NoVa schools

[Anonymous]

Hi -- we are moving from CC, MD to Arlington, Va and need help thinking about schools next year. I have a feeling we are a Burgundy Farm kind of family but do not know much about other Va schools (and wondering a little about the 25 minute drive it would take to get from Clarendon to Burgundy). Where else should we be investigating? TIA

[Anonymous]

Bueller?

[Anonymous]

I live in Virginia, and I have no idea what Burgundy Farm is like since I didn't bother looking at it due to its distance from my house. So I don't know what to suggest as I don't know what you're looking for in a school. Perhaps you could be a bit more specific about what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Burgundy is worth the 25 minute drive, in my opinion. If you decide against it, however, I would investigate the Arlington public schools. I don't think there is anything else in Virginia that is comparable to Burgundy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burgundy is worth the 25 minute drive, in my opinion. If you decide against it, however, I would investigate the Arlington public schools. I don't think there is anything else in Virginia that is comparable to Burgundy.

I agree. We do a similar drive to Burgundy every day, and find that it is a sacrifice that we are glad to make to give our kids a Burgundy education. Burgundy will also be offering better and less expensive school bus service from Arlington starting next year. You could call them to ask about it, if you are interested. That reduces the driving you would have to do.

[Anonymous]

Langley and Potomac are both great and much closer

[Anonymous]

My daughter is at Burgundy and next year my other child will be there too. We did not apply to any other NoVa private schools-- it was Burgundy or bust for us. (Admittedly, we are in Alexandria, so it's just 10 minutes for us). But there are plenty of children who come from Arlington, Falls Church, even Capitol Hill and MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley and Potomac are both great and much closer

They are excellent schools, but they follow a highly traditional educational philosophy. If OP is looking only at excellent private schools without regard to educational philosophy and 'style' then they should certainly be in the mix. Congressional School is also probably closer to OP than any of the other schools discussed here, but again offers a very traditional education and feels completely different than Burgundy. Burgundy provides an education that is much more progressive in style, a la Dewey. We searched hard for a nearby school similar to Burgundy, but couldn't find one. Like PP, we applied only to Burgundy and our child is absolutely thriving there -- learning, growing, and becoming a self-confident and enthusiastic learner in a way that I don't think would have happened at any of the schools that we looked at with a more traditional educational philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Wow--I keep hearing only good things about Burgundy and definitely would like to find out more about it for my DD for next year (2010-2011). Can anyone comment on how competitive it is to get into the JK, and what they look for in candidates? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

That's a good question. I have no idea of the competitiveness in terms of sheer numbers (applicants per slot, etc). But I do know that the admissions officers say that it usually works out for families that are a good fit-- that is, while there are many more applicants than slots, they feel that they are good at distinguishing between the families that would truly be happy with their kids at Burgundy and the families that are just applying because it's a good private school and they really don't know or care much about the school's philosophy. My sense is that they are not obsessed with test scores or anything like that; they obviously want to make sure that all the children are teachable (they might find it hard to take a child with very serious learning issues), but that they are mainly looking for "fit."

At Burgundy this does NOT mean, "are you rich? willl your kid go to Harvard?" It tends to mean: do you genuinely value a school with a progressive approach to education? Are you comfortable with diverse classrooms? Is it important to you that your child be independent and autonomous? Do you value nature and environmental education? Will you freak out because your child is getting no homework and no letter grades in the early years, or do prefer that? Do you want "rigor," or are you comfortable with a more individualized and creative approach to learning?

My sense is that Burgundy kids do just fine in exmissions after 8th grade, but the school is NOT fixated on pumping out kids who will go to St Albans and on to Harvard (some do, but the school would hate to have a whole bunch of families who start obsessing about that in JK).

So anyway-- my sense is that if you visit Burgundy, get to know it, and really love it, and convey that genunine enthusiasm during the admissions process, then your child has a pretty decent chance of getting in at the JK level (K is also an intake year) regardless of how seemingly competitive the numbers look. A lot of families unknowingly reduce their child's admissons chances by appearing not to know or care about Burgundy's philosophy.....

hope that is helpful.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP! You've explained in a nutshell what we're looking for. We'll definitely be taking a closer look at Burgundy in the months to come.

[Anonymous]

I've visited Burgundy and loved it. My concern, though, is that I've now heard of two families that have been disappointed with the academic side after the third or fourth grade level. It seems ideal before that age, but I was disappointed to hear academic concerns. Does anyone have further thoughts or information on the academic side of Burgundy?

[Anonymous]

I have two children at Burgundy; one is currently in 8th grade. I can't tell you how happy we've been in the middle school. The teachers are truly exceptional, and go out of their way for the kids. One example: last Friday night, the Head of the Middle School, one of the English teachers and the counselor (all women) hosted a sleepover for the 8th grade girls at the school. They "redecorated" the girls' bathroom (part of it now has a comics/superhero theme, a princess theme, tropical paradise, etc.), ate dinner with them, and had each family write a letter to their 8th grader (the letters were opened at the sleepover) telling their daughter how special she was to them. It was truly an incredible experience for the girls (and, in my opinion, single-handedly worth every penny of tuition).

In terms of academics, I am thrilled with the experience we've had at Burgundy. My daughter has gotten a very solid grounding in algebra, U.S. and African history, writing, French, biology and physics. Even more important than the material that they are learning, however, is the confidence that the students gain in themselves. It's a phenomenal place.

[Anonymous]

This is OP -- thank you SO MUCH for all these replies!! Good to hear about the possibility of an Arlington bus. I think we may be like many of the PP's and it will be Burgundy or public, since people seem to be universally saying there aren't any other non-traditional private options. When we were in the MD burbs we were considering Green Acres (of course), and Lowell as another possibility at least for pre-K/K, and wondering about Sheridan. I suppose the 2 DC options may still be possibilities we will investigate. I'm very happy about our relocation actually because it has seemed to me that GA and Lowell do tend to get knocked a bit by some disappointed parents to a degree that just does not seem to be the case for Burgundy. Also it seems Burgundy might be doing the best job of all of including socioeconomic diversity? Are my instincts right about that? For us that would also be a critical distinguishing factor.

[Anonymous]

OP, a couple of things... my kids are in the lower school at Burgundy so I can't speak directly to the quality in the upper grades-- i can only say that I have heard no complaints from parents, and a lot of enthusiasm! I do think it may be a "fit" issue-- Burgundy, to my mind, is high quality education, but the focus is less on test scores than on problem solving, curiosity, encouraging kids to make connections, to "learn to learn" in new situations, etc. So if a parent starts getting agitated in 7th grade because the curriculum at Burgundy looks different than in 7th grade at Sidwell, I don't know that it is a quality issue as opposed to just very different educational philosophies.

Re DC options-- we are in Alexandria and briefly considered sending the kids to Capitol Hill Day School (another great progressive school). I work on the Hill and thought it might just be feasible. But in the end it just started seeming crazy-- most of their friends would have been far away, etc. Still, do check out CHDS too. That was my other favorite place.

In terms of socioeconomic diversity, I don't know-- there is some, for sure, at Burgundy, but how much I can't entirely say. The economy is such that any of the private schools are very tough for people to afford without high incomes. I know Burgundy takes very seriously a commitment to raising money for scholarships and trying to keep the school affordable, and there are at least a couple of families in my DD's class who would not be able to send their children but for substantial financial aid. But you might ask the admissions office to give you a sense of the percentage of families receiving aid, the average grant or loan, etc.