPDATE, 5:55 P.M.: Mary Lord, who represents Ward 2 on the State Board of Education, wrote a piece in USA Today with board prez Robert Bobb urging the Obamas to consider public schools. Her reaction?
"I'm absolutely thrilled that the Obamas are coming to Washington and that just trumps everything to me. I would have been thrill if they had explored their public school and public charter school option a little more... but at the end of the day, it's the parents' call....Clearly what Mrs. Obama saw at Sidwell was seemed like a good fit....I think it's a combination of academics, of social fit and well as security."
"At the end of the day, let's face it, they're two busy parents and they need one-stop shopping.....They have to be able to completely trust their kids to the educational environment. They're not going to have a lot of time to go to the school plays, things like that."
Lord makes what's to Washington residents probably the most salient point out of all this: "All I can say is if you do your commute on Mass Avenue or Wisconsin Avenue or in Tenleytown or in Bethesda, you better plan some extra drive time."
UPDATE, 6:20 P.M.: THE OFFICIAL D.C. GOVERNMENT STATEMENT!!!11!!1! "The Mayor and the Chancellor are pleased that the Obamas have chosen a school that they are confident in and look forward to their strong support of the reforms in the District of Columbia Public Schools."
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5:21 pm
Do you think it was the brawl this week at Anacostia High that convinced them to put their kids in private school? Whatever their reasons, this is a huge black eye for Rhee!
5:31 pm
Must have been the brawl! I agree 100 percent!
5:35 pm
I wonder what Rhee promised them.And I wonder if they ever really considered sending their kids to public school.
5:53 pm
I don't hold this against them, even though I work for DCPS. Why not get the best for your children? The Obamas are educated people, both lawyers, have worked hard for where they are in life. Why not put their children in one of the best private schools in the area? Plus, Sidwell is used to the security required of having children of presidents and other notables enrolled. Chelsea Clinton went there.
6:48 pm
This shouldn't even be a topic for debate. Let these parents decide how best to raise their kids, and let's welcome them to DC by not second guessing their choice of schools. Show some love, DC.
7:07 pm
I'm sorry but the D.C. Gov's statement strikes me as odd. Why would they urge Obama to support their reforms? Do we want more federal involvement in how we govern? Either way, I don't particularly want the prez weighing in on how we police Anacostia High, how we get Hart Middle School to function properly, and how we reward and retain good teachers.
7:20 pm
I'm a sidwell alum, was a ninth grader when Chelsea Clinton was a senior there and I agree with Sasha; it's really a question of security. Maret had a jordanian princess, I think, but that doesn't really compare.
I'm sure the secret service prefers a security situation they've handled before.
8:51 pm
Speaking of Chelsea Clinton:
There is bad news about her father.
It is opined that Bill Clinton committed racist hate crimes, and I am not free to say anything further about it.
Respectfully Submitted by Andrew Y. Wang, J.D. Candidate
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
(I can type 90 words per minute, and there are probably thousands of copies on the Internet indicating the content of this post. Moreover, there are innumerable copies in very many countries around the world.)
_________________
“If only it were possible to ban invention that bottled up memories so they never got stale and faded.” Off the top of my head—it came from my Lower Merion High School yearbook.