Malia & Sasha prepare for Sidwell

[firedupdem]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17008.html

They’ll have more new friends than they can count, and not all for the right reasons.

Bodyguards will be around, for sure, but hard to spot. And their teachers will have a brand-new worry in the digital age — cell phone cameras.

That’s the life awaiting Malia and Sasha Obama when they step off the plane from Chicago on Sunday to start next week at Sidwell Friends School, which has been teaching presidents' kids dating back to Teddy Roosevelt.

Chelsea Clinton managed to have a relatively normal life at the prestigious Quaker school — a big selling point for self-described “mom-in-chief” Michelle Obama — but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a heady experience for the girls, if Chelsea’s experience is any guide.

snip

Ellis Turner, associate head of school at Sidwell, said that “every student has an opportunity to feel comfortable” at Sidwell. An added bonus for the girls is that they already have friends there — Vice President-elect Joe Biden has grandchildren at the school.

[CTyankee]

1. My granddaughter's school has a strict rule against taking cell phone pix.

She got into trouble doing it and was sent to the principal's office...

[firedupdem]

2. I've been to my son's school to pick up his confiscated cell phone..

boy times have changed. I think this school will look out for the girls. One point the article makes is that all the kids have prominent/famous parents. I'm hoping that takes some of the heat off of them. What a transition!

[Hekate]

3. self delete--put in wrong slot

sorry!

[Iwillnevergiveup]

4. I was a little surprised

to hear the girls would be on 2 separate campuses. But this may work out to their benefits - they are usually together, and this will give them the opportunity to grow as separate individual little girls. I wish the family all the best in this huge change in Sasha and Malia's lives. Starting up at a new school is always touch-and-go at first. It's been too long since we've had such cute kids in the White House.:fistbump:

[Hekate]

5. This is one of the best arguments for having them in private school, imo. No phony leveling, please

It's great that the Biden kids are already there.

I thought they'd end up at Sidwell's, the Quaker school. It seems like the school would be reinforcing a good social-justice ethic, at the very minimum. And the fact that other "elite" Washington kids are there is not a bad thing for the daughters of the POTUS.

There was a lot of heated argument here (soon to be stirred up again, probably) over whether Malia and Sasha should be sent to a public school on some sort of mission to keep it real for them and their parents, but I think that's phony leveling. Michelle Obama can be counted on to keep her daughters' feet on the ground, no matter what.

I wish that family all the best.

Hekate

[moriah]

8. I agree, and what I recall from the last PK (heheh) who went to public school....

... the school was not truly capable of handling the security required for a president's child, and the modifications to do so made Amy miserable.

People said it meant he didn't practice what he preaches about public schools -- I say it means he practices what he preaches about voucher programs, etc. He's going to be paying their tuition and paying taxes to support the DC public schools. When I was homeschooled Mom didn't complain about paying taxes, since she knew that someday I might want to go to public school, and didn't want them to get any worse.

I am not going to fault anyone for making sure their child gets the best education possible, and Michelle Obama is doing exactly that.

[blaze]

6. I hadn't really thought about cell phone pics

I know our school district confiscates cells phones from kids in the elementary schools... not sure about middle and high schools. And I wonder what effect face book pages might have? It might be a bit trickier since Chelsea's days there...

Still, I think the fact that most of these kids are used to being around dignitaries, the kids will probably, eventually, mesh into the student body and do well.

[AZBlue]

7. That would be a worry in some schools, but at SF that won't be a problem.

Given the atmosphere at the school, the guidance and rules there, and the student body (one that's used to meeting dignitaries and their children) I doubt this will be an issue.