River School

[Anonymous]

Thoughts about the River School? Heard anything about their 'outplacement' to other schools?
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Check the archives but I only know of (second-hand) families who attend for preschool and then leave. Third grade placement is also difficult as there aren't many schools with openings then (Sidwell and GDS might be the exceptions; the rest are by attritiion).

[Anonymous]

I've been told by many parents that the school does not help with outplacement (until third grade), which puts their students at a huge disadvantage compared to kids at other private schools.

I visited and wasn't very impressed by their description of the first through third grade program. It seems like an afterthought - and more of a money-making operation than anything else.

I think there's another thread about this - I had asked about River School a while ago before I knew much about it.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Thoughts about the River School? Heard anything about their 'outplacement' to other schools?
Thanks![/quote]


It really is a neighborhood school. The neighborhood happens to be Palisades, so you draw from some very affluent and engaged families, which creates the impression that it is on par with GDS/maret/beauvoir/sidwell. It isn't. The fact that parents are scrambling to find outplacement in non-entry years at the mentioned schools leaves you sleepless and valium filled, if you are lucky.

[Anonymous]

they dont help - i have heard it from two families, they want you there through 3rd grade and dont support you leaving earlier.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous] It really is a neighborhood school. The neighborhood happens to be Palisades, so you draw from some very affluent and engaged families, which creates the impression that it is on par with GDS/maret/beauvoir/sidwell. It isn't.[/quote]

Do you have personal experience with the school that allows you to make this statement? Just curious as to where you gathered this information from.

[Anonymous]

yeah, i would check the archives. i've seen lots of glowing reviews of river school.

[Anonymous]

1600 poster - I've heard wonderful reviews about the school. I too would like to know where you got your information from. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thoughts about the River School? Heard anything about their 'outplacement' to other schools?
Thanks!

Anyone?

[Anonymous]

When I began looking at nursery programs last year, I was warned repeatedly that exmissions are poor at The River School. The administration wants to keep students there until third grade and they haven't been good at cultivating the relationships with other schools. Therefore students are at a disadvantage.

I would ask for the exmissions lists. Also take a good look at the facilities. They're cramped and shabby - like a throwback to the 1970s.

I've also had several people call it "expensive daycare" because the hours are so long and so many of the parents work - that didn't bother me as much as the poor facilities and the fact that the school just didn't have the reputation I wanted.

I think you have to check it out yourself though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I began looking at nursery programs last year, I was warned repeatedly that exmissions are poor at The River School. The administration wants to keep students there until third grade and they haven't been good at cultivating the relationships with other schools. Therefore students are at a disadvantage.

I would ask for the exmissions lists. Also take a good look at the facilities. They're cramped and shabby - like a throwback to the 1970s.

I've also had several people call it "expensive daycare" because the hours are so long and so many of the parents work - that didn't bother me as much as the poor facilities and the fact that the school just didn't have the reputation I wanted.

I think you have to check it out yourself though.

The hours are so long???? After care ends at 5pm - the earliest - from what I gathered - out of ALL the private schools and after care only started at 3pm. Class starts at 8:30 I think, or 8:45. Plus, I heard and have seen the exact opposite therefore it appears two working parents are in the minority. I know this for a fact as I asked around and was unanimously told this is the case. This is the sole reason, as two working parents, we chose a different school. How could two working parents pick up their child by 5pm???? The facilities looked fine to me. It's no Sidwell/Beauvoir campus, but the low teacher to student ratios make up for that fact I suppose. If I remember correctly, it was 14 students per classroom with two teachers, both with master degrees and one a certified speech therapist.

I think this might be sour grapes from the previous poster.

[Anonymous]

Since you dont seem to be getting an answer from a current family, I will tell you what I know to try and help. We live in the Palisades/Kent. Our children did not go to the River school but we know lots of families, and not just Palisades families, that have or had children there. Most people seem to love it, whether they leave in PK or 3rd grade. I know the physical plant is not great, but the school sounds very nuturing and rather academic, even in the younger years. The 3rd grade outplacement is excellent. I have been told by numerous families that indeed, the school administration does not want famailes to leave before 3rd grade and they can be very nasty and unsupportive about it (i.e. by requiring a $1,000 down payment for the following before any other schools send out letters - no thousand, no spot, no exceptions). That said, we also have many friends who have left in PK and K and gotten in to top notch Washington private schools. We also have friends who have left after 3rd and gone to Landon, Holton, Sidwell and other excellent schools. I do, in fact, know theses stories and lots of these parents and children, first hand. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I began looking at nursery programs last year, I was warned repeatedly that exmissions are poor at The River School. The administration wants to keep students there until third grade and they haven't been good at cultivating the relationships with other schools. Therefore students are at a disadvantage.

I would ask for the exmissions lists. Also take a good look at the facilities. They're cramped and shabby - like a throwback to the 1970s.

I've also had several people call it "expensive daycare" because the hours are so long and so many of the parents work - that didn't bother me as much as the poor facilities and the fact that the school just didn't have the reputation I wanted.

I think you have to check it out yourself though.

The hours are so long???? After care ends at 5pm - the earliest - from what I gathered - out of ALL the private schools and after care only started at 3pm. Class starts at 8:30 I think, or 8:45. Plus, I heard and have seen the exact opposite therefore it appears two working parents are in the minority. I know this for a fact as I asked around and was unanimously told this is the case. This is the sole reason, as two working parents, we chose a different school. How could two working parents pick up their child by 5pm???? The facilities looked fine to me. It's no Sidwell/Beauvoir campus, but the low teacher to student ratios make up for that fact I suppose. If I remember correctly, it was 14 students per classroom with two teachers, both with master degrees and one a certified speech therapist.

I think this might be sour grapes from the previous poster.

Hi,
I'm the PP. Not sour grapes at all. We didn't apply. I was just trying to answer the questions according to what I know. I should have known that mentioning working parents would bring up an argument. I couldn't care less about the issue myself (I'm a SAHM who is going back to work fulltime in Oct.). But to OP: I would really get exmissions lists from the school -NOT just where kids go after third grade, but after pre-K too. And ask around your neighborhood and look at previous threads here. Oh, and visit the school and compare the facilities to the other nursery programs in the area (or even better, to schools that start at pre-k).

[Anonymous]

We decided not to apply to the River School, though we did attend a tour last September. We were unimpressed by the school, particularly given the fact that the tuition is much higher than other schools such as Aidan or NCRC, etc.... No where did I see this difference justified. The facility was nothing to speak of and the curriculum, from what I could gather, was no better than that of many of its competitors. In meeting with the Director, we got the impression that she could possibly be difficult to deal with. This does not seem too far off given the difficulties parents seem to face with pre-3rd grade exmissions.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thoughts about the River School? Heard anything about their 'outplacement' to other schools?
Thanks![/quote]


It really is a neighborhood school. The neighborhood happens to be Palisades, so you draw from some very affluent and engaged families, which creates the impression that it is on par with GDS/maret/beauvoir/sidwell. It isn't. The fact that parents are scrambling to find outplacement in non-entry years at the mentioned schools leaves you sleepless and valium filled, if you are lucky.[/quote]

I am a current River School parent, and I am in strong agreement with this posting. If you're looking at River, my advice to you is: look elsewhere. I don't mind the less-than-stellar facilities, but I do mind the fact that the quality of the teaching is very variable (the school is inordinately proud of the fact that all their teachers have master's degrees, but what they don't mention is how young and inexperienced many of the teachers are. Some are truly awful). Equally unfortunate is the fact that the administration is highly unresponsive to parents' concerns on this and a range of other issues. I have made many friends among the parents there - there are lots of great families and kids - but the school, sadly, does little to foster a sense of school community, pride, and spirit (other than the depressing "community meetings" they hold periodically in the grim gymnasium).