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The Sycamore School in Arlington???
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Anonymous
| Does anyone know anything about this new School? They say they’re non-profit and they don’t even have tuition rates on their website. |
Anonymous
|
There are listserves for Arlington parents that may have more info...
This was a "paid content" piece https://www.arlnow.com/2017/04/06/the-flip-side-of-academic-acceleration-why-i-started-the-sycamore-school/ |
Anonymous
|
Tuition is in faqs:
https://thesycamoreschoolva.org/learn-more/faqs/ |
Anonymous
| I have no interest in the school since my youngest is in HS, but my kids had a couple of the teachers years ago and they were among the best teachers I've known. If my kids were younger I'd look into this school, especially for middle school where APS is bursting at the seams. |
Anonymous
| 23,000 for a start-up school????? |
Anonymous
| Very interested in the school. An current families thoughts? |
Anonymous
|
It's really a start-up business (without accreditation of any sort) . I believe there are fewer than 30 kids in the entire school. They're in an office building in Arlington. I would view this very much as a start-up experiment. None of these are criticisms but beware.
A more editorial comment is that it depends on what the longer-term plans are for your kids, I would be skeptical that a school featuring a low workload is going to feed great colleges, but that may not be the objective. Again, no judgement or criticism. Would love to know if there are any parents on the board and what their experiences have been (and the profile of kids thriving there). Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Would also be interested in the experiences at the school. We were thinking of it for our child as well. |
Anonymous
they actually address accreditation in their FAQ Is TSS accredited? Accreditation is a multiyear process that can only be completed after a school has been open for at least a year. We are looking forward to becoming accredited; the accreditation bodies we are considering are Virginia Association of Independent Schools, AdvancEd & Southern Association of Colleges & Schools https://thesycamoreschoolva.org/learn-more/faqs/ I would recommend anyone interested to attend a school tour - while the outside of the building is certainly meh, the inside is amazing. We are considering it for our son in a future year. I get the sense the students who thrive there are ones who want to learn and are inquisitive. They have designed the school to allow the students some control over what they study within general parameters and not teach towards a specific test as a goal. My son is falling between the cracks this year and his teacher really does not notice him and only notices when he forgets to put his name on a piece of paper. She is so focused on the "rules" that she is missing that my kid loves to learn. A smaller school like The Sycamore School which allows the students to explore deeper areas of interest to them, would be a good fit for him. we just are not quite ready to switch schools... but we're working on it. |
Anonymous
|
I have 2 friends who sent their boys there.
They are both in love with it. One family I don't know as well, but the other mom was going back and forth with IEP stuff around impulse control. SUPER bright guy for whom movement is key and projects are his path to learning. I bet if you asked for the contact info of current families on a tour, they would point you to these families. Their facebook page has images of these kids doing hands on projects and it seems to suit them. People I know who go there love it. My own kids are doing OK in a more traditional setting and we need the value of parochial school for this stage in the game. I am delighted for those other families, though. |
Anonymous
| Does this school focus on kids with ADHD? |
Anonymous
| Not necessarily since they give the students guided independence. It really depends on your child. |
Anonymous
No - I've talked with parents and staff at The Sycamore School many times. The school has been a good fit for some kids with ADHD because it allows for so much individualization, but I know kids who go there who are gifted and needed the environment to be able to not be bored at school. We're considering it for my rising 5th grader who is gifted in math but our elementary program is anything but inspiring. He is so bored he hates school and misses projects like he had when he was younger. An FYI - this fall the school will be 60 kids, grades 5-10. And, they just built a black box theatre. |
Anonymous
I posted above - wanted to amend to say that I didn't mean to sound like ADHD and Gifted are opposites of each other (pretty sure this school did a talk about kids who are twice exceptional recently.... gifted students w/learning disability.) My point was that the school could be a good fit for a variety of kids. |
Anonymous
|
PP
I have a kid who is twice exceptional and I didn't read your post "that way". It is thoughtful of your to clarify, though. I bet you are great with kids. Have a good day. |