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Private & Independent Schools
Favorite All-Boys + All Girls Schools in Greater Washington DC
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Anonymous
| St. Albans and NCS. |
Anonymous
| Stone Ridge for all girls. |
Anonymous
| Visitation for girls' school. Fantastic faculty, happy, well-balanced girls, strong academics, athletics and activities. Very happy our daughter chose it. |
Anonymous
I am partially biased since I attended Madeira and am still an active alum. Madeira is often over looked on this board because it is a half day/half boarding school. The college placement and academics are similar to Holton Arms and NCS. I will say that most of the day students were from Bethesda/Chevy Chase or Northern Virginia (McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, or Arlington). Madeira offers a very nurturing environment while placing emphasis on academic rigor, community service, and spiritual independence. The campus is situated on 400+ acres along the Potomac River. There is no school on Wednesdays and instead Madeira promotes community service and civic affairs by requiring all Madeira girls to: when you are a Freshmen - you kayak, zipwire, rockclimb on campus; Sophomore – you work in a hospital or public school in DC/VA, or whatever is approved by the school; Junior – intern on the Hill for a Senator or Representative; and Senior – choose what you want to do (food bank, shelter, etc). Some of my best friends in life attended Madeira and two were bridesmaids in my wedding. I had such a great experience and made lifelong connections there while still receiving a top-notch education and attending an excellent university. |
Anonymous
Co curriculum (Wednesdays) has changed a little bit recently. 9th grade is definitely more than zipwires- although they still do some of that - they do study skills, public speaking and other seminar type classes. They also do a range of field trips to DC (good for the non DC girls). Sophomore year is still community service focused but less emphasis on hospitals than in the past (i think because the roles the girls could fill were less rewarding with changes in privacy rules, etc.) so they still do schools but also do other community service activities like Special Olympics, food banks, etc. It is a great program because it really does provide solid internship experiences for the girls. The girls have great relationships with the teachers, enhanced because many teachers live on campus and those who don't tend to be around a lot. |
Anonymous
| The Madeira thing sounds great but does it mean they go to class 4 days a week in 'core' classes? How long are class periods on other days? And the athletics program seems unusually weak--do they only practice 4 days a week? But It does sound intriguing. |
Anonymous
Yes - 4 days a week for classes. It means the homework loads are quite high - 4-5 hours/day is pretty typical. When we looked at other schools though many of the classes at those schools only meet 4x/week, they just mix up the days the classes don't meet. Madeira tends to have far fewer free periods than other independent schools we are familiar with. At most it is one, some girls have none (other than lunch). The sports are mixed, although a new athletic director came in this year and the focus on sports has increased dramatically. Swimming/diving and riding are very strong. Other sports are competitive - can't beat the sports focused schools like Visi or NCS but do very well against schools like Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St Andrews, Foxcroft, etc.. Varsity lacrosse played in the semifinals of the ISLs this spring, varsity softball played in the finals last spring, varsity soccer played in the finals this fall. Madeira typically hasn't recruited for athletics, although obviously attracts top riders and swimmers because of the facilities. |
Anonymous
| Thanks, interesting and thought-provoking to hear about a different way to do things. |
Anonymous
| For parents who choose single sex education...Why? I have three kids in co-ed -all boys. Wondering if they would have benefitted from single sex. Are some co-ed schools known for teaching boys or girls better? |
Anonymous
| Single sex schools do a better job of teaching boys, however they are also vulnerable on other issues such as bullying. |
Anonymous
| Studies have shown that girls who have gone to either/both single-sexed hs and/or college ...are more apt to end up in leadership roles in adult life. |
Anonymous
| My son is all boys and I am so happy we chose that. From what I have observed in classes and hearing from friends whose children are in coed private, the all boys environment does not seem to inhibit the boys in the classroom. they are freer to look smart and don't deal with the daily drama of girls in the classroom and who is going out with who.JMO |