PreK - Flint Hill or Langley
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Anonymous
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Hello!
A lot out there on topics similar but wanted to see what the responses might be now that we are mostly past covid. We have applied to Nysmith, Langley and Flint Hill for PreK. We don't think Nysmith will be the best fit for us and our child. Classroom/home connection is important to us and that doesn't seem to be a priority at Nysmith. We also toured Green Hedges but was underwhelmed. What we do value: Academics that are challenging but not stressful - goal is to love learning and have strong foundations in the Lower School years to support whatever ends up strong suits or academic interests in the long run for HS and College years. STEAM - exposure and excitement Being a well rounded individual - confident Outside time Our child is social and tested on the high end of the evaluations. Post application - Langley has barely communicated. This seems to be how the do they things after talking to other parents who also just finished applying. Flint Hill communicates A LOT which makes you already feel a part of the community. Curious to see what others have recently experienced. It's easy to like the sense of belonging that FH has created with their outreach and communication. They have a new Lower HOS starting this summer. FH did a parent presentation on their approach to reading education during the classroom visit. Langley did not so don't have as strong of sense of their approach to things. The decision may be made for us when acceptances come out but would love to hear recent observations for the younger lower school experiences have been. We value small classroom size, supported teachers. Thank you for any thoughts |
Anonymous
| Curious as to why you didn’t like Green Hedges? Asking because we will be looking at schools next year. |
Anonymous
| The classrooms struck us chaotic. In the 3rd grade classroom for example hadChristmas lights and halloween decorations and stuff EVERYWHERE. We didn't know where to look we couldn't imagine how a child could focus. We thought it was going to be one of our favorites but just were not impressed post the tour. It's also VERY small and there was no discussion about STEM. |
Anonymous
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I assume you live in Vienna? There are somewhat fewer Vienna families at Langley than Flint Hill.
Do you see your child attending a competitive DC area high school someday? Langley gives you better private HS options. Do you want to be at a school where there is a high school? Langley is more of a bubble without that. FH events tend to focus more on high school sports, such as homecoming. Langley families are more likely to be from McLean, so how do you feel about McLean? Their friends will do McLean sports for example. |
Anonymous
| I would choose Langley if at least for the high school placement. Langley high school placements are very good. |
Anonymous
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To the PP poster OP here
We are in Vienna but actually closer to Langley than Flint Hill but it's not a huge deciding factor. Future HS - yes especially if they are inclined to go that route. We want to ensure we pick the best ES/LS that sets our child up for their future sucess in HS/College and an adult - we know also contribute to that but want to ensure the academics are there without it being overly intense - foundations for the future. In terms of Mclean vs Vienna - we are really at the point where Mclean, GFs and Vienna merge so we are flexible on the outside of school sports/activities. Does anyone have experience with the after school/extended day programs? We are both working parents so that is important to us. |
Anonymous
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Most families use a nanny or babysitter at Langley. I’m not sure about FH. Not many kids do aftercare full time.
If you want a downtown high school, I’d go to Langley. FH parents center further west in Fairfax, Reston, Oakton, Vienna. While still wealthy, it’s a little less obvious. |
Anonymous
| My impression from touring is that Flint Hill may be better in STEM and Langley may be better in language arts. |
Anonymous
| OP, what exactly do you mean about Nysmith and classroom / home connection? |
Anonymous
| OP here- when I asked (for reference FH and Langley use apps to share updates on classroom work and activities) Nysmith said they have a private Instagram they use to share pictures |
Anonymous
having experience, I would say its the opposite - Flint Hill better language arts, Langley better STEM |
Anonymous
We applied to both and also thought FH was better for STEM. We eventually picked Langley because I thought the overall quality of academics was better at Langley. In retrospect, I think Langley does a better job at STEAM but not as good of a job selling it. I wish they would have invited potential students to the STEAM fair because it would have been a great way to show the focus on it. My kids loved it and call STEAM their favorite subject. |
Anonymous
Langley has excellent LA. In what way is FH better? Genuinely curious. |
Anonymous
| If you pick Flint Hill, then you have to be prepared for resistance if you want to move your child in high school or even before. Flint hill has lifers. Langley can’t because it ends in 8th so all the kids are mentally prepared for it and know that they will move on. For that reason, Langley kids have friends and siblings in all the major privates. I like that because the school has school spirit but also tends to have positive relationships (both in the administration and with families) with all the other major privates. We chose Langley over Flint Hill because of the focus on the young kids at Langley. We may consider Flint Hill again for High school when they time comes. We liked Flint Hill a lot but also liked the naturally decision point at 8th grade. |
Anonymous
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We are also curious about the extended day at Langley. We applied for K and would need extended day. We like the social element to it. Do they have activities?
OP- we also noticed the lack of communication post the student visit in December. Glad it wasn’t just us. |