Sidwell Friends: Obama Girls' DC School

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama and his wife have chosen Sidwell Friends School for their two daughters, opting for a private institution that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago.

"A number of great schools were considered," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama. "In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now."

She said Sidwell can provide the security and privacy that Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, will need as part of the new first family and Sidwell can help with that. She also said that Sasha and Malia had become good friends with Vice President-elect Joe Biden's grandchildren, who go to the school.

Sidwell is a private Quaker school with a campus in northwest Washington for grades 5-12 and another in suburban Bethesda, Md., for kindergarten through fourth grade. Malia is in fifth grade and Sasha is in second grade, suggesting that the girls would attend schools at different locations.

Michelle Obama and her daughters visited Sidwell and another elite private school, Georgetown Day, earlier this week. The soon-to-be first lady visited both schools last week, without her daughters.

Lelyveld said that while public schools were considered, the Obamas felt that a private school was in the best interest of their children. The two girls currently attend the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where Michelle Obama is on the board.

Michelle Obama went to public schools on Chicago's South Side, and understands the importance of strong public schools, Lelyveld said, and the administration plans to work hard on that issue.

Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy, went to a public school, but Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton chose Sidwell for Chelsea. Hillary Clinton later said she received "unfortunately, good advice" that the press would bother Chelsea if she attended public school.

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Sidwell Friends has already proven protective of the Obamas' privacy, refusing earlier this week to say whether the girls had visited the school after a motorcade was seen outside.

Messages left with school administrators on Friday were not immediately returned. A woman who answered the phone at the home of Bruce Stewart, Sidwell's head of school, said he was not home. But she said the school would not release a statement before Monday.

Al Gore III, the son of former Vice President Al Gore, also attended Sidwell, where tuition is $28,442 at the lower school and $29,442 at the middle and upper schools.

The quality of the school and its extra security make Sidwell Friends a good choice, said Letitia Baldrige, who was Jackie Kennedy's social secretary and chief of staff during the Kennedy administration. Caroline Kennedy attended first grade in a makeshift third-floor classroom inside the White House.

"The children are under enormous pressure from the press and their fellow students and especially the mommies of their fellow students," who are eager for their children to attend sleepovers, Baldrige said.

"I'm sure they'll both be athletically inclined and play on all the sports teams, and they'll have a lot of fun," Baldrige said. "But it won't be easy."

Rob Lippincott, a member of the board of trustees at Sidwell, where his daughter is a high school senior, said he could not confirm whether the Obama girls had chosen the school. But he said if so, students and parents will be excited.

"We're obviously delighted if that is the case. I have not heard anything officially," said Lippincott, senior vice president for education at PBS. "I'm certainly aware they came and visited. From everything I understand, they'd be a great addition to the school."

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Associated Press writer Nafeesa Syeed contributed to this report.

Comments

[patnb]

I think the Obamas have selected a wonderful school. Their children need to be in a safe environment with excellent academic opportunities.

As far as people's comments on public schools, the painful truth is, as much as we hate to say it- there are alot of children in public schools who diminsh the learning environment and the opportunities for the children who are better prepared. It is not the children's fault, but truthfully, kids who are unable to behave and concentrate on work, either becasue of medical problems or a poor upbringing, really take alot away from the rest of the children.

So much time is wasted trying to maintain order, and lessons are dumbed down so illprepared and unmotivated children can pass. The students who behave and put in an effort are truly robbed of enormous amounts of instruction time and opportunities. I don't know the answer, you cannot blame the children for what the adults have not done to get them prepared.

[snowden440]

But we are talking about Obama's kids, who, but for the color of their skin, have all of the advantages in the world. If they can't be expected to turn out broadly decent as 17-18 year old products of the DC School system, then the whole enterprise of public schooling should be scrapped.

Sure, it's not Sidwell Friends or Georgetown Day school, with their moneyed elite, but is it so bad for the girls to educated alongside people who work for a living. The democratic party and the media are overrun with limousine liberals, and it's bad for the whole nation. I thought the inauthentic self-absorption would end with the baby boomers, but the next generation seems just as irresponsible. Shared sacrifice is all fun and good, as long as Mitsy and Tiffany are in the right set with the right kind of children.

[readyfornewleadership]

Even if the the DC public schools were great, that is no place for Obama's girls. They have to be sheltered from the press, the public and the psychos. Private schools like Sidwell Friends know how to do that.

[TheGuide]

I don't know why anyone would expect them to send their girls to a public school. They're in private school right now. I don't recall such scrutiny with Clinton and the Bush girls about the school they attended.

[schill1961]

The Obamas are wealthy? Their net worth is between $1-2.5 million. That's wealthy compared to middle class people but a drop in the bucket compared to the people he was running against (McCains, Clintons) and most business leaders. Please...in order to retire comfortably you're suppose to have over a million dollars!

Now, having said that...our goal should be for all public schools to be intellectually challenging and safe for all students. If public schools were better, people who send their children to public schools. When my family lived in Princeton NJ, we went to public schools. When we moved to a place were the schools were not that great, we went to private schools.

[stayinsouth1981]

This education would be a wonderful opportunity for any child. I can't begin to give enough credit for my early years with the Teachers at Friends School.

[schill1961]

I'm thrilled the Obamas are sending their girls to Sidwell Friends. Quakers were leaders in the abolition, women's rights and the civil rights movements. The are not passive, just non-violent. While others talk the talk, they walk the walk. If only more Christians were like the Quakers (although not all Quakers consider themselves Christians) they'd have a better reputation!

Who cares how much it costs? The Obamas have lived fairly modestly for most of their lives. One car, one house, an executive salary that a Harvard Law graduate earns. These people are self made. As far as Sidwell goes, almost a quarter of their students receive financial aid to the tune of over $19,000. And all students must participate in community service projects. There is no downside..

And of course the girls have to go to Private school. The press is off limits and this school has dealt with successfully with security issues relative to high profile children in the past.

Hopefully more people will be exposed to Quaker values. I learned early with a brother in Quaker school and a mother in a Quaker retirement community.

[harriettubman]

That was the first school I thought of because they really protected Chelsea Clinton when she attended there.

[ljmoffice]

Good choice for the girls...public school is out of the question...a nightmare for them, the secret service and the schools in general. They need to be in a saf eenvironme­nt....mayb­e more so than for any other children of presidents. I say...good choice.

[VTya]

Unfortunately the world has changed since Jimmy Carter's daughter went to a public school. We are less safe after 9/11. As a parent I can understand the Obamas putting the well- being of their children first. I hope those precious little girls will have peace, success and lots of fun away from prying eyes. I also hope they will be able to develop relationships with genuine friends and not with people who want to exploit them. I believe First Lady Michelle and First Granny will be fiercely protective of their privacy ... while First Dad is cleaning up the mess left by Bush!

[BeJ]

Besides, they are already use to private school environment. Why disupt their lives anymore than necessary?

[TrueSense]

30 K a year each ! Yikes ! This is private college tuition money.
BTW, how unsafe would a public school be with scores of elite security people securing it ?

It might be disruptive, but insecure, I think not.

[brodon]

This is really getting sick!

Those bloggers suggesting that PE Obama's children should be subjected to the DC school system, are well, just plain pathetic.

What parent in their right mind would not allow their children to go to Sidwell Friends if they could come up with the money. . . . . or vouchers?

[sunny555]

Let's face it, if Palin (Go d help us all) had gotten elected and sent her kids to Sidwell or another private school, thousands of people would have cried "hypocrisy!" on this thread. They would have said she campaigned as a "hockey mom" and "one of us," yet felt the public schools weren't good enough for her kids.

There is no way the Obama girls belong in a DC public school. However, for those who support vouchers, did you ever consider that those who send their kids to private schools don't necessarily want to allow everybody else in? Admission standards can be more rigorous at these schools than at many colleges in this country. The point is, one of the things you are paying for at a school like Sidwell is exclusivity. If everybody could attend, the school wouldn't be exclusive, and they couldn't pick and choose which kids got in, and which they rejected.

Ever try to get your child enrolled in an elite preschool in Manhattan? You have to register them while in utero. It's crazy. Many perfectly bright and capable toddlers get accepted at some of these schools simply because of who their parents are (prestige, clout, money, etc.).

[BeJ]

Palin's kids are not bright enough to go to Sidwell. Neither is Palin.

[tokitori]

LOL! Good one. And sadly -- true!

[londonrainbow]

lol

[snowden440]

A few debates ago, Obama listed education as the fourth or fifth priority on his to-do list. I can tell you that if he didn't have 29k a year to spend, per kid, on private schooling, public education would shoot up to #1 pretty damn quickly.

[classc 1]

Well, you do know that he has at least three issues that are more pressing don't you? If you need a reminder:

1) Iraq
2) Afghanistan
3)The Economy

Please stop with the nonsense!!!

[snowden440]

"Well, you do know that he has at least three issues that are more pressing don't you? If you need a reminder:

1) Iraq
2) Afghanistan
3)The Economy

Please stop with the nonsense!!!"

I happen to think that white flight, suburban sprawl, the housing crunch, our weak energy policy, and criminal justice malfeasance are directly related to the de facto segregation that comes from postponing the conversation about community responsibility and public education. For the Obamas. Shared sacrifice means sending their kids to public school.

Obama spent the first quarter of his infomercial lamenting the situation of a mother who had moved into a house she could not afford in the suburbs, so her kids could go to "good schools." Well, she couldn't afford the mortgage or the gas bill that came with her and her husbands new commute, and we are supposed to feel sorry for her? It's a public policy disaster to gear our domestic priorities towards facilitating white flight.

[brodon]

Thank goodness they're not going to be subjected to the DC school system like the rest of the kids. . . . you know, those ones without a choice.

[rosiebond007]

DON'T FORGET SECURITY !

[BeJ]

The reality is that shamefully, D.C. is one of the nation's worst school district. I don't blame them one bit. As a product of a neighboring Maryland school district and then Sidwell for high school, I know first hand that this is the best decision that the Obama's could make for their daughters. I still live in the neighboring MD school district and also we send our children to some of Washington's "elite" schools. It is our hope that President Obama will make strides with improving our schools so that other families will not have to pay college tuition for elementary aged children. It is a sad state where as tax paying citizens, a significant portion of our income has to go to insure that our children get the best education in private (independent) schools. In the meantime, our family, like the Obama's cannot risk our children being Guinea pigs while the system is being fixed.

[flyers]

HumeSkeptic,

How is this hate talk? I just want politicans to be consistent, and when it comes to public/private schools, most politicans are pure frauds. I don't blame Obama for sending his kids to private schools, as I would do the same. But in the same vein, I also wouldn't be against school vouchers and take money from the Teacher Unions, because the last time I checked those groups are supported by.... Public Schools. It would be like finding out a democratic governor of Michigan was driving a foreign car, even though they take money from the labor unions and telling Washington to send money to the Big 3 because we could lose jobs, it would be pure hypocrisy.

With all due respect HumeSkeptic, are you letting your partisanship and love for Obama not look at this issue in an objective way? This isn't the be all end all of issues, as this is nothing compared to the economy, the war, etc, but it still shows me that politicans talk about how the masses should do one thing, and then go and do another because they can. As John Edwards said, "There are two Americas." Well, I guess Obama isn't one of us on the education issue.

[Voxlisa999]

When did Obama ever say "the masses should attend public schools?" Au contraire- he has constantly said that the public school system needs reform and is failing our children in many areas. Stop lying about Obama.

[kylennblack]

The Obama girls have very unique security concerns by virtue of their dad's job that the DC public schools are ill-equipped to handle. They are minors and his daughters, not lab rats for social experiments and should not be endangered just to prove a point or to please total strangers.

[shaunmarie]

School Vouchers are nothing but an attempt to privatize the school system. When first presented, it sounds like such a great plan; if the public schools cannot compete, take money away and help kids move into the private school system.

Once the public schools are gutted, then take the vouchers away --- and voila! Privatized schools.

Haven't the last years taught you ANYTHING about what happens when we privatize public services? New Orleans, where we privatized disaster relief, and Iraq - where we privatized all except the "cannon fodder" should have shown you all you need to do when we move all our govt. services to the private sector... The free market is not in existance to serve the needs of the general population, they are in the business of making as much money as possible. I do not want our children subject to a school system dedicated to increasing profits while slashing costs.

Think about it: Schools that run like our 'health care ' system. That would be the last nail in the coffin of the American Dream.

[ramper]

The Obama's should send their children to the best school possible. Now I hope he changes his position on school vouchers to allow others to do the same.

[brokenarrow]

Your comments are vague and negative.

[ramper]

Sounded simple enough. School choice should not be only for the elite. Is that vague and negative?

[brodon]

No way.

He's too indebted to the teachers union to allow other children the same chance his girls have.

[lincheryl]

Vouchers won't be enough to pay for schools like Sidwell, and many people's children wouldn't be accepted. Also, some private schools could opt out of the voucher path because accepting government funds means answering to government rules, many of which would hinder the private schools.

Public schools would become a back burner issue and would be even worse.