River Farm Cooperative, Alexandria

[Anonymous]

There are a few open spots in our (K-5) cooperative. If you are looking for a dynamic, affordable educational experience for your child, check it out!

Website: www.RiverFarmCooperative.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverFarmCooperative

The River Farm Cooperative, located in the Belle View neighborhood of Alexandria, is accepting students (ages 5-10). A hybrid between homeschool and traditional school, our non-religious cooperative combines the best elements of both:
· A regular 9-3 school day, 5 days a week
· A head teacher, supported by a rotating schedule of parent helpers (typical parent commitment = 2 school days per month. Extenuating circumstances taken into consideration)
· Small classes (maximum of 13 students)
· Parental involvement in curriculum, development, and enrichment
· Spanish classes
· Dynamic learning environment with a focus on creative play, movement, nature, and being outdoors
· Field trips to the many museums, parks, and cultural centers of the DC area.
· Multiple outdoor play and movement periods built into the school day

[Anonymous]

What does dynamic mean for you school?

[Anonymous]

It means that small class sizes enable teachers to easily adapt their practices to the needs of the students and goals of the parents, within the school's mission. It also means that students are not confined to desks and filling in worksheets and listening to teachers talk. The students have choice within the day: where to sit in the classroom, which lessons to work on (within boundaries), and lots of movement.

[Anonymous]

My two kids go here, and they love it!! Lots of movement and outdoors time.

[Anonymous]

Interested to know how kids fare once they age out? Do most continue on private path? Love the idea and philosophy!

[Anonymous]

New school/program no track record yet. This kind of school should be fine as long as the kids keep up with grade level basics, and there's no reason to think they won't.

[Anonymous]

Most of the families who attended last year left and out of those kids, a large number are woefully behind their peers academically.
Bear this in mind if you're not prepared to homeschool your child or hire a tutor once they leave.

[Anonymous]

My child started at RFC this year, and we are thrilled with it! From what I understand, all of the kids last year tested ahead of their grade level on the Terra Nova test that they administer at the end of each year to ensure that the kids are on track. The 2 teachers (one for lower school and one for upper school) are absolutely amazing - warm, nurturing, dynamic, passionate, and just so skilled at what they do. Definitely contact the Admissions Chair if you are interested in learning more. The link to that website is:

http://www.riverfarmcooperative.com/contact/

It is a blend of Waldorf (movement, nature), Montessori (mixed age classes: grades K-2, and grades 3-5 are taught together), and classical (arts & humanities). They use the Singapore math teaching method. In my humble opinion, the founders took the best of those philosophies and curricula and made their vision of an ideal learning environment really come to life. It is a gem, and the kids exude so much joy in their learning experiences there. We feel very fortunate to have found it!

[Anonymous]

Where is this school located "in the Belle View community"? Is it run out of someone's home or a church? The website gives no specifics.

[Anonymous]

The River Farm Cooperative is across the street from Mount Vernon Rec Center - they are a secular school, but they rent the space from the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church on Belle View Blvd. It is a cooperative school, and I believe it is the only elementary cooperative school in the area. Personally speaking, it is really great to have such an active part in my child's school experience, and I am so thankful that they have 2 lead teachers there that set the whole tone and are just phenomenal! I especially love that they both have strong science backgrounds and really encourage the kids to be curious, ask questions, and experiment! The kids are very kind, bright, and inquisitive. My daughter's favorite part is all the outside time - snack, lunch, recess, bamboo forest, nature hikes...all outside & all incredible. On a nice day, they might even decide to stay outside all day and teach their classes outside...because they can! We absolutely love it; RFC truly functions like a family, and everybody plays an important part there.

[Anonymous]

Do they share space with the preschool at MVUMC? Do most families have a stay at home parent for the coops?

[Anonymous]

The preschool operates out of the lower level of the church, and River Farm operates out of the upper level. However, there is occasional overlap on the playground at times, but not very often. Regarding the parents, it seems that having one parent with at least a flexible work schedule does help the co-oping aspect. If each family can figure out how to be there from noon-3:30 pm 2-3x/month, you'd be able to do it. There are families with both parents working full time jobs, and the parents alternate taking an afternoon off twice a month or so. I know they are also at least discussing some buy out/ partial buy out options for next year, and will vote on that soon.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate that this is transparently posted by someone affiliated with the school. It's so annoying when people post on the forum to publicize a particular school but pretend they're not! Like "Hey I just heard of this great school called X! Did you know [series of facts from admissions brochure]? Has anyone applied to this amazing place?" I have no affiliation with River Farm Cooperative (DC currently in public and applying to independent schools), just wanted to offer some positive reinforcement for transparency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the families who attended last year left and out of those kids, a large number are woefully behind their peers academically.
Bear this in mind if you're not prepared to homeschool your child or hire a tutor once they leave.

Is this true? This gives me pause and I'm hoping it can be refuted/explained by other posters.

[Anonymous]

Does the co-op accept unvaccinated children? (Mine is vaccinated, just wondering)